One of the biggest headaches specialist contractors in construction face is pricing projects competitively, under tight deadlines.
Even on modestly sized projects, a few pence on a material cost can mean the difference between winning and losing a tender (often called an estimate or bid).
Ensuring an attractive and sustainable profit margin is another challenge, due to variables such as specification, material availability, fluctuating supplier prices, and skilled labour shortages.
Estimators often use multiple spreadsheets and tabs to price projects, with project scope in one Excel tab, quantities in another tab and pricing in another spreadsheet. This leads to complexity and confusion.
With costing information often scattered across these disconnected worksheets, people spend too long making changes or figuring out the best prices from their suppliers.
Often, they end up submitting a tender that could have been more competitive or profitable, if not for the time and resource pressures - missing out on the key component that could have provided a better chance of winning the job, Value Engineering.
Value engineering is a method to improve the value of a project by examining its components and materials to achieve the best possible performance at the lowest cost.
It involves comparing different solutions, materials, and methods to find the most cost-effective options without compromising on quality. This approach helps in identifying potential cost savings and improving overall project efficiency.
Value engineering is essential for several reasons:
Cost savings: By evaluating various materials and methods, you can find less expensive alternatives that perform just as well or better.
Increased profit margins: Optimising costs without sacrificing quality leads to higher profit margins.
Competitive advantage: Offering value-engineered solutions can make your tender more attractive to clients, helping you win more projects.
Sustainability: Efficient use of resources contributes to sustainability goals, which is increasingly important in today's market.
Sound familiar?
We often don't value engineer unless our client asks us to.
Our pricing data is fragmented and it's just too time-consuming.
We value engineer in spreadsheets, risking errors as we copy and amend formulae multiple times.
Everyone works in different spreadsheets and systems.
It's hard to see how we got to the final price and why decisions were made.
The solution: Chalkstring's estimating tools
There’s no need to drown in data or get swamped with spreadsheets. Chalkstring’s estimating tools streamline the whole process and eliminate repetitive data input.
With our system, you no longer need to create and update multiple spreadsheets with lists of specifications, materials, and prices from every supplier.
Our templates, created just once, provide complete flexibility and offers a rich database of rate build-ups that can be used repeatedly and manipulated to deliver bigger returns.
“Chalkstring has saved us countless hours on takeoffs and improved our bid accuracy. We can't imagine going back to manual methods."
Gareth Davies, MD
Proline Internals Limited
Book a short introductory meeting here to see how Chalkstring can transform your tendering process.