Are your estimators using the best tools for the job?
Your estimators are busier than ever these days. In addition to the pressure to complete a lot more estimates faster, they still work with slim profit margins that leave little room for error. The resulting work environment can challenge the best of estimators, especially if they don’t have all the right tools. Generic spreadsheets are […]
- A project can be underestimated due to an overlooked, forgotten, or not properly quantified item (there are no built-in estimating safeguards with generic spreadsheets).
- The time drain in building an estimate from scratch—one item at a time—is significant, and the need to maintain a number of Excel templates with up-to-date pricing and estimate details for specific types of projects is even more time intensive.
- When deleting an individual item from within a generic spreadsheet, your estimators can run the risk of an associated formula being lost or worse, no longer calculating properly.
- Too many steps or complex processes are involved for slicing and dicing, analyzing, and reporting on your estimate.
- The estimate typically isn’t integrated with other software to do electronic takeoff, build budgets, and create purchase orders and RFQs.