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to a few hundred dollars for hardware that has powerful processor speed and memory to handle complicated commercial drawings with multiple floors. The major functionalities of a commercial takeoff estimating software package are: 1. Capture takeoff room areas from a digital plan or blueprint paper with a digitizer pad. 2. Assign flooring products and line items to specified room areas. 3. Calculate material and labor quantities as well as generate seam layout and installation diagrams. 4. Prepare a quotation sheet directly, or export the estimated data to a quotation program such as MS Excel, QuickBooks or another flooring program. Here are a few commonly asked questions about choosing a commercial flooring takeoff estimating solution in the market: Do I need a digitizer pad? It really depends on your business need. If you frequently receive paper blueprint plans from your builders or GCs, you may need one. The popular GTCO digitizers range from $2,225 to $3,295 depending on the model and pad size (from 30 x 36 to 40 x 60). However, if you have the option to download electronic plans (such as PDF or TIF) or have them emailed to you, you can do onscreen takeoff by importing the plan files into the takeoff software. In this case you dont need a digitizer pad. The trend is that more and more builders and architects are sending electronic plans in PDF forms to their contractors. Online plan rooms such as www.isqft.com are popular and used by many flooring contractors to download plan files. How much does commercial flooring takeoff software cost? This is the most challenging part of selecting commercial takeoff softwareits normally listed with editions having incrementally higher price tags for added functional features. The prices range roughly from $3,000 all the way to more than $8,000. As a rule-of-thumb, compare those features carefully against your estimating needs and avoid buying unnecessary bells and whistles. What are the top-10 musthave features in a commercial package? The following functions are essential in commercial takeoff estimating and should be included in the package you select: 1. Support PDF, CAD DWF/DWG drawings and Tiff plan formats. 2. Support multi-floor plan layers. 3. Quantify product usages 8. Provide material finish view to verify product spec. 9. Provide digitizer takeoff interface (for blueprint plans). 10. Support exporting to financial software such as QuickBooks or software compliant with FSDE (Flooring Software Data Exchange Standard). Is such software too hard to use? It is relatively easy to use. However, there is still a learning curve to climb over. It is smart to view Web tutorials first, download the software and call technical support lines before you get frustrated in the dark. Should I try it before purchase? Absolutely. Most software vendors provide trial versions downloadable from their Web sites, or they can send them to you by request. Many vendors offer free online oneon-one demos as well. However, it is always a good idea to do your homework alone with a few real-life projects, and ask support questions or check Web tutorial resources to get an initial experience with the vendor. Do I need one user license

August 18/25, 2008 I 5

Flooring takeoff/estimating: How contractors benefit

By Steven Wang

hile the retail flooring market is weak, the commercial flooring market is holding strong. As a result, more flooring contractors are looking into software technologies to give their businesses a competitive edge. Here are a few reasons why commercial and residential flooring businesses make the decision to move to electronic planning and estimating software: To speed up takeoff processturn-around time is critical. Planning and estimating software can reduce turnaround time from the initial contact of a potential client to a finished quote by as much as 80%. Thus a contractor could submit more bids to increase the number of winning bids. To get accurate estimates and eliminate errors that normally happen in a manual processchances for mistakes using manual sketch and ruler processes are high, plus clients may request product changes at any time during the process. Accuracy can also be affected by outside influences such as timecritical deadlines, general dayto-day business interruptions and lack of efficient internal business systems designed to communicate effectively with customers, suppliers, contractors and staff. With commercial takeoff estimating software, all room takeoffs and product asignments are calculated automatically and are visually easy to verify. To communicate professionally with customers using computer generated installation diagramsnaturally, professionalism forms part of the evaluation process when clients are making a purchasing decision. A business demonstrating the capacity to show details of installations, seam cuts and base layouts, as well as having a fast turn-around for any spec changes has an obvious winning edge. Giving clients the ability to electronically share information with other suppliers, contractors and internal staff involved in projects can be seen as an additional service. Commercial takeoff software has existed for more than a decade. The products from various software vendors have evolved from DOS-based systems to Windows-based systems with vivid graphical interfaces and even 3D displays. During the same period, computer hardware costs have gone down

Blueprint plan takeoff with GTCO Roll-up III Digitizer.

separately by floor layers (as an option). 4. Put product items on any selected walls, ceilings and wall bases. 5. Handle tile patterns (if tile layout is part of your practice area). 6. Handle special installation requirements (flash-coving, edge or corner-based products, stairway skirting, etc.). 7. Print to scale on any paper size and to wide-width plotters.

or multiple licenses? Most takeoff software is sold by user or computer license; if you have multiple users, you should negotiate a package deal with substantial discounts. Are product training and support important? Absolutely. Commercial estimating is a sophisticated task, and so is using the software. While you are trial-using the software, try to reach the vendors technical support line to test their support knowledge and availability; when you need to deliver a bid by tomorrow and you encounter a technical problem, you need to get it resolved promptly. Where do I find these products? Go to major flooring trade shows or simply Google floor estimating software or commercial flooring takeoff software. This should give you a list. Dr. Steven Wang is a software developer with Floor Covering Soft, a software technology company focusing on takeoff estimating and sales automation solutions for the flooring industry. He can be contacted at 626.683.9188 or steven@floorcoveringsoft.com.

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