Though the economy is finally showing signs of life, the construction industry is still fragile, the result of lingering recessionary pressure and still-tight credit markets. So construction business owners often find themselves locked in fierce combat with many different rivals, big and small, for the few available jobs.

The intensity of competition coupled with a rise in the cost of materials results in slim margins and leaves little room for error when it comes to estimating. That's why many contractors looking for a competitive edge are turning to construction cost estimating software programs.

To be sure, there's a learning curve involved in using any new software. And when it comes to using construction cost estimating software programs, builders must still build and customize their own databases (though many programs make the process easier with industry specific, pre-built databases that can be fine-tuned and customized). Contractors who move to construction-specific estimating programs have claimed as much as a 50 percent increase in productivity. The latest technology trends promise to further improve efficiency.

Construction Takeoff Software

Digitizing technology is well known and widely used in the construction industry. But the need for paper blueprints or a digitizing board is moving rapidly towards extinction. Email and On-Line Plan rooms have significantly increased the rapid adoption of onscreen (electronic plan) takeoff. With this technology, contractors can transfer quantities and dimensions directly from 2-D electronic drawings for immediate use in their estimates. Contractors find the speed and visual aspect of onscreen takeoff more efficient than working with cumbersome paper plans. On-Screen Takeoff® is an easy to learn construction estimating and takeoff program that cuts your normal takeoff time in half. Imagine being able to bid 2 to 3 times more work than you do now. What could that do for your bottom line?

Sharing Data with Contractor Estimating Software

By doing away with the manual takeoff process and automating all of your calculations, On-Screen Takeoff and Quick Bid can help you drastically reduce missed items and miscalculations.  Everyone knows that these two mistakes can be very costly and bite into your profits.

With On-Screen Takeoff, you will be able to view, measure, and markup plans on the screen.  Measuring square footage, perimeters, and volumes of simple and complex rooms has never been easier.  Once you have marked all of your walls, doors, flooring, roofing, electrical, etc… you can then import of this data from OST into Quick Bid.

Once this data is imported into Quick Bid, you, the GC, can quickly apply material pricing from predefined databases.  In addition, Quick Bid allows you to calculate and adjust on-the-fly labor rates, tax, profit, and misc expenditures.

Bottom line, Quick Bid and On-Screen Takeoff let you reduce your estimation time so that you can submit more bids and make more money.

Because contractors can pull data directly from the estimating program and use it throughout the entire design and construction process, it becomes much easier to schedule subcontractors and have the proper materials on hand when they are needed. Architects, builders, suppliers and others involved in the project can work together to ensure that plans are both well-designed and cost-effective, and can modify plans as needed so they can be built within budget.

Contractors can also make sure that plans comply with building codes and other regulations, which reduces the liability exposure of everyone involved in the project. Such capabilities are becoming increasingly important in an age when buildings are becoming both greener and more complex-particularly because of LEED requirements-and when the pool of experienced professionals who might be able to work around problems and deficiencies in planning is getting smaller due to retirements and the recession.

Comparing Past and Present Reports with Construction Cost Estimating Software

Estimating software programs also allow builders to log multiple bids from subcontractors and suppliers as they change over time. The software keeps a record of these changes and any variables used in making the analysis. Consequently, contractors can price out different scenarios should the scope of the project change, while still retaining the details of the original estimate.

Gaining a Competitive Edge with Construction Estimating Software

As more construction business owners adopt construction estimating software, it's likely that their customers will come to expect it. Moreover, as architects and others who traditionally are upstream in the building process rely on it, it will be difficult for builders who continue to rely on spreadsheet-only or even manual estimating methods to compete. Construction-specific estimating software can deliver a competitive edge to the contractor by adding knowledge and certainty to the project as well as management control to the estimating process. The result-more buildings will be built more efficiently and profitably.