Construction News

Get estimates to customer faster and win more projects August 08, 2018

Line Item Estimates, although very precise, are incredibly time consuming to formulate because every part of the job, including materials, sub-contractors, permits, etc. must be itemized and considered within the budget/estimate. This process can take weeks to complete and can cost contractor a job if customer does not have that long to wait.

However, there is an alternative method to estimate the cost of the project, Unit Cost Estimation, which allows getting something in front of the customers quicker.

Unit costing follows the following steps:

• Compile all the line items (assemblies) for the job.
• Attach a unit cost to each line item (assembly).
• Total the numbers and have them checked by a second party, such as a consultant who specializes in construction or another construction manager.
• Apply a markup. 

If everything is done right, an estimate should be done quickly and accurately.  Remember that at this point it is just an estimate. A precise price cannot be assigned until all required engineers have submitted drawings and the City or federal governing bodies have signed off.