Not every construction estimating software is created equal. Some software platforms are built to handle the ins and outs of construction project finances, and some are not. That’s why it’s important for you to know what essential features to look for in construction estimating software so you can make the best investment for your business.
Based on our experience serving hundreds of thousands of construction professionals worldwide, it’s not enough to invest in just any old estimating software. You need the right tool for the job; a software platform that will allow you to create accurate estimates every time with ease and efficiency.
This article will outline the 10 essential tools you need to look for in construction estimating software, including why it’s so important to choose the right software for your construction business.
Why Choosing the Right Construction Estimating Software Matters
Estimating is the foundation of construction project management, because without a solid, accurate estimate to guide your project, you risk losing money and hurting your bottom line.
Using reliable, robust estimating software helps you estimate with accuracy and precision. That way, you’ll know how and where every dollar needs to be spent so that you can make a profit.
Here are some statistics about improper estimating and how it negatively impacts construction projects:
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A 2024 report found that 57% of low-bid projects exceed their original budgets, while 46% fail to meet deadlines. These overruns often stem from underestimated costs and unforeseen complications that arise when contractors cut corners to stay competitive on price.
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85% of construction projects finished in 20 countries over a 70-year period experienced cost overrun, most likely due to inaccurate project estimates. The average overrun was 28%.
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In 2020 alone, contractors lost $1.8 trillion globally due to bad data, including inaccurate estimates.
Staggering, right? Those are the kinds of numbers that are amplified when you don’t have solid estimating software to do the job right.
Without proper estimating software, here’s what could happen in your business:
- Lost money from inaccurate estimates that blow your budget
- Wasted time from manually updating estimate details whenever something changes
- A less successful construction business from error-prone estimates that consistently run over budget
With proper estimating software that has the essentials, here’s how your construction business can succeed:
- Larger profit margins from consistently accurate estimates
- Less time spent manually updating every estimate detail when costs or budgets changes
- A more successful construction business from always starting projects with a solid financial foundation and plan
Whether you work in residential, commercial, multi-family, or specialty construction, having the right construction estimating software allows you to manage projects with confidence knowing that you have a system in place to create a solid financial foundation for any project.
10 Essential Features Your Construction Estimating Software Must Have
While most estimating software platforms give you a basic way to create estimates, there are certain features that your estimating software needs to include for the most accurate, robust, and streamlined construction estimating experience.
Here are 10 non-negotiable features you should consider when selecting the right estimating software for your construction business:
1. Estimate Templates
Having the option to create estimate templates and create estimates directly from those templates allows you to create more accurate estimates with ease, because you can avoid the work of creating estimates from scratch.
If you’ve ever been in a position where you are doing a project with a similar cost structure as a previous project, you know how annoying it can be to re-create those templates from the ground up. You already used a very similar template in the past; why not start off with an estimate template that removes the redundant data entry?
With the right construction estimate template software, you can create estimates from templates, and create templates from estimates, so you can increase efficiency and accuracy in your project estimates.
🚀FREE Construction Estimate Templates: Looking for a free way to create project estimates with accuracy? Click below to download 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.
2. Takeoff Integration
Estimating software that includes takeoff integration makes the estimating process much more seamless and simple, because instead of creating estimates from scratch, you can create them with just a few clicks.
Without takeoff integration, the task of creating project estimates becomes much more difficult and time-consuming. Normally, you’d have to re-enter financial data into an estimate , which takes hours and increases the probability of human error.
Takeoff integration is an important consideration when you’re selecting construction estimating software, so you can estimate and bid with confidence and accuracy for every project.
3. Proposal Generation
Estimating software that can seamlessly generate professional proposals is an essential feature that makes your job much easier. It provides you an inhouse way of creating proposals that can be viewed, printed, shared, and signed all in one platform without the need for third-party software which can complicate the process.
If you don’t have a way of generating proposals for potential clients and stakeholders, you have no way of giving them a simplified cost breakdown that’s easy to understand.
Investing in estimating software that includes professional proposal generation directly from estimates streamlines your pre-construction operations.
4. Costbooks & Items Database
Having an up-to-date cost database is vital for accurate construction estimating, because it allows you to pull from one centralized source of cost data that can be easily updated in your estimates.
Without centralized costbooks to pull data from, you risk creating estimates with inaccurate, out-of-date cost data, and when you do have to update costs, you have to manually do it on every single project estimate and each individual line item. That’s what we call a construction nightmare made up of wasted time and a high risk of error.
For a more efficient and streamlined estimating process, invest in construction estimating software that has costbook data.
5. Financial Reporting & Analytics
Using construction estimating software that offers financial reporting and analytical tools helps you stay on budget during project execution and it ensures your projects are profitable at project completion.
Without tools like financial reporting and analytics, you run the risk of going over budget because you don’t have a way of tracking finances during the project. It’s not enough to create an accurate estimate before the project starts; it’s crucial that you keep your finger on the pulse of project finances from start to finish so your construction projects make a profit.
Invest in construction estimating software that offers a variety of financial reporting and tracking tools so you are always aware and up-to-date on your projects’ financial health.
🚀ConstructionOnline Financial Reporting and Dashboards: Our estimating software includes a variety of financial reports and financial dashboards to keep your projects on track and on budget, including Estimate vs. Actuals Reports, Estimate vs. Invoiced Reports, Committed vs. Actual Reports, Over Budget Report, Financial & Profitability Dashboards, and many more tools so you know how every single dollar is being spent. Want an up close and personal view of how these tools work? Click the button below to schedule your free demo of ConstructionOnline today:
6. Estimate Change History
Documenting changes to project estimates increases transparency within your team so you know who is accountable for what change. That way, if something is incorrectly entered into the estimate, you can see who is responsible.
Without documentation for project estimate updates (and other important project updates), you’ll be left wondering how and why certain changes occurred.
The last thing you want is to be uninformed about how and why changes to the estimate are happening, especially if it can impact your bottom line. That’s why we recommend selecting a software that includes activity logs for important changes.
✅Pro Tip: To prevent unapproved team members from editing important estimate data, use an estimating software that lets you manage team member permissions and access, like ConstructionOnline’s User Permissions Software. Only certain team members should be able to view or edit construction estimate data, and your estimating software should accommodate that.
7. Cloud-Based Access from the Office to the Field
With the fast-paced and multifaceted nature of construction projects, it’s important that your estimating data is accessible from wherever you are, whether it’s the office or the field. That way, you’re never left out of the loop when it comes to important financial changes.
Without easily-accessible construction project data that you can view and edit anywhere, you risk missing important information and you risk projects running off track because you have to wait until you’re back at your desk to see and make updates.
With cloud-based estimating software like ConstructionOnline’s project management software, you can manage projects from anywhere with ease.
🚀ConstructionOnline Mobile: In addition to our online project management software, we have a mobile app that lets you manage construction projects any place any time. This increases productivity and connectivity for you and your team.
8. Accounting Software Integration
Investing in construction estimating software that offers accounting integration makes your job easier by eliminating hours of redundant data entry. With the right integration tools, you can seamlessly manage your financial data in one, centralized place.
It can be a pain having to manually transfer financial data from one platform to another. It’s time-consuming and it leaves more room for error in your estimates and financial reports.
For the best results during project execution and financial management, use a software that allows accounting data to be imported and exported between your preferred accounting software.
9. Integration with Change Orders and Cost Adjustments
Using an estimating software that integrates with important estimate variance factors, including change orders and selections, makes it easier for you to manage project finances throughout the project lifecycle.
When your estimates and financial tracking tools aren’t automatically linked with items that affect the budget, you’ll have to manually modify an estimate every time something small or major changes. This increases your workload and can potentially cause errors if you enter data incorrectly or forget to change the estimate.
Invest in a construction estimating software that is integrated with other features that affect the budget – preferably a software platform custom built to handle construction-related cost variances like ConstructionOnline.
10. Advanced Estimating for More Detailed Cost Breakdowns
Larger, more complex projects require a more robust level of detail than a simple estimate structure can provide. That's why you should use construction estimating software that can accommodate the level of financial detail you need for each project.
Trying to fit a multifaceted project into a basic template risks leaving out important cost information.
For bigger jobs, look for software that offers/supports an additional layer of estimated detail — so nothing gets missed and every cost is clearly accounted for.
🚀ConstructionOnline Advanced Estimating: With our robust estimating software, you have access to many advanced estimate and financial tools perfect for residential, commercial, and multi-family builders alike. This includes the basic tools every builder needs, plus optional advanced features for large-scale projects that require more detailed financial breakdowns.
Choosing construction estimating software that includes these essential features will set your construction business up to become more profitable with every project. Before you make the investment, make sure the essentials for your business are included.
ConstructionOnline’s OnCost™ Estimating: The Essentials, Plus So Much More!
If you’re looking for a construction project management software that includes all of these estimating essentials plus so much more, look no further. ConstructionOnline includes estimating and financial tracking tools that are great for every type of builder, including residential, commercial, multi-family, specialty, and otherwise.
Here’s how ConstructionOnline Estimating Software can help your construction business experience financial success:
- Create estimates with the right level of detail for your project whether it’s a simple estimate or a more advanced breakdown of costs
- Create detailed estimates from takeoffs, templates, or from scratch that give you and everyone involved a breakdown of project cost estimates
- Integrate your estimates and material takeoffs with company costbooks so you are always working from the most up-to-date, centralized prices
- Connect estimates to important variance factors like change orders and client selections
- Create professional, detailed proposals that outline every dollar amount and allow you to give correct project estimates
- Generate financial reports to keep you on budget and in the know about project finances
- Track project finances from start to finish with comprehensive dashboards
🚀 Ready to experience seamless, faster, and accurate project estimating your construction business has ever seen? Click the button below to schedule your free demo of ConstructionOnline, including our industry-leading estimating software:
Conclusion
Creating accurate estimates and bids is one of the most important steps of the preconstruction process, because if it’s not done right, you win less jobs and make less money. So, as an estimator, it’s important that you have the right online tools purposefully built to handle the detailed nature of project estimating. Consider using the digital tools outlined in this article to experience more successful construction projects!
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