Introduction
Looking forward to starting your landscaping construction project, but don’t understand how? Estimating for a construction project is an important task as it tells you all the costs and expenses associated with your construction project. They give you a clear understanding of your project and help you manage the project much efficiently. But understand that mistakes in estimations can be costly. Once you understand the entire process and the right strategy, you’ll be able to handle the entire project without any difficulties or complications.
First of all, what is landscape estimating? In simple words, landscape estimating is calculating and estimating the time, cost, and resources required to make your land more attractive, valuable, or more functional. The first question that might appear now is how we shall do it, so in this blog, we’ll discuss everything that will guide you to ensure accuracy and perfection in the estimation process of your landscape project. So, let’s get started!
Step-By-Step Guide for Landscape Estimating
Landscaping can be a complex task, but if the estimations are done perfectly, project planning will be no problem or difficulty. Here’s a complete breakdown of steps involved to ensure high-quality landscape estimates.
– Analyzing your Landscape Project & Creating a Plan:
Before you get started with the estimation process, you should check and analyze your project demands, industry, market, local guidelines, and location. This will help you understand your project more efficiently. Whether you are leveling the ground, building a garden, or installing a patio, you should know every detail regarding it.
You should also create a landscape project plan to ensure that your project scope, design details, key points, and vision are clear. Mention all the milestones, design the layout in which you will estimate everything, and perform a site inspection to understand that to evaluate soil conditions, drainage, existing features, and other factors.
– Researching the market:
Now the next step includes researching the market. Most people don’t give importance to local research and end up estimating the costs that are completely different in their region. It is important to understand that your local regional market may have different market rates compared to other areas. For example, a state with a forest will most likely have cheaper lumber compared to the state that is not producing lumber.
In this, you will conduct an in-depth analysis of your market and perform meetings with suppliers to understand the latest market rates and trends. This will also help you keep you updated on the latest pricing lists, allowing you to ensure accurate and updated landscaping estimates. Once you have all the knowledge of your market and industry, you can get started on your estimation process.
– Quantity Takeoffs:
You must calculate all the materials, resources, and equipment required for your construction project. Calculate all the plants, soil, mulch, pavers, irrigation systems, and lights, and other materials required for the landscaping process.
But how will you do it? Let’s figure that out. You must list out all the material and resources you would require for the construction process. When you know the quantity of material required, you can easily purchase the right amount. This step also reduces any chances of resource wastages or material over-purchase.
– Quantity Cost Estimating
Once you know which material, equipment, resources, and labor are required for the installation, renovation, or customization of the landscape. You can now easily estimate their costs. The best way to ensure precision in the cost estimations of required resources is to contact the dealers and suppliers. You can also use advanced software tools and equipment for top-quality estimating.
For an overview, here are some of the materials and resources that would be required for your landscaping project.
| SoilMulchCompostGravelSandTopsoilPaversBricksConcreteSealants | ShrubsEdging MaterialsLandscape FabricRetaining Wall BlocksLighting FixturesDecorative StonesBouldersPond LinersFencing MaterialsPergola Kits | Drainage PipesFertilizersGrass SeedSodPlantsTreesLumberIrrigation PipesSprinklersOutdoor Furniture |
– Labor Cost & Quantity Estimating:
Do you know that underestimating labor costs can result in a more than 24% increase in labor costs? Sometimes, estimators underestimate the labor cost, which leads to issues and problems such as labor shortages, overhiring of labor, and more. You should analyze all sectors of your project and estimate the labor and staff required for each section of your project, just in case, so you don’t have to hire more labor.
Estimating the labor cost is also an important step of estimating. You should calculate the wages and salaries of your workforce, such as project managers, contractors, architects, designers, specialists, installers, and general labor. This will help you understand all the labor required for the installation, maintenance, and specialized tasks like grading, irrigation setup, and more. Thus, reducing any chances of labor shortages.
– Subcontractor Cost Estimating:
If you are hiring outsourced services providers for specific tasks such as soil testing, irrigation system design creation, tree removal & pruning, surveying services, managing runoff, fence & deck installation, tree removal, water feature installation, masonry work, and more, you should also estimate their costs.
– Overhead & Markups:
When calculating or estimating for a landscape project, you should always make sure that the overheads are also being considered. Some people ignore the overhead costs, but they are also a part of the project and must be estimated for enhanced budgeting and project management. Your overheads include security fees, permit fees, insurance, profit margins, utility bills, and more.
– Contingency Planning:
Creating contingencies is an efficient way to deal with unforeseen challenges and potential risks that might have a negative impact on your objectives. After you have calculated all the material, labor, and equipment required for the construction project along with the costs, then comes risk assessments and contingency planning. By analyzing your project location, market, and industry, you can easily identify such issues or challenges and develop contingencies to tackle them easily.
Mainly the risk assessments include identifying potential risks such as weather-related project delays, labor shortages, budget overruns, project delays, supply chain disruptions, etc. The most common practice is to put a specific percentage of your budget reserved for extra and unforeseen costs.
– Time Estimating:
This is one of the most important parts of the estimating process as you develop schedules and timelines through this. After all estimations, calculations, and analyses, you can easily measure the amount of time that your landscaping construction project will take.
The majority of contractors try to estimate the time before the cost estimations & quantity takeoffs, but it is better to estimate after since it provides an accurate scope understanding, helps in enhancing resource allocations, and better scheduling.
– Final Estimate Reporting
Now, after everything and all the estimates are ready, now the estimators should gather all the data, including the estimations, calculations, measurements, and other analysis performed, and categorize everything properly. Using spreadsheets is a good approach, they allow multiple features which help categorizing and ordering things efficiently.
With these reports fully ready, you can utilize them or provide them to the stakeholders, contractors, subcontractors, or management team heads. Providing a categorized document will help understanding all requirements, allowing them to easily utilize them for the construction project.
Strategies to deliver top-notch landscape estimates
We have now discussed the step-by-step procedure and guide that allows landscape estimators. Now we shall discuss the strategies and tactics the estimators can utilize to ensure high-quality results in their estimates. Not all the strategies are efficient, so we’ll discuss only those strategies which can have a positive impact on your estimation process.
– Focusing on Detail:
– While estimating, it is important to ensure that every detail is being checked and accounted for. Not highlighting all the cost factors can lead to costs or budget overruns, which can later lead to project delays. In short, damaging the project timelines. So, you should estimate and calculate all the costs such as security fees, wages, maintenance fees, rental fees, electricity costs, water costs, lighting costs, permit fees, etc, along with the costs of materials required for the installation, modification, or customization of the landscape.
Do you know that detailed and accurate estimates also help in developing competitive bid proposals? So, even if you are focusing on winning most bids against your competitors, the quality of your estimations matters the most.
– Creating & Keeping your Database Updated:
– It is a good strategy to develop a database before you start the estimation process. When you have an up-to-date database, you can easily ensure that your cost estimates match the latest material prices, labor rates, and market trends. Creating and keeping an updated database helps you avoid any underestimating or overestimating that might happen due to outdated pricing, ensuring that your estimates are based on real-time data.
– Using Historical Data:
– Preliminary estimating is also an effective strategy. Basically, it involves conduction estimations before the construction project, which allows you to understand the project expenses and costs before you start working on it.
The best ways and practices to ensure highly precise and accurate preconstruction cost estimates and quantity takeoffs are to compare your landscaping construction project with the projects that occurred in the past. You can also perform market research to maximize precision in your preconstruction cost estimates.
– Considering Risk Factors:
– To ensure that your construction project doesn’t run into problems or issues, it is better to conduct detailed risk analysis and assessments. Identifying potential risks and issues can help create and optimize contingency plans and tackle obstacles and things that might harm your project schedules and financial planning.
– Using a Streamlined Process:
– Another effective strategy that helps boost your estimation process and reduce errors is following a streamlined and smooth procedure. By defining the process before the estimation process allows you to cover everything smoothly without burdening yourself. This will allow you to deliver highly accurate, error-free, and precise cost estimates and quantity takeoffs on time in the best quality.
– Utilizing Advanced AI Estimation Software:
– Do you know that professional estimators utilize advanced technology and estimation tools, which help them deliver accurate estimates? It is strongly recommended to utilize advanced software tools such as PlanSwift, STACK, SAGE Estimating, Procore, ProEST, Bluebeam Revu, and more for the estimation process. These tools with integrated AI help you deliver highly precise estimates, significantly reducing any chances of errors.
Best Software Tools for Landscaping Estimating
In the previous section, we discussed that utilizing professional estimation tools is an effective strategic approach to deliver highly accurate estimates. But the question that comes to mind is that there are too many estimation tools available online, so which one is the best software tool that we can use for estimation? Well, now we are going to discuss the best software tools with maximum features that can help you in the estimation process.
– Procore
Procore is one of the most reliable and trustworthy estimating software available on the market with its involvement in 3,000,000+ projects in more than 150 countries. If you want quality estimates and next level project management, I would recommend using Procore.
One of the major features it has to offer besides estimating is collaboration among the team. Main contractors, owners, and subcontractors can easily connect with each other as a team and work on the project. Furthermore, you can do project management, financial management, resource tracking, and do accounting integrations, and BIM estimating, which is an impressive and useful feature for estimators. It also uses AI-powered insights and industry benchmark data, so if you are looking for better real-time decisions and quality estimates, Procore is the software tool you need.
Regarding the pricing plans, it doesn’t offer any subscription plans, but you can get in touch with their consultation team to discuss pricings.
– PlanSwift:
PlanSwift, a powerful estimating and takeoff conducting tool known for its intuitive interface. It offers many features including its well-known drag-and-drop feature that allows takeoff in no time. No matter how complex your construction project is, you can easily utilize PlanSwift for accurate and timely calculations.
For Landscaping Takeoff and Estimating, you can use this software tool for measuring square footage, volumes, linear dimensions, and curved dimensions with ease. Furthermore, you instantly get accurate area dimensions for SOD, mulch, gravel and other products.
As for the costs? Besides offering a free trial, PlanSwift offers a single pricing plan, called “PlanSwift Professional” which will cost you $2000 annually.
– STACK
STACK is another all-in-one software tool for estimating processes. From project evaluations, takeoffs, to estimating, it offers a variety of features that estimators can benefit from. It is also cloud-based software, so you can easily access it anywhere.
You can use this software for plan management, document control, quantity takeoffs, estimates, proposals, project management, and field collaboration. So, STACK is also a good option not only for cost estimating and quantity takeoffs but also if you want to manage certain elements of your construction project.
Unlike PlanSwift, STACK offers 3 subscription plans for unlocking the takeoff and estimating features.
For 1 User/Estimator, $2999 per year
For 2 User/Estimator, $2599 per year
For 3+ User/Estimator, $2199 per year
You can also optimize the pricing plan for takeoff and estimating software. If you want full STACK features, you can also contact the team to discuss the prices for the full software.
– SAGE Estimating
Another commonly used software tool for estimating purposes is SAGE Estimating. It also offers many features and options that can help you manage your project easily., making it estimators favourite for accounting and estimating solutions.
SAGE Estimating is an ideal tool if you are looking forward to achieving fast, accurate, and precise estimates and takeoffs for your landscape construction project. For top-quality pre-construction estimates, SAGE would be a perfect tool for you. It not only helps managing bids but also offers document and lead management, allowing you to secure your project files for compliance and easily track your leads.
If we look at the prices, SAGE Estimating doesn’t offer any subscription plans, but you can get in touch with their team to discuss the pricing.
– ProEST
ProEST is another AI-powered preconstruction estimator that you can use for your landscape estimating project. It’s a perfect estimating platform with a variety of features to offer. With ProEST, estimating the time, cost, and quantity of resources required for your project will become easy, making it one of the most effective and efficient estimating platforms.
ProEST also offers an easy to use and intuitive design, allowing you to easily understand and utilize it. The features it provides include a risk register, bid package management, issue management, time estimating, quantity takeoffs, cost estimating, 2D estimating, 3D estimating, and more. It is also empowered by artificial intelligence, making it easy for you to get more accurate estimates.
Unlike SAGE and PlanSwift, ProEST doesn’t offer a pricing plan but allows you to customize your pricing plan. You can contact their team to discuss the pricing and the products you want to purchase.
Advantages Of Precise Estimating
Research shows that accurate estimating helps contractors improve their bid success rate by more than 90%, which leads to an increase in project acquisition. Whenever we perform estimating for a construction project, we always mention and focus on accuracy and precision. But why? Why is accuracy and precision very important in estimating? The reason behind why we need accurate estimation results is that it helps strengthen and make the execution of the project smoother. Through accurate estimating, you can easily understand the expenses, costs, and requirements of your project, allowing you to optimize your project planning and budget management. Furthermore, accurate and realistic estimates help you create effective bid proposals and use them to win numerous projects against your competitors.
- Precise cost estimates and quantity takeoffs help develop competitive bid proposals.
- They help you understand project expenses and requirements by giving a detailed breakdown of costs.
- You can manage your resources much efficiently, ensuring all resources and materials are available.
- Through accurate time estimating, you can enhance your project scheduling and timelines.
- With accurate estimations, you are expecting a streamlined construction process with less delays and issues.
Disadvantages of Poor Estimating
Do you know that construction projects that use poor and inaccurate cost estimates & quantity takeoffs for their landscaping construction project often see more than a 32% increase in cost overruns? There are many advantages of accurate estimating, but if the estimations are not performed accurately and are underestimated, they can be costly. Construction projects often utilize advanced technology, software tools, and other strategies to make sure that their estimates are accurate, because if they are not, you can later find yourself in issues such as labor shortages, resource wastage, material over-purchase, budget overruns, project delays, and more.
- Inaccurate cost estimations can negatively impact your budget, so you can lose a lot of money on your construction project, which could’ve been avoided.
- It also leads to poor bid preparation, which can significantly reduce your chances of winning more bids.
- You are expecting poor project planning with imprecise estimates, you cannot enhance your decision-making strategies.
- Because of errors in the estimates, you can purchase resources more than required, leading to issues such as resource wastage.
- This will also negatively impact your project timelines and scheduling, leading to significant project delays.
What are Risk Assessments, are they Important?
Yes, risk assessments are an important part of the estimating process, especially for the landscape projects. If you perform risk assessments and analysis, you can easily develop contingency plans to tackle potential risks and issues that might negatively impact your project objectives & scheduling. Risk analysis mostly covers the factors such as;
- Cost fluctuations
- Material availability
- Labor shortages
- Project delays
- Weather conditions
- Regulatory changes
- Safety hazards
- Equipment failures
- Design errors
- Site conditions
- Contract disputes
- Supply chain disruptions
- Unforeseen site issues
- Market demand shifts
- Client budget changes
- Environmental impacts
You can do site inspections, market research, historical data analysis, stakeholder consultations, regulatory compliance checks, weather impact assessments, material sourcing evaluations, cost fluctuation reviews, safety assessments, and supply chain risk evaluations for comprehensive and effective risk analysis.
What factors affect the cost of your landscape project?
Multiple factors such as project size, scope, market, location, guidelines, and more might affect the cost of your landscape project. Let’s discuss some of the factors that influence the cost of a landscape project.
Site conditions: The state and condition of your project location also matter a lot, such as soil quality, slope, and drainage systems, which can influence the costs of your project.
Size of the Project: The total area or size of your project also increases the demands and requirements.
Project Location: The location & market of your project also matters. For example, the cost of a material in one state can be different from the cost of material in another state.
Material Selection: Depending upon the material required for the landscape project. For example, grass, flowers, plants, or trees, they all have different pricing. So, depending upon what material you require will influence the project costs accordingly.
Labor Required: If you are looking for a skilled or an unskilled labor, it will also impact the project cost. For example, salaries or wages of managers are higher than general labor.
Irrigation Requirement: If your landscape projects require irrigation systems like drip systems, sprinklers, or water features, then they also come with different prices.
Project Complexity: If the design or layout of your landscape project is complex, it will require a skilled team, custom features, intricate layouts, and more to handle it.
Weather Conditions: Your project costs will also depend upon seasonal changes as demand for some materials is limited for some seasons, affecting their costs. Furthermore, weather can also lead to project delays for which you might also have to compensate for.
Permit & Regulatory Costs: The cost of permits and licenses will also influence the total cost of your landscape project.
Equipment Usage: The amount of equipment required for the construction of your project. The rental fees, maintenance, and repair costs will also influence your budget.
Cost for Hiding a Landscape Estimator or Estimating Services
The cost of landscape estimating services can depend upon various factors such as project size, scope, complexity, location, and many more that we have discussed in the previous section. In the US, the majority of landscape estimators charge around $50 to $150 per hour, depending upon the project nature and requirements. For a per project fee, the cost ranges anywhere from $500 to $5000, and more depending upon the provided factors.
Conclusion
In this blog, we have discussed all the important points that can help you with your landscape project. We have discussed the best software tools, pros and cons of estimating, importance of risk assessments, strategies, and more in detail. Now it should be an easy option for you to select the right landscape estimating strategy for your landscape project without any errors or risks.