Timberline Forum

When it comes to Estimating, you can never have enough tricks and inside tips. With the current economic situation, Estimators are worth their weight in gold. We thought we would offer a few tips you might want to use with your Timberline Estimating Software.

These are some tips given to us by top-notch Timberline Estimating Consultant Barry Cassell. If you need more than a few tips – feel free to get in touch with Barry. He’s been known to build huge databases in a single day, help estimators do more with less and bring in double the business with the same amount of people. He’s also a really nice guy and pretty easy to talk to. You can find him here. You might even want to ask him about Timberline’s new Estimating Databases!

Barry Cassell/Ledgerwood Associates, Inc. Estimating Tips…
On the estimate spreadsheet: to review & modify pricing, labor & equipment productivity & hours, as well as unit costs, wbs assignments, item notes, crew & rate table assignments. It provides excellent “one-stop shopping” for any changes to an item, (except its Takeoff quantity & Takeoff unit)

Use the Detail Window…

Risk Management…
Labor is the biggest risk in any estimate. Design a Spreadsheet Layout that inccludes :

• “Labor Productivity”, “Labor Productivity Unit/Unit” , “Labor Quantity”, “Labor Quantity Unit”, in 4 successive columns, side by side.
• With this Layout, changing Productivity changes Labor Quantity, and vice versa. It’s an extremely intuitive “what-if” exercise to fine-tune Labor in the estimate.

Barry Cassell

When it comes to Estimating, you can never have enough tricks and inside tips. With the current economic situation, Estimators are worth their weight in gold. We thought we would offer a few tips you might want to use with your Timberline Estimating Software.

These are some tips given to us by top-notch Timberline Estimating Consultant Barry Cassell. If you need more than a few tips – feel free to get in touch with Barry. He’s been known to build huge databases in a single day, help estimators do more with less and bring in double the business with the same amount of people. He’s also a really nice guy and pretty easy to talk to. You can find him here. You might even want to ask him about Timberline’s new Estimating Databases!

Timberline Estimating Tips:

• Use File Tools to move, rename, copy, & paste estimating files. Using Windows Explorer will corrupt Timberline data files. However it is perfectly safe to copy, move or rename entire FOLDERS, using Windows Explorer.

• Don’t even go into any of the folders named “PVData” There’s nothing useful you can do in a PVData folder, but you can do major damage. Do yourself a favor and steer clear.

• Workstation Configuration (in the “Edit/Options” menu):
     o Ensure that the following boxes are checked:
        Display Overline Totals when Expanded
        Display Grand Total Unit Price
        Display Grand Totals amounts
        Display Allocated Addon amounts
     o Display Fonts:
        Change the Font Color to RED for “Display Zero Dollar Items”

Hope this helps and as always please feel free to conctact Daren or me at anytime for help with your Timberline Estimating Software!!

Over the years, Timberline Estimating has sort of been the bride’s maid and never a bride.  The most recent software releases get our attention.  Here is a brief list of software enhancements that proves Timberline Estimating caught the bouqet…

Version 9.5

- Vista Compliant (Windows 2000 no longer supported)

- Ability to select multiple add-ons

- Ability to start estimate in the last used spreadsheet sequence

- Desktop User Assistance

Version 9.6

- You can now use multiple foreign currencies on your estimates.

- You can now copy an existing assembly on an estimate

- Import estimates into project management change requests

- Project Management RFIs are available from Estimating

- New column exist on the estimate spreadsheet for material vendor

- Auto Sum feature allows you to highlight a range of cells and the sum appears in the lower right status bar

- Upgrade estimates and database on-the-fly.

Version 9.6 has optional Advanced Composite Databases that can make Timberline Estimating that much faster.