Estimating in construction is prepared utilizing a similar timeline fashion as project milestones with an overall section to cover those costs that are ongoing throughout the project’s entire time frame. For the purposes of this lesson, the term ‘Phase’ is used to indicate these respective steps of physical construction. In Parts I and II of this series, estimates are created using hard costs of construction; those costs that are directly assignable to the respective project. Throughout this project’s timeline, all assignable costs are keyed to the project and ultimately aggregated by cost type (materials, labor, subcontractor, equipment, other) in the direct costs of construction section of the income statement (P&L statement). To break these costs down into phases, the estimator needs to understand how data in entered into the accounting software. Once entered, the costs can then be accumulated by phase using a customized report from the accounting software. Most accounting software allow an estimate to be entered thus the customized report can compare actual hard costs by phase against the estimated costs by phase. With this report, the construction management team can now hone in on any cost overruns by phase or cost savings.
