Full Estimates and Contract Estimating
An estimate puts a price against the work. We measure the quantities first and price them second, so the number is built out of the building rather than fitted to it. The estimate can land at concept, through design development, or as the tender number itself.
Who it is for
Two jobs sit on this page. A full estimate is a number built out of the building. Contract estimating is us sitting in your estimating chair for the whole tender. We can step in as your contract estimator - end to end.
The estimate suits builders taking a tender to submission, and clients who want to know what a drawing set is worth before it goes out. It can land at concept, through design development, or as the tender number itself.
Contract estimating suits builders whose tenders have stacked up. When the work arrives faster than the desk can price it, we run the tender end to end: startups, RFIs, clarifications, the bill, the cost plan, and the numbers held together through to submission. Turn us on. Turn us off. That is the deal, and it is the reason most builders call the first time.
D&C (Design & Construct): From 20% drawings to 70%. Understanding the buildability before it's drawn. We price what isn't on the page yet, and every assumption is flagged and carried through.
Lump Sum Tender: Head to head against five other builders to secure the win. We sit on your side of the table, not the client's. See our stats below.
In the last eighteen months, 24 of the 50 tenders we ran as contract estimator were awarded to our client. The builder wins the tender. Our part is that the number underneath it was complete.
John Moran, Estimating Manager, Built: "Costimate has been an agile and dependable QS partner for our bid teams, bolstering the accuracy of our estimates. We appreciate the way Richard and his team value the importance and impact of their work on the commercial outcome for us as their client."
What we deliver
A full estimate is not a rate applied to a floor area. It is the building counted, line by line, from the drawing set that exists on the day.
How it is measured
Fitout measurement punishes assumptions. Seven storeys of services, finishes and joinery at SEEK were taken off trade by trade, with clarifications logged against the drawing set as we went.
What contract estimating covers
The whole tender, not a document handed over at the start of it. Every item below is work we do inside your process rather than alongside it.
What we need from you
Everything the estimate gets priced from. On a contract estimating engagement, the earlier it arrives the more of the tender we can carry.
- The issued drawing set, at the current revision
- Specifications, in full
- The RFT, tender conditions and returnable schedules
- Consultant reports
- The contract and scope details
- The tender date and the submission format
How an engagement runs
Drawings in Monday, priced bill back in ten business days.
On the tender
An estimate is read by people looking for the gap in it. So the packaging matters as much as the arithmetic: a summary that opens onto its own breakups, and every clarification written where the reader will meet it.
In the register
Projects the record carries a full estimate against, with the words their own file uses.
Worked examples
Four tenders the record carries a full estimate or full estimating support against.
SEEK Headquarters, Cremorne, $40M–$50M
A tender for the seven storey fitout of SEEK's Melbourne headquarters, designed by Hassell. The full estimate in 21 days: every trade measured, priced and packaged to support a competitive tender submission. Fitout measurement punishes assumptions, so seven storeys of services, finishes and joinery were taken off trade by trade with clarifications logged against the drawing set as we went. See the project page.
Garden State Hotel, 101 Flinders Lane, $5M–$10M
Two new levels plus extensive upgrades throughout a heritage pub, on a CBD site that required a Flinders Lane street closure. Full estimating support, and the winning bid against three builders. Harry Baylis, Managing Director at Turn Group: "Costimate took us from cost plan through to full tender support on Garden State Hotel, an iconic project for us." See the project page.
Jamieson Way Sporting Hall, Point Cook
A multi sports hall with amenities, function room, commercial kitchen and upgraded outdoor courts, built beside a community centre that stayed open and a primary school that stayed in session. Six builders priced it and ours won. Full estimating support, trade-specific takeoffs, and a risks and scope gap review before any of it was priced. See the project page.
380 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, $5M–$10M
Seven speculative office suites across Levels 2 and 5 for Mirvac, plus tenant make good works on Level 11. Four builders priced it under a lump sum and ours won. Repeated work still has to be counted once per suite, because no two of them are the same shape. See the project page.
The tenders that are hard to price
The register answers how big. Builders ring about how hard, and these are the conditions that make an estimate worth paying for.
What it is not
A full estimate is not a rate applied to a floor area. The quantities are measured first and priced second, so every line traces back to something on the drawing set. If you only want the measure, that is a bill of quantities.
Contract estimating is not a permanent seat on your payroll. It is on for the tender and off after it. That is the arrangement, and it is why the line reads turn us on, turn us off.
It is not a promise about the outcome either. Builders do not engage an estimator to win more work. They engage one so the jobs they do win do not lose money. If the design is still moving and you want options weighed against each other rather than one number, that is cost planning.
Questions we get asked
What is contract estimating?
We sit in your estimating chair for a tender. Startups, RFIs, clarifications, the bill, the cost plan and the numbers held together through to submission. It is used most often when tenders stack up faster than the desk can price them.
What is the difference between an estimate and a bill of quantities?
A bill measures and describes the work. An estimate puts a price against it. Takeoff, estimate or bill of quantities sets out which one a job needs, and in what order.
How many of your tenders win?
The builder wins the tender, not the estimator. What the record says is that 24 of the 50 tenders we ran as contract estimator in the last eighteen months were awarded to our client.
Can you price a design that is not finished?
Yes. That is design and construct work, and it is most of what we do. Every assumption is written down rather than buried. Pricing a design that is still moving is the long version.
How quickly can an estimate be turned around?
Ten business days is the typical run. SEEK was seven storeys of commercial fitout and the full estimate went out in 21 days. Send the tender date with the set and we confirm before anything starts.
Do you stay on after the tender is submitted?
Yes. Addendums, quotes and post-tender support for as long as the tender runs. The engagement ends when the tender does, not when the document is handed over.
Can you work to a short tender deadline?
Often, and the answer comes before the work starts rather than after. Send the set and the date and we will say what we can measure in the time and what we cannot. A confirmed no is worth more to you than an optimistic yes.
Can you run more than one of our tenders at once?
Yes. 500+ BoQs, cost plans and full estimates in 8 years. 190 BoQs, cost plans and estimates in the last eighteen months. Overflow capacity is the reason most builders call the first time.
Do you work for developers as well as builders?
Yes. A developer usually wants to know what a drawing set is worth before it goes out, which is the same estimate read for a different purpose.
Further reading
Get in touch
Talk to us about a full cost estimate. For tenders, BoQs, cost plans or a straight answer on your numbers, get in touch.
