Contractors need to accurately estimate the costs for specific projects so that they can make accurate, competitive and profitable bids. They need to accurately visualize the cost of a project before any construction work begins. This makes estimators some of the most important people in any construction project. In a crowded and competitive building business, having the best construction estimating software can make all the difference. It can help contractors put in the best bids by providing up-to-date pricing information and various estimating tools that can provide an edge over your competitors when bidding for building projects.
In the construction industry, contractors win, on average, one out of every ten bids they make on proposed building projects. This means that nearly ninety percent of all their bidding efforts will not produce any profit for their firms. But what if your firm could make thirty bids within the same time frames instead of only ten? The best construction estimating software helps to expedite the process and help contracting firms make more accurate bids, and within a shorter period of time than traditional manual methods. This also means making more bids and therefore, better chances of winning more jobs.
There are, of course, several reasons why your firm does not win many more bids. The reasons may range from sheer preferences of the contracting firms to fierce competition where other firms consistently outbid you. If your firm is losing too many bids, perhaps you are bidding too high and not accurately assessing the costs involved. Therefore, the best construction estimating software is an absolute must-have in the building business. Speed and accuracy are some of the most significant benefits of using construction estimating software as contrasted with manual processes or excel sheets. Spreadsheets are prone to errors and do not even allow for collaboration between multiple users.
Takeoffs are one of the most critical aspects of construction estimating. They allow contractors to determine both the amount and the cost of materials a project is likely to utilize. Manual takeoffs can be a little complicated, are prone to errors and take way too much time. Your bottom line takes a hit each time you miss items or undervalue your takeoffs. Overvaluing or having additional items on your takeoffs also increases your final estimates, which means your competitors will continually outbid you.
Because blueprints can be expensive to produce, in terms of time and other resources, the best construction estimating software integrates into the estimation process. Together with the use of estimate generating tools, construction estimating software can generate accurate estimates, and within a fraction of the total time, it would take using manual estimation processes. This allows team members to spend less time in the office and more time on the site. Therefore, digital estimation tools represent great improvements in the construction world. The days of manual, handwritten and calculated estimates are ebbing away, and your firm can now send out more accurate bids regardless of its size.
Some construction estimating software such as Cubit (best construction estimation software of choice in the UK) provide 3D-Modelling tools. These tools allow users to accurately take off quantities from blueprints (2D, Cad/PDF) directly into pricing estimates. This significantly cuts the time it takes during the estimating process, which saves time and money. Architects and owners sometimes modify blueprints before and during the life of a project for various reasons. Therefore, the ability to upload a blueprint, usually in the form of a CAD or BIM file, is an incredibly useful feature. It provides a user-friendly environment in which users can adjust the costs alongside the changing design plans and factors so that they can offer better, and more competitive bids to their clients.
The best construction estimating software integrates with most legacy business systems. This is a crucial consideration since you will likely be running other business applications. For instance, you may want to ensure that your estimating software can not only create professional proposals or contracts, but that it can allow you to export them to PDF or Microsoft Excel so that you can share with anyone across the organization.
There is, of course, no one-size-fits-all when it comes to construction estimating software. Your chosen solution will largely depend on your specific business needs, specific features, and your budget. It is not just about running through a checklist of features and picking the one with the most features. Purchasing the wrong software can cost your firm thousands of pounds every year or even escalate into a corporate disaster. While there are now plenty of estimating software, it is best to stick with the ones that have been specifically designed for the construction industry.
Certain distributors such as Buildsoft provide a range of estimating modules that your organization can use for the estimation process. The Buildsoft range of software can either run as standalone applications or integrate into each other. This means that Building Contractors, Quantity Surveyors, and developers can either choose to purchase individual units or the entire range of software. Software can be intimidating and learning how to use it can be quite challenging for some. But the best construction estimating software provides user-friendly navigation, and with the right training, anyone can use the tools. They mostly maintain the familiar look and feel of Excel spreadsheets, but without the inherent issues and disadvantages they have when to comes to construction estimating.
Construction companies can no longer afford to overlook estimating software. Margins are shrinking, competition is intensifying, and jobs are increasing in complexity. Using limited software or other business applications puts many construction companies at a big disadvantage. Construction estimating software can help streamline the estimating processes, whatever the requirements or the size of your firm.
It is generally a good idea to go with a construction estimating system that is designed, built and used by experts in the industry. The Buildsoft range of construction estimating tools deliver the most innovative, user-friendly, 3D on-screen modules that will enhance your estimating capabilities.
Join more than 7,000 companies that use the Buildsoft range of software which includes large construction companies (GCs) as well as small to medium-sized and even subcontracting firms.
