A good job estimate sheet is both a powerful sales tool and operating plan.
A carefully prepared estimate sheet will not just protect your profitability, it can be one of the most powerful sales tools at your disposal. You should have two sorts of estimate sheets available. The first would be a plain bid sheet, designed to estimate total cost of a project and has profit already embedded into it. In some situations, you may be called to bid on a cost-plus basis. This involves the raw cost of labor and material, along with ancillary costs, and adds a specific amount of profit after that cost, either as a percentage of cost or a flat amount. The questions are the same in either case, but the presentation will be different.
Instructions
1. Figure those areas where you must make expenditures to do the job. The most common areas are labor, material, equipment rental and operating costs. Operating costs can include power, in the form of fuel or electricity for equipment you already have that will be used on the job, and other items such as blueprints, erection of construction shacks and any other item that is necessary for the job, but not directly part of the job.
2. Make your bid sheet fit the type of service you offer. If you are a car repair shop, a single estimate sheet will cover all but the largest jobs. If you are a contractor, a series of sheets in a bound or spiral notebook should be used for each job. You have to get accurate and complete information in order to make an estimate that accurately reflects the customer's demands and your costs.
3. Put your complete contact information at the top of the sheet. Get the customer's complete contact information in the next section of the sheet. Then divide the sheet into cost categories. Head each section by those categories you normally use. Again, the most common categories are materials, labor, equipment rental and fixed expenses. The more complex the job, the more detail you will need to put in these categories.
4. Use the sheet you have made to conduct a bid interview. If the job is simple, such as removing a dying tree from a property, you may choose to make your bid at the close of the interview. If it is complex, it is the beginning, rather than the end, of your estimation process. Get detail. Specify what types of materials are to be used, what time frame the client expects the job to be finished in, and any unusual aspects to the job site. This step is critical. You are not only gathering information, you are educating your client on questions he may not have considered. If you explain different grades of brick to him, the different costs involved and ask him to specify which type he wants, you inoculate yourself from a low-ball bid from a competitor who uses substandard materials.
5. Use the information acquired in the bid interview to develop an estimate. Actually, go through the full process in your mind. If the job is to be performed at a remote site, visit the site and note any unusual characteristics about it that may require extra costs. For example, if there is no electricity at the site, you may need to rent a portable generator during the course of the project. Note all of these items in detail. If a question arises, contact the client and get a specific answer. Never guess about an item. If the client wants a specific type of chandelier hung, find out the cost and weight before estimating how much labor and time you will need to hang it.
6. Prepare your bid sheet using all details the client has given you and based on your independent observations of the proposed job. Be complete and detailed, specifying the types of materials to be used, the grade, and the amount of labor and time required to complete each step. If work can only be performed in good weather, note in your bid potential weather-related delays. Put your bid proposal in a binder along with any support materials, such as blueprints, drawings, and material brochures for particular grades of materials to be used.
7. Make an appointment to present the bid to the customer. If there is an objection to a specific type of material or other part of the bid, be prepared to offer options that would reduce the cost, but make sure the customer understands and agrees to a change in grades of material or other factors used to reduce that cost. Then specify what the new requirement is. When you follow these steps, you build the client's confidence in your expertise and thoroughness. You will frequently win bids this way even when you are not the low bidder.
8. Sign the final bid sheet. If the client chooses to hire you, get his signature on the bid sheet as well, along with his initials on any particular you have agreed to amend. This will serve as an initial agreement. If you have filled it out thoroughly, it will help both of you avoid disputes if problems arise later.
Tags: along with, estimate sheet, materials used, complete contact, complete contact information
