Construction, Business - 5 min read
People who are carrying out construction work on their own residences need the same cutting-edge tools as contractors and construction business owners who work on large-scale projects on a regular basis. Just because you’re working on your own home doesn’t mean that you should have to use inferior tools. In fact, you’ll find the process much more enjoyable and manageable when you use the same tools the professionals use day in and day out.
In this post, we’ll look at how owner builders can benefit from using estimating software as they work on the construction of their own homes.
Estimating software like Cubit is laid out so that you can see everything in one view. This is important because it’s easy to get overwhelmed during the construction process of your own home. It can often seem like there are so many pieces to the puzzle that you can’t keep track of them all.
With estimating software, you can see everything at once, reducing your stress and simplifying your work. You don’t have to switch between programs as you figure out how much certain supplies will cost; it’s all there on one screen.
It’s annoying when you hire someone to manage a project and the project goes over-budget. It’s even more annoying when you tackle the project yourself and have the same problem.
When you use estimating software like Cubit, you can trace directly over your imported plans, so it’s easy to make sure your measurements and quantities are just right. You can also minimise errors by using 3D modelling so you can see your plans from any angle. This helps you to ensure your quantities are calculated correctly so you don’t order too much or too little of your materials.
One reason that owner builders sometimes avoid using estimating software is that they don’t want to spend the time learning to use it when they may not use it again in the future. Cubit is so intuitive, however, that you can learn how to use it quickly and easily. You’ll save a great deal of time and money by making accurate calculations with this easy-to-use software.
By keeping track of pricing information in template price lists, you can easily update your costs when prices change. You can upload price lists from suppliers or simply enter the prices into your templates. This feature helps you to keep tabs on your costs during your project.
When you use Cubit, you can split your job up into different Trades. This can be particularly useful when you're an owner builder because building your own home comes with added logistical complications. Seeing the breakdown of all your trades separately will help you understand the elements of your build that you need to cost.
You can also export your estimates into other workflows. For example, you could send your estimates to Cubit Select - our Subcontractor Comparison Program, Microsoft Excel, or other third-party applications you’re using for your project.
When you’re working on your own home, changes arise. Without estimating software, these changes can cause an amazing amount of new work as you re-estimate and analyse. With Cubit, however, you can lay your revised plans over your existing plans and clearly see where the differences occur. You can then update your takeoff to reflect the changes and get back on track. The changes to your estimate will be updated instantly.
It’s easy to print off customisable reports from our estimating software. You may need to create reports for suppliers, contractors or even lenders when you’re working on your own home, and Cubit makes it easy to highlight different elements of your estimate depending on who is going to be looking at it. All of the reports can be exported to common formats, so you never have to worry about your reports being incompatible with someone else’s software.
For more information about how owner builders can benefit from estimating software, or to get your own 14-day free trial of Cubit, get in touch with us at Buildsoft.
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