Selecting a Construction Estimating Software Solution for Your Business

An estimating software is selected based upon the cost, features, functions, reviews, word of mouth, or other avenues. Today we find software vendors selling solutions which range from a few hundred dollars to many thousands of dollars. In fact some estimating software packages can cost upwards of 15-20 thousand dollars and in some cases, as high as $100,000.

The few problems or roadblock which the companies are creating for themselves while selecting a software are;

• They do not consider how they are doing their estimating processes today,
  

• What they would like to improve,
  

• How automation can, will, or will not help them,
  

• What an estimating system should do for their business. and

• In many cases, the construction professional will try and find a way to adapt their business to the way a software package operates, rather then determine the best way to adapt the software to enhance their current way of doing business.
  

Also, in many cases estimating software may not be flexible enough to allow a construction professional to "customize" the software to work in conjunction with the best business practices of the company.

Often, you will see software vendors either providing their own cost data information (often on a monthly subscription basis), or they will resell industry cost database information such as RS Means or Craftsman.

This is a good baseline for starting to use a construction estimating software solution, but all too often, construction professionals will begin to find that the data is not accurate for their specific geographic locations of work, their local distributors have different prices than what are provided in the software cost book database provided by the vendor and cost book updates provide by the software vendor are not timely enough to reflect local price changes in materials (labor prices are usually pretty consistent over time).

As a result, the construction professional is not satisfied with the software vendor's estimating solution, the adoption of the software will diminish, and the construction professional will either begin to more and more get frustrated while searching for another software solutions or revert back to their original estimating process. Often this is either a basic spreadsheet or paper and pencil.

The best estimating software solutions should allow the construction professional to completely leverage existing industry database cost information as well as provide the ability for the construction professional to create their own cost book database of information and even combine the two. This should be extended to have the ability to create as many cost book databases as the construction professional would like to accommodate multiple types of estimating situations.

The most accurate method of estimating is to use the Unit Cost Method of estimating. This means that each material item in a cost book database would have at least a material and labor cost. Even better if the item provides for the ability to track subcontract and equipment costs and well as labor rates. These costs are then defined for the item at the "unit of measure".

In addition, some construction professionals might say that the material and labor costs are inaccurate. These prices were taken from a national industry cost book database, and in fact, could very well be inaccurate. A good software estimating program would allow you the ability to change any information about this item required to match your own labor and material costs.

So the whole point of this is to tell you that the first thing you should consider when looking for an estimating system is the ability to create your own cost book database, and be able to leverage existing industry cost book information to do that.