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Hire Or Outsource
Outsource Estimating in Construction: When It Beats Hiring
For subcontractors and builders weighing an external estimator against a new hire, and how the hand-over works if you outsource.
You outsource estimating in construction when the tenders you want to price need more hours than you have, and the gap is too uneven to justify a salary. Sami Strategy Co. works as an external estimator for subcontractors and builders in Melbourne: you send the drawings and documents, we return a measured take-off and marked-up drawings in 1 to 5 working days, currently averaging 3, and the pricing is done at your rates, by us or by your own team. There is no long-term commitment, so you can price one tender this month and four the next.
This page is for the owner or estimating manager deciding between the two. It covers when an external estimator is the better fit and when a hire still wins, how the drawings change hands, what happens when the builder issues an addendum, and how your rates stay your own.
Hire Or Outsource
When does it make sense to outsource estimating in construction?
An in-house estimator is paid every week whether three tenders arrive or none. That suits a builder with a steady pipeline and enough related work, such as procurement and variations, to fill the quiet weeks. It suits a trade contractor less well, because invitations arrive in clusters around builders' closing dates and go quiet in between. Outsourcing turns estimating into a cost that moves with the tenders you choose to price.
Three situations come up most often: the business with no estimator, where the owner measures drawings after hours; the team with one estimator at capacity, where each extra invitation is declined or rushed; and the deadline peak, when several tenders close in the same week and the choice is between dropping one and submitting a number nobody checked. In each case an external estimator adds measured hours in the weeks you need them, with no long-term commitment in the weeks you do not.
Hiring still wins when there is a full week of measuring every week, and when the role includes site measures, supplier negotiation and handover meetings that an external estimator does not attend. Some builders run both: a core estimator in-house and an outside estimator for overflow and peaks.
- Tender invitations arrive in bursts around builders' closing dates, then go quiet
- Your one estimator is declining invitations because the diary is full
- A tender has landed with a short closing date and a large drawing set
- You want to price a new trade package or project type without committing a salary to it
- You want an independent take-off to check a price before you commit to it
Who This Is For
Who outsources construction estimating?
Subcontractors and builders reach the same decision from different directions.
Subcontractors
A trade contractor is often the owner, a supervisor and the crews, with nobody whose job is to measure drawings. Outsourced estimating gives you a take-off and mark-up for your trade before the builder's closing date, priced at the rates you set out with us at the start. You choose which invitations to price and send only those.
Learn moreBuilders
Builders and head contractors usually have an estimator already and run short of hours at tender time. Ad hoc estimating takes the overflow packages, or the whole tender when your team is committed elsewhere, in a format your estimator can check and price. Builders who want continuity can move to the long-term partnership on the builders page.
Learn moreHow It Works
How does the hand-over work in ad hoc estimating?
The sequence for a tender you outsource to us.
Set-up meeting and agreement
Before the first tender, subcontractors meet with us once to go through the trades or packages you price, the format you want the estimate in and your current rates. A short agreement then confirms the arrangement. Builders who want quantities and mark-ups for their own team to price can send the documents straight away.
Hand over the documents
Send the set the way you received it: architectural, structural and services drawings, the specification, tender conditions, the scope letter and any addenda, as PDFs, a shared folder link or the package downloaded from EstimateOne. Tell us the closing date and which trades or sections to measure. We check the set for missing sheets and superseded revisions before measuring begins.
Measure, mark up and note
We measure the quantities for your scope, mark the drawings to show what was counted, and keep a running list of discrepancies between sheets and specification, scope the documents push onto you and risks in the contract terms. Turnaround is 1 to 5 working days from a complete set, currently averaging 3.
Query session
When the take-off is delivered we go through it with you so the assumptions behind each quantity are understood and the items that need a decision are decided before you submit. Further questions before the closing date are welcome.
Addenda and revisions
When an addendum or a revised drawing set is issued during the tender period, send it through with the revision schedule. We update the quantities and mark-ups that are affected and tell you which items moved, so send each revision as soon as it arrives.
What You Get
What do you receive when you outsource construction estimating?
Four things come back, each in a form your own team can check.
A take-off in your format
Quantities measured for your scope and laid out the way your pricing sheet expects, so they drop into your own spreadsheet or estimating software.
Marked-up drawings
Each measured item shown on the drawing it came from, so you or your estimator can audit the coverage without re-measuring.
Notes on gaps, discrepancies and risk
A list of items the documents push into your scope, conflicts between sheets and specification, and contract terms worth a qualification or an exclusion in your submission.
Pricing at your rates
For subcontractors the quantities are priced at the rates agreed at set-up, or handed over unpriced if you would rather rate them yourself. Builders receive quantities for their own estimator to price. Either way the margin decision stays with you.
Scope And Cost
What affects the cost of outsourced estimating?
The fee covers the measuring and review in each job you send. These drivers move it.
- How many trades or packages are measured
- Size of the drawing set and how many addenda arrive during the tender period
- Whether we price at your rates or hand over quantities only
- How close the closing date sits to our standard turnaround
- How far the tender conditions and contract need to be read for scope and risk
- Whether this is a single tender or part of a standing arrangement
Why Sami Strategy
What should you look for in an estimating partner in construction?
Estimators who also tender
Sami Strategy Co. are EstimateOne specialists and submit tenders for subcontractors through it. An estimator who also submits and negotiates tenders has seen which scope items get pushed down the chain and which notes a builder queries, and the take-off reflects that.
A turnaround you can plan a tender around
Ad hoc work comes back in 1 to 5 working days, currently averaging 3, and we tell you before starting whether the closing date fits. Invitations you would otherwise decline can be priced.
Your rates and your margin stay with you
We measure, mark up and flag; the rates come from you and the final number is yours to adjust and submit.
I had the pleasure of dealing with Sandra and the team at Sami Strategy Co on a large multi-unit apartment building in Blackburn, VIC. Being a structural engineer, it was a delight to speak to someone who actually understands building.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
What does ad hoc estimating mean?
Ad hoc estimating is estimating engaged one tender at a time, with no long-term commitment. You send the documents for the job you want priced, we measure and return it, and the arrangement rests until you send the next one. It suits businesses whose tender volume changes from month to month.
Is it better to outsource construction estimating or hire an estimator?
It depends on whether you have a full week of measuring every week. A steady pipeline and a role that also covers procurement, site measures and handover meetings justifies a hire; uneven volume, no estimator on staff, or peaks one estimator cannot cover favour outsourcing.
How does outsourced estimating for subcontractors keep pricing in my hands?
At the set-up meeting we record your current rates and the way you build up a price. Each take-off is priced at those rates, or left unpriced if you prefer to rate it yourself, and you adjust rates and margin before anything is submitted.
Can I outsource one package of a larger tender?
Yes. You can send the packages your team has no time for and keep the rest in-house. Tell us which trades or sections to measure and the format your estimator wants, and the take-off is delivered to sit next to the packages priced internally.
What happens if the builder issues an addendum after you have measured?
Send the addendum and any revised drawings, with the revision schedule, as soon as you receive them. We update the quantities and mark-ups that are affected and tell you which items moved, so you can see the change in your price. How long that takes depends on how much of the set changed.
Do I need to meet you before sending the first tender?
Subcontractors meet with us once before the first tender, and builders generally do not need to. The meeting covers the trades you price, the format you want and your current rates, and a short agreement follows before the first drawings are sent.
What is the difference between outsourced estimating and tendering support?
Outsourced estimating ends with a measured take-off, marked-up drawings and notes that you price and submit yourself. Tendering support goes further: we submit the tender through EstimateOne, liaise with the builder and negotiate on your behalf. Subcontractors can start with estimating and add tendering later.
Can an estimating partner in construction grow into a standing arrangement?
Yes. Builders who use the ad hoc service and want continuity can move to a long-term partnership, which begins with a meeting about your current estimating process and how we fit into your team, followed by a signed agreement and a regular hand-over of tenders.