They have the measurements of the road but may want to present the customer with a choice of materials. A flexible construction estimating program will help create two different scenarios showing the cost of each, not just in labor and materials, but also maintenance over the life span.
In another scenario where a kitchen is being remodeled, the ability to quickly swap in and out different cabinet styles, countertops, appliances, etc—without redoing the whole bid—allows both the flexibly adapt to changing customer demands and to do so quickly.
Keeping records of your historical cost data can save time in preparing new estimates for similar work. Cost estimators can turn to regularly published construction cost data for comparative cost analysis. Alternatively, your business can look into your own historical efforts to determine estimates. This comes in handy when doing work for the same client, or doing the same type of construction jobs over and over.
Construction estimating software will include a computerized database of previous estimates and bids. The most basic of options will have a built in historical database can allow you to reference quantities, costs, crew and machine productivity data from previous projects. Both construction and manufacturing projects can be priced via process costing or job costing. Process costing will assign a costs to every step involved in a manufacturing project based on historical data.
Job costing breaks down the specific labor, materials, equipment, and subcontractor costs needed and their associated calculated costs. Process costing works best in industries with more uniform costs, while job costing tends to be more accurate due to using more historical data and less guesswork. This is why job costing is more prominently found in the world of construction estimating. Dedicated job cost software can help save time on job-costing calculations doing via manual processes such as spreadsheets.
Most estimating software will also tie in with job cost processes and help your business better price jobs accurately, submit timely estimates, calculate realistic profit margins, and track costs in real-time. A good estimating program will give you an analytical foundation to understand your costs in different areas within the job. Breaking down estimates and costs by sub-projects, physical areas or by other organizing units provides a wealth of info for understanding which job elements are driving the profit or loss on the project overall.
To identify payback, you may need to segment costs to track the resulting revenues. This would require a need to track the cost of the overall project—by building or by unit. The best construction estimating software will help create whatever type of estimate you business needs. What determines the information that gets put on the estimate? There are four main types of construction estimates, and which one gets used will usually depend on the stage of the project.
Electricians, plumbers, many manufacturers, builders, and HVAC companies all deal with estimating on a daily basis. However, some of the elements of the estimating process can be different in each environment. QuickBooks Online has been used successfully by thousands of construction companies.
While not an industry-specific construction management software , the solution can handle the needed accounting for most construction businesses. Intuit, the developer of QuickBooks, does not offer a dedicated construction estimating tool. However, QuickBooks solutions do have the ability to create estimates as part of their overall accounting package. Estimates created in QuickBooks can be used to create a bid, proposal, or quote.
These can later be turned into a sales order or an invoice. Some options recommended by QuickBooks themselves include:. Talk with a Software Expert…. Construction Estimating Software Get the best construction estimating software for your business. Get a free consultation from an independent system expert. Get Recommendations. Popular Products No products found. ProEst is a top construction estimating software that allows you to create bids in half of the time as other options—letting your cost estimators win you more bids than ever before.
ProEst can be used by a variety of businesses—including large civil…. Price Range. Clear Estimates is the easiest tool for contractors looking to make professional proposals in minutes instead of hours. Users can store unlimited customers and prospects in the built-in customer database. Customers get unlimited support, ongoing material- and price-database updates, and never have to sign a long term contract. Additionally, Clear Estimates offers a free day trial of their product, so anyone can test out the tools before they commit any money.
Clear Estimates is among the best estimating products on the market. It starts at a very reasonable cost, includes unlimited estimates, access to updated pricing data, and can be accessed readily on the jobsite from any device. Sage Estimating, formerly a part of the Sage Timberline suite, is an estimating tool designed for construction contractors and businesses of all sizes.
Its core function is to help its users build accurate bids and project estimates using data from their takeoff and BIM files, but it does much more than that. Even the most limited version of Sage Estimating can do basic takeoff, sync with a price database, and generate detailed estimates and customized reports. The more advanced versions of the product include features like access to the RSMeans cost database, building estimates from 3D BIM models, and generating bill of material reports.
While some users report that the interface is less intuitive than some other products on this list, that is in part because the software is so flexible and full of features. Sage Estimating integrates with a number of tools, which could make it a great solution for companies who are already using a compatible product. For instance, eTakeoff and PlanSwift are two of the most popular products in digital takeoff and both integrate with Sage Estimating.
It also integrates with 3D modeling software by Autodesk to improve the takeoff process. By mapping the 3D models to the 2D project plans easily using Sage, estimators can create detailed estimates incredibly quickly. Sage Estimating runs exclusively on Windows operating systems. It must be installed on a primary company server and accessed through company workstations that have the client software installed.
Because of this requirement, we believe that Sage Estimating is best suited for larger companies, though it can also be suitable for small companies with a large budget, complex requirements, or plans to grow. The total price will depend on the number of modules and features a company purchases, how many users or workstations need to access the tool, and whether or not training and support are needed.
Sage Estimating has been on the market for a long time originally marketed as Sage Timberline Estimating , is flush with features, and is highly customizable. Sigma Estimates is a powerful estimating tool built for subcontractors or general contractors. Its long list of features and integrations make it a good fit for most general contractors, subcontractors, architects, and engineers. Sigma Estimates is an especially strong choice for Windows users.
In terms of system requirements, Sigma must be installed on a Windows operating system. Sigma has two different editions of their product designed for different types of users: Professional and Enterprise. The Professional version includes essential features like basic formulas, functional, area, and resource estimation, product databases and price lists, and reporting. The Enterprise version includes everything available in the Professional version, plus stronger tools for estimating and budgeting, greater customization and reporting capabilities, and support for more file types.
It also includes access to the RSMeans database to help contractors and estimators keep on top of constantly changing prices of labor and materials. Sigma even has an Open API, so developers can build their own integrations and connect their existing apps and workflows into Sigma Estimates. Sigma is competitively priced for the quality of the software, and further, they offer higher discounts for longer-term commitments to the product. Additionally, many universities have existing relationships with Sigma that gives them access to Sigma for free.
With such a strong product and an affordable price, we highly recommend Sigma Estimates as one of the top construction estimating software products on the market.
We rate it as the Best Estimating Software for Windows. The Australia-based company was founded in , and has a good reputation with its customers. They design tailored solutions for plumbing, HVAC, electrical, and other specialties. Their collection of estimating features are also top-notch, including a custom quote designer that auto-populates customer data, assembly prebuilds, easy labor calculations, and more.
SimPRO also allows contractors to keep a detailed database of their costs, which stores cost, sale price, and markup, allowing for extremely detailed estimating for each project.
The platform includes supplier cost databases and allows the import of any material and supplier cost database that contractors work with. Another great feature is the ability to save common assemblies, which can easily be reused in future projects. SimPRO is also in the process of introducing takeoff features, which are in beta as of , but in the meantime, simPRO supports integration with Groundplan and PlanSwift takeoff software.
To learn more about everything available through simPRO, simPRO offers free scheduled demos of their technology and offers a number of helpful videos for anyone looking to learn more about their construction estimating solutions.
Current pricing information about simPRO is not currently available, so potential users will need to contact simPRO through their website to learn more. We rated them as a runner-up in our list of the best construction estimating software. ConEst is far-and-away the most popular estimating software for electrical contractors. Founded in , they are also one of the most experienced estimating software companies in the market.
However, ConEst recommends a database server be installed for centralized storage of data. This, of course, should depend on the number of users needing to share information and how the organization manages its data pipeline. Any takeoffs done within SureCount are also automatically passed to IntelliBid, so users never have to re-enter data. IntelliBid includes many features to improve the estimating and bidding processes, including a massive database of over , parts and pre-built assemblies, calculators, formulas, and easy estimate export.
Design Build, an extension for IntelliBid, helps electrical contractors by adding electrical formulas to calculate lighting requirements, load limits, and voltage drops. This video is a bit dated, but highlights the range of features within IntelliBid:. They also charge startup costs for installation and training. Billing is on an annual basis. ConEst is a strong product with some excellent tools for electrical contractors, which is why we rated it as the Best Construction Estimating Software for Electrical Contractors.
Buildertrend was founded in , but is already one of the most popular construction management platforms on the market with more than 1 million users. Their software is designed for homebuilders, remodelers, commercial developers, and specialty contractors of any size.
Users receive additional charges depending on the type and number of jobs started on a monthly or annual basis. This means the price is proportional to the amount of business you run through the software, which keeps the cost of the product reasonable no matter how large or small the business is. While this review focuses only on their estimating and bidding components, buyers should take note of the extensive collection of features that Buildertrend offers because they may also be a good fit for other construction management needs.
In fact, we recommend that if you choose Buildertrend as your estimating option, that you also take advantage of the project management, accounting, and field service tools for a powerful, comprehensive package of tools. Buildertrend is a cloud-based solution, so it is accessible from any device with a web browser.
Their online interface is very clean and easy to use. It has a modern design with intuitive controls, and we rank it among the best of the estimating software we reviewed.
Within the platform users can build estimates, generate professional proposals, and request and send digital signatures. Buildertrend also regularly releases new updates and features to their platform. The one downside we find with Buildertrend as an estimating solution is that their platform does not include takeoff technology.
However, Buildertrend does integrate with popular takeoff solutions including Clear Estimates, eTakeoff, and Square Takeoff. This allows users to seamlessly share data between one of these popular takeoff tools and Buildertrend. Buildertrend also makes it easy to try their product with no commitment. They offer free product demos that you can schedule with a live representative, and they also have a day money back guarantee for new customers testing out the product.
Buildxact is an impressive software product devoted to supporting the construction management needs of small contractors and one of our top choices for estimating software.
Buildxact is a great choice for residential builders, remodelers, and contractors. Buildxact boasts that its estimating features can help users produce estimates five times faster than without the software. With convenient tools like prebuilt templates and price list imports, along with intuitive, built-in takeoff functionality, the estimating process with Buildxact is streamlined and efficient.
In addition to estimates, Buildxact includes features for takeoff, project management and scheduling, and construction accounting, which makes it a well-rounded product capable of addressing several key construction management functions. Reviewers consistently remark on how easy it is to learn and use the product. With a clean, intuitive design, figuring out the core functionality is a snap, allowing users to quickly begin producing estimates.
Buildxact offers three tiers for pricing: Entry, Pro, and Teams. Buildxact offers a day free trial in addition to a 30 minute online demo with the Buildxact team. Buildxact is a cloud-based system, which means it is accessible on PC, Mac, and any mobile device with a web browser. Buildxact is one of our top overall recommendations, especially for smaller contractors, but due to its strong design and ease of use, we give it the nod for Best User Interface.
SmartBid is one of the most popular online contractor bid management tools on the market. They were founded in and acquired by ConstructConnect in Their focus is helping general contractors maintain their subcontractor database and manage subcontractor bid submissions for upcoming projects.
SmartBid does not cover the takeoff or estimating process, but rather is a robust bid management tool designed specifically for general contractors. Some of their many features include the abilities to send bid requests to subcontractors, maintain a database of subcontractors, share project documents, compare subcontractor bids, and track subcontractor compliance. Each of the parts in our database comes with professional contract language, so you can avoid typing out those long proposals.
Once you add your parts with a few clicks, Clear Estimates automatically creates a professional proposal with that pre-written language, your custom boilerplate, and your company information like name, logo, address, and phone number. Get Started Creating Estimates in Minutes. Learn More. Accurate Cost Data We provide over 15, parts pre-loaded complete with material and labor costs specific to your area.
Powerful Templates Clear Estimates comes with over 60 templates for common jobs like kitchens, bathrooms, garages, additions, and much more. Professional Proposals Each of the parts in our database comes with professional contract language, so you can avoid typing out those long proposals. Total Bids.
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