Estimating software for builders’ merchants: You get what you pay for

“Buy cheap, buy twice.” “Cheap and cheerful.” There are no doubt other sayings about price. Of course, everyone likes a bargain but in business we understand that if things are ‘cheap’, it’s usually for a reason.

Choosing cheap usually means more problems or expense longer term as you have to replace or upgrade the item or pay for more support. And it’s the same story when it comes to the tool you use for estimating. Think bigger picture. The estimating software you choose plays a major part in whether you win or lose your clients custom. It’ll have an impact on the jobs your customer wins and whether a project goes ahead, which in turn impacts whether you win the materials orders and plant hire. It also impacts on the health of your customers business. If you quote incorrectly, he’ll stand to lose money on a job and it could be a bit damaging for you reputationally.

You also want it to work for you as your business grows. As your estimating services literally ‘takes-off’ (exuse the pun!) you’ll want other estimators to join the estimating team. You’ll want to scale up…you’ll want to make sure all your estimators are on the same page, using the same estimating settings and specifications (think manager/collaborator features). It must therefore be a no-brainer to choose the best, not the cheapest estimating solution.

These are just some of the features quality estimating software for builders’ merchants will offer you:

INSTANT AND ACCURATE MATERIAL SCHEDULES PRODUCED FROM THE ESTIMATE

A below par estimating solution won’t produce the fully detailed product lists that are required for the job. You need completely itemised materials and plant schedules, with your product descriptions, product codes, quantities (inc and ex wastage) due date and order by date on them. You want these instantly produced too, hooked up to a build programme so that the due date and order by dates are accurate. You get this with EstimatorXpress and the Take-off & Estimate Kit as standard - as you’d expect for builders’ merchant estimating software! A poor estimating software product or cheap service isn’t worth much if you don’t win your clients spend with it! Detailed materials schedules can help you secure a more significant ‘share of the basket’ you’re after.

SMART-LOOKING, BUSINESS-WINNING QUOTES FOR YOUR CUSTOMERS

HBXL, developers of market-leader EstimatorXpress, found that estimates produced with the software increase customers chance of winning work significantly. As you’d imagine, the quality of the quote is key to winning over your customers customer! So give your estimating and take-off service the edge with automatically produced professional generated by software such as EstimatorXpress or the Take-off & Estimate Kit. The more your clients win, the more you win! It’s literally, a win, win!

A VARIETY OF REPORTS TO HELP YOU STAY ON TOP OF YOUR CLIENTS MATERIALS AND PLANT NEEDS

Estimating software which also integrates a build programme with a range of management reports will save you time and help you get ahead of your clients game. Knowing what your client needs and when is amazing insight. You can also add value to your client with a significant range of other reports automatically… Look for software which generates these reports automatically from your completed estimate such as EstimatorXpress and the Take-off & Estimate Kit. Both these software packages produce a build programme for your client, cost breakdowns for them, profit forecasts, cashflow reports, labour schedules and more. Everything they need to run the job successfully and keep it on track.

LATEST MATERIAL PRICES DIRECTLY INTO YOUR SOFTWARE

Essential when choosing building estimating software for your merchanting business is where the material prices are coming from. You can use our national averages (price checked monthly via our Price Tracker service) but you might want to incorporate your business price list into the software. This can be done by simple spreadsheet import, integration with your web service or e-commerce or your ERP. This can be builder specific pricing or simply one price fits all. The cream for most suppliers is software that regularly updates with YOUR material prices directly into your software as your pricing changes. Talk to us about your integration needs. Fees may apply for this work depending on your exact needs.

WASTAGE, OVERHEADS, INFLATION AND PROFIT CALCULATORS

This is really important for the health of your clients business. Does the software you’re looking at add wastage, wear and tear and their company overheads onto your customers estimates and their customer quote? This should be a non-negotiable. Even if your material prices are accurate, the estimate will only make your client money if it takes account of these costs. And of course, you want to be able to set your clients profit markup at the rate they request. EstimatorXpress and the Take-off & Estimate Kit can do all of this for you.

EXPORT BACK TO YOUR ERP/ORDERING SYSTEMS

Following on from the above getting prices into the software, it’s also a gold standard to be able to export back out the quantities of materials and plant required on each project back to your trading system/ERP…As you’d imagine, with HBXL software there are simple exports to Microsoft Excel and CSV but also XML exports and more…Talk to us about your integration needs. Fees may apply for this work depending on your exact needs.

THE BOTTOM LINE

The best builders’ merchant estimating software will fund itself time and time again and more than earn it’s keep. Clearly you want to keep your estimating team a positive cost centre within your business. With an accurate estimate for your clients and full schedules of the materials and plant at your fingertips, you can help your customer manage the project effectively and call off the materials and plant in a timely fashion helping you simply win more business. The software could cover its costs with the first project you win! Google for the best estimating solution for your needs but consider a) that it might not be the cheapest and b) it won’t necessarily be a cloud solution but on premise as you need a proper work horse.