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Many construction pros struggle with creating estimates.
For some, it’s simply doing them that’s the problem. If you’re like many of the builders I know, you’d probably rather be out in the field meeting customers, coming up with plans and then working to bring those dreams to life.
For others, it’s creating accurate estimates that’s the trouble—and it’s no wonder why.
Knowing how much to quote for a job is tricky. Some things like material costs can easily change from day to day. And poor record keeping—which would otherwise help you learn from previous estimates—may make bidding jobs feel more like guesswork than anything else.
Unfortunately, this makes low- or no-profit estimates—plus wasting huge amounts of time—the norm. But it doesn’t have to be. In fact, creating fast, accurate job bids can actually be a fairly simple task.
At a certain point, it becomes important for all construction managers to master their estimating. To do this, you have two basic options: computer software or pencil and paper.
Pencil and paper is cheap. It’s also all business leaders had before the widespread use of computers. But these days, it has some major drawbacks.
First of all, it’s messy. And time consuming. And incredibly easy to make costly errors. Which is why most construction companies these days do their estimating using some kind of computer software.
However, the choices don’t end there. In reality, that’s where they begin—and the choices can get overwhelming.
But in this article we’re going to narrow down your choices and compare two popular softwares: Microsoft Excel and Integro’s Precise Builder. And by the time you finish reading, you’ll have a much better idea of which is the right choice for you and your company.
Microsoft Excel has been around the block. First introduced in 1982, it’s been a favorite of business owners ever since.
Excel is an amazing software. It’s powerful and allows you to create all sorts of custom spreadsheets. It’s also cost-effective—especially for small teams. In 2024, the cost is $12.50 per month/per user as a part of Microsoft’s Standard Business Plan
However, Excel does have its drawbacks—especially as an estimating software for construction workers.
For one, it is not particularly user-friendly. Complicated formulas must be added into spreadsheet cells manually, and understanding how the formulas work within cells requires special training.
Additionally, those formulas—and the spreadsheets themselves—are easy to “break.” By changing one formula or product parameter, it’s possible your spreadsheet will stop working properly. In other words, if you don’t have a solid understanding of the sheet and formulas themselves, it’s pretty easy to screw up.
Additionally, each spreadsheet can only be used once, and you’ll have to make duplicates for every project. The problem with this is that you aren’t able to make global changes for things like price updates and labor costs.
So all-in-all, while Excel is a cost-effective and flexible solution for many business owners, it has its headaches—namely the time it takes to use and learn, and the difficulty of use for an average user.
Precise Builder is a new estimating and project management software created by Integro. It was designed in collaboration with former construction pros and makes creating accurate estimates fast and easy—with minimal training required.
As an estimating software, Precise Builder is tough to beat. You can input material lists and prices right from your vendor, labor and cost-per-billable-hour metrics, create accurates in minutes and run your projects from anywhere with an internet connection.
One of the best things about Precise Builder are the internal “kits.” Kits allow you to set up material prices and labor costs for recurring projects. Then, any member of your staff—even those without field experience—can generate estimates, material lists and estimated hours by typing in a few simple numbers.
And the cost? A single monthly price for unlimited users—making Precise Builder an economical choice for construction companies of all sizes.
While Microsoft Excel is a fantastic software with amazing functionality, it can be tough to use—especially for creating fast, reliable estimates.
If you’re ready to streamline your office work and create more profitable bids—in as little as five minutes—check out Precise Builder.
With a free demo, you can get a feel for what Precise Builder is all about. Then, mull it over and decide whether or not this powerful estimating software is right for your company in this season.
You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Here’s to you running your construction company like the pro you are.
Rooting for you,
Dan Lap
With the Precise Builder software, you can finally run your construction company well and with accuracy. Via one single platform, you’ll have access to all your processes and important information, making it easier than ever to:
Run your company using one central software
Stop stressing over seemingly endless office work
Better estimate how much each job will cost
Grow your sales and have fun doing it!
