Estimating Small Quantities

Small Quantities of an Item

You can use the BidMagic estimating software to estimate any quantity of construction items.

Unit prices work well for 'normal' quantities, but they are often too low when used to estimate very small quantities of work. You can't hang one square foot of wallboard in one-thousandth the time it takes to hang 1,000 square feet!

Small Quantities--Entered Directly

If you are using a very small quantity of something, you can enter it as an 'other' item, with a rough estimate of what it will cost.

For example, to install 2 feet of baseboard:

1. Compute (or guess) the labor cost for the item. You might figure one-half hour of skilled labor @$25 an hour, for a labor cost of $12.50.
2. Compute the material cost for the item. You might figure 2 lineal feet of baseboard at $1 a foot, plus 2 feet of floor shoe at .50 a foot, for a material cost of $3.
3. Go to the Specifications card that best describes the item --in this case, Interior Trim.
4. Click on the pop-up button next to a blank item in the subcategory that best describes the item--in this case, Baseboard. Choose Other from the menu.
5. Type in a brief description for the unusual item, along with the computed price of $15.50.