IT's a kind of Magic

02/12/2009 22:10:53

Article appeared in Professional Builder, December 2009

Stephen Woodhams, has worked on site as a bricklayer for the past few years, but has a background in IT. A combination which makes him ideally placed to put EstimatorXpress to the test.

Install & Setup

The installation of EstimatorXpress is quick and easy, with clear instructions to guide users through the process. The installation screens look crisp and frankly what I’d expect from a specialist software package.

The software arrived in a box along with a book to get you started. Once you take a closer look at the manual you’ll see that it is broken down into small bite size exercises that guide you through step-by-step, screen-by-screen.

The product registration and macro security tweaks were straightforward and painless and I soon found myself downloading the latest price book, which again was straightforward.

Overall I would say the whole process of set-up, registration were error free, relatively quick and very easy to follow.

Getting Started

Reading further into the manual it becomes apparent that the package is very function, so I decided to follow the manual step-by-step. Each section of the book is broken down into manageable exercises with an estimated time to complete each exercise. This is a great idea as there’s nothing worse than starting something not knowing how long it’s going to take.

The first exercise took me into editing the price book. All the steps were logical and the whole concept was fine.

It also becomes plain that there’s a wealth of help available within the package that is well presented, clear and easy to navigate. It is pleasing to see that inside the application the help format mirrors that of Microsoft applications.

Spec & Versatility

When you follow the tutorials through to creating an estimate and using the job setup wizard you really begin to see what you get with EstimatorXpress.

It takes a couple of minutes to define the job specification, profit margins and type in the address and then you can start estimating the job you’ve defined using the wizards.

The wizards in EstimatorXpress are the best feature of the application from an end user perspective. They enable the user to enter data into the engine of the application while providing excellent graphical representations of what you’re estimating.

The wizards break the estimating process into logical steps that provide clear, quality images that are backed up with tips and useful information. In addition to providing good visuals, the wizards make the data entry easy, logical and present the user with the finer details involved that may be overlooked. This is really crucial as something missed during the estimating process could prove to be costly later on!

The software will also provide reports and charts which can be easily printed and/or exported into other applications such as Word. When I imported diagrams from the wizards into Word the transition was seamless and I found manipulating the diagrams undemanding.

Output and Presentation

The quote that EstimatorXpress produces allows you to turn images on or off and gives you the option to provide a basic or detailed quote without the need for any typing. Simply drop in your company logo and click print – it’s that easy.

Pros and Cons

EstimatorXpress is a robust, well developed application.

It is also an application in its own right, rather than just a Microsoft Excel add-on. The package is backed up with a well written manual with clear succinct instructions and exercises to reference real estimates.

As a bricklayer that has only worked on new builds, I can genuinely say that I would be far more confident in costing a private job with the aid of this software.

Once you’ve spent a little time getting used to this package and by that I mean only 30 minutes, you will have built up the momentum and interest to get a great deal more out of this package.

The access to live prices is also another great feature which cuts down the time it takes to get hold of prices by huge amounts.

Professional Builder, December 2009

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