I’ve been in the process of developing my own estimating spread sheet using Excel. We’ve been working on it, while running six to eight jobs, for about 6 months. I know how to estimate and I know how to get my #’s. Its just putting it all in a program that makes sense has just been a daunting , hair pulling experience. I feel its important to have my own customized software to grow. We did about $4M and our average job size is about $400,000.00 and its all remodels. We have two that are $1.5M going on now and these estimates are no fun to do with paper and pencil. I feel for my company to grow I need a systematic approach. I also want to spit them out faster. Are there people out there how have mastered this. I would love to have someone sitting along side me for about two weeks to perfect and fine tune the program. Excel is a powerful program but I just don’t feel like going to get my computer degree right now. I could also use tips to hone my estimating skills. Is there any such thing as a residential estimator?
JKB
Replies
The answer to your question is yes. Depending on how big your co. is, and what your longer term needs are, you can bring someone on who will not only help with the estimating, but help you sell and close new business. You can also find an estimator that has some PM skills on top of it so he can help manage some of the jobs he pulls in if necessary. This is more true in major metro areas than rural, naturally, but to give you some ideas. I'm working with my friend in Boston at Construction Recruiters, and we talk to estimators all day long... in fact, one of my high-end residential clients has two full time estimators and is looking for a third to help manage them. Happy to answer further questions if you'd like to talk.
http://www.construction-recruiters.com
617.422.0888 x203
Best,
Brian
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HomeBase
________ Kitchen & Bath Builders, LLC
Brian Roberts, Manager
In my past life as a construction manager for an environmental remediation company we utilized Scitor Project Scheduler for all our estimating, scheduling, and cost tracking. It is much more powerful than Microsoft Project or an Excel spreadsheet and can be set up relatively quickly. We used the program primarily for estimating projects ranging from $100k to $20 MM. It is a step down from programs like Primavera and is very user friendly. Once you have your resource database input, it is simply point and click to build your estimate. I have a template I use for all my jobs and add and delete labor and materials as needed. It also links to a schedule and often provides a reality check for me (i.e. laying down 60 square of shingle in a day with a two man crew-oops) by outputting usage rates. I would be happy to fax you samples of my estimates and the output of the program. In terms of turning out the estimate, I can develop a first draft estimate for a $100K project in about 45 minutes. It also has a bunch of different reports that you can print out.