estimating

[stokefire7]

what do you guys use for it ?

[Service Guy]

I use my brain.

[plumberscrack]

what do you guys use for it ?

So what arer we talking about here? Software?, labor rates?, material markups? :scratchhead:

[stokefire7]

We all can make educated/uneducated guesses. The pros follow what ? Lets start broad and narrow it down. (I'm clueless)

[NHMaster3015]

A cup, some hot water and tea leaves

Chicken Bones

A crystal ball

Tarot Cards

An 8 ball fortune teller.

Ok, our office software has it built in. It grabs material cost either from inventory or from warehouse online pricing. Of course it's only as good as the information I feed into it.

You can always fall back on the twice the material cost method plus 10%

[stokefire7]

I was just about to go to Barnes and Noble for the Plumbing Estimating for Dummies when I noticed your post. Thanks

[rookie plumber]

When your first starting out try this.
Projected parts =cost + markup
Projected labor= how long will the job take
Misc, Believe me you'll need it
Overhead.....A percentage of the job (to be determined by you)
OK, your first proposals will scare you but after awhile you will become immune
This may not work for every application but it's a starting point, the worst thing you can do is try to beat someone else's bid without doing your homework. Coming up with your own set of rules will allow you to figure out things faster.

[haycad]

I was just about to go to Barnes and Noble for the Plumbing Estimating for Dummies when I noticed your post. Thanks
what i do is first, you need to figure out what your annual cost of doing business is. insurance, advertising, employees, fuel etc.etc.
than you need to figure out a realistic number on billable hours, and be honest,time at a customers house not window or supply house time, your lucky if you have 6 billable hours a day
than you need to figure out what you want your profit to be
so lets say a companies over head is $121,200 per year not including material i figure material has its own mark up
lets say a 1 man shop has 20 billable hours a month
and wants to make 10% profit
$121,200 / 1040= $116.54 + 10%=128.19 per hour
20hrs x 52 wks= 1040 x $128.19 p.h. = 133,317.60 which equals $12,117.60 in profit
the important thing is to be honest about your numbers if you fib it doesnt work.
and than you can use your hourly number of $128.19 p.h. for everything you bid. you just need to figure out how many hours on a project (some plumbers are faster then others so you need to figure out your employees) and than material. and remember not to be to lean there are always things unforeseen

[Devine Plumbing]

what i do is first, you need to figure out what your annual cost of doing business is. insurance, advertising, employees, fuel etc.etc.
than you need to figure out a realistic number on billable hours, and be honest,time at a customers house not window or supply house time, your lucky if you have 6 billable hours a day
than you need to figure out what you want your profit to be
so lets say a companies over head is $121,200 per year not including material i figure material has its own mark up
lets say a 1 man shop has 20 billable hours a month
and wants to make 10% profit
$121,200 / 1040= $116.54 + 10%=128.19 per hour
20hrs x 52 wks= 1040 x $128.19 p.h. = 133,317.60 which equals $12,117.60 in profit
the important thing is to be honest about your numbers if you fib it doesnt work.
and than you can use your hourly number of $128.19 p.h. for everything you bid. you just need to figure out how many hours on a project (some plumbers are faster then others so you need to figure out your employees) and than material. and remember not to be to lean there are always things unforeseen

Just a continuation to the earlier post. Once you have figured out what your number is, it is important to determine if this is a realistic number for your area and if it is in line with your customers percieved value. I don't care what you charge per hour, if your phone is not ringing your hourly wage is $0. Sometimes it is necessary to analyze your overhead and find out where you can trim the fat, to make yourself competitive in the market you are in.