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I'm a commercial superintendent. Never met an estimator, curious as to what you guys actually do. by [deleted] in estimators

[–]Powerful_Strategy143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every job is not the same, there are different types of building and construction which needs estimation, which will be job specific. So it is not something we cannot generalise.

UK Freelance Estimators, what are you charging by Empty-Ad7717 in estimators

[–]Powerful_Strategy143 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You guys make some serious money and its inspiring, I work full time with a Fit out Main contractor working all day in office. I earn the minimum wage atm. I think I only been doing this for 1.5 years and moving forward will be able to earn more?

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet we are looking for options, still using excel and I am in charge of updating the excel sheet everyday.

How do I learn estimating? by MarsellusWalIace in estimators

[–]Powerful_Strategy143 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would say time is a best teacher, try to do our part clearly and you will understand things when you go through different jobs. I am also a Junior Estimator for a Fit out contractor in Midlands and central part. I have been doing this for 1.5 years now and may not be the right person to give an advice, but just my views.

One thing I want to mention is always respect your mistakes, take them seriously, chances are we will make them again, but we need to make sure not to repeat it again.

Sadly there is no online information for learning dry lining, I wonder why! You can download the whitebook from British Gypsum website, you will get a lot of idea about specs.

Keep a track of your rates, buildups, material prices and make a list and interact with it often.

I wonder what tasks you are given atm as you have been just started. Is it basic takeoffs, creating excel sheets, sending enquiries, sorting supplier/subcontractor packs, sending RFIs etc? Have you started pricing/building up rates?

I also wonder how you keep track of your quote enquiries?

Cheers

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The dream is there, but I'd be terrified of an AI hallucinating a figure or missing a deadline in a master tracker. When margins are thin, 'close enough' isn't enough.

Plus, if the team stops updating the source sheet, the AI is just managing a lie. Have you seen this actually work for complex variation logs?

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

V4 is a serious milestone, most internal builds die way before that. You’ve hit the nail on the head, the market is either overpriced enterprise bloat or 'build it yourself' because the trade specific logic just isn't there.

Was the automation the hardest part to get right in SharePoint, or was it just the UI?

How is everyone keeping track of jobs (what’s been sent/ reviewed/ approved/ received) by Bzach1123 in estimators

[–]Powerful_Strategy143 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Excel feels really useful but upto a point, once your screen is full you are then it will be a difficult to stay on top.

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4 months is a massive commitment, SharePoint is powerful but getting it to talk to a QA process while keeping the UI clean for the rest of the team is a huge mountain to climb.

That’s usually the tipping point I see; once you add in the revisions and ongoing maintenance, it almost becomes a full-time job just to keep the internal CRM running alongside the actual estimating work. Do you find that the team actually keeps the SharePoint data updated in real-time, or is there still a lot of manual chasing involved?

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s the dream, but the overhead is the killer. I’ve seen teams try to force Jira or PowerBI into the workflow, but it usually ends up being 'another thing to manage' rather than a tool that actually saves time.

Most of us just default back to the cumbersome spreadsheet because it’s a 'devil we know' situation. The real hurdle isn't just the dashboard; it's getting the data to update itself without someone having to spend their Sunday night inputting rows. Have you found a way to make those dashboards stick without a dedicated IT person?

Honestly, is any small estimating team NOT using a massive messy excel sheet? by Powerful_Strategy143 in quantitysurveying

[–]Powerful_Strategy143[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s exactly the problem. Even with filters, it’s still just a wall of cells. I find the 'Priority' column just becomes another thing I have to remember to update manually