Estimating service ideal solution for developers wanting decent return

Property developers wanting to ensure a decent return on any project are being advised to take a look at a new estimating service developed by HBXL.

Called the HBXL Estimating Service it’s the latest innovation from the leading building software developer and will provide property developers a totally accurate budget on how much a project will cost.

With 90% of building projects going over budget, the availability of this new service means developers will be able to work out the likely profit margin at the start.

Detailing what’s required right down to the very last screw, the accuracy of the new service means nothing is missed and is a great way for house builders to project what they are likely to make.
In addition, the service provides build programmes which helps plan cash flow and when materials are needed on site.

The ability to timetable and co-ordinate what materials are required and when means no costly items are every overseen, a problem which could (and been known to) result in a project being delayed or even jeopardise the whole thing!

Joanna Mulgrew, marketing director at HBXL said: “To have a highly accurate, up front estimate at the beginning of a project is essential for any developer or house builder. It means the profit margin is known and assists with the management of cash flow.

“To also have a realistic build programme, which is supplied as a report, will also help save money. As any developer knows, time is money and running over on any programme will cost, especially if a lender is involved.

“What we’ve done is taken the hassle out of not only producing the estimate but putting together a sensible build programme.

“The cash flow report, which also comes with the service, is very useful especially for those developers needing to secure finance from third parties.”

To make use of the service all developers or house builders have to do is send the plans to HBXL where expert estimators will price it quickly and accurately.

Ideal for new builds, apartments, conversions or multi-site developments prices start from £140 for a loft conversion and £199 for a new build.

The developer will then receive a detailed estimate report pack outlining a summary of the project’s cost, detailed cost breakdown for materials, plant and labour, cost breakdown of each build phase, cash flow projection and a build program for when each part of the project will take place.

Builders will get a customer quote as a Word file, including mark-up, which can be easily edited before it is shown to customers so the builder doesn’t even have to write up the quotation.

Joanna added: “Using a professional estimating service puts the developer in control of the project, allowing them to assess quotes from suppliers and subcontractors while managing costs successfully.

“To neglect using a service which provides a sound cashflow plan, build programme and also expedites the time developers spend on estimates doesn’t sound like good business sense.”

For details on the HBXL Estimating Service please call T: 0845 1234 095 or visit the web site www.estimating-service.co.uk

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More great new features and enhancements to come!

Here is a quick heads up on more changes to come over the next few months. Keep an eye out for the instruction to download when the time comes! And if your Support & Updates isn’t up-to-date then give us a call on 0845 1234 085 or do it online here and make sure you're ready.

EstimatorXpress Update:

Laminate flooring workbook

Solid flooring workbook

Capturing PC Sums & Provisional Sums and presenting in quote?Quotation updates

Merge job reference number into quotation

Merge enquiry date into quotation

Ability to add charts and graphs into quote

Summary cost table at start of quote

Contents page in quote

Picking up areas to display in quote

VAT on quote amend to text for non VAT projects

PlansXpress Update:

Sections

French doors representation handles sidelights for larger doors

ContractsXpert Update:

Update to Scottish contract.

The F220 and F222 have been updated to include text/details about cancellation


And a ProjectXpert update is coming soon too! Watch this space!

Customer satisfaction to plain speaking software

‘Plain speaking’ software from HBXL has helped Lincolnshire based Kuno Jackson Builders not only win a regional award from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) but develop a successful business in and around the area in which it operates.

Providing work from extensions, loft conversions and new builds, the Sleaford-based building firm was awarded the FMB’s Yorkshire & Trent’s regional title in the small renovations category in its Master Builder of the Year awards.

A nationwide search to find the best builders in the UK nominations must come from a satisfied client and builders are judged on their technical ability together with their customer service skills.

With thirty years’ experience in the construction industry, Boss Kuno Jackson has used HBXL’s EstimatorXpress for more than a decade and said the quick, accurate and up-to-the-minute software had played a crucial part in the firm’s success and it clinching the award.

Kuno said: “I have used EstimatorXpress since it first hit the market and have sworn by it ever since to price up everything from small household renovations to £5m building projects.”

Nominated by client Annette Southcott in Lincoln, Kuno said the software provided clear information that clients large and small could grasp.

He added: “It’s all about communication. We can provide a plain English print off for the client and back up every quote giving them complete confidence in the work in hand and exactly what it will cost. This helps avoid some of the breakdowns you see when customers believe the builder has either exceeded or not completed the work expected.

“It is also possible, given full information from the client, to complete a substantial quote in a day whereas before we used this software it could take up to two weeks. We save a massive amount of time using EstimatorXpress.”

HBXL sales and marketing director Joanna Mulgrew said they couldn’t have wished for better testimony as to the effectiveness of the software.

Joanna said: “Both Kuno Jackson and his client Annette Southcott were present at the   Master Builder of the Year Awards and were clearly very happy with the software and quotation provided.

“The client said the quote was highly detailed and professional and came with an FMB contract produced on our ContractsXpert software which Kuno uses alongside his EstimatorXpress package.

“We were also pleased to hear Kuno describe HBXL’s customer support as excellent. Nine other firms that use our software were also shortlisted for an award from the FMB.”

For further information on any HBXL product please call T: 0845 1234 065 or visit the web site www.hbxl.co.uk

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New service makes estimating complex projects a breeze

Keeping on top of the work schedule, making sure materials are on site at the right time and managing the contractors are just a few of the tasks builders up and down the country have to deal with on a daily basis.

 

Combine this with quoting for new jobs and even the most systematic, organised and assiduous of builder will find their time management skills are tested to the full.

 

According to research published in Professional Builder magazine, estimating is still regarded as being the most time consuming part of a builder’s daily routine especially if the quotes are quite complex and there are multiple requests to be getting on with. There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done!

 

For those fortunate enough to be on the busy side, there is another way to get estimates for more complex projects such as loft conversions and large residential projects completed seamlessly and quickly, without compromising the day-to-day stuff that still needs the builder’s full attention and comes in the form of the new HBXL Estimating Service.

 

The latest innovation from the leading building software developer it will save builders from having to take time out from their busy schedules to price up work and produce quotations. It will enable them to get on with work in hand, win new projects and manage the jobs they currently have on.

 

Joanna Mulgrew, marketing director at HBXL said: “We all know that producing quotes and estimates still takes out the most time in any single day and to produce a totally accurate estimate for more complicated projects can and does in some instances take up a whole day – possibly more if the plans are particularly taxing such as an extension combined with internal alterations. Producing quotes should be straightforward but often takes longer than anticipated.

 

“The beauty of this new service is that once the builder has sent us the plans of the project they need a quote for they can focus on the jobs in hand knowing that within a guaranteed time frame they will receive a fully itemised cost break down and totally accurate customer quotation.

 

“The problem is that many builders don’t always have the time to price up accurately the cost of a build so they either lose the job because of delays in getting back to the client or don’t make the money they should have on the job because it was priced up in a “quick and dirty” fashion.

 

“Sometimes it may take several days just to get prices back from suppliers. This all takes time out from what they are good at, namely building.

 

“The HBXL Estimating Service is cheaper than asking someone in the office to do it, not to mention the opportunity cost of losing out on work as you haven’t been quick enough to quote or missing out on building time.”

 

To make use of the service all builders have to do is send the plans to HBXL where expert estimators will price it quickly and accurately. Prices range from just £79 for a garage, £140 for an extension or loft conversion and £199 for a new build.

 

The builder will receive a detailed estimate report pack outlining a summary of the project’s cost, detailed cost breakdown for materials, plant and labour, cost breakdown of each build phase, cash flow projection and a build program for when each part of the project will take place.

 

Builders will get a customer quote as a Word file, including mark-up, which can be easily edited before it is shown to customers so the builder doesn’t even have to write up the quotation.

 

Joanna added: “We confirm delivery date of the estimate before we start on a quote, with small jobs taking between three and four days and larger projects taking about seven to ten days maximum.

 

“All the builder needs to know is that we never miss a deadline!

 

“It’s a fantastic solution for builders who want to present professional estimates but are either too pushed for time to do it themselves or aren’t engaged with using IT and computers.”

 

For details on the HBXL Estimating Service please call T: 0845 1234 095 or visit the web site www.estimating-service.co.uk

April News

The message this month is about 'standing out' from your competition.

HBXL software is widely-acclaimed for giving building firms a massive edge in a hugely competitive market. And we've yet more proof. A staggering 10 building firms from across the UK who were finalists in the prestigious Master Builder of the Year awards a fortnight ago are HBXL software users.

At the Awards ceremony in London, we met one of the building firms and the homeowners who nominated them – and you can read why they are such EstimatorXpress fans, in an article here.

Yet another example of ‘standing out’ can also be found in our Case Study on Brad Wheeler who believes the detail he can put into his quotes is really winning him business. See more of his review here.

And if you want to start standing out yourself we’ve some very special April Offers that will give your business the boost you’re looking for. See here.

Here's to a constructive month!

Builders size up opportunity cost of new estimating service

Go on site to do the work or put together a new quote; visit a new client or pay a trip to the merchant; chase up payment or make sure materials are on site at the right time - these are just some of the decisions builders up and down the country have make on a daily basis.

 

Put them all together and it’s easy to see that even the most systematic, organised and assiduous of builder will find their time management skills tested to the full.

 

So when you factor into the daily equation the effort (and time) needed to produce accurate quotes and estimates, it’s little wonder schedules sometimes fall behind or a new jobs slip through the net!

 

With time being arguably one of the most precious commodities available to the builder, many will be pleased to hear about the arrival of a new estimating service that will save them so much time (and worry) that they will be able to focus solely on running their business and not fret about whether they should be on site or putting together a quote.

 

Called the HBXL Estimating Service it’s the latest innovation from the leading building software developer and means builders won’t have to take time out from their busy schedules to price up work and produce quotations.

 

It will enable them to get on with work in hand, win new projects and manage the jobs they currently have on.

 

Joanna Mulgrew, marketing director at HBXL said: “We all know that producing quotes and estimates still takes out the most time in any single day and often takes longer than anticipated.

 

“The beauty of this new service is that once the builder has sent us the plans of the project they need a quote for they can focus on the jobs in hand knowing that within a guaranteed time frame they will receive a fully itemised cost break down and totally accurate customer quotation.

 

“The problem is that many builders don’t always have the time to price up accurately the cost of a build so they either lose the job because of delays in getting back to the client or don’t make the money they should have on the job because it was priced up in a “quick and dirty” fashion.

 

“Sometimes it may take several days just to get prices back from suppliers. This all takes time out from what they are good at, namely building.

 

“The HBXL Estimating Service is cheaper than asking someone in the office to do it, not to mention the opportunity cost of losing out on work as you haven’t been quick enough to quote or missing out on building time.”

 

To make use of the service all builders have to do is send the plans to HBXL where expert estimators will price it quickly and accurately. Prices range from just £79 for a garage, £140 for an extension or loft conversion and £199 for a new build.

 

The builder will receive a detailed estimate report pack outlining a summary of the project’s cost, detailed cost breakdown for materials, plant and labour, cost breakdown of each build phase, cash flow projection and a build program for when each part of the project will take place.

 

Builders will get a customer quote as a Word file, including mark-up, which can be easily edited before it is shown to customers so the builder doesn’t even have to write up the quotation.

 

Joanna added: “We confirm delivery date of the estimate before we start on a quote, with small jobs taking between three and four days and larger projects taking about seven to ten days maximum.

 

“All the builder needs to know is that we never miss a deadline!

 

“It’s a fantastic solution for builders who want to present professional estimates but are either too pushed for time to do it themselves or aren’t engaged with using IT and computers.”

 

For details on the HBXL Estimating Service please call T: 0845 1234 095 or visit the web site www.estimating-service.co.uk

Win the job, get paid and improve cash flow with Pro Business Estimating Kit

The Pro Business Estimating Kit is designed to give you a suite of tools to produce accurate estimates with award-winning EstimatorXpress, legally binding contracts to issue to your customers with ContractsXpert before commencing the work, and a Stage Payment tool to create Stage Payment reports.

And we've a Special Package price of £898+VAT saving you £364 to help you get closer to winning more work and saving more time.