A spreadsheet is the perfect tool for estimating. But like any tool, you have to get to know it before it can help you improve your work. If you don't have any spreadsheet experience, you can't simply install Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 and begin to estimate. You'll need at least a couple of evenings running tutorials and hunting through the online help file owner s manual There's a quick-start alternative, however, in an estimating software package called The Remodeler’s Add-Vantage ($140, Add-Vantage Software, 508/533-5636, www.addvantage.com). Built to resemble a spreadsheet (an Excel engine is embedded in the program so you don't have to own Excel), the learning curve consists of about 30 seconds - the time it takes to figure out how to type in your amounts and unit costs.
Remodeler's Add-Vantage consists of a set of pre-configured templates, for the most common remodeling projects. They include two addition' templates, plus one template each for basement, bath, deck, garage, house, kitchen, porch, and repair. An extra template called Costs lets you record material costs, and then cut and paste them into the other templates as needed.
When a template opens, you are presented with a nicely laid out estimating form that divides the chosen project into divisions, which follow the typical course of construction. You first fill in quantities for demolition, then foundation, then framing, and so on. Each section has materials and labor line items for which you simply input quantities and costs the built-in formulas do the calculations and return totals.
Since Remodeler's Add-Vantage is based on a spreadsheet, many common spreadsheet functions are available to customize your estimate. You can cut and paste data, add or delete rows for new line items, and even enter formulas into cells to build more complex calculations.
Figure 1. The Remodeler's Add-Vantage is a stand-alone spreadsheet template that uses an embedded Excel engine. The $140 program is a plug-in-the-numbers application that you will be comfortable using in no time - or less.
Because the program is template-based, the user must save each new project under a new name immediately upon opening the master template. The only time you'll want to modify the master template is when you change unit costs, which is as simple as filling in the new prices in the Cost template. The program allows you to open and view more than one template on screen, so it's recommended that you keep your cost book open as well as the project you are estimating. This keeps your cost book updated and your estimate current (Figure 1).
The Executive Summary condenses the complete line item estimates into a summary by division (handy for setting up QuickBooks Pro budgets). A separate area on the spreadsheet lets you build schedules for doors, windows, and miscellaneous materials and appliances. The program comes with good documentation, including a chapter on basic spreadsheet formula building. All in all, the Remodeler's Add-Vantage is a slick, simple-to-understand estimating program that will give you good-looking, accurate estimates in a spreadsheet format - All with a minimum startup effort.
Page 7 - Construction Business Computing - February 1997