Avoid mistakes by properly planning your estimating workload.

Create systems to organize your estimating and avoid errors.

1. Estimating is a complex effort and it’s easy to miss some details
   1. There are many aspects to every estimate
      1. Contract
      2. General Requirements
      3. Project Management
      4. Work Scope/Tasks
      5. Closeout & Warranty
   2. We can miss things and scope gaps erode profits
   3. Create a system to help avoid omissions
2. Guides and templates help cover the details
   1. Many of you already use templates – add guides to help the process
   2. A guide will help the estimator check on common issues / costs
   3. Break your guide into parts as outlined above
3. Create the estimating playbook
   1. A series of guides and templates to help the estimator check the details
   2. The guides can be a simple as a series of questions and checklists
   3. Create one for each group and individual ones for each scope/task section
   4. Examples:
      1. Contract: what are pay terms? Schedule? Insurance? Bonds?
      2. General Requirements: Trash removal? Testing? LEED? Reporting? Software?
      3. Project Management: Onsite Staffing? Temp Facilities? Oversight?
      4. Work Scope/Tasks: Create a guide for each scope with questions related to the scope – Concrete Mix Design? Winter Protection?
      5. Closeout / Warranty: Special closeout requirements? Warranty? Warranty bond?

Bid strategically to win more work.

1. What’s your bidding approach?
   1. Bid a lot of jobs in hopes to win some
   2. Bid strategic jobs knowing you will win
   3. The best approach is to bid less
2. Bid fewer jobs so you can win more of your bids
   1. In racing they say slow down to go faster – the same applies here
   2. If you bid too many projects at a time then the numbers are not accurate
      1. You often win when you make a mistake
   3. Take your time and bid fewer projects to have more accurate estimates
3. Start winning more of your bids
   1. Bid on the right projects with the right clients
   2. Invest the time in each estimate to be accurate and realistic
   3. Be strategic about what bids you entertain

The estimating process can make or break our business so be sure to start with sound practices.

1. There are many ways to estimate and the right one is the one that works for you
   1. Estimating ranges from Wild Ass Guesses to counting screws
   2. Companies use unit pricing, crew based estimates, and other ways
   3. All come down to determining the cost of work plus overhead and profit
2. We want to establish systems to generate good estimates – what is a good estimate
   1. One that wins the job
   2. Identifies the costs with reasonable certainty
   3. Doesn’t take too long to complete
   4. Follows a repeatable system
3. Setting up a good system takes
   1. Historical data and good job costing for comparison
   2. A method for determining costs that works for your company
   3. An outlined process on how to handle the estimating
      1. Take-offs – how detailed, what to take-off, etc.
      2. Sub-bids and vendor quotes
      3. Contract review and overhead
   4. A review process once complete