SBI

I worked with a larger commercial construction company in our area for about 2 1/2 years prior to moving back to my home town area and starting to work with my Dad in his residential/commercial construction company (mainly residential). I unfortunately did not bring a lot with me hard copy wise and we do not have the current cash flow to purchase a true estimating software for commercial jobs. We are currently trying to bid more and more commercial work (light commercial really, less than $2 million or so depending on the work), but I am having to revise and use our tried and true Excel spreadsheet from our residential pricing methods for inputing commerical bids from subcontractors. I would like a more efficient form to use for the time being if I could get hold of one.

So....my question and request from anyone on here is if you have a light commercial or commercial spreadsheet you use for input of bids from subcontractors to calculate and tally your final bid, in the form of an excel spreadsheet preferrably since we don't have the money to purchase any other estimating software, and are willing to share it........I would greatly appreciate the help. You can email it to me at chad@summerlinbuilders.com if you don't mind sharing. If nobody has one they can share or is unwilling to share that information, I am in complete understanding.....especially if you are in my market area (NC....Central and Eastern region). But I do appreciate any help with obtaining the form. By form, I mean a spreadsheet or form with itemized lists of scopes of work to be performed. A break down of each and everything, or close to it, to help keep me from missing any potential items in a bid.

Our residential spreadsheet has served fairly well so far, but I would feel more comfortable with a commercial document if I had one......and I do not have the time it would take right now to put together one myself on excel.


Thanks for any help.

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Celtic

Not trying to piss in your corn flakes ~ but are you serious?

How do you plan on addressing changes in material pricing?

Do you realize this is a prime example of falling over a dollar to make a nickel?


Say an adequate estimating would run you 7k....how many jobs would you need to land to recoup that investment?
Keep in mind....the program will:
- contain current pricing
- export to QuickBooks, PeachTree or any major accounting software
- create professional documents
- etc


I'm no stranger to creating an excel based sheet for resi. construction [mine is electrical ONLY], but I would NEVER consider using it for a comm. project ~ it would have to be entirely "rebuilt".


I wish you the best in this quest, but IMHO you will be more satisfied with an actual estimating program.

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SBI

I'm not looking anything with any pricing in it at all. Every job I bid for commercial work is quoted for each every aspect of the scope of work. I do none of the work myself, its all subcontracted out. I don't need anything with material prices in it. Just a spreadsheet from somebody that has done several commercial bids over the years, basically as a checklist for myself so that I can scan through it and make sure I haven't missed anything I need. So yes, I am serious. Materials, Labor, everything is quoted each and every time we bid a commercial project. So that takes care of material price changes, and labor for that matter. We don't have the cash flow to purchase a true estimating software at this point in time, and even when we do, I don't need anything that keeps up with current material prices, etc.... I have plenty of loyal subs and vendors that we do a substantial amount of business with that I can get current market quotes from on everything. As I said, when we bid a commercial job, each and every part of it, right down to the nails, screws and bolts to hold it together are quoted based on a take-off and pricing from subs and vendors.....a lot of which is turn-key pricing on majority of the scopes of work.

Just need something from an experienced estimator in commerical, if they have anything, to send me or tell me where to find a spreadsheet broken down with columns for pricing. In each division of construction (CSI divisions) would be great. For example, somewhere down in the spreadsheet have a section marked Division 7: Thermal and Moisture Protection. Then beneath that a list of all things that would be classified under this division such as, Building insulation, Asphalt shingles, Manufactured Roof panels, Manufactured roof specialties, and so forth. Same with each other division of construction as per every specifications book given with each set of plans for a project. It really doesn't have to be categorized by division of construction......my residential spreadsheet is not, but it would be nice and help.

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Celtic

Something like this:
http://www.beac.com/divisions#div7

...formatted to excel for you to add various figures/notes?

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Mud Master

Your asking alot out of us buddy, as you have some VERY specific requests.

An excel spreadsheet will not do what you need it to, and I doubt anyone here has what your looking for (could be wrong). Personally I use Winest by Rocktek, and an excel spreadsheet wouldn't do 1/4 of what I needed it to, and i'm not even a GC.

I don't wanna be a d*ck, but if you know what goes into a commercial project, and you've done it before, you should know how to make one. Not having time to do anything is just a part of business, you have to make time..12 in the afternoon, 12 in the morning, its the nature of the beast.

IF I had to guess, i'd say it would take you about 8-10 hours of pretty steady work to do what your looking to do. Might be a good idea to find a college kid looking to make a couple hundred bucks and have him do it if you really don't wanna take the time to do it yourself.

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Celtic

I thought about going to college....can I apply for this task

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SBI

Thats what I was thinking.....or just breaking down and spending the time to do it over the next several nights at home....when I'm not in the office.

Celtic.....I've got something similar to that on my computer, but I really looking that in a spreadsheet format, maybe from an actual job someone has bid, without the numbers in it of course. Everything broken down like, asphalt paving, concrete slab, metal framing, pre-fab canopies (material), pre-fab canopoies labor, masonry work, etc....

But none the less, thanks for your input guys. I guess I'll just have to sit down and spend a couple of hours each night working one up on Excel until we can afford to buy a good estimating software with that stuff built in. Getting all the numbers and getting them in a spreadsheet to calculate our bid total is not a problem.....I just want to make sure I don't forget to get something quoted or priced that a more detailed or previously used form might otherwise help. Should have bought the software when cash flow was better and it was affordable.

Here is an example of a residential form I used on the last bid I did.....keep in mind it has a lot of things that will not be in place or in order due to the short time span I had to bid that job and in-ability to rearrange and format how I would like it. Hence the post about wanting one from somebody else.

Edit: Can't figure out how to save a copy of our excel spreadsheet file and post a screen shot or what not of it on here to show.

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Mud Master

Go to reply, scroll down to manage attachments. Find "upload file from computer". click browse and search your computer for what you want, than say ok...WA-LA!!

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SBI

Here we go. Something like this......keep in mind this is rough and for the purpose of showing you guys what I am talking about.


But again, I will just sit down and revise and work on this one until I get it like I want.

Attached Files

Smithfield ABC Bid Estimate.xls (54.0 KB, 242 views)

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consolidatedbui

hello... i wrote an excell sheet that is extremely useful....

it is for estimating not job tracking as some who didnt understand the original question.... estimating....

tax,labor burden, permits, oh/profit, etc etc

i sent one to summit.. just ask him if it works

Kona Winds

Would you care to share? I have one too but I am always changing it and adding more. Would like to see yours.

This is mine

Attached Files

Bid Sheet.xls (85.5 KB, 173 views)

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Kona Winds Construction, LLC

konawind@maui.net

David R

Summit, does it work?

Consolodated, could you please send me a copy so I can see if it helps. I honestly read this thread wondering if I've been doing things as_-backwards. I don't see how a spreadsheet is going to keep you from forgetting something. If it's unusual enough that you'd forget it, I doubt it would be on the spreadsheet.

The way I do the estimate is to build the whole job in my head/on paper about 3 times and price all labor and materials. Now, as I'm getting older I find I am getting more forgetful but my biggest problems is that a sub will forget something (we sub out mechanicals, masonry, sitework, among other things) so I routinely have to remind him to add in for something or other (I make sure to remind him that I saved him from himself so that if I ever do it they will hopefully cut me some slack).

I understand that maybe I am recreating the wheel with every job but I can't afford to loose money on the job for forgetting something. Then I use my pricing worksheet to build my bid so that if something is missing from my pricing, it will also be missing from my bid and the GC/Client has a chance to pick up on it (these "missing items" are usually something that was mentioned in conversation but not on the job specs). On the big jobs that you guys do you probably don't have any "oh by the way..." items but in my size range I get that from time to time.

I fully admit it takes me a REALLY long time to prepare estimates but that's the only way I know how to do it.

Barkri12

When this is acquired, the insurance that most clients will demand you have can be obtained to cover the job liability. Having the license will also allow bidding on jobs and doing subcontracting work.Subcontracting work is the second entity that needs to be satisfied.

A general contractor on a project will contract work to qualified businesses based on licensing, reputation and price. The better the general contractor, the better the jobs that can be found this way.

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