Factors to consider when choosing the best estimating software

1. Suitability

Stating the obvious first. Is the estimating software suitable for the type of projects you undertake. Are you an electrical contractor for example? Or do you undertake residential building works...such as homes and extensions or loft conversions.

Make sure the software can handle the projects you do – different software firms specialise in different works.

For example, some estimating software focus on small to medium sized building firms undertaking extensions, loft conversions, new homes and renovations. Other software might be more suitable for individual trades or exclude certain types of works.

That said you need the software to be able to grow with you. Perhaps you are a joinery firm but want to get into home extensions – you need a solution that will go on that journey with you. Or maybe you’re a home extender but want to go into new builds. So have a think where you want to be to avoid having to go through the whole process again!

2. Outputs

What do you need from your software on top of the accurate estimate? Do you want a simple quote letter? Do you want a detailed business winning quotation that will set you apart? Do you need SMM7 outputs (BOQ), now known as NRM for tendering? Do you want profit forecasts? Cashflow? Schedules of materials and labour?

3. UK Market

Most people will begin their search on the web, that’s the world wide web... so you’re going to get a set of search results including products from the States, Canada, Australia... It’s important to choose a product which of course uses familiar terminology but more importantly meets UK building regs...

And of course uses local language. For example does it spell labor thoughout in the American way? Does it talk about bids, not quotations or estimates? Your client might think these are typos as opposed to localisation issues in your software... Is your software running in dollars, Euros or £ sterling? Can you change the currency? Is it working in feet and inches not metric?

Can you change the date format as in the States its month / day / year and all your time based reports will look strange and it’s often a real faff if not impossible to rectify to UK date format.

4. Materials

Which leads me neatly to materials and pricing. Clearly pricing and market forces in the UK will be different to say the States, and we’re currently being impacted by Brexit and Covid forces on inflation. So you need a package which a) works in £ and b) links into the latest prices and updates monthly or quarterly.

Is the software limited to a Builders Merchant? Do you want this limitation? Or would this be helpful? If it doesn’t have an automatic update function, (and even if it does to be honest) you need to be able to update the prices in the software easily yourself. E.g. you should be able to easily update your labour prices to reflect your team.

5. User-friendliness

So that last point leads me to can you get to grips with it easily enough. Let’s be clear, you are taking on business software which needs a little bit of time investment but it shouldn’t be a marathon effort. A good solution should, dare I say it, be a bit of fun to use.

How much learning is involved? My recommendation on this point is to put the software through a trial job where you understand where the job came in cost wise so you can sanity check what it’s doing. I advise you do this when you’re not under pressure to get a ‘real quote’ out. Maybe have a play with the software when you have a free afternoon (hoho!), or maybe on a Saturday morning when you’re fresh?

A final tip on this point is don’t be surprised if the job comes out more expensive than you’d imagined when you use the software. This could be for a variety of reasons. Normally however it is due to things you’d normally not have costed for...wastage and theft or damage on site, and also inflation...as well as prompting you for your business overheads which you should be applying to the job. All these things add up...not to mention that you could possibly be carrying round older rates in your head for the job when there have been very significant price rises in recent months on a huge range of materials. So don’t be put off if the price comes in more expensive...it is more likely to actually just be an accurate reflection of the job, and you’ve not been making the money you thought you should be...(sorry).

6. Time-saving

Obviously on that first test job it WILL take longer than you’d perhaps imagine or like but you’ll need to use the software on a couple of jobs till you’re in the swing of things. So give yourself and the software a break when getting on board with it.

Ultimately though it should start delivering you some significant time savings after using it on a few jobs. And with automation built in, such as whole project templates like in HBXL’s software you’ll start estimating very much more quickly.

And don’t forget the downstream benefits. The estimate is the start. Does it produce the quote automatically for your client? Do you get automatic schedules of materials, plant and subcontract for free? Does it calculate a Gantt chart (build program) for you? Do you get profit forecasts?

To some it may be of benefit to hook up your estimating software to other programs. For example would it be of use to be able to trace over existing building plans to get an instant estimate? Would you like to be able to design and build? That’s to say design your project plans in one programme and price them automatically in an estimating software? Would it be helpful if it could link up to software to draft your building contract almost instantly? What about producing your health and safety in no time off the back of your estimate for when you win the job? Or integrate with accounting software? These will all save you masses of time.

7. Reputation

I won’t lie other software firms and apps come and go, and to be honest just like running a building firm, it takes time and hard graft to run a software company... many new software start-ups either go to the wall or give up. Has your supplier been around for a while or are they a relative newbie without a UK client base?

What do their customers say on Trust Pilot? On Facebook? Have they been reviewed by magazines? Any other industry accolades or partnerships which cement their position? What’s their status in the market? Do they offer advice and assistance to builders generally, keeping you in touch with the market and changes that will impact your business?

8. Forward thinking

We’re nearly there...so I wanted to touch on this point which is related to the previous. A good software house will have an active development team, devoted to keeping on top of the technology and changes in construction techniques. Are they always thinking about the future? Are they thinking about YOUR future? Ways to help you?

Do they bug fix? Are there regular updates?

9. Costs

Which brings us neatly to costs. Is it value for money? And by value I don’t mean cheap. Buying cheap tools or cheap paint often does a substandard job when building and the same can be said for software. On the other hand it doesn’t have to be super expensive...but as so often in this life, you get what you pay for.

The price of the software has to cover not only the software today, but the updates, the improvements, the technical support you’ll receive.

Value also means does it save ME time and money. Is it making my life easier? Today you can often subscribe to software such as an annual subscription and you can pay outright to own the software with maintenance contracts. Some companies actually offer both recognising that different companies prefer different purchase
methods.

Check if there are any hidden costs.

10. And finally Support

Make sure you check exactly what support comes with your software. Do they offer phone support? Or is it email only? How quick will your technical queries be dealt with? Can they remotely log into your computer to solve an issue?

Check their support policy on their website. Do they even have one? Many software companies don’t which shows they don’t take their support seriously...if at all. Are you limited to a certain number of enquiries a month? What other forms of support do they offer - videos, webinars, workshops, skills courses..?