Are you missing out on bids because you don’t have enough time?
Do you have to skip over some projects because you don’t know how to create a construction estimate?
What if you could submit more bids in less time, and increase your winning rates?
There’s a reason why so many contractors are outsourcing their estimating in 2022. It’s fast, it’s cost-effective, and it frees up your time so you can focus on growing your business.
Why Would You Need an Estimating Service?
Do you know how to estimate construction projects?
If you don’t, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many contractors don’t know how to create a professional estimate and bid for their company.
Other contractors do know how, but they just don’t have the time to.
And other contractors have a big enough company where they can hire an in-house estimator, but they often find themselves working above capacity.
Estimating projects is an obstacle that many contractors have to “deal with”, and without it in the way, they’d be able to focus on growing their business.
How Do Construction Estimating Services Work?
Here’s how estimating services would work with a professional company.
First, you’d send your plans with your scope of work and any details you feel necessary.
Here’s an example of a basic scope of work:
And attached are the drawings:
Once you send this over, you should receive either a phone call and/or a quote with the price for your estimate.
If it makes sense to get started, you’d then send your payment. Once your payment goes through, your project will get scheduled and you’ll receive a cost estimate within their turnaround time.
Here’s an example of a complete estimate (made by us):
For more examples of estimates we’ve done for clients, check out our Featured Estimates.
Once you have your estimate, you’d ideally take about 10-15 minutes to review and then submit.
That’s a typical estimating process, now let’s see if it would work for you.
How Outsourcing Estimating Actually Saves You Money
You might be surprised to hear that hiring a professional estimating service is actually much less expensive than hiring an estimator in-house.
Here are the numbers.
Let’s say you hire an estimator at $84,648/yr, which is the average salary for estimators in US.
$84,648/yr is around $7,054 per month.
$7,054/mo is around $1,763 per week.
Now let’s take a look at how many projects subcontractors are bidding per month on average.
| Small-Sized Companies | 2 – 10 projects |
| Medium-Sized Companies | 10 – 30 projects |
| Large-Sized Companies | 30 – 60 projects |
| Extra Large-Size Companies | 60+ projects |
Let’s assume you’re a medium-sized drywall company and you want to be bidding 10 projects per month. Your estimator costs $7,054/mo so you’re effectively paying $705 per estimate.
And when you take into account taxes, fees, insurance, etc., the real number it amounts to is $800 – $850 per estimate…
And that’s assuming you’ll always have a project that you’re estimating!
Compare this to hiring an estimating service that only charges per project. Meaning if you don’t have a job you want to bid at the moment, you don’t need to worry about wasting payroll.
The cost of an estimate with a professional firm is based on the scope and complexity of the project.
For example, a simple project with only a flooring scope will cost much less than a complicated building with all trades being done.
So instead of paying the same amount for your estimator no matter what trade or how complex the project is, when you hire an estimating firm your costs are relative to the specific job.
And that’s why you end up saving money when you outsource your estimating.
How to Know if You’re a Good Fit for an Estimating Company
It usually begins with someone that has too much on their plate and they don’t have the time to estimate new projects.
Or someone that has too many projects for their estimating team and they need help covering the overflow.
Usually, once you hit the point where you look like this.
It’s probably time for you to get some help.
If you have more work than you can handle and you don’t have an in-house construction estimator, you’re one of the most ideal candidates for construction estimating services.
Who Should You Outsource Your Estimating Too?
No other estimating company has the same level of professionalism and expertise as I AM Builders.
We’re a team of seasoned veterans in the construction industry and we have a ton of game-changing benefits to working with us.
Here’s our process.
1. First, go to iambuilders.com and look to the top right where it says, “Upload”.
2. Next, you’ll be redirected to Dropbox, where you should see instructions on your screen.
Click the plus symbol to open up your computer documents where you can select the:
- Drawings
- Scope of work
- Specifications
And any other project files for your project.
If logged into Dropbox
If you have a Dropbox account and you’re logged in when you upload your plans, you’ll be able to upload without adding any extra info.
Just upload and send, and that’s it.
If not logged into Dropbox
If you don’t have a Dropbox account or you’re not logged in, you’ll receive a request to put your full name and your email address.
Once you put in the necessary info, you should be good to go.
3. Wait about 12-24 hours for our sales team to review and send you a quote.
You should receive a quote within 24 hours detailing the cost and scope of work for your project.
It’ll come in through the email you used in Dropbox, or the email you’re logged into Dropbox in.
IMPORTANT: There are a lot of freelancers online willing to perform your takeoffs for you. From our personal experience as a general contractor and as an estimating firm, it’s best to hire a professional service that can guarantee results and is US-based.
Tying It All Together
After looking at all the details, hiring an estimating firm like I AM Builders will:
– End up being cheaper than having an in-house estimator.
– Free up your time to focus on growing your construction business.
– Give the opportunity to not have to miss out on bid dates because you don’t have time to estimate.
Are you missing out on bids because you don’t have enough time?
Do you have to skip over some projects because you don’t know how to create a construction estimate?
What if you could submit more bids in less time, and increase your winning rates?
There’s a reason why so many contractors are outsourcing their estimating in 2022. It’s fast, it’s cost-effective, and it frees up your time so you can focus on growing your business.
Why Would You Need an Estimating Service?
Do you know how to estimate construction projects?
If you don’t, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many contractors don’t know how to create a professional estimate and bid for their company.
Other contractors do know how, but they just don’t have the time to.
And other contractors have a big enough company where they can hire an in-house estimator, but they often find themselves working above capacity.
Estimating projects is an obstacle that many contractors have to “deal with”, and without it in the way, they’d be able to focus on growing their business.
How Do Construction Estimating Services Work?
Here’s how estimating services would work with a professional company.
First, you’d send your plans with your scope of work and any details you feel necessary.
Here’s an example of a basic scope of work:
And attached are the drawings:
Once you send this over, you should receive either a phone call and/or a quote with the price for your estimate.
If it makes sense to get started, you’d then send your payment. Once your payment goes through, your project will get scheduled and you’ll receive a cost estimate within their turnaround time.
Here’s an example of a complete estimate (made by us):
For more examples of estimates we’ve done for clients, check out our Featured Estimates.
Once you have your estimate, you’d ideally take about 10-15 minutes to review and then submit.
That’s a typical estimating process, now let’s see if it would work for you.
How Outsourcing Estimating Actually Saves You Money
You might be surprised to hear that hiring a professional estimating service is actually much less expensive than hiring an estimator in-house.
Here are the numbers.
Let’s say you hire an estimator at $84,648/yr, which is the average salary for estimators in US.
$84,648/yr is around $7,054 per month.
$7,054/mo is around $1,763 per week.
Now let’s take a look at how many projects subcontractors are bidding per month on average.
| Small-Sized Companies | 2 – 10 projects |
| Medium-Sized Companies | 10 – 30 projects |
| Large-Sized Companies | 30 – 60 projects |
| Extra Large-Size Companies | 60+ projects |
Let’s assume you’re a medium-sized drywall company and you want to be bidding 10 projects per month. Your estimator costs $7,054/mo so you’re effectively paying $705 per estimate.
And when you take into account taxes, fees, insurance, etc., the real number it amounts to is $800 – $850 per estimate…
And that’s assuming you’ll always have a project that you’re estimating!
Compare this to hiring an estimating service that only charges per project. Meaning if you don’t have a job you want to bid at the moment, you don’t need to worry about wasting payroll.
The cost of an estimate with a professional firm is based on the scope and complexity of the project.
For example, a simple project with only a flooring scope will cost much less than a complicated building with all trades being done.
So instead of paying the same amount for your estimator no matter what trade or how complex the project is, when you hire an estimating firm your costs are relative to the specific job.
And that’s why you end up saving money when you outsource your estimating.
How to Know if You’re a Good Fit for an Estimating Company
It usually begins with someone that has too much on their plate and they don’t have the time to estimate new projects.
Or someone that has too many projects for their estimating team and they need help covering the overflow.
Usually, once you hit the point where you look like this.
It’s probably time for you to get some help.
If you have more work than you can handle and you don’t have an in-house construction estimator, you’re one of the most ideal candidates for construction estimating services.
Who Should You Outsource Your Estimating Too?
No other estimating company has the same level of professionalism and expertise as I AM Builders.
We’re a team of seasoned veterans in the construction industry and we have a ton of game-changing benefits to working with us.
Here’s our process.
1. First, go to iambuilders.com and look to the top right where it says, “Upload”.
2. Next, you’ll be redirected to Dropbox, where you should see instructions on your screen.
Click the plus symbol to open up your computer documents where you can select the:
- Drawings
- Scope of work
- Specifications
And any other project files for your project.
If logged into Dropbox
If you have a Dropbox account and you’re logged in when you upload your plans, you’ll be able to upload without adding any extra info.
Just upload and send, and that’s it.
If not logged into Dropbox
If you don’t have a Dropbox account or you’re not logged in, you’ll receive a request to put your full name and your email address.
Once you put in the necessary info, you should be good to go.
3. Wait about 12-24 hours for our sales team to review and send you a quote.
You should receive a quote within 24 hours detailing the cost and scope of work for your project.
It’ll come in through the email you used in Dropbox, or the email you’re logged into Dropbox in.
IMPORTANT: There are a lot of freelancers online willing to perform your takeoffs for you. From our personal experience as a general contractor and as an estimating firm, it’s best to hire a professional service that can guarantee results and is US-based.
Tying It All Together
After looking at all the details, hiring an estimating firm like I AM Builders will:
– End up being cheaper than having an in-house estimator.
– Free up your time to focus on growing your construction business.
– Give the opportunity to not have to miss out on bid dates because you don’t have time to estimate.
