The question is often asked "how do I win the amount of work I need or how much work do I need to make a profit"? At the start of every year we should calculate the value of work we need to win and complete to cover our overheads and make a profit... more info»

What is Cost Plus? It is a method of charging a customer for all or part of a project, usually but not necessarily restricted to a job that have been quoted and extra work is required, but for some reason a fixed price is not... more info»

Progress claims are accounts submitted to the customer for payment on an agreed regular basis for payment on work completed. Based on the assumption that the project has been quoted and an agreed price reached the progress claims will be proportional to the completed work inline with... more info»

The secret of estimating lies in building "Standard Rates" which will provide accuracy, consistent, flexibility and time savings. When completed they will stand the test of time and can be adjusted in accordance with technology changes. A Standard Rate is a combination of building materials, which are required in varying proportions to carry out a task... more info»

I remember asking the question in one of my estimating seminars "how do we know the correct charge out rate?" That's easy one contractor replied "the cost of a postage stamp indicates the charge out rate for labour, when stamps were 30c labour was $30.00 per hour and now they are 45c, $45.00 per hour is the rate" well there may be some similarities, however... more info»

It is extremely easy to ask another contractor what their charge out rate is, or you may rely on your trade association to calculate it for you. However, it is much more rewarding to calculate the cost of labour yourself as it provides your firm with more control. It is important to establish the cost of labour before adding the... more info»

There are four main productivity losses when assessing labour that either affect the time it will take to carry out a task or directly affect the cost of labour. 1. Mistakes 2. Coffee Breaks 3. Site location 4. Benefits... more info»

When a tender/bid has been unsuccessful it is wise for the estimator/contractor to analyse his/her estimate and to see if anything could be done differently which may result in it becoming the winning tender/bid... more info»

During my estimating seminars of which over 3,000 Australian and New Zealand plumbers have now attended, the most interest is in Labour. For some reason contractors find it difficult... more info»

For many years governments have used the residential housing market as one of the indicators for gauging how the economy is performing. This may have been reasonable in the seventies and eighties, however... more info»