Construction estimating software (UK): what it does, what it costs and whether you need it

It's 9pm. You've been on the tools since 7.

Now there's a drawing pack open, a scale rule in one hand and a spreadsheet that's older than your van. Sound familiar?

Construction estimating software is built to end that. It's a program that helps you price up a job. It measures the quantities off the drawings, adds your labour and material rates, and turns it all into a quote or tender price.

In short

• It measures, adds up and prices a job for you, from the drawings or from what you saw on site.
• There are 4 main types: spreadsheets, takeoff tools, full estimating packages and AI estimating.
• Many charge a monthly fee for each person who uses it. Some have a free version. A few sell a one-off licence.
• You probably need it if you price from drawings every week, or quotes are eating your evenings.
• A spreadsheet is still fine if you price up a few small, similar jobs a month.

What does construction estimating software actually do?

Every estimate has the same 4 steps. The software just does them faster, and it doesn't get tired at 9pm.

1. Measure the job. This is called a takeoff: measuring lengths, areas and counts off the drawings.
2. Add your rates. What each item costs you in labour, materials and plant (diggers, mixers and other kit you hire).
3. Add the bits people forget. Prelims (the cost of running the site, like welfare, skips and scaffold), your overheads and your margin.
4. Produce the price. A quote for the customer, a tender price, or a bill of quantities (a list of every item on the job and how much of it, in a set order).

Doing this by hand is where mistakes creep in. Miss one wall on one drawing and the quantity's wrong.

Then the material order's wrong. Then the price is wrong. And you find out on site, with the lads stood waiting for materials.

Good software doesn't replace your judgement. It takes the counting off you, so you can check it with a clear head.

How does it turn a drawing into a price?

Here's a real one. Say you're pricing up the stud walls on a first-floor plan for a drylining job.

1. You upload the drawing as a PDF.
2. You trace the walls on screen, or AI estimating software does it for you. The walls add up to 24 metres long.
3. The drawing says they're 2.4 metres high. So that's 57.6 square metres of wall.
4. The software works out everything that wall needs and puts your rate against each line.

Then it adds your prelims and margin, and you've got a price. Every line shows where its number came from.

So when the main contractor's QS (quantity surveyor) asks "did that include the second floor?", you can answer in seconds.

What are the 4 types of estimating software?

Not all estimating tools do the same job. Here's the plain version.

Some tools also come with a price book: a ready-made list of typical costs. Some use cost data from services like BCIS (the Building Cost Information Service), which sells construction cost data to the industry.

Price books are handy for a rough check. But your own rates win every time, because they're what your jobs really cost you.

How much does it cost?

Prices change all the time, so we won't list them here. What matters more is how you're charged. There are 3 common ways:

• Monthly subscription. You pay every month, often for each person who logs in.
• Free version. Free to use, but with limits, like a cap on jobs or no takeoff.
• One-off licence. You pay once to own that version. Updates may cost extra.

Before you sign up, ask these 5 questions:

1. Is the price for each user, or for the whole firm?
2. Is VAT on top?
3. Is there a minimum contract, or can I cancel any month?
4. Are takeoff, quotes and invoicing included, or do they cost more?
5. Can I try it free on one of my real jobs first?

Now compare that with the cost of not having it. On our own site we talk about a contractor who paid an outside QS £1,200 plus VAT to price up one tender.

They lost the bid, and the money was gone anyway. You can read the full sums in the real cost of tendering.

Do you actually need it?

Answer these honestly.

You probably need it if:

• You price from drawings most weeks.
• You do tenders, or want to start.
• Quotes take you more than an evening each.
• You're pricing up jobs in the van, between sites.
• You've lost money on a job because a quantity was wrong.
• Only one person in the firm can price, and that's you.

A spreadsheet is probably fine if:

• You do a handful of small jobs a month.
• They're all similar, like the same type of bathroom refit.
• You rarely work from drawings.

If you're in the first group, the time saved usually pays for the software. If you're in the second, a good spreadsheet and a simple quote template will do for now.

What should UK firms look for?

UK work has a few things American software can get wrong. Check these before you buy.

• Uses your own rates. A price book is a starting point. Your price should come from your real costs.
• Measures from PDF drawings. That's how most drawing packs arrive, so you shouldn't need to redraw anything.
• Bills to NRM 2, if you tender. NRM 2 is the rulebook from RICS (the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) for measuring building work in detail. Many main contractors' surveyors expect a bill of quantities set out that way.
• Gets VAT and CIS right, or links to your accounts. If you use subbies, or work as one, CIS matters. It's the tax scheme where contractors take money off a subbie's payments and pass it to HMRC. Work between VAT-registered firms in CIS also usually uses the VAT domestic reverse charge, where your customer pays the VAT to HMRC instead of to you. If the software invoices, it needs to handle both, or link to Xero or QuickBooks.
• Works on your phone. You're on site and in the van more than you're at a desk.
• Every line can be checked. If you can't see where a number came from, you can't defend it.

Where Nexley fits

Nexley is practical AI for UK trades that works through WhatsApp. For estimating, you send it the drawing PDFs from the van, or a voice note from site. It measures the takeoffs and lists every line against the drawing it came from.

Then it builds a bill of quantities set out to NRM 2, priced from your own rates, usually the same day. You check it before anything goes out. Your margin stays your call.

See how our construction estimating software works, and the takeoff software behind it. Or try it free for 7 days, no card needed.

Common questions

Is there free construction estimating software?

Yes. Some tools have a free version, but it's usually limited, for example a cap on jobs or no takeoff from drawings. A spreadsheet is also free.

Free is fine for a few small jobs. Once you're pricing from drawings every week, the time a paid tool saves is usually worth more than it costs.

Can I just use Excel for estimating?

You can, and lots of small firms do. Excel's fine for small, similar jobs, like a run of bathroom refits.

It starts to struggle when you price from drawings, because you're still doing the takeoff by hand. Broken formulas are the other risk, so check the sums on anything big.

What's the difference between estimating software and takeoff software?

Takeoff software measures: lengths, areas and counts off the drawings. Estimating software prices: it puts your rates against those quantities and adds prelims and margin.

Some tools do both. If yours only does the takeoff, you'll still need somewhere to price it up.

Will estimating software replace my QS?

Not completely. Software and AI can take over the measuring and the first draft of the bill.

A good QS still earns their fee on contracts, valuations (working out what's been done so you can be paid) and disputes. We go through the honest split in do you still need a QS.

Sources

Prices and features change often. Check the details with each supplier, and try any tool on one of your real jobs before you commit.

• RICS: New Rules of Measurement (NRM), including NRM 2 Detailed measurement for building works (rics.org)
• GOV.UK: What is the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) (gov.uk)
• GOV.UK: VAT domestic reverse charge for building and construction services (gov.uk)
• BCIS: Building Cost Information Service (bcis.co.uk)