Unit Costs from Subcontractor Bids

NOTE-- MacNail estimating was retired in 2000, and replaced with Goldenseal construction estimating software. There are still die-hard MacNail users, so we keep the manuals online for them! Goldenseal also includes accounting, scheduling and contract writing features. You can handle subcontractor bids much more easily in Goldenseal, since it has separate Bid transactions that you include as line items in an estimate.

Subcontractor Bidding

In the case of 'firm bid' subcontractors, you'll only need to use the MacNail construction estimating software as an 'approximate' estimator, since you'll be able to replace the calculated costs with the subcontractor's firm bid to you before turning in the bid yourself.

Start by breaking the subcontractor's bid down into a few reasonable components. For example, an electrician's bid might be broken down into rough-in wiring, plugs/outlets, and fixtures. Allocate the bid price among them as best you can, using information from the subcontractor, estimating books, or your own experience.

You can then take each 'chunk' of work and set it up as a unit price. Try to use quantities that are easy to measure off blueprints -- for example, plug/switch counts, fixture counts, and number of rooms.

Use the 'rule of thumb' method to put together a unit price for each component of the firm bid. To double-check your unit prices, type in the actual unit quantities on a project, and make sure that the calculated price is close to the subcontractor 's firm bid.

Establishing 'approximating' unit prices for your subcontractors who give you firm bids will make it possible to 'second-guess' their bids before they come in. It will also make it possible for MacNail Scheduling to calculate how long they'll be working, so your project scheduling will be more accurate.