Realistically estimating for the job

Making job preparations with accuracy and careful planning can help prevent miscalculated expectations on job estimates.  

It happens to the best of us – you set up an estimate, with plans for certain profit results at the end of the job, only for the results to total at a far lesser outcome. Sound familiar? If so, it's not always the result of one major mistake, but several small, almost unnoticeable ones. The experts at McElroy Metal break down the steps of preventing small errors that accumulate quickly.  

A closer look 

Small, seemingly miniscule differentiations from original plans might seem unworthy of notice, but it's often these very things that end up costing the most in the end. Whether that be your crew spending a few extra hours of labor on the jobsite than originally estimated for, or some materials getting damaged or misplaced during transit or installation; small mistakes, in abundance, can do more harm than one might expect, throwing off the profit total at the end of a job.  

Another factor contractors can miss is underpreparing for realistic conditions. Whether that be work conditions on the jobsite, weather or equipment difficulties; it's easy to say in your mind that things will work out with no issue, and transfer that to paper. But it's a whole other matter getting those things done in real life. When preparing an estimate, consider these obstacles and their potential occurrence, and place padding in the plans accordingly. That way there's less chance of a bid being inaccurate and less profitable without careful consideration.  

Knowing what a job actually and can potentially cost you is the key component in proper planning. Understand what keeps you and your team from consistency, and work on fixing it!  

Learn more about job estimation accuracy and cutting down on money pits in the planning process!