Closing in your first electrical project can be an exciting development in your career until your client asks you for a cost estimate for the project, and you’re confused about how to approach the matter. You can’t afford to take it lightly when it comes to the evaluation, because it’s crucial for construction managers and electricians. The accuracy of it impacts whether you profit or face a loss in your project, and if you want to survive in the construction industry, you need to stay afloat and continue profiting.
5 Cost Estimation Tips for Electrical Projects:
- Accurate Overhead
When creating an estimate, you must remember to incorporate your overhead costs, as they significantly impact the bidding. While they aren’t material costs, they are still crucial, and forgetting to add them can sometimes leave you at a loss. Your accountant would be able to calculate the costs or include a percentage into the estimate. It should consist of fees, legal fees, taxes, phone bills, utilities, and insurance.
- Track Your Time
When it comes to your worker’s labor hours, tracking their working hours is imperative. You can’t expect accurate figures if you depend on them to note their hours manually. Moreover, it’s possible to lose track of papers or documentation. Consider using virtual time tracking to accurately obtain worker’s information and the number of hours they’ve worked.
- Supplier Quotes
It’s quite common for electricians or construction companies to have strong professional relationships with local lighting businesses. Use this to your advantage and get a quote for the items needed before making out an estimate.
Don’t worry too much about specifications. If you provide lighting companies with the fixtures on design plans, they often can give you an average sum that you can present to your client. It helps so you won’t have to take on the costs by yourself or ask your client for more money later, which they certainly won’t like.
- Keep Subcontractors Honest
Once you’ve created an accurate estimation of your work, make sure that you also review your subcontractors’ estimates. It’s not because they’re dishonest, but because many companies might not favor exposing certain levels of detail that you may want to show. If they make a mistake of not adding in a few costs, you might end up paying for them no matter big or small.
After reviewing their charges, compare it with other choices, and choose the right one. Don’t just choose the cheapest options because they might’ve forgotten to add details that’ll cost you heavily. A subcontractor that puts forth a well-created estimate is less costly in the long run, compared to one that offers the cheapest bids.
- Consider Bidding Software
Opening bidding on projects can be quite tedious when it involves larger projects that require a lot of documentation and details. A construction estimate or bidding software can help make the entire process easier. Rather than relying on specific sources, you can streamline your project to make sure you choose reasonable bids. An electrical project can become more challenging with more people and elements involved, but good software can make it easier to create accurate cost estimates.
If you’re wondering how to use electrical bidding software to your benefit, it’s not at all complicated.
Here’s how it works:
- Templates for Quick Work– Advanced software often comes with pre-set templates for built-in catalogs to create everyday construction items that can be repeatedly built and customized according to your needs.
- Accessing Project History– Apart from templates, you’ll also be able to access project history and base your bids and prices depending on the profit of your previous projects.
- Tasks Reminders– A group of professionals must complete tasks and provide data for a successful construction proposal. It’s easy for a project to fail when team members forget to add essential data, which may lead to you forfeiting the job altogether. Quality software can prompt the team members to input data after they complete their tasks, and after that, alert the next individual to complete theirs.
Teamwork and Communication
Although these tips can help you create better cost estimates for your projects, the most significant component required for it to work is communication. Communication is necessary with subcontractors, clients, accountants, and suppliers. Even if you decide to use the software, team members still have to communicate and put in the effort to input data for a successful outcome.
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