PRESIDENT’S LETTER Martin Howard A year ago, we talked about the goal of increasing the professional- ism of our membership. We want our NTCA brand and logo to carry a respected and positive meaning in the marketplace. One of the many ways we can contribute to this goal is to seek out and incor- porate industry best practices into daily use in our businesses. This month let’s look at best practices in estimating every job we bid, and identify some ways we can improve outcomes. In other words, sell more jobs and increase bottom line profits. If your experience is anything like mine, there seems to be any num- ber of competitors out there willing to work for wages rather than a profit. I often scratch my head and try and figure out how another bid- der could have arrived at a price for a defined scope of work that’s 15%, 20% or even 30% less than mine. Once I get beyond the emo- tional response of, “They must have missed something” or “They are wrong and will lose money on this job,” I begin the process of check- ing my take-off quantities and pric- ing in hopes that I will find the mis- take. Sometimes the error becomes obvious, but often it remains a mystery. There are many reasons that can account for these types of pricing differences and most often it’s a combination of several factors. Let’s look at some of the basic ele- ments of estimating best practices: Have a written guide – It is essential that you have a written guide outlining every step in the process. This will help to eliminate many of the most common mis- takes in compiling an accurate cost estimate. Understand the scope of work – It’s critical to understand the scope of work to be priced. This may mean collecting and reading all the contract documents including the specifications, drawings, con- tracts, general conditions, special conditions, RFIs and addenda. Or, it might mean visiting the site and inspecting, measuring and identify- ing every aspect of work required to meet the customers’ expectations. Begin estimating the cost of the work – Once this is completed we know what will be required and can begin the process of estimat- ing the cost of the work. This is an Estimating + Best Practices 14 TileLetter | February 2018