Estimating

If Virginia City is in Nevada, what's the Bid Center for?

Bruce Chezem — Wed, 31 May 2023 21:50:26 +0000

If Virginia City is in Nevada, what's the Bid Center for?

Bruce Chezem Wed, 05/31/2023 - 14:50

I can't get that theme song to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" out of my head. And now it's in your head. You're welcome!

Seriously, now. Can anyone tell me how to use the Bid Center in Cabinet Vision? I'll bet my pointy toed boots that the Bid Center feature in Cabinet Vision is it's least used and most under rated feature.

I feel a bit of a rant coming on...

Just the name "Bid Center" is so wrong. The name "Bid Center" implies the feature will help you figure out a bid for a job...before you draw up the whole job. Is it just me? If you have to draw up the whole job before you can get good numbers out of the Bid Center, then why don't they call it the "Did you make any money on the job you built...Center". Because it's pretty darned good at giving you numbers AFTER you've drawn up a job. I know I'm speaking for you, too, when I say I would like to use the Bid Center for bidding and estimating before I have to spend hours and hours drawing up a house full of cabinets.

I didn't mean to get you all riled up there. The good news is that I've been noodling on this for quite a spell now and I think I got this Bid Center thing all figured out. I gotta a real nice solution regardless of the kind of cabinet business you run...commercial or residential. The Cost-Plus Bid Center data set add on for Cabinet Vision is an estimator's toolbox. At it's core, the Cost-Plus Bid Center is a collection of seeded rate tables and catalogs designed to help you build professional estimates and project reports. And it's exclusive to Cabinet Vision and the Bid Center. The beauty of the Cost-Plus Bid Center is you can use it today - right outta the box. Think about that for a spell. You don't have to set up the darn thing. You just install it and you can start producing estimates lickity-split. ( That means right now, for all you greenhorns )

I completely understand that, for the most part, commercial cabinet shops have a very different estimating workflow than residential shops do. And I completely understand that there are different kinds of estimates. For example, residential shops get asked all the time, "Can you give me a ballpark estimate to put cabinets in that house there?" And related to that kind of "estimate" is the "Hey, what's your price per linear foot for cabinets?". That's my personal favorite - NOT.

But can Cabinet Vision and the Cost-Plus Bid Center give me detailed, room by room, estimate of a flush inset job with white oak and shaker doors and dovetail drawers with crown molding and granite counter tops and ( I'm running out of selectors )... without drawing up the whole thing? Yep.

OK then...what if the darned customer changes their cotton-pickin' minds and they want flush overlay instead. Can Cabinet Vision and the Cost-Plus Bid Center do that? Yep, again! In about 3 seconds.

With the Cost-Plus Bid Center, you no longer have to spend hours or days drawing up a project to finally discover the price to bill a customer. And what happens if the client rejects your estimate...you've spent all that time drawing up the project.

Where the Cost-Plus Bid Center really shines is that it unleashes the power of Cabinet Vision's Bid Center to enable you to create complete estimates and project reports in minutes without first drawing up projects.

Commercial shops sometimes have estimating departments full of people pouring over blueprints and extracting every nuanced detail of a commercial project. It's tedious, stressful and time consuming. And, most often, the time spent on estimating is not billable time. With the Cost-Pus Bid Center, commercial shops no longer have to depend on third-party software or pages of spreadsheets to produce accurate, detailed commercial estimates. Using the Cost-Plus Bid Center can literally save you hundreds of hours of drawing time on those "Won Bids".

Residential shops on the other hand, especially custom residential shops, have a much more "sales-centric" approach to their estimating workflow. A customer for custom residential cabinets might go through several "rounds" of estimating before their contract is signed. There might be some sort of ball park estimate, and then another detailed estimate before the project is started. And there might be yet another estimate after the plans are drawn up. And, as the job progresses, there could be revisions based on change orders or new information. The Cost-Plus Bid Center gives you the tools to manage all of these estimating scenarios efficiently and quickly.

The Cost-Plus Bid Center is available for purchase now in the Craftsman Engineering online store. Have a look at this A Cabinet Vision Minute video about the Cost-Plus Bid Center.

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The Difference Between an Estimate, Quote, Bid, and Proposal

Bruce Chezem — Tue, 15 Jun 2021 21:45:25 +0000

The Difference Between an Estimate, Quote, Bid, and Proposal

Bruce Chezem Tue, 06/15/2021 - 14:45

In construction, an estimate, bid, quote, and proposal can take on different meanings depending on who is using the term. Some construction professionals use the words “estimate” and “quote” interchangeably, while a bid or proposal may turn into a contract if a customer signs it.

It’s a lot like the difference between Coke, cola, soda, and pop––it all depends on where you are and who you’re talking to, but we can all agree that you won’t get a glass of milk when you order one.

Putting all of the confusion and subtleties aside, below are what we consider the most widely accepted definitions.

Quote

A quote is a figure that a contractor gets from a supplier for the price of materials they need for a job.

Quotes are often only good for a certain period of time––generally about a month––which means the builder has only that amount of time to buy the materials at the given price. Outside the given timeframe, the price of materials may change. This is why there is often a timeframe associated with quotes. Quotes expire because the materials involved in a construction project are commodities and their prices fluctuate based on supply and demand.

A good example is lumber. In an expanding economy, suppliers can’t just create more 2×4’s if demand outstrips their projections. Trees need to be harvested, processed into lumber, and shipped to market before they’re sold. It takes time for producers to catch up to the unanticipated demand. Another example may include an excavator whose costs vary depending on the price of diesel fuel at the time he actually performs the work.

Estimate

Contractors use estimates to calculate their expected costs to complete a project. They look at the specifications for a project and determine the raw materials and labor they need. The contractor then goes to their suppliers to get quotes for the raw materials, which they use to calculate the estimate.

An estimate may also include an accounting of taxes, overhead, subcontracts, and equipment costs. Contractors generally work up estimates before or during the process of drafting a bid or proposal.

Estimates are usually free, but some contractors do charge for the time it takes to provide a thorough and accurate estimate.

Those who charge for estimates often have a formal education in construction and you can expect a much more detailed document where everything is spelled out. As a client, if you’re receiving multiple estimates, sometimes the more detailed one will help you find items that less detailed estimates may have overlooked.

Check out this useful step-by-step guide for successful electrical estimation by Esticom.

Bid

The word “bid” in construction may refer to a document that offers to perform a specific job at a specific price within a certain period of time (also called a proposal). It may also refer to the specific price offered in that document.

Here’s an example of how the term might be used:

Jack: ABC construction submitted their bid today (referring to the document)

Jill: Oh. What did they bid? (referring to the price)

A subcontractor might also submit a bid to a general contractor to perform a certain part of a project. Think of a framer submitting a bid to a general contractor for the framing work on a house. The framer’s bid, if he wins, then figures into the general contractor’s bid to build the entire home.

Proposal

A proposal is a detailed document submitted as part of a competitive process to win business. It includes quotes received from suppliers for raw materials, proposals from subcontractors for their portion of work on the project, and estimates of labor costs, taxes, and other overhead. It also includes a markup of the contractor’s profit.

For example, the type of siding, brick, or stucco for the exterior of a building, the type of windows, as well as a timeline for the project and a schedule for payments would all be included.

Some proposals also include a place for the customer to sign in order to represent their acceptance of the proposal. Some contractors may also refer to this type of proposal as a “contract.” Others simply ask for a signature to acknowledge receipt of the proposal.

While the difference between a construction estimate, quote, bid, and proposal may be confusing to understand, knowing the difference is crucial to the success of your projects.

Full attribution: This article was lifted from Procore.com and was posted on that site on March 28, 2016 by the JOBSITE EDITORIAL STAFF

Comments

Fantastic breakdown of the…

Fantastic breakdown of the distinctions between estimate, quote, bid, and proposal by Craftsman Engineering! 👏 This blog provides a clear understanding, making it an invaluable resource for anyone navigating project management and contracting. Thanks for simplifying complex concepts and delivering insightful content!