Sage Estimating

Better Estimates By Every Measure

Sage Estimating, formerly Sage Timberline Estimating, is an all-in-one construction estimating tool powered by trade-specific cost databases, enabling speedy takeoffs and final proposals. Input your own costs into a prebuilt database or choose a pre-populated database. When your proposal is accepted, information flows automatically to Job Cost in Sage business management software, such as Sage 100 Contractor or Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, eliminating redundant tasks, data entry errors, and omissions.

Sage Estimating provides a smarter, automated way to estimate - takeoffs are faster, final proposals are more professional - plus it works in tandem with other Sage business management products, so once a bid is accepted, information flows automatically to accounting and job cost. By eliminating redundant data-entry and error-prone processes, Sage Estimating helps projects run efficiently from initial estimate to project completion.

Speed comes easily. Sage Estimating eliminates the drudgery associated with complex calculations and manual, repetitive, and routine estimating tasks. Sage Estimating has an intuitive interface with familiar bid worksheets that make building estimates easy. With thousands of report options, you’ll be executing processes, pricing items, querying data, and taking off a project with ease and speed. That’s the power of Sage Estimating. That’s putting your best bid forward, faster.

What makes Sage Estimating different than other estimating solutions?

Potent

Takeoffs are turbo-charged. Choose from a variety of takeoff methods. Then simply pull individual or groups of items from a variety of industry-specific databases directly into your bid worksheet. Enter dimensions but don’t blink, because quantities and prices are instantly tabulated.

Powerful

Sage Estimating is a welcome replacement for underpowered estimating solutions and generic spreadsheets. Under the hood, it’s powered by a Microsoft SQL Server® database, which stores all your data in one place and processes it quickly. For starters, this means faster queries, better security, and more insightful reports.

Professional

Sage Estimating doesn’t forget about style. The software makes it quick and easy to present reports and final proposals that are thoughtful, well-organized, and itemized. In other words, precisely what management and clients are looking for. Your professionalism will set your firm apart from the competition—and unlevel the playing field in your favor.

Five ways Sage Estimating makes you faster

• Slashes takeoff time by 50% or more versus manual or generic spreadsheets methods.
• Automates the process of cost item updates, eliminating the grind associated with pricing items manually.
• Generates final proposals and reports in seconds.
• Provides a smart way to organize and report on estimates—with fast and easy access.
• Shortens the learning curve by adapting to your preferred way of working.

---

Profitability with precision

Make every bid a winner. The fate of every project hinges on the estimate. Miss high and your proposal will be ignored. Miss low or make a mistake and cost overruns will erode your profits or ruin your company’s reputation. Sage Estimating helps you find the sweet spot while ensuring precise calculations and costs across all aspects of the bid: labor, supplies, subcontractor bids, materials, equipment, and even overhead and profit.

When you think of Sage Estimating, one word ought to come to mind: bull’s-eye.

Accuracy
Your profitable project starts with takeoff. Several methods are available to fit your preferred style. Trade-specific databases, smart assemblies, and digital plan takeoff support do the heavy lifting for you—guiding you through as the system calculates materials, equipment, and labor prices. Automation helps eliminate costly errors such as mistyped values, mistakenly deleted formulas, and misplaced decimals.

Flexibility
Do you lose your cool on bid day if you’re asked to proportionately slash the total estimate by 4 percent? With Sage Estimating, you can handle these kind of adjustments in a snap, on the fly, and with precision. Plus, you can easily modify or undo adjustments or make side-by-side comparisons right on screen.

Uniformity
When you have multiple estimators, inconsistency can be an issue—particularly if each is using a different personalized spreadsheet. With Sage Estimating, estimators have flexibility in the way they work, but the methodology is predictably consistent, eliminating pricing variations between estimators that can easily result in eroded profits.

Five ways Sage Estimating improves accuracy

1. Uses up-to-date, trade-specific cost databases for final numbers you can trust.
2. Eliminates manual calculations and reduces the risk of overlooked items—some of the most common causes of errors.
3. Enables you to make last-minute changes with quick precision.
4. Standardizes the bid process across multiple estimators without forfeiting individual styles
   and flexibility.
5. Removes spreadsheet liabilities—such as hidden cells and broken formulas.

---

Get projects on the fast track

Connect estimating with the rest of your business. The ability to ensure continuity of your projects from initial estimate to project completion sets Sage Estimating apart from other estimating software. It works in tandem with accounting and operations management software from Sage to establish a seamless connection among everyone who works on a project—from estimators to accountants to project managers. The results? You spend less time moving information around and more time ensuring your projects and your overall business are moving smartly ahead.

Connectivity
When a bid is won and project responsibility shifts hands, is the transition smooth? Does information need to be rekeyed? With the integration between Sage Estimating and our accounting software, the appropriate data feeds from estimating to accounting for job cost reporting. No data loss. No redundant entry. Nothing left to chance.

Continuity
By aligning estimating with operations, Sage Estimating keeps all team members on the same page, looking at the most current data. This helps everyone make well-informed decisions and move projects through the lifecycle from start to finish, ensuring project profitability.

Confidence
With a complete view of the business close at hand, including historical data from accounting, estimating, and job cost tracking, you can considerably improve your estimating accuracy as well as win/loss ratios. In addition, the ability to compare estimated versus actual costs in a real-time scenario can help you make quicker, well–informed decisions, keeping your projects on track and profitable.

Share data between estimating, accounting, and job cost with no data reentry or associated errors.

Five ways Sage Estimating connects your entire business.

1. Shares data across estimating, job cost, and accounting functions—with no data re-entry.
2. Smoothes the transition from estimating to job cost, ensuring projects stay on track.
3. Makes it easier to schedule, communicate, and confirm all project details across your team.
4. Provides estimators access to historical “estimated vs. actual” figures, helping improve accuracy on future bids.
5. Gives management fast access to cross-operational reports for informed decision-making.

---

The Sage customer experience

We’re here to help. From the moment Sage made its bold entry into the construction market over 40 years ago, we’ve been dedicated to helping construction companies operate more efficiently. But our heritage isn’t only about software—it’s about how we serve our customers. The Sage customer experience starts with our commitment to delivering personalized service and professionalism at every stage. It continues with world-class solutions and services as your business grows and changes. We respond to your needs and make your particular investment in our solutions easy, beneficial, and rewarding.

Local Expertise
Our network of authorized business partners and certified consultants understands the challenges of the construction industry. Regionally based, these experienced professionals have helped thousands of construction companies get up and running quickly on Sage Estimating software—and they provide the ongoing service you need for continued success.

 Responsive Customer Support
We back our solutions with comprehensive customer support, including regular maintenance software updates, 24x7 access to an online knowledgebase, and live technical support. Added peace of mind: 92 percent of our customers rate Sage Construction and Real Estate support an 8 or higher on a 10-point scale.

Flexible Training
Sage and our business partners provide multiple training methods for convenience and affordability, including classroom, online instructor-led, online prerecorded Anytime Learning, web seminars, onsite or local training options, and an annual customer conference.

Professional Services
Each business has different needs. Working with our business partners, Sage supports implementation, deployment, and custom development that will make Sage Estimating the perfect fit for your business. We bring extensive product and industry experience to each partnership.

Add-on Solutions
Enhance or expand the power of Sage Estimating with add-on solutions including accounting, job cost reporting, prebuilt industry databases, and more.

To speak with a Sage Estimating sales associate, call 1-800-628-6583.