INEIGHT ESTIMATE
ESTIMATING PRACTICES THAT BUILD CERTAINTY
DELIVER CONSISTENCY AND PRECISION
Whether it’s a project owner, executive, or field lead asking, it’s essential that an estimator is able to respond to questions or challenges with defensible logic and data. Confident responses start with precision and consistency.
A small error early in an estimate like overlooking a critical activity, underpricing a resource, or failing to account for accurate crew productivity can snowball into major cost deviations.
Regardless of the specific type of error or the reason it occurred, the resulting risk can set off a domino effect (also referred to as a knock-on effect) of broader problems, which can wind up becoming very costly, including the following:
- Underestimating putting profitability at risk: Profit margins are already slim, and approximately 60% of construction companies expect them to remain so or get even thinner.[1] A good estimator addresses the risks of an estimate and properly communicates them to management for review and possible costing to account for those uncertainties. Underestimating costs puts a company’s profitability in a dangerously vulnerable position.
- Completion date delays incurring extended indirect costs: Errors in estimating the duration of activities due to errors in crew size or productivity rates can give the false impression of durations being shorter than they actually are. Couple this with errors in paying little to no attention to an estimate schedule, and contractors could be at risk of the project running much longer than thought of at the time of the estimate, and could easily trigger LD claims, and what could be even more costly, extended duration of indirect costs.
This is why the best estimators don’t just plug in numbers. They document assumptions, break scope down into highly granular units, and align all activities with real-world execution logic. This detailed accounting strengthens internal reviews, increases owner trust, and supports better project control during project execution.
Quote management also plays a role in precision. When estimators can accurately compare vendor quotes or validate line items based on market data, they build traceability into their process that eliminates ambiguity and boosts credibility.
[1] Press release: ABC: Contractors’ Backlog Falls Sharply in May, Associated Builders and Contractors, June 2025.
ACCURATE ESTIMATE, ACCURATE OUTCOME
When estimators have the ability to precisely account for every scoped item and link it to real data, they’re building a solid case that the project team can confidently execute.
An integrated project controls solution, such as InEight, allows project teams to quickly realign pre-execution and execution plans to maintain key project parameters throughout the project lifecycle. Learn more about how InEight enables consistency and precision.
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Between the custom pricing structure and resource databases alone, InEight Estimate has been an invaluable tool for us and how we approach our business. The customizable, detailed estimates of InEight are a real strength of the program. It’s flexible and robust enough to do whatever you want from a project estimating standpoint.
- Bryan Myers, P.E., Regional Preconstruction Director, Brasfield & Gorrie