If anything, the 2019 construction market has held steady—even while there have been market dips and fears of an economic downturn. One fact is clear: construction backlogs have continued to hover close to the nine-month mark all year.
Despite all the doom and gloom predictions, many construction pros find themselves busier than ever. In fact, construction employment increased in 231 out of 358 metro areas from October 2018 to October 2019.
New Year, New Tools
However, if you’re trying to bid more to win more projects, you may find it difficult if you’re relying solely on manual entry into spreadsheets. Not only can it be hard to juggle late information, but there is also the very real issue of human error creeping in. In fact, it’s been proven that nearly 90% of all spreadsheets contain errors.
Let’s face it, more than 60% of construction estimators still rely on spreadsheets to do their job, according to the 2018 JBKnowledge ConTech Report. Adding streamlined takeoff tools can add speed and efficiency—along with organization—to a chaotic bidding process. Digital takeoff and estimating software can help you win the best, most profitable work for your business.
So, before you hit send on your next Excel masterpiece, maybe it’s time to reconsider your manual workflow. If your construction business is thinking about adding new tools in 2020, it might be a good time to weigh the pros and cons of adding new estimating tools.
For starters, go ahead and evaluate your situation by answering five simple questions. See how many “yes” answers apply to your construction business:
- Are your existing takeoff tools limiting your ability to bid available jobs in today’s hot construction market?
- Do you still rely on paper documents and have trouble keeping track of them?
- Is estimating accuracy important to your company’s bottom line?
- Are you always confident in your bid accuracy and anticipated profit margins?
- Would a historical record of takeoffs and estimates be valuable for working on new/future project bids?
If you answered “yes” to three or more questions, 2020 could be a good time to consider new digital takeoff and estimating tools.
Questions to Ask Before Adding New Tools
If you’re ready to analyze your takeoff and estimating software needs for the first time, it’s important to take time to reflect, analyze, and make plans to adjust. Understanding how new software impacts your bottom-line is essential.
You can start by getting feedback from those on the front lines to determine how your current tech is performing or where there is demand. Having visibility into estimated and actual costs will also help you identify profitability pitfalls.
Here are some questions to ask before and after you add new takeoff tools:
- How will our business operations be impacted after implementing new software?
- What are our expectations for the implementation process?
- How will we measure how well the tool performing?
- Is the software easy to use?
- Will the software be welcome and adopted by our staff?
- Do we understand what is needed for maintenance?
- What kind of training will our staff need?
Take the Next Step
Now that you know that investing in new takeoff software can improve your speed and accuracy, why not get started with a free trial?