Concrete Estimating Solutions Every Contractor Should Know

[fs-toc-omit]Save Your Business Time and Money–Try Concrete Estimation Software

They say that time is money, and anything that can speed up a task without affecting quality has got to be a good thing. Concrete estimating software can help turn around a job proposal in a timely manner, accurately detailing quantities required, and enhancing your bottom line.

You can control the flow of concrete, but can you control the flow of contracts and proposals? Clients seem to want everything done and proposals and changes turned around in no time.

With concrete estimating software working for you, with your specific assemblies set up and running, you can meet, and sometimes exceed expectations, while maintaining a healthy profit.

What is Concrete Estimating Software?

ArcSite’s concrete estimating software is designed to keep you from getting bogged down in putting together proposals. Sure, everything you bid for needs a strong guide, and an overview from an experienced person, but who’s got time to calculate every cubic yard?

We use software every day, from communication to banking. Once an email account is set up, we don’t even think about it. With estimating software for concrete it’s pretty much the same.

Simply set up your assemblies, concrete, aggregate, rebar, labor, etc, and let the software do the math for you.

Common Challenges in Concrete Estimation

If concrete estimation was easy, everyone would be able to do it, but it requires an understanding of materials in three dimensions, bulk volumes, and the integration with steel and other materials.

Concrete foundations often account for the largest percentage of a contract’s overall budget, as what is in the ground is the most important part of the build. Getting the numbers right, and being competitive, but not selling yourself short, can be an interesting balancing act.

[fs-toc-omit]Inaccurate Volume Calculations

How many times has math failed you when manually calculating mass-fill concrete or aggregate? A simple missed decimal point or other simple error can leave an estimate a long way off from what is required.

It’s okay, we’ve all been there, but if you employ estimating software for your concrete jobs, it’ll back you up with the right numbers all the way through the most challenging project.

[fs-toc-omit]Time Intensive Workflows

We all know just how labor-intensive a concrete job can be, so why make it any harder? When clients demand rapid turnarounds on proposals and change orders, it is impossible to go through and double-check every item.

With concrete estimating software you can make changes and get results in a snap, confident that your numbers will be bang on the money.

[fs-toc-omit]Complex Project Requirements

One of the greatest things about being in construction is that it is the most innovative industry on the planet. Concrete technology is changing all the time, but the basic requirements of reinforcing steel and engineering stay the same.

The challenges of complex projects may require different mixes, special formwork, or a new combination of concrete and steel. Rather than sit and work out every detail, simply add the data to your software.Joining the Dots

Without compatible concrete estimating software, how do you integrate design tools and material takeoff? Getting separate apps to talk to each other, to integrate successfully, can sometimes feel like herding cats.

Your software needs to be able to take drawings and put more than quantities to them. Time and money also need to feature, so you can save having to join the dots yourself.

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Let Concrete Estimating Software Solve These Issues

Speed up the process of estimating, and free up space in your day for other, urgent tasks.

[fs-toc-omit]Automated Calculations

Use your estimating software to deliver accurate estimates for concrete volume, rebar, and formwork. If you’ve already set up the assembly with everything required, per yard, or per day, within a few clicks you can have confidence in the numbers that come out.

[fs-toc-omit]Time Savings

When you are running a construction business the phone and the emails never seem to stop coming. There’s always something to deal with, and oftentimes it seems that the clock is not on your side.

With ArcSite’s automated estimating tools, you can have the answers you need for your contractors and clients quickly.

[fs-toc-omit]Improved Collaboration

Even better, you can take your estimates, drawings, and other information and share them directly in the app with clients, contractors, and other stakeholders, seamlessly, for the ultimate in collaboration.

Get notified immediately when someone has opened a document, drawing or estimate, so you know whether they are up to speed and paying attention.

[fs-toc-omit]Customizable Templates

Most mistakes happen when carrying out a repetitive task.  You zone out, having done the self-same thing, so many times before. Sometimes it can be too late, and you only discover the error when a query comes through from a client.

Using pre-defined templates can help eliminate mistakes like these, streamlining the process.

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What Makes ArcSite the Ideal Concrete Estimating Software?

ArcSite is a software product that has many advantages, including ease of use and customization.

[fs-toc-omit]Intuitive Design Tools

With ArcSite you can create your own detailed layouts for concrete foundations, flatwork, forms, slabs, or any other structural element with perfect precision.  Upload drawings, comment, edit, or make notes, and share your thoughts with the design team.

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[fs-toc-omit]Seamless Integration of Takeoff and Estimation

Link your designs to lists of materials, quantify truck hauls, logistic and labor requirements, and costs from one place. When you input your take-off, watch the estimating software add the associated assembles, and deliver the data you need.

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[fs-toc-omit]Customizable Estimation Features

Asked to accelerate a job? Need to plan for weekend working? No problem. With ArcSite you can quickly make adjustments to labor rates, adjust material prices, and realign likely waste percentages when things change.

The software helps you to stay in control of your bottom line, so extra works don’t end up costing you additional time and money.

[fs-toc-omit]Cloud-Based Access

One of the top advantages of ArcSite’s mobile device-friendly platform is that wherever you are, you can stay in control. No more racing back to the office to amend a drawing or an estimate.

If you have an internet connection, changes can be made, and ideas and estimates shared from a construction site, or client office. Stay connected, stay in charge, and ahead of the curve.

[fs-toc-omit]Professional Reporting

With templates at your fingertips, you can issue professional client-ready estimates and proposals in minutes. After the site tour, following the progress meeting, get the ball set firmly in your client’s court.

Proactive reporting, showing a client you are ready to help them progress a project, is a priceless advantage in the rapidly moving world of construction contracting.

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How Does Concrete Estimating Software Work in the Real World?

Estimating software has proved itself a versatile tool for many aspects of the construction industry, but where can it best be used?

[fs-toc-omit]Residential Construction

Residential construction is a separate discipline, with its own methods, risks, and solutions to common issues. Whether you are carrying out new build tract housing development, or smaller-scale individual works for homeowners, concrete estimating software can make your life easier.

[fs-toc-omit]Tract Development

Tract housing developments can be repetitive, with similar requirements for every plot, with just minor adjustments here and there. However, it is those small adjustments that can have a big impact on the bottom line.

Using ArcSite to generate a general template, that can be easily adjusted to accommodate these changes and differences, can help save a small fortune in over-ordering.

[fs-toc-omit]Individual Contracts

If you are a smaller contractor, getting the price right can sometimes feel like a pretty cutthroat activity. With ArcSite on your side, working out whether a job is priced for the real world is easy.

[fs-toc-omit]Commercial Projects

Large-scale commercial projects often have complex requirements for foundations and flatwork. The greater part of a warehouse budget, or low-rise commercial office development, will be in the ground.

The demands of clients on this type of project may mean that there is little room for maneuver when it comes to adjustments to overhead and profit. Being confident that your concrete estimating is accurate, and that any changes can be recorded and quantified in a snap, has the potential to save a ton of money.

[fs-toc-omit]Specialty Projects

With the everyday, bread-and-butter estimating work being taken care of with your streamlined estimating service, when the interesting special projects come in, you will have time to give them the consideration they require.

High-performance concrete mixes can be detailed in ArcSite, along with any decorative concrete uses, or stamped patterns for driveways, or other non-standard activity.

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Top Benefits of Using ArcSite for Concrete Estimation

• Efficiency: Save time adding data to forms, and manually calculating project requirements.
• Accuracy: Minimize making mistakes with accurate material and cost estimates.
• Professionalism: Present polished estimates to clients with detailed plans.
• Flexibility: Customize workflows to handle multiple projects.
• Collaboration: Keep everyone in the loop with instant updates and shareable estimates.

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Step-by-Step, Your Guide to Using ArcSite for your Business

Some software seems so complicated you need to go on a course in order to use it. The developers at ArcSite understand that in business, you need a tool to be up and working quickly for it to be a contender.

So, what do you need to do to get going with ArcSite? 

It’s very simple.

1. Import or create a design for your concrete project. ArcSite has a range of easy-to-follow articles on how to get started.
2. Use ArcSite’s tools to define project elements like slabs, footings, or walls. ArcSite has a range of pre-loaded items that you can import and use.
3. Automatically calculate required materials, including concrete volume, rebar, and formwork. Building in standard assemblies that span everything required takes just minutes.
4. Customize your estimate by adding labor costs, material prices, and waste factors. Link your material database so that when prices change, your costs are reflected.
5. Generate and share a professional estimate with clients or contractors. Check it through to make sure you’re happy with the bottom line, and that your margin expectations are correct.

Check out a 1 min video to see an example concrete pad getting estimated:

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In the video, an existing PDF floor plan is import, then following items are applied:

- Concrete area: sketch out the area,

- Set some expansion joints

- Trace the perimeter for form material.

What happens is my pre-set assemblies roll up my concrete mixture, rebar, and labor into the calculated area so I can quickly get to a figure on the spot.

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ArcSite vs. Other Concrete Estimating Tools

What makes ArcSite a better estimating tool for concrete contractors than other competing products? Our customers tell us that it comes down to just a few compelling factors.

[fs-toc-omit]User-Friendly Interface

Perhaps the most popular aspect of the platform is its ease of use. You don’t need to be a coding, or CAD expert to quickly master all the integrated aspects of ArcSite. Pretty soon you’ll be wondering how you ever ran your estimating process any other way.

[fs-toc-omit]Integrated Workflow

Upload a drawing and run a takeoff, then see an estimate, with all your materials, activities, and logistics accounted for. With ArcSite, you don’t have to wait to see whether a proposal is going to fit your business model.

[fs-toc-omit]Mobile Accessibility

With a project-based industry like construction, how realistic is it to expect to be in an office for any great length of time? Most of you are out on site, solving problems, dealing with clients and contractors, and assessing potential works and change orders.

ArcSite’s mobile-first philosophy means you can take the advantages of the office set-up wherever you need to go, and never miss an issue. While your competitors are traveling back to HQ, your estimate will already be with your client.

[fs-toc-omit]Custom Features

No two concrete construction companies are exactly alike. It’s not a one-size-fits-all situation. ArcSite knows this all too well, so it can support a wide range of customization options that can set you apart from the competition.

Final Thoughts

In today’s super-competitive contracting landscape, you need a key differentiator that can deliver a better bottom line and keep your business competitive, without sacrificing margins. Using a concrete estimating software package to produce accurate and efficient project plans will bring measurable benefits to your business.

ArcSite helps to simplify the process of estimation, producing professional proposals to support your business growth and success. It does the donkey work, so you are free to use the nous and creativity that you need to lead the pack.

The great news is that you don’t have to take our word for it. Check out a demo, book a free demo, and see for yourself how ArcSite can take your concrete estimating to the next level.

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FAQs

[fs-toc-omit]What is concrete estimating software?

Make estimating faster, easier, and more streamlined with automated material and cost calculations freeing up your time to better manage your concrete projects.

[fs-toc-omit]How does ArcSite handle volume calculations?

Simply upload your drawings directly into the app and let ArcSite generate takeoffs and estimates based on the numbers you have fed into the database.

[fs-toc-omit]Can ArcSite estimate labor costs?

Labor costs are part and parcel of the setup. You know what your site teams can achieve, the quantity of concrete they can handle, and what it costs, per hour or per day. Simply feed in the info and let Arcsite take care of the math for you.

[fs-toc-omit]Is ArcSite easy to use?

Yes, it is. ArcSite is designed for every level of computer competence. Try it out for free!

[fs-toc-omit]Can I access ArcSite on mobile devices?

ArcSite has been designed to be seamlessly compatible whether you are using iOS, Android, or Windows platforms on-site. Stay connected, in touch, and on top of every project.

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