If you are a small or medium sized builder than you will understand how difficult it is to find the time to produce a detailed, accurate building cost estimate. You most likely try to find time at night, sitting at your kitchen table, trying to throw numbers together while waiting for product prices and subcontractor quotes. In the end, you do your best and hope that you come up with an estimate that the customer is happy with but doesn’t cut into your profits too much. However, creating an accurate cost estimate for a building is far too important. Let’s look at why and how software can help.
Money
Unless you are one of the lucky few, for whom money is no matter, then you could find that just two or three bad estimates can send your building business bankrupt. An inaccurate takeoff can cause cost overruns or your cashflow could suffer, leaving you with no money and bills to pay. If your estimate doesn’t accurately calculate the duration of the project build, then the labor costs could blow the budget. The same goes with forgetting to include your indirect costs (soft costs), such as office rental, security, legal and financial fees, permits and licenses. These costs can total from 25-50% of the overall building price. This could end up being a large chunk of your profit, if not all of it.
Reputation
Your reputation is everything as a builder and you want yours to be a good one. So, you need to continuously produce building cost estimating that is quick, accurate, and looks professional. Companies that don’t finish houses, or their builds continuously go over budget don’t get many satisfied customers who are willing to publish glowing testimonials to the service you provided. These days with customer reviews just a click away, it is imperative that you build a good reputation in the construction industry, and with your clients.
Software
The quickest and most economical way to produce accurate, professional looking cost estimates is by using quality cloud-based estimating and construction management software. With the features they offer you can produce accurate building estimates 80% faster. Templates give you a professional looking base document that takes you step by step through the estimating process. Databases of suppliers, pricelists, subcontractors, and historical build data takes the waiting around out of estimating. The tracking abilities of software can reduce waste and increase profits. They can even help you evaluate risk factors and pickup errors in the design.
The benefits of building cost estimating software for a small to medium sized builder doesn’t stop at the things we have mentioned above. They have features that will take you from project conception to building completion, and beyond. To find out more about how estimating software can help your building business contact the team at Buildxact and book a demo or try a 14-day free trial. Don’t underestimate the importance of accurate building cost estimating, accuracy could be the difference between success and bankruptcy.