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Estimate Sign Software, having software issues

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redprint

New Member
Hello, I own EstiMate Desktop Sign Software that you do estimates in. I am wondering if anyone has this software and can communicate with me about some problems it has when doing estimates. I am experiencing inconsistent pricing by just changing the quantities. I am attempting to find out if it is my settings somehow, or a very large issue with the software. I will give you an example of what I am having issues with.

I am doing a wide format inkjet, printing on vinyl, laminating it and installing it onto a substrate. I choose all these options, and then I put the quantity of 1 with the size of 25x11.25. The price for one = $42.93. The price for two = $24.85 per sign. The price for three = $27.12 per sign. The price for four = $19.90 per sign, The price for 5 = $23.96 per sign, and the quantity of 6 = $18.25 per sign, The price for 7 = $22.61. As you can see, the pricing is totally inconsistent. Has anyone who is using the program, have these issues, when estimating a wide format inkjet job? If you have EstiMate Desktop 2014 R 1.1 Build 17, please see if this is happening with your software. If not, at least I can narrow it down to something on my software that isn't configured correctly.

Thank you! I appreciate your help!
 
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victor bogdanov

Active Member
depending on what material size you are using 1 sign will use the same amount of material as 2 signs if you are using 54" material, maybe software is accounting for that ?
 
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redprint

New Member
victor bogdanov said:
depending on what material size you are using 1 sign will use the same amount of material as 2 signs if you are using 54" material, maybe software is accounting for that ?
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I have found out that if I take the substrate out of the estimate, it does have the pricing in the correct increments. As soon as you put a substrate in, is when the inconsistencies happen.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
I only use it for estimating, it's a bit clunky but I also don't have anything else to compare it to that may be even more clunky. Once it's all set up, it pretty much prices right in line with what I come up with on paper but much faster. Keeping up with all of these material price changes has been a PITA
 
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redprint

New Member
Notarealsignguy said:
I only use it for estimating, it's a bit clunky but I also don't have anything else to compare it to that may be even more clunky. Once it's all set up, it pretty much prices right in line with what I come up with on paper but much faster. Keeping up with all of these material price changes has been a PITA
Click to expand...
 
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redprint

New Member
Okay, I figured it out. The double sided box was clicked, so when it goes to an odd number it is a one sided sign, and an even number it is a double sided sign. Operator ERROR!
 
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redprint

New Member
JBurton said:
Not to hijack, but how do you guys like that software overall? Is it mostly for print production, or does it handle full production as well? We are once again hunting for ERP software over here, and it's always just a bunch of wheel turning with no progress, and then the accountant wanting it to do payroll instead of using a seperate program.
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The software works well for estimating signs, that is all I can vouch for, and that is all I use it for. It seems to have worked quite well for the past decade for us.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
JBurton said:
Is that subscription based or did you buy the program out right?
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Its an annual subscription, the price isn't terrible. I don't know how it would work for those fancy signs you make but it has saved me a lot of time and guesswork. I think that you can get a free trial
 
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ColorCrest

All around shop helper.
JBurton said:
Is the price changing in any way automated?
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I don't know about EstiMate but most will get the purchase costs & selling price data from a table of components (materials, equipment, services, etc.) and then determine the usage specified by the qty, size, sides, etc., to calculate the final selling price. Of course the component values need to be current.
 
Notarealsignguy

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
Yeah, it comes pre-populated with a bunch of materials but you need to update pricing. I just added my own. You set your labor rate, how you charge for waste/drops, material cost, vendor, part number, percentage to markup or an amount. Then you can put in whatever description for the materials that prints on the estimate/invoice. It has sliders to adjust certain parameters on the fly, profiles, ink coverage etc. It is pretty handy. I think that you can link it to QB too but am not sure. I send my wife a pdf of the estimate and she copies and pastes it which is nice because you can go back and reference jobs like the profile used as long as you take a minute and run through it all. Theres a free form selection where you can just type in whatever you want which saves time on 1 off line items
 
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