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
Estimate a feasibility budget before design
Put an order-of-magnitude number in front of the board before a single drawing exists: pull a cost-per-square-metre benchmark, shape it into a shell of allowances and report the range.
How it works, step by step
3 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.
1
Pull a cost-per-square-metre benchmark
Cost ExplorerSearch the cost database for comparable projects of the same building type and region, and read off the typical cost per square metre of floor area.
Why: Before a design exists, a benchmark rate is the only honest way to put a number on the job, and it tells you fast whether the brief fits the budget at all.
InBuilding type and regionCost databaseOutCost per square metreComparable projects
2
Shape it into a bill of allowances
BOQOpen the bill and lay in a handful of lump-sum allowances by element, substructure, superstructure, envelope, fit-out, services, scaled off the floor area rather than a detailed take-off.
Why: A feasibility budget only needs to be right at the element level. Locking allowances now gives the design team a target to design to instead of a blank cheque.
InBenchmark rateGross floor areaOutElement allowancesElement budget targets
3
Report the range
ReportsIssue the budget as a range, low to high, with the benchmark source and the assumptions stated plainly, so the board can decide whether to proceed to design.
Why: A single number invites false confidence and gets quoted back at you as a promise. A stated range with its assumptions is what a feasibility decision should actually be made on.
InElement allowancesSource and assumptionsOutBudget rangeFeasibility report
Modules in this playbook
3 / 184 platform modules