Why Construction Estimating Software?

Building an accurate and comprehensive estimate, for a residential or light commercial construction project can be a long grueling process. Construction estimating software can help you gain a competitive advantage by facilitating your preparation of detailed, profitable bids while managing job costs and subcontractor bids.

A quality construction estimating program can prepare and monitor outgoing bids as well as many other tasks that constitute the daily business functions of a busy contractor. Just a few capabilities of a good program include:

• Document Preparation: creates reports, schedules, letters, contracts and printable change order forms
• Purchase Order Processing: tracks all purchase orders and incoming inventory
• Archives Previous Projects: builds a database of completed jobs for quick reference when estimating new bids
• Flexibility: allows for instant changes to whole projects, room by room or dimensions as well as make adjustments for unit costs
• Accounting: many programs directly or through a popular accounting program can manage general accounting, billing and payroll functions

In this site, you'll find articles on Construction Estimating Software, as well as comprehensive reviews and a side-by-side comparison to help you make an informed decision on which software is right for your projects. At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don't Have To.™

What to look for in Construction Estimating Software

No program can guarantee that you'll win every contract you bid on, but a quality program can help you manage your day-to-day functions, increase your productivity and in turn, raise your profit margin.

Our in-depth construction estimating software reviews and side-by-side comparisons can help you quickly access the needs of your small business and find the software that can help you get organized and productive.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to rank construction estimating software:

Feature Set
Construction estimating software should provide all of the features you need to make your job easier. Including the ability to track job costs and bids as well as perform general office management functions. It should also accept customized formulas and calculations, provide reports, import national cost indexes, compare subcontractor and vendor quotes and track jobs by divisions and sub-divisions.

Ease of Use
Construction estimating software manages many variables and therefore can be quite complex, but using the software should be as easy as possible. It should be well organized and presented in a logical manner.

Ease of Installation and Setup
The software should install quickly and set up without error, regardless of your computer experience.

Help Documentation
Since this type of software involves many aspects, the developer should provide tutorials, training classes and/or online demonstrations to help you learn how to utilize all of the features in a productive manner. A phone number, email, FAQs and other contact methods should be available for technical support.

A small investment in a flexible construction estimating program that can handle your needs can increase your accuracy, speed up your bidding process and ultimately add to your bottom line. Click here to read our review of the highest rated construction estimating software, Bid4Build.