Estimate Software

[Kevin-shopVOX]

That would be me, and the reason why is neither one does all that I want out of POS software. At one point we were having so much trouble trying to get Activity to work correctly, and lack of support we had we were seriously evaluating other software for our needs and purchased Estimate to change over to. Activity gives me reports and I have learned to customize it to our needs, but it is limited on some of the jobs where it is just substrate and some small quanities of paint and vinyl. This allows me to look at several resources for making competitive bids.

I see your reasons, but it just seems crazy to me. No one knows your method/system better than you but having business info in 2 locations perhaps a third if you are using quickbooks to track your business just seems like you are wasting time by bouncing back and forth.

 

[Farmboy]

To those that have the software and say that it's to time consuming to learn to use, make the time! You had to learn whatever graphics software your using. Someone posted earlier to the person that asked for the best way to use X3 to just USE IT! I'm also not referring to any particular software. Also as stated above, anyone in your shop can use it. After a few dozen times of an employee misquoting or a customer leaving because they need to know right now and on top of that being able to call up old orders for those that call and say "make me the same as before." it'll pay for it's self.

 

[Techman]

a while ago I had a sales desk and sold a ton of sign stuff over a counter... I used the older estimate demo. I could start it ten times before it quit.. Well, I started it once or twice and ran it a long time between retarts with out a problem.

What I liked best about it was.... I would make an estimate and the customer would almost never complain, argue, act shocked, or try to talk me down in my quote. They almost always said ok and bought something. That itself was just about worth buying it.

What stopped me from getting it then was not being able to use it on my laptop while out of the office. If I remember right it is a one machine usage package.

 

[B Snyder]

Thats how it was for me techman. I had one license to use it on my desktop computer and later spent the $100 to add a second license to run it on another computer. That was 5 years ago. Figures may be different now but even at $300 for a 2nd license I think it would be worth it for the reason you've described.

 

[Tim Aucoin]

I am using the full Estimate package via the monthly plan at the moment. I got it at the moment I decided to purchase my new Gerber equipment, as the current software I use to price printing is not too user friendly when it comes to signs and such.

I found it very, very easy to set up, understand and use. I have trained my two staff to use it very quickly.

As for the laptop out of the office issue... you can "check-out" your data... put it on your laptop, and when you return to the office "check it in", and it syncs all your data together again. I was told that with the single license version, you can install it on as many computers as you like, but you can only access the data from one computer at a time unless you buy other licenses. That's fair, and is the way for any good, high end estimating software.

I also think it's smart the way they offer different plug-ins for different needs. With the monthly plan I'm on, I get full access to the entire program with all plug-ins. The way I'm looking at it is that I'm "renting" the software to learn it, get to know if it will work for my situation, and determine exactly which plug-ins will work for me. Once I determine these things, then I'll purchase the program with the appropriate plug-ins!!!

In my limited experience with Estimate, this is an excellent product... easy to learn and very user friendly. I will say this... I don't care what software you use to price... the numbers you get out of it are only as good (and accurate) as the numbers you put in at the front end. Any estimating software worth investing in is also worth investing the amount of time needed to input ACCURATE data from the get go!!

Almost forgot... in every dealing over the phone with the people from Estimate... I've had nothing but excellent, friendly and professional service. I was amazed at how easy it was to get going and how responsive they were to my "rookie" questions!

 

[bob]

Estimate, at least the copy I had some years ago, was poorly designed and implemented.

Poorly designed because it masks its basic ineptitude with needless complexity of calculation. I know this because I know that any pricing model that does not consider media unrolled as media used and that produces wildly different prices for relatively mundane differences in product is probably using too many unimportant variables. And probably is not considering the proper variables.

Poorly implemented because it's human interface and attempt at modularization were amateurish at best. I know this because for many many years I wrote commercial grade software making an incredibly obscene amount of money doing so. On the big iron, not silly PC's. Back when software was written and not clumsily plugged together like ill fitting Leggo blocks.

After I consigned Estimate to the burn pile I whomped up a simple Excel worksheet, actually five simple worksheets in one workbook, one afternoon that produces far more consistent, realistic, and reliable pricing for the various areas of my business. Developing your own pricing models helps you better understand the actual business in which you play. Use someones canned system, no matter how customizable, and you may not ever understand the principles, at least the ones that matter, involved. Sad.

 

[PSG]

You can now have estimate 2.0 running on your "primary" machine in the shop or office and run a laptop version out in the field. Then go back, "sync" or dock that field info back into the primary user station.

Estimate 2.0 has pretty much addressed many of the common "shortcomings" or user needs that were not in any of the 1.0 versions. Estimate is one of the most progressive companies in the industry to listen to its customers and make the requested changes to evolve with the needs of the customer. As a matter of fact, I cannot think of another company in this industry that goes as far to serve the requests and needs of its customers.

As Techman stated, using any POS/Estimating software package adds instant credibility to your quotes. Speaking from experience, unless you are a seasoned sign pro with tons of pricing experience, you are more than likely leaving money on the table with your customers and quotes. Even as a veteran of this industry, I find Estimate priceless as it speeds up my quote times, makes them more professional and consistent and makes anyone in my organization capable of generating a valid, profitable quote.

PSG
A Very Happy Estimate User from the products infancy!

 

[PSG]

T3, you beat me too the info on the laptop.

You also hit the nail on the head, any pricing software is only as good as the input and initial set-up "you" input for your pricing. Unlike super genius BOB, you realized any software's limitations right from the beginning and made it applicable to your situation and found it very usable. AMAZING!

Bob, as always you like F'ing BOOB! Open mouth insert A$$!!!!!!!
If you supposedly have these wonder programming skills that can build a superior product, well then go for it! Send it out to myself, as well as about 100 other competent ESTIMATE users and will be glad make any real world comparisons and let you know how you compare. Until then shut your cakehole Jacka$$!

 

[Techman]

Bob, as always you like F'ing BOOB! Open mouth insert A$$!!!!!!!

Hardly a valid assessment....

 

[Farmboy]

Bob, not to pi$$ in anyone's cornflakes here but you and I are on obvious different levels. I don't come close to having the skill to put together pricing software. So therefore I am more than happy to use a "canned" version. Following your thought process I should also be making all of my own supplies...yes? How else would I understand them without making my own coro, welding my own stakes and even formulating my own recipe for vinyl. I realize this is a bit over the top, but I also believe your response was.

 

[bob]

Bob, not to pi$$ in anyone's cornflakes here but you and I are on obvious different levels. I don't come close to having the skill to put together pricing software. So therefore I am more than happy to use a "canned" version. Following your thought process I should also be making all of my own supplies...yes? How else would I understand them without making my own coro, welding my own stakes and even formulating my own recipe for vinyl. I realize this is a bit over the top, but I also believe your response was.

The point is understanding the world in which you have chosen to live and a consistent model, not whether or not you can create software. The ability to create it merely allows the ability to criticize how it does whatever it does. It has nothing whatsoever to do with what the software does or is supposed to do.

While signs are custom goods they are still, paradoxically, a commodity. An effective pricing model has to account for the commodity part and Estimate doesn't even come close. Coming up with a price based on minutiae, as does Estimate, yields wild swings in prices for iterations of what is essentially the same product. This completely ignores the commodity aspect of the product and can sometimes be challenging to construct the same price for the same product twice in a row.

A far better approach is to take a middle of the road position. Create consistent pricing for functionally identical products. Certainly some jobs are more complex than others but none of it is rocket surgery. The time and materials delta between a simple job a complex job is not all that dramatic if you know what you're doing.

Creating a pricing model that sets a constant fixed price on a specific product, say for example, a cut vinyl 18x24 coroplast one sided, regardless of how many colors, how much text or whatever, based on the median product of this class is the goal. Certainly some jobs are more complex and others are less, but it evens out. The model should always generate profit but not be obsessive about the same margin of profit on each and every piece no matter what.

Some jobs are more lucrative than others but you make money on all of them. Sometimes you make a lot, sometimes not so much, but it should average out to whatever level you target.

 

[B Snyder]

Poorly implemented because it's human interface and attempt at modularization were amateurish at best. I know this because for many many years I wrote commercial grade software making an incredibly obscene amount of money doing so.

Were you being self-aggrandizing or would your opinion be any different if you were paid poorly?

 

[bob]

Were you being self-aggrandizing or would your opinion be any different if you were paid poorly?

If I were paid poorly I would have been otherwise employed and thus not qualified to have an opinion.

 

[gnemmas]

Thumbs up for Bob!! Staying cool on the points and not respond in kind to those name calling thugs.

 

[B Snyder]

If I were paid poorly I would have been otherwise employed and thus not qualified to have an opinion.

If my aunt had testes she'd be my uncle.

 

[iSign]

hmmm... maybe I'll dust off my old copy & give it a whirl... always figured I'd get around to it some day!

 

[kev3232]

good lord people! i asked a simple question and the post has turned into a pissing match!
i love signs101! (inject sarcasm here)

 

[Tim Aucoin]

good lord people! i asked a simple question and the post has turned into a pissing match!
i love signs101! (inject sarcasm here)

Yeah, that tends to happen around here . Hopefully you were able to weed out all the crap and find an answer? As I stated, I have found Estimate's telephone support/service to be top notch... very professional and helpful!

Have a great Monday!

 

[Tim Aucoin]

Thumbs up for Bob!! Staying cool on the points and not respond in kind to those name calling thugs.

I'll second that! Good on ya Bob!

 

[Joe Diaz]

Big EstiMate fan here!!! I guess it doesn't work for some on here, but we love it. We have the Vinyl & Painted Signs plugin and the Digital Print plugin. Before EstiMate (BE) we developed our own pricing guide. We were pleased to find that when we upgraded to EstiMate and plugged in our overhead, costs, etc... , that the prices matched our homemade pricing guide that we were using at the time.

The best thing about EstiMate, is that when you use it, you aren't fiddling around with a calculator and a spreadsheet while the customer stands in front of you. And you can print them out a nice professional looking quote.


It has sliders and ways to adjust the variables that bob says aren't included. I'm guessing that is because we have a newer version, or maybe he didn't have the correct plugins.

The User interface may not look like it was designed by Mac, but it is user friendly, so I can live with that. As long as it helps us get the job done, I don't care if some think it looks "amateurish". In fact, before, we all understood how to quote out jobs, but only one of us ever would. Now it seems like we all quote out jobs, and it's easy! EstiMate is the reason for that.

When we first bought the program and set it up, customer support was good. We haven't had to contact customer support since, because we haven't had any problems.

I would recommend it to all of my sign making friends!