The Meeting
It was decided last week when you met with your client and his banker that certain items had to eliminated to bring the cost down to a target figure.
Changing Prices
In the meantime, sheetrock prices have increased.
Now you have 15 minutes to make the changes before leaving for the next meeting.
Turbo-Fast Changes
It only takes 5 seconds to copy each item and change the copy to a negative number (it would take 1 second to delete it, but you want them to see it has been subtracted out).
The "Global Replacing" feature makes it easy to change sheet rock prices in twenty different rooms at one time.
Target Figure
Estimate totals are on the screen in front of you at all times, and the "Hidden Markup" menu lets you nudge the final figure into line.
Hide Quantity
You don't want to explain about carpet waste again, so in the "Print Menu", you check the "Hide Quantity" box.
Finished
You are finished and out the door in 10 minutes with a printout in your hands.
Professional Experience
Estimating is more than plugging in numbers.
It takes experience and intuition.
An Example
Let's take an example. Suppose your intuition warns you that one part of a job will turn into a nightmare depending upon what's behind a wall.
You want to add a percent or straight contingency fee to that section, but the insurance company won't allow the amount of contingency that's needed.
adjusting section totals
Using the "Hidden Markup" menu you can adjust pricing for this section of work in 4 different ways.
Notes in the estimate
And you can add notes explaining the difficulties for the underwriter to read.
Turbo has special features for Professional Estimating businesses specializing in writing estimates for many different contractors.
author information
Does your shop have multiple estimators? Each estimate has Author information for keeping track of which estimator wrote the estimate.
CONTRACTOR, JOB SITE, CUSTOMER
Each estimate also keeps track of Contractor, Job Site and Customer information.
We don't force you to enter anything, but allow you to either use defaults or customize each estimate to suit your needs.
City Rehab Departments across the country have been using Turbo Estimator since the very beginning...
... and we've received letters of thanks from some of them for making their work more productive.
ESTIMATE A HOUSE IN 90 MINUTES
This isn't surprising.
When you're an experienced professional you can examine a set of blueprints and know what the high and low bids will be, and what bid you want to submit.
From that point it's easy to select a previous estimate which is similar to the one you want to do, and start making changes. The roofing might change from shakes to metal. You might be replacing standard appliances with Jenn-Air, Sub-Zero and Wolf, but this only takes a few seconds. All your standard disclaimers, contractor profit, and taxes are still in place.
Does the new estimate have an extra bathroom? You can add a clone of an existing bathroom and change it. Turbo Estimator makes it easy to add, change and add a copy of individual items or whole sections.
HIT YOUR TARGET FIGURE
Using the "Hidden Markup" menu you can adjust pricing up-front or behind-the-scenes to hit the target figure that you had reasoned out 90 minutes earlier.
NEGOTIATIONS
"I'll sign if you reduce the cost by $5,000." Outwardly you groan and appear to think hard while examining the estimate... but you are smiling inside because you know you can tune your final figure in seconds.
A TRUE STORY
Many years ago, one of our customers was in the final stages of negotiating a multi-million contract to build a house for a very, very rich, older man. The contract was on the table, the pen was in his hand, he leaned over as if to sign, and... he put the pen down and folded his arms. "I want a discount!" he declared.
Well, the contractor was dumbfounded, but thinking quickly, and with no outward sign of his true feelings, he picked up the pen and wrote at the bottom of the contract: "Billionaire's Discount: $500". The old man laughed and signed the contract.