From tracking your sales pipeline in estimating to helping field construction project management, discover how data management systems in ProEst can produce efficiency with better results.
When it comes to cost estimating and facility construction, one of the wishes we often hear from estimators is the need for easy visibility into their estimating projects. It used to be that estimators simply wanted a better, more efficient way to estimate – though that’s all changing. As technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced, the smartest companies know that having data analysis tools will bring much more leverage when estimating against the competition.
Speaking of competition – have you taken the time to analyze your competitors, or the construction companies that you aspire to be, or to compete with? If you haven’t, you probably should. Are they operating differently than you are, and are they potentially operating any better? There are many questions construction companies – large and small – should continually ask themselves as competition increases and technology continues to reduce waste in our industry.
We see companies of all sizes who are some of the most Lean, streamlined business operations because they know how to use construction technology to their advantage. What I’m saying is, you don’t have to be BIG to be LEAN. We’ve seen companies of five run more efficiently than companies of 15 or 30, for example. Matter of fact, we’ve seen companies of five run more efficiently than companies of 100+!
Gain Visibility with ProEst Estimating
One way you can start running more efficiently is to consider your current estimating process and evaluate how ProEst estimating can give you a leg up on the competition. Here are some ways ProEst helps you gain visibility into your estimating process and project data:
The Estimate Center
View all of your estimates and save job information, from “In Progress” to “Awarded” in one central place. Your pipeline projects your business profitability, and here you can track high level information on your projects – including profit, productivity, workflow position, and more. Once you get into an estimate, you can see all information relating to that job, from project plans to associated contacts.
Relationships
The construction estimate is where business starts, so why wouldn’t you want a place to keep tabs on your business relationships right within your estimating solution? Track your project owners, design and construction partners, ideal candidates, prospects and more in ProEst’s Relationship tracker. In this area, you can associate estimates, tasks, notes and more with a company or contact and make record of their lead source.
Report Center
Gain valuable insight into your estimating projects through easily customizable reports. Knowledge transfer and collaboration with your project managers and project engineers has never been more efficient. For example, you can have a materials quantity list, based on your estimate, out to your field team in a matter of seconds via email with the click of a button.
Through the Report Center, you can develop and implement a set of standard reports and proposal documents. With this tool, your entire team can analyze, prepare project status reports and present data in the same way.
Built-In Report Writer
Creating reports has never been easier with the built-in report writer that looks and works a lot like the word processing tools you already use. What’s more, it has pre-built modules to guide you through data types to include in your reports.
You have great flexibility in what you want to include in your report and can create multiple versions of the same report if you choose. Quickly create graphs and pie charts without exporting data into Excel or Power BI. Easily create a place on your proposal for your clients and colleagues to sign documents.
Conclusion
If you had to put a price on visibility and efficiency within your company and/or estimating team, what would it be? The inefficiency of the intangibles are what companies often forget to think about when it comes to their business processes. In estimating, when you can collaborate and track your work, turn prospects into real projects and data mine them, your estimating truly connects with business development. By using an all-in-one, collaborative solution, your team becomes Lean.
If you’re interested in learning more about how investing in ProEst can give you a crazy good ROI, click here to schedule some time to discuss further. We’d love to start a conversation and help you push the envelope on efficiency in construction.