CONSTRUCTION ESTIMATING SOFTWARE BUYERS GUIDE
FEATURED VENDORS
CONTENTS
| I. | Intro to Estimating |
| II. | When to Buy |
| III. | Software Benefits |
| IV. | Starting your Selection Process |
| V. | Takeoff Software, Cost Databases, and Worksheets |
| VI. | Vendor Selection |
| VII. | Implementation |
When to buy: When should I consider estimating software?
As stated in the introduction of this Construction Estimating Software Buyer's Guide, many firms are often reluctant to migrate from the familiarity of Microsoft Excel to more proprietary estimating software. Phil Arnt of GCN Consulting said this reluctance tends to boil down to three concerns -- migrating huge amounts of cost estimate data, accommodating custom spreadsheets and "recreat[ing] the company estimating wheel by introducing new technology."
These concerns are legitimate, Arnt said, but they can be overcome. Estimating software packages have been able to import Excel cost data for years, he said. Moreover, as your company grows it is not going to want application support to be handled by a single, in-house staff member: "Let's be realistic, are we owners, managers, and estimators, or are we software developers and application support specialists?"
Even if you think Microsoft Excel is working just fine for you, there are several additional signs that your company may be ready for dedicated estimating software:
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You are spending a lot of time training new estimators on how to use the company's "personalized spreadsheet." |
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Your competitors are consistently underbidding you -- and their estimates are more professionally presented and itemized. |
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You or your employees are having trouble tracking and updating estimates in the normal course of business. |
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Your spreadsheets are fine now, but you're not sure how you'll track and manage more estimates if your business grows. |
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You're launching a new construction firm. |
As a final note, you should remember that estimating was one of the first functions in the construction industry to become automated through dedicated software, about 20 years ago. As a result, there is a wide selection of stable construction estimating programs on the market that have been designed to perform just about all day-to-day estimating chores. (You can find a list of firms in our Estimating Software Directory.)
*** To learn more about the benefits of estimating software, look to the next segment of our construction estimating software buyers guide.
Next: Software Benefits
