Estimating
A unit price is only as good as the parts behind it. Instead of typing one number into an estimate line, you can list what one unit of work costs: labor, material, equipment, subcontract and other parts, each with a quantity per unit and a unit cost. Fidrel adds the parts up, shows the price per unit, and keeps the price tied to its build-up until you choose to price the line another way.
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When an estimator types $6.85 per square foot, the reviewer sees a figure and nothing else. If the labor rate changes or the board price jumps, there is no way to tell which part of the price is now wrong without rebuilding it in a side spreadsheet.
Many shops keep the arithmetic in a workbook and paste the result into the estimate. The estimate then carries a bare number, and the workbook that explains it is one email away from being the wrong version.
A unit rate that quietly includes general conditions and profit is hard to compare with the next one, and it gets marked up twice when the estimate adds its own percentages on top.
Take a metal stud partition priced per square foot, with figures made up for this page. Labor: 0.07 hours at 58.00 per hour is 4.06. Material, studs, track and fasteners: 1.05 square feet at 1.80 is 1.89. Equipment, a lift: 0.01 days at 90.00 is 0.90. The unit price is 6.85 per square foot. Because every resource has its own description, type, quantity per unit and unit cost, a reviewer who disagrees with the lift can say so on that row. The unit text is yours to write, so square foot, linear foot, each and cubic yard all work, and quantities take up to three decimals while amounts take two.
Cost estimation
Keep the build-up to direct cost and let the estimate add the rest. Markups and deductions are calculated in the order shown, each on the direct costs or on the subtotal above it, and Fidrel suggests the names General conditions, Overhead, Contingency and Profit. A markup applies to all items by default, can be excluded for some items and can carry its own percentage for others, so the build-up itself never has to change.
Step 1
Select the cost item in the estimate, make sure Pricing is set to Unit price, and fill in the Quantity and the Unit. While the estimate is open for changes, a Build up the unit price link appears under the price field.
Step 2
Choose Build up the unit price and add a resource. Pick its Type, which is Labor, Material, Equipment, Subcontract or Other, write a description, enter the Quantity per unit and its unit, and type the Unit cost.
Step 3
Each resource shows its own amount, and the foot of the list shows the unit price per unit. The price field no longer takes typing; it says from the build-up and locked, and the item total is Quantity × unit price.
Step 4
Edit any resource to move the price, or use Remove resource. Pricing the item as a Fixed amount or leaving it Unpriced removes the build-up, and the panel says so before you save.
The build-up is edited while the estimate is open. When the estimate is approved, the calculation is saved with it, and later changes are made in a revision. Fidrel does its arithmetic in whole cents, rounding each figure once, half away from zero, so the page never shows a number that the saved estimate would change.
Fidrel has no cost database, no assembly library and no labor-rate or productivity table. Every resource is typed by hand, so Fidrel never suggests a quantity per unit or a unit cost, and it does not apply waste factors or labor burden for you. If your labor rate is burdened, type the burdened rate. Pricing the item as a fixed amount or leaving it unpriced removes its build-up. If you want to price a line from a vendor quote instead, remove the build-up first.
Your trial applies to your first own project and starts when that project is created. No card required. Afterwards, choose card or invoice to continue.
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Read moreFive types: Labor, Material, Equipment, Subcontract and Other. Each has a description, a quantity per unit, a unit and a unit cost, and the price per unit is their sum.
No. Fidrel has no cost database, so every unit cost is one you type. That keeps the price in line with your own crews, suppliers and quotes.
Not while the build-up is in place, because the price is shown as coming from the build-up and locked. Price the item as a fixed amount or leave it unpriced and the build-up is removed.
In the estimate’s markups, not in the build-up. Markups are calculated on direct costs or on the subtotal above, in a set order, and suggested names include Overhead, Contingency and Profit.
No. Approval saves the calculation with the estimate and locks it. You make the change in a new revision of the estimate.
Yes, but not at the same time on one line. A quote can be chosen as the item’s price once the build-up has been removed.
