Cost Estimating has been a part of the construction industry since any structure was ever built. What better way is there to figure out how much a project will cost, present clear expectations to clients, and keep the project cost managed throughout the job? You wouldn’t buy a car without knowing the overall price, what your options are, and how much the monthly payments will be, would you? The last thing any consumer wants to do is to haggle over construction project costs with an ‘invisible’ person behind a closed door. Cost Estimating Construction in today’s building industry spells out, not only the cost of a job, but allows the job to stay relatively financially secure, with the least amount of cost overruns.
Quality estimates are typically comprised of Direct Costs and Indirect Costs. Direct Costs typically include and cost or expense that can be associated with the specific project. This would contain team wages, costs of direct materials, fuel for equipment, etc. On the other hand, indirect costs would include quality control, management, security costs, utilities, overhead, costs that are shared across a number of projects, not billable to any specific job.
When this type of estimating is utilized in the construction industry, reports can be created throughout the time-line of a job in order to better understand and project the actual costs as it moves toward completion. Changes in actual costs vs estimated costs can be understood and problems can be resolved before they can get out of hand. Cost Estimating is always an ongoing project, especially during the execution of a large, time-consuming job. Whether you’re in the residential or the commercial construction business, the reports that can be generated by a good cost estimator may prove to be crucial. Changes often occur and become necessary during the building process and as a responsible builder you should be able to insure accuracy and positive outcomes. Proper estimating is an on-going process of checks and balances and is the key to best protect the construction company as well as the client.