Estimating & costing
Price a building from a PDF
Start from a flat PDF drawing and finish with a priced, validated estimate ready to export.…
5 steps15 minOpen
Cases / Estimating & costing
Estimating & costing
Build a 5D cost-loaded model
Start from the priced bill, link cost to the model and the programme, and tie the cost blocks to schedule activities so you can see cost over time and the cash curve follows the plan.
How it works, step by step
3 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.
1
Start from the priced bill
BOQOpen the priced BOQ and confirm every line carries a rate and a quantity, since the 5D model is only ever as good as the bill you load onto it.
Why: Cost-loading a model built on gaps just spreads those gaps across the programme. A complete priced bill is the foundation the whole cash curve stands on.
InPriced BOQUnit ratesLine quantitiesOutVerified priced billCost blocks
2
Link cost to model and time
5D Cost ModelMap each BOQ package onto its model elements and its programme dates, so every cost block knows where it is built and when it is spent.
Why: Cost tied to geometry and time turns a flat total into a picture of where the money is and when it leaves. It is also how you catch a package that is priced but has no home in the model.
InCost blocksModel elementsProgramme datesOutCost-loaded modelUnlinked packages flagged
3
Tie cost to the programme
ScheduleAttach each cost block to the schedule activity that delivers it, so the spend spreads across the real start and finish dates instead of a flat monthly average.
Why: A cash curve driven by the actual programme tells the client and the bank when the money is really needed. When the programme slips, the forecast spend moves with it instead of lying to everyone.
InCost-loaded blocksSchedule activitiesOutCash flow curveTime-phased spend
Modules in this playbook
3 / 184 platform modules