In a construction environment rife with supply chain issues, labor shortages and material pricing fluctuations, it’s more important than ever to go into construction projects with the most accurate cost estimates possible. Even a small mismeasurement or incorrect count can snowball into a wildly inaccurate bid and could cost all of your profits on that job. The ability to accurately predict job costs will earn your company a stronger reputation among clients too, as they can trust you to stay on your target budget with no surprises.
Today, digital takeoffs and estimates are the only way to get the speed and accuracy your business needs to stay competitive. But with so many software platforms on the market, how do you know when you’re making the right investment for your team? As you evaluate your options, consider exactly what you need the technology to do for you.
4 Functions to Look For in Preconstruction Software
As a contractor, you can get the most out of your takeoff and estimating software by judging tools based on the following capabilities.
1. Collaboration and organization. Wherever your team is located, they need to be able to access the platform simultaneously, without being tied to a single computer. Access to documents and plans in real-time is essential to efficient operations. Make sure your preconstruction tool is cloud-based and makes working with plans simple, with search, hyperlinking, plan overlay and automatic naming and numbering features.
2. Fast, easy, accurate measurements. A digital tool is useless for contractors if you can’t set your scale and get the measurements you need (area, linear, pitched, volume, counts, etc.) with a few clicks. Also look at how the software allows you to take measurements – can you import blueprints from online plan rooms or upload your own sketches?
3. Material pricing libraries. To take full advantage of your measurements, look for a tool that allows you to attach your materials to your takeoffs. A superior platform will offer sets of common materials for your trade to get you started, as well as the ability to customize your library as needed.
4. Detailed estimate creation. Avoiding manual data entry and rework is key to maintaining accuracy throughout preconstruction, so the benefits of creating your estimates directly from takeoffs are plentiful. But you need a platform that allows you to account for all job costs, not only materials. Make sure your potential software lets you estimate for labor, tax, waste, non-measured costs and markup as well.
In the end, the best tool is one your team will use, so also look for a software partner that offers training and plenty of support as you learn the ropes.
Learn more about preconstruction in the cloud.
