Estimating is the highest-leverage system in your business. Get it wrong and every other system fails. We rebuild your estimating foundation — CSI-format cost codes, master budgets, and reusable assemblies — so bids that take 8 hours take 30 minutes, and the numbers you bet on are actually right.
You know you need to hit 18% gross margin but when the client pushes back, you shave 3% off the number without really knowing what that means for the job. Gut instinct plus deadline pressure equals margin erosion on every single bid.
Cost: 3–5% GP loss per job, compoundedYour estimate has a line item that says "plumbing rough-in: $8,500" that you copied from a job two years ago. Material costs changed. Labor rates changed. Your placeholder didn't.
Cost: Unknown — which is the whole problemEvery estimate is a new document. You're rebuilding the same kitchen scope, the same framing package, the same mechanical coordination — over and over and over. 25 hours per estimate when it should be 3.
Cost: 20–30 hours/week that should be 5–8You built your cost codes yourself over years. They made sense at the time. Now you have 200+ codes, half are duplicates, none map to CSI divisions, and your bookkeeper has given up trying to reconcile them to the GL.
Cost: Can't benchmark, can't compare, can't improveWe don't just fix the spreadsheet. We fix the foundation — cost codes, assemblies, and pricing logic — so every estimate you run from here on is faster and more accurate.
B&B Builders Case Study: After rebuilding their estimating system with CSI-format cost codes and master budget assemblies, B&B Builders reduced estimate time by 65% and increased average gross margin by 4.2 points over the following 6 months. Read the full case study →
Review every cost code in your system. Eliminate duplicates, standardize naming to CSI format (Divisions 01–16), and map each code to your chart of accounts.
Build your master estimate template with current labor rates, material costs, and subcontractor benchmarks for your market. The foundation every estimate starts from.
Package your 10–15 most common scopes (kitchen remodel, framing package, mechanical rough-in) as pre-priced assemblies. Drop them in and adjust quantities.
Set margin floors by project type. Build markup logic into the template. Stop shaving margin under pressure — your floor is built in before the client ever sees a number.
Walk your estimator (or yourself) through the new system. Build the habit. The template only works if the team uses it.
Grant has rebuilt estimating systems for 312+ builders across residential custom homes, light commercial, and specialty trades. The pattern is almost always the same: bad cost codes, placeholder pricing, and no margin floor. The fix is systematic — not magical. Get the foundation right and the rest falls into place.
Book a free diagnostic. We'll review your current estimating process and tell you exactly where you're losing margin — and what it'll take to fix it.