Preparing a bid for tender can be time-consuming and stressful – but outsourcing the job to estimating experts can really help you to work smarter
When preparing a bid for tender, you’re up against a number of different pressures including time, competition and providing the best value for money. Good value doesn’t necessarily equal the lowest price, it could mean showcasing that your bid will give most benefit over the life-cycle of the building.
Cash flow and profits are dependent upon the estimate being accurate. A big part of the tender process is providing a fully priced bill of quantities, which can take considerable time to produce. This means your working day is spent sat in an office, or your evenings are consumed researching prices and calculating the sums.
Unfortunately, estimating isn’t something that can be avoided and, for many, it may be one of the most laborious tasks.
Even if you’re quoting for smaller jobs or projects, a lot of time is spent on administrative processes, which could mean working 50+ hours a week to get everything done. Statistics have shown 47% of tradespeople spend their leisure time catching up on admin1, which means less time spent with family, socialising or simply taking a break from the stresses of working life.
So, how can you reduce your admin and take estimating off your workload? As Allan F. Mogensen once said: “Work smarter, not harder. Or, to quote the words of Julius Caesar: “Divide and conquer.”
Shifting some of the workload from your own shoulders usually means hiring new employees, but if this was feasible it’s likely you’d have already taken on new recruits. However, there is another way.
Outsourcing areas of your work could make things a whole lot easier, there are experts out there whose sole job is estimating – and no, we’re not talking about quantity surveyors.
Build Aviator has a team of estimating experts, all of whom have construction backgrounds with years of quoting and bidding experience. Build Aviator’s estimating service is linked with live product files from Jewson, Gibbs and Dandy, and JP Corry. This gives housebuilders and developers, self-builders, housing specifiers and architects a comprehensive bill of quantities with exact pricing.
The Build Aviator estimating service uses Easy Price Pro software, which is trusted by thousands of housebuilders, contractors and tradespeople. The Easy Price Pro software has been developed over 30 years to provide the most comprehensive estimating system in the UK. The software provides reports that detail the overall quote, schedule of works, bill of quantities and pricing sheets, with minimal input required. All that is needed is a few details such as dimensions, product types and tool options.
The Build Aviator estimating service goes beyond the figures and spreadsheets. The team takes the time to understand your project and offer advice to help you to provide a bid for a quality specification at a competitive price.
Working smarter, not harder doesn’t just stop at the tender process. Once you’ve won the project, you’ve then got a lot more admin coming your way in preparation for construction inspections and to document that your project meets building regulation requirements.
Build Aviator offers an array of services to support throughout, including SAP assessments, SBEM, Registered Construction Details, acoustic surveys and testing, along with air-tightness specifications and testing. All of which can be married together to make the paperwork simpler. So, whatever stage of the build you’re at, Build Aviator can help to make the process easier.
Every single service on offer is backed by industry specialists such as Local Authority Building Control and has been designed to make processes easier and prepare you with the technical information required for a sign-off.
SME housebuilder John Hucker opted for Build Aviator’s estimating service and extended the support to SAP, RCDs and air-tightness. As a result, John saved time, money and improved the quality of his build.
He commented: “My previous estimator used rough volumes, so figures tended to be off and once I’d received my report I then had to take time out to source all the materials manually. But with Build Aviator, the numbers are now accurate and they work with Jewson to source the materials, who then call off the products when I need them, so It saves me a lot of time and hassle.
“The estimates through Build Aviator have been very accurate and competitive. I’ve saved time thanks to the services tie-in with merchants and saved money by knowing the exact quantities I need to order, which cuts down on waste.
“The team didn’t just provide me with an SAP assessment; they also offered guidance on areas that could cause problems and provided me with the Registered Construction Details for both dwellings, which I found very valuable.”
Build Aviator’s Registered Construction Details (RCDs) include product guidance for build-up, advice for constructing junctions and an array of product choices available through Jewson, Gibbs and Dandy and JP Corry.
John used the information from the RCDs to enhance his air-tightness processes.
He said: “In the past, I wouldn’t have typically foamed and sealed for air-tightness. But after looking at the Build Aviator RCDs, I decided to undertake this additional sealing process to provide further heat loss protection for the homeowner, and help me to do an even better job for my clients.”
When you’re about to embark on your next bid or project, think about how valuable your time is and consider how much simpler things could be if you were able to pass some of pressures of predicting profits on to someone else.
To find out more about Build Aviator visit www.buildaviator.co.uk or to speak to one of the team call 0333 332 1518
Build Aviator
Tel: 0333 332 1518
1 https://screwfixmedia.co.uk/uk-tradesmen-working-harder-than-ever/
*Please note: this is a commercial profile.
