With the vast majority of construction projects globally experiencing project cost overruns due to inaccurate estimates, it should be no secret that getting the project estimate right sets a good financial foundation for the rest of the project, and fumbling the estimate can lead to lost money.

As a construction estimator - whether you work for a contracting company or you're a freelance estimator - knowing how to create accurate estimates every time is the crux of your job, so in this blog post, we've included some important skills that are crucial for being a successful estimator based on our experience with helping hundreds of thousands of construction professionals create accurate estimates.

The Role of a Construction Estimator

Construction estimators are responsible for accurately calculating the costs of a construction project by working with engineers, architects, and vendors to collect information and create estimates. 

Estimating is one of the most important roles in a construction project, whether you’re a freelance project estimator or on staff at a construction company. A good estimate determines the financial success of a project, and an inaccurate estimate that is too low or too high can negatively affect the business’s profitability by causing cost overruns and fewer bids won.

Here are some staggering statistics about improper data entry in the construction industry:

• 85% of construction projects finished in twenty countries over a 70-year period experienced cost overrun, most likely due to inaccurate project estimates. The average overrun was 28%.
• In  2020 alone, contractors lost $1.8 trillion globally due to bad data, including inaccurate estimates.

If you can nail the estimate and keep the project running on or under budget, your business will see higher profits, happier clients, and more wins.

6 Key Skills for Construction Estimators

Construction estimators often understand their roles and responsibilities, but it's a different thing to understand what skills are essential in addition to your responsibilities.

Here are some necessary skills you must have in order to be successful estimator in the construction industry:

1. Understanding Project Scope

Understanding the project scope ensures the estimator has a clear picture of the project goals and expectations which gives them a foundation to create accurate estimates.

If an estimator doesn’t understand the full scope of a construction project, they risk creating an inaccurate estimate that either doesn’t cover the complete scope or includes unnecessary costs outside of the scope.

This is why it’s crucial for the estimator to understand the scope of the project inside and out, including project goals and objectives, phases & subphases, and required resources & key roles so that all of the important costs are included.

2. Paying Close Attention to Project Details

Construction estimators must pay close attention to details when creating accurate estimates to ensure every possible expense is accounted for. 

This can include closely reviewing bid packages, which will often include construction specifications, owner-contractor agreements, necessary permits, bond forms, and any other necessary bidding documents; planning for potential delays like weather based on the time of year the project will be completed; visiting the project site if necessary to get an in-person view of site conditions for a better sense of the job; calculating both direct and indirect costs; and performing material takeoffs to make sure measurements like quantity, area, volume, and length for all materials are counted.

The last thing you want to happen is for the project costs to continuously creep up until you’re dealing with an over budget project and unhappy clients and contractors, so make sure the important details in your estimate are not overlooked.

3. Knowledge of Excel or Estimating Software

A large part of an estimator’s ability to create accurate estimates is the online tool you use to keep track of the numbers.

If you don’t know how to use a reliable estimating tool that can keep track of data like quantity, unit costs, base costs, markup, tax, and final contract price, you risk making inaccurate estimates that lead to profit loss. In fact, in a 2023 study, 68.6% of respondents confirmed that using technology has reduced onsite errors. So, it’s important to find a tool that breaks down the costs in an understandable format for you and your team to avoid human error in your estimates.

You can use a more basic tool like an Excel spreadsheet which allows you to program in formulas for specific calculations in the estimate. To make your experience with Excel easier, check out our free construction estimate templates which allow you to classify costs, apply margin and markups, manage actual costs, and create a budget dashboard - all with templates you can reuse for multiple projects.

4. Clear Communication

The ability to clearly communicate as an estimator is important for transparency, avoiding misunderstandings, and ultimately creating accurate estimates.

Communication is important in various aspects of the planning and pre-construction phase, most notably when you are reviewing project plans with other construction professionals like engineers and architects, working with equipment and material vendors to find out labor rates and material prices, and presenting your findings in a professional manner to all those involved.

You should be able to ask thoughtful and relevant questions, communicate when you notice things in the budget that may be overlooked, and present your data in a way everyone understands  so that there is little ambiguity about what to expect in terms of project finances. You can even create financial reports like an estimate vs. actuals report for more insightful financial data.

5. Time Management

Construction project estimators typically are balancing multiple estimating jobs at once, so being self-disciplined with your time management is important for completing estimates in a timely manner.

Without proper time management, you’ll end up missing important deadlines, making your boss and/or clients unhappy, and losing business.

This is why it’s crucial that you have reusable systems and tools to increase efficiency and finish your jobs on time.

6. Keeping Up With Industry Pricing Changes

As the construction industry evolves overtime, so will the prices of various labor and materials, so it’s critical for estimators to have the most up-to-date cost info to do their job accurately and successfully.

Using out-of-date cost data to do your estimates is a surefire way to create estimates that are too low or too high which can cause many problems down the line that affect your bottom line, so it’s important to maintain consistent contact with vendors and contractors, and use construction price databases to look up prices so that you’re using accurate data in your estimates.

Those are some of the valuable skills you should have in your toolkit as a construction estimator.

If you’re a construction estimator in need of a reliable estimating software to fulfill your roles, learn more about ConstructionOnline’s OnCost Estimating tools which give you access to essential tools needed for accurate estimating, including templates, up-to-date cost data, company cost codes, financial reporting, and more of the basics!