Short answer
Use an outside civil estimator when you have more tenders than estimating time, when your estimator has left, or when a big price needs a second check. Choose one who builds rates from how the work gets done, gives you a fixed fee and a date before starting, and writes down every assumption and exclusion.
Most civil contractors price their own work, and most of the time they should. Outsourcing makes sense in a few specific situations, and the difference between a useful outside estimate and a useless one is easy to spot if you know what to ask.
When it makes sense to send a tender out
- More tenders than estimating time. Three tenders close in the same fortnight and only one can be priced properly. The others get declined or rushed.
- Your estimator has left or is on leave. Tenders keep coming while the seat is empty, and paying per job costs less than a salary while you recruit.
- A second check on a big price. On a large or unusual tender, an independent price shows where your number differs and why, before it is too late to change it.
- Work outside your usual scope. A road job with a large drainage package, or a subdivision with retaining walls and culverts. Someone who prices that work every week will find what you have not met before.
What you should get back
- A priced bill of quantities in Excel and PDF, set out the way your tender form or pricing schedule needs it.
- Rates built up, not looked up. Crew, plant, production and materials for each item, not a quantity times a rate from a cost guide.
- Quantities measured the right way: earthworks in bank, loose and compacted volumes, drainage off the long sections by size and depth, pavements in tonnes.
- Assumptions, exclusions and risks written down, so you know what the number covers before you submit it.
- Questions worth putting to the designer before the tender closes.
If what comes back is only a list of quantities, the hard part of the job (production, ground risk and the commercial calls) is still on your desk.
Seven questions to ask any estimator
- Do you specialise in civil work? A generalist who prices fit-outs one day and subdivisions the next will miss the civil-specific items.
- Who prices my job, and can I talk to them? You should be able to ask the person who built a rate why it is what it is.
- How are the rates built? The answer you want is crews, plant, production and materials, adjusted for the ground and the site.
- Can you use my own labour and plant rates?
- Will I get a fixed fee and a delivery date before you start?
- Will the assumptions and exclusions be in writing?
- Are my documents and prices kept confidential?
You keep control of the price
An outside estimate gives you the cost. The price you submit is still yours. Read the assumptions first, check the twenty biggest lines, adjust production where your crews are faster or slower, then add your margin and your risk allowance. Those are commercial calls, and they belong to you.
When it does not pay
- Small jobs you can price properly in an hour.
- Repeat work where you have your own recent history to price from.
- Design and construct work where the design has to come first.
For everything else the question is simple: is a fixed fee cheaper than the tender you would otherwise decline, rush or get wrong? See how we work when you are too busy to price, when you need overflow estimating through a busy period, or when you want a price check before close.
Common questions
When does it make sense to outsource civil estimating?
When you have more tenders than estimating time, when your estimator has left or is on leave, or when a big or unusual tender needs a second, independent price before it goes in. For small jobs you can price in an hour, or repeat work you have your own history for, it usually does not pay.
How are civil estimating fees worked out?
Ask for a fixed fee and a delivery date before any work starts. The fee depends on how much there is to price: the number of drawings, the trades involved and the form the tender asks for. We look at the documents and send both, usually the same business day.
How long does an outsourced civil estimate take?
Most tender packages take 3 to 7 working days with us. Larger or more complex tenders take longer, and tight closing dates can often be met. The date is agreed with the fee, before anything starts.
Can an outside estimator use my own rates?
A good one can. We can price with your own labour and plant rates, your crew sizes and your layout, so the estimate reads like one of yours.
Will my drawings and prices be kept confidential?
They should be, and you should ask. Your documents and rates stay with us, and suppliers only see what they need to quote.