Neil Parsons, a former remodeler and the owner of consulting company Design Build Profit, in Toms River, N.J., was not the first remodeler to give clients a detailed estimate. But, he says, his estimating system is unique because it divides a project into 47 cost categories “common and recognizable to a homeowner.”
The page above is one of about 60 pages in Parsons’ estimating system, which includes a master price list; an assembly page, which details the take-off and quantity and all the tasks required to complete a project; a financials page, which Parsons uses, along with a mortgage calculator, to discuss with clients whether they will need to borrow money from a lending institution and to show them a monthly budget; and an estimated vs. actual page for production to track.
“Ninety percent of the time this estimate is generated at the initial meeting,” Parsons says. “Then we give the customer an accurate price pledge.” He also offers a price-match guarantee, he says, “provided that the other remodeler meets certain industry criteria: association member, has insurance, follows lead-safe practices. Your cousin ... with no workers’ comp won’t qualify.”
—Stacey Freed, senior editor, REMODELING.
