Estimating General Conditions

Use the General Conditions cards to enter basic estimating and construction project expenses into the BidMagic estimating software.

Construction General Conditions

This card continues the General Conditions cost category. To reach it, click on the General Conditions button in the Specifications Directory, then choose General Conditions 2 from the pop-up menu.

Utilities includes the cost of any jobsite utilities. Office utilities and other utilities that cover more than one project should be included in General Overhead instead.

Setup & Callbacks covers the cost of 'getting organized' on a jobsite--unloading tools and equipment, setting up table saws, and so on. On small jobs, this can be a significant part of the project cost! Also included here is an allowance for future callback work to fix problems that arise after the completion of construction.

Cranes & Scaffolding covers the cost of cranes and other erection equipment, plus the cost of staging, scaffolding, or other similar structures.

Equipment Rental includes the rental cost of any tools, vehicles or equipment. Even if you own most of your own equipment, you may want to figure specific line item costs here to cover your costs for repair and depreciation for major items of equipment.

Project Supervision gives you a place to enter supervision costs that you want to enter as hard costs. You can use this section as a replacement for Supervision as a Soft Cost (see page 159), or in addition to those costs, depending on how you prefer to do your cost accounting.

Other General Conditions covers any other costs that you want to put under the General Conditions category. It might include deliveries or shipping costs, or anything else that you feel belongs under this category.