Encompix ERP Estimating Software

The ability to estimate potential costs and to determine a fair selling price can make the difference between winning business and winning profitable business. However, the unique, one-time requirements for custom-engineered products makes detailed estimating tedious and labor intensive.

This is very time-consuming for a one-off estimate, considering that you may decide not to bid after all. Encompix ERP Software addresses these and other issues with three types of estimating.

1. Estimating by "buckets" of time or dollars

When time is of the essence, your first estimate may be a rolled up summary of large buckets of time or dollars. Encompix ERP Software assigns specific buckets or labor hours or material dollars that are meaningful to your business. By linking your labor rates to the engineering and manufacturing hours and assigning SG&A and markup percentages, you can derive a selling price.

A formal customer quotation may then be produced from the estimate. This quotation may be customized using popular Microsoft® tools.

2. Estimating using detailed bill of material and routings

For a more detailed estimate that includes routing steps or a bill of materials, you'll copy from previous jobs, estimates or standard items. Using the rolled up, multi-level cost summary, you'll project a desired selling price for up to five quantities at your intended gross/net margin percentage.

3. Interface to Microsoft Excel or Access-based estimating tools

Many of our customers have custom-built applications using such tools as spreadsheets or Microsoft Access to create estimates. Encompix recognizes the importance of these tools to your estimating process. You can still use these tools and we will integrate your data.

The advantage of this approach is that it enables you to still use your custom application to create the estimate and gives the benefit of incorporating the information into the Encompix ERP system. Your estimate is no longer an "island of information" but is integrated with the Encompix job costing software so that you can monitor the actual costs incurred against the original estimate.