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
Provide an independent cost check on a design
Take a design or an accepted tender you did not price yourself, benchmark it honestly against the cost base, and issue a second opinion the client can trust.
How it works, step by step
3 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.
1
Open the design or accepted price
BOQPull up the bill or the accepted tender figure you are being asked to check, and read its scope, quantities and the rates it was built on.
Why: You cannot give an honest second opinion without first understanding exactly what the number in front of you actually covers.
InDesign billAccepted tender priceOutUnderstood scopeQuantities and rates
2
Benchmark it independently
Cost ExplorerSet the big-value rates and the overall cost per square metre against the reference cost base and comparable projects, independent of the figures already in the bill.
Why: An independent check that just re-reads the same source proves nothing. Comparing against a separate reference base is what gives the opinion any weight.
InBig-value ratesReference cost baseComparable projectsOutBenchmark comparisonRate variances
3
Issue the second opinion
ReportsWrite up where the price sits against the benchmark, name any rate that looks out of line, and give a plain recommendation on whether the figure can be relied on.
Why: A client asking for an independent check wants a clear answer, not a repeat of the numbers they already have. A plain recommendation is what the report is actually for.
InBenchmark comparisonFlagged rate variancesOutSecond opinion reportReliance recommendation
Modules in this playbook
3 / 184 platform modules