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hi i'm derek and i'm going to be sharing with  you how to estimate construction projects quickly   i hear this all the time from contractors how do  i get my construction quotes estimates budgets   out to clients faster it's taken me weeks i don't  have time to do it you know i'm just sitting there   with a pen and pencil or my calculator punching  out stuff trying to figure out you know take off   some plans how do i do this better how do i put  a system in place in this video i'll be sharing   with you how to do it lightning quick so fast  that it's going to make your competition cry [Music] so in order to do quick estimates there's  a whole number of pieces that need to come   together you need a built out system that operates  and it has everything in place i mean that's   pretty straightforward and easy to understand  let me share with you the four pieces that you   need to get right in order to have a really quick  and accurate quoting system if you need help with   the details or how to actually put this together  reach out to me there's a description below that   will have the information so the first thing  that you need to get in place is cost codes and   standard pricing so your cost codes simply putting  a number to the different categories of costs in a   construction project so this could be everything  from design and the pre-construction planning   all the way to you know your sub trades like  electrical plumbing siding landscaping you know   all those different things right so you need cost  codes for that so you can easily categorize them   and so they can stay consistent throughout your  estimating process also that you can take what   you estimate and put it into your accounting or  bookkeeping software marry the two so that you're   not having to you know take information from  one place and move it to another that it works   across the board and then standard pricing right  so this is something like how much does a 2x4 cost   how much does board siding cost you know all your  standard pricing maybe square footage pricing for   things like drywall flooring what have you you're  gonna have your your different budget coding uh   prices so you need to have that all figured out  and in place that's the backbone of your quoting   so that's the first thing the second thing you  need to get in place is your software right don't   do it the old-fashioned way nobody does pencil  anymore even spreadsheets you know are a bit   outdated now you can build everything out from  an excel spreadsheet it does work the only issue   is is getting that information you know into other  systems like your accounting or bookkeeping system   um or getting it out to tradespeople or you know  creating a scope of work from that it's a little   difficult so but excel does work it's a great  place to start if you need something that's very   customizable and essentially free um to set up so  excel works accounting bookkeeping i mean you can   use things like quickbooks or accounting software  to build out estimates they generally have some   sort of estimating part of the software so it is  another way the nice thing about that is that it   is directly already in the accounting so it's  easy to when you get the job use that pricing   for the job and move things back and forth then  the next kind of software that you want to have   in your stack is your project management software  so there's going to be things like coconstruct or   builder trend there's a whole bunch out there  and depending there's even specific ones for   estimating so figure out what works for you  these are often the best because they're going   to directly tie in and you can move things from  one place to the other they're not as customizable   so there's a bit of setup but they can be a great  tool in your tool approach as far as your tech   stack to make sure you're estimating efficiently  the last one for software that i'm going gonna   talk about is your plan takeoff software so  this is some sort of software that you can put   your plans into you're gonna get a pdf with your  plans and you can do your takeoffs you know square   footage uh your different um linear for you know  like counter tops or amount of siding so you can   quickly click and scroll with your mouse and set  things up scale it so that you're not doing this   by hand or you're not you know punching in numbers  through a calculator and you're setting it up   in some software that's going to save you a ton of  time when you have this all working properly it's   going to shave off hours or you're estimating plus  anybody else can jump into the system and take   over from your estimate it's very transferable so  that's the second thing you need to get your tech   stack rate and your software in place the third  one moving on to number three you're still with me   estimating is a little bit boring i apologize if  uh this video is a little bit tedious as well but   that is a part of estimating it's number crunching  that's pretty much all there is to it and uh just   making sure that it's accurate so number three  rough verse drill down verse design so there's   different parts of your budgeting um we'll talk  a little bit here about free estimating versus um   you know paid estimating if you are a subtrade  or you're doing something like very niched then   maybe free estimates make sense because it's it's  very quick and basic and pretty easy to estimate   if you have a very niche service that you're  providing if you're a general contractor renovator   you're quoting on a lot of different different  things that are changing all the time and   you're going to probably spend hours quoting you  should be paid for that work i know of myself   when i started out providing free estimates and  sometimes you know it was exciting because like   i'm putting on this this new build house and you  know it's for a hundred thousand dollars possible   revenue uh but when you do a lot of those and  you don't see any return on it it eats up a ton   of your time as a business owner you need to make  sure that you're getting paid for the time you're   putting in and we're kind of used to working  for free to some degree as far as like you know   reaching out to clients doing follow-ups um  providing quotes providing estimates running   around here running around there we don't always  value our time from a monetary standpoint and   you want to be thinking like once you kind of  get beyond this level in your in your business   and you have like an estimator or project manager  or somebody else who's doing the quoting for you   are you gonna want them being doing free estimates  because you have to pay them so you're essentially   paying for somebody else's estimate and they're  not giving you any money for it so keep that in   mind when you are doing free estimates that you  are essentially you know not even just working for   free you're paying them to do a service for them  because it's costing you overhead it's costing   your time it's costing money you know you need to  have your system you have your regular business   so just remember that when you're if you are  providing free estimates you are paying somebody   else for that i'm going to go on a big long  spielberg you know estimating and you know free   versus uh paid for but if you are being paid for  your estimating and depending on how you do your   free estimates you're going to have a rough budget  so this is going to be something like we have your   cost codes and your standard pricing where you're  just going to take standard pricing give them a   budget and like this is generally what it's gonna  cost something quick and easy you should be able   to fire that off depending on the size of the  project obviously but within an hour two hours   tops three and maybe after that you should be  able to get a fairly good read on the client   if that is something that's feasible for them  if they want to move forward with the project   once they reach that stage then you definitely  want to make sure you're paid for doing a drill   down budget which is getting selections getting  designed actually getting quotes from contractors   really nailing down all the bits and pieces and  the pricing that's going to take many more hours   but this is a good way to split the budgets up  with doing a rough budget quick and easy simple   basic standard pricing this is what it should cost  could cost and then actually getting making sure   you're getting paid for retainer to do a drill  down and selections and all that kind of stuff   so that makes sense uh still with me here that  is number three to getting quicker construction   um you know estimating done number four so this  is the last little feather in the hat of actually   getting a good construction estimating system  going and that's your assemblies and templates   so you want to have a template for your niche  for what you do you know a template for a kitchen   renovation template for a bathroom renovation a  template for a whole home renovation a template   for a new home build you know low mid high super  custom so have templates so that you're just   plugging playing the numbers moving things around  a bit you shouldn't have to be building from   scratch you know over and over again so definitely  have templates in place of the different types of   projects that you possibly could be doing and then  assemblies so you shouldn't be figuring out you   know if you're building a deck uh how many two by  tens do i need how many two by fours do i need how   many choice hangers do i need you should have an  assembly that you can just go buy square footages   maybe if it's a small you know you have your  cost your overhead like basic it's going to be   3000 overhead whether you do you know a 6x6 foot  deck or whether you do 36 by 36 foot deck so have   that in there and then you can have your square  footage cost as far as materials plus you know   um waste or whatever so that would be an assembly  or you know framing a wall well you're gonna need   your your glue your nails uh your studs your sill  plates you know whatever else you're shooting   so that could be another assembly so by having  these assemblies you can get very accurate pricing   without having to figure out all the little nuts  and bolts that go into something so follow those   four get those running and operating in place  get that humming you will be able to crank   out estimates very quickly in a short period  of time you'll keep your clients super happy   and you will be able to keep more money in your  pocket because you're not spending time doing too   much quoting when you could be out in the field  you know getting more clients or taking care of   your projects so you want to help with that this  reach out to me i can help you systematize this   get your tech stack down get all these little  nuts and bolts and pieces in place get your cost   codes in order um check out the description below  free course how to systematize your business how   to build a business that works without you as  well as um information of how to connect with   me all right here's the best make sure your  numbers are on point and sharpen that pencil