What is assembly estimating?

Assembly estimating is a simple, accurate way to create takeoffs. It also streamlines the management of material costs, quotes, and ordering because each assembly includes all the necessary parts and labor to complete a unit of work.

For example, an interior door assembly might include the door, frame, hinges, trim, doorknob, shims, and nails, and the quantity of each part necessary to complete the work. When creating a takeoff, you can insert the interior door assembly instead of each of the individual parts needed. You only need to then enter the quantity of interior door assemblies needed in the project. When you compute the takeoff, Sage 100 Contractor determines the total number of parts needed to complete the door assemblies.

Assembly estimating is more precise and useful than unit price estimating, which only provides a flat rate per unit of measurement. Suppose you are estimating costs to frame a house, and the cost of nails has increased recently. Unit price estimating makes it difficult to calculate the new cost per unit reflecting the additional costs. You can only add an amount to the takeoff that you hope compensates for the increased cost of nails.

Assembly estimating makes it easier to keep costs up to date. When you update the parts database or a portion thereof, Sage 100 Contractor also updates the part costs in the assemblies, ensuring that you will use the most current costs when you create a takeoff.

To increase the accuracy of your takeoffs, you can create part records for labor costs. As you build the assemblies, include the appropriate labor parts. In some instances, you might need to add several different part records for labor to account for the different types of work required. An assembly for installing a sink, for example, might include labor for setting the cabinet, roughing in the plumbing, installing wiring for a disposer unit, and setting the sink and finishing the plumbing.

Assembly estimating has many benefits:

• Each assembly contains all the necessary parts. It becomes impossible to forget parts that are used infrequently.
• You can generate complete parts lists from the takeoff, which lets you obtain materials quotes before submitting the final bid.
• You can adjust prices according to difficulty factors or site-specific conditions.
• Creation of purchase orders directly from the takeoff, eliminating errors often encountered in unit price takeoffs or separate materials billing processes.
• The accuracy of takeoffs increases as you refine the assemblies.
• You can build a library of modified assemblies.