Construction Software
Construction estimating software is computer software designed for contractors to estimate construction costs for a specific project. A contractor will typically use estimating software to estimate his bid price for a project owner, which will ultimately
become part of a resulting construction contract. Some architects and engineers may also use estimating softare, but usually only to provide a budgetary cost estimate to an owner prior to construction.
Contractors review a project’s plans and specifications to produce a takeoff (a list of item and material quantities needed for the project). This is traditionally done by analyzing the project plans and, utilizing knowledge of required construction methods, producing an itemized list of the project requirements. Then, based on this list, a contractor will tabulate the various resources and costs for every aspect of construction. These resource costs include labor, equipment, materials, subcontractors, and any other related costs.
With the advent of computers in business, contractors began using spreadsheet applications like VisiCalc, Lotus 1-2-3, and Microsoft Excel to duplicate the traditional tabular format, while automating redundant mathematical formulas.
As more and more contractors came to rely on spreadsheets, and the formulas within the spreadsheets became more complex, spreadsheet errors became more frequent. These were typically formula errors and cell-reference errors. Hard-coded formulas in database applications were originally created to overcome these errors. As these applications became more and more popular over the years, additional features, such as saving data for reuse and construction-specific calculations, have become available.
* Item or Activity List: All estimating software applications will include a main project window that outlines the various items or activities that will be required to complete the specified project. More advanced programs are capable of breaking an item up into subtasks, or sublevels. An outline view of all of the top-level and sub-level items provides a quick and easy way to view and navigate through the project.
