Mastering Your First Estimate in SharpeSoft: Tips for New Contractors

SharpeSoft
Jul 17
4 min read

Stepping into digital estimating can feel overwhelming—even more so if you’re shifting from manual bidding or spreadsheets. Luckily, SharpeSoft helps make this transition easier. Designed specifically for heavy civil and utility contractors, SharpeSoft’s estimating software helps you create faster, more precise bids using real-time expense data, smart templates, and industry-specific tools.

Whether you’re refining your current estimating process or just starting, this guide from SharpeSoft will help you master your first estimate and set yourself up for success.

Table of Contents:

Why SharpeSoft?
Understanding SharpeSoft’s Interface
Bid Items View
Cost Item Library
Crew Builder
Reports Module
Pre-Estimate Setup: Laying the Foundation
Building Your First Estimate: Step-by-Step
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Outdated Pricing
Missing Indirects
Incorrect Crews
Sloppy Item Structure
Tips for Accuracy and Speed
Finalizing and Exporting Your Estimate
Need Help? SharpeSoft Has You Covered!
Conclusion

Why SharpeSoft?

Before diving into the how-tos of mastering your first estimate with SharpeSoft, it’s important to understand why new contractors choose SharpeSoft over other estimating software platforms.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Scalable for large teams and small contractors.
Tailored specifically for utility and heavy civil construction work (unlike most generic estimating tools).
Offline-capable, so there’s no need to rely on cloud access in the field.
Completely integrated with takeoff, job costing, and project management tools.

Many new contractors use SharpeSoft to replace spreadsheets like Excel or outgrow entry-level software when their project scope becomes more complex.

Understanding SharpeSoft’s Interface

Another factor that sets SharpeSoft apart is its intuitive interface. It’s essential as a new user to familiarize yourself with the core features of the software.

They include:

Bid Items View

The Bid Items View is where you structure and price your project estimate.

Cost Item Library

Your Cost Item Library is where you store preloaded or custom material, equipment, or labor information.

Crew Builder

Assign and adjust field teams.

Reports Module

Run labor and equipment reports, bid summaries, or risk evaluations.

Tip: Begin by exploring a sample project in your dashboard. This helps you understand how a completed estimate looks and what’s required at every stage.

Pre-Estimate Setup: Laying the Foundation

SharpeSoft’s software allows you to build crew databases and cost libraries ahead of time so you don’t have to start from scratch with every bid.

Before estimating, make sure you’ve:

Updated Material Costs: Use real supplier quotes or national pricing databases.
Set Labor Rates: Align with prevailing wage or local union data.
Created Default Crews: Assign equipment and labor combinations you use often.
Added Markups: Apply overhead, contingency, and profit margins to your bids.

Pro Insight: Many contractors create a “template project” with common bid item structures and unit prices. Duplicating this template saves hours of repetitive setup on future jobs.

Building Your First Estimate: Step-by-Step

SharpeSoft allows you to save estimates by division, phase, or cost code, giving you granular control of the entire job structure.

Now, let’s walk you through building your first real estimate:

Start a New Estimate: Enter project details—client, name, location, and due date.
Add Bid Items: Use prebuilt assemblies or input bid items manually.
Input Quantities: Estimate realistic units of measure (LF, cubic yards, SF).
Assign Crews and Production Rates: Match equipment and labor to each task and adjust for job complexity.
Verify Direct Expenses: Labor, material, and equipment expenses are automatically calculated.
Apply Indirects and Markups: Set overhead, insurance, taxes, and profit.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the most experienced estimators slip up sometimes. However, knowing common mistakes and understanding how to best avoid them will help reduce your chances of error.

Here are a few rookie mistakes to avoid:

Outdated Pricing

Always verify your expense database before a bid. Prices often fluctuate every month.

Missing Indirects

Forgetting insurance, overhead, and general conditions eats into profit fast.

Incorrect Crews

Productivity assumptions that are too aggressive can cause delays and underbidding.

Sloppy Item Structure

Inconsistent naming or organization makes it difficult to review or submit.

Bonus Tip: Run a "zero quantity" report before submitting. This flags any bid item without a cost or quantity entered—one of the most common first-time user mistakes.

Tips for Accuracy and Speed

Want to estimate faster without compromising quality? There are several ways to do so.

Start by trying these SharpeSoft time-savers:

Autofill Tools: Let SharpeSoft populate materials or repeated tasks across similar bid items.
Use Reusable Templates: Save commonly bid items or scopes.
Validation Reports: Catch unassigned crews, missing quantities, or math errors before submission.
Historical Comparison: Leverage your job history to refine strategy and pricing.

Finalizing and Exporting Your Estimate

Once your estimate is built and reviewed, there are some things you need to ensure are done.

These include:

Run Summary Reports to view total margins, costs, and breakdowns.
Export the bid to Excel or PDF for submission.
Use Approvals Workflow if you're part of a team that needs internal signoff.

SharpeSoft provides export formats for most standard bidding systems, so your estimate is always client-ready.

Need Help? SharpeSoft Has You Covered!

New to SharpeSoft? Don’t stress. There are plenty of support resources and services from SharpeSoft.

These include, but are not limited to:

In-App Help Guides
SharpeSoft University (video training and documentation)
24/7 Customer Support Team
User Forums and Webinar

Use these tools to keep learning and get help when you hit a roadblock.

Conclusion

Mastering your first estimate in SharpeSoft sets the foundation for better accuracy, faster bidding, and more wins. Once you’re confident in the process, you’ll spend less time chasing numbers and more time focusing on building your business.

Ready to Estimate Smarter?

SharpeSoft helps new contractors build professional estimates with speed and accuracy. Book a free demo or schedule a one-on-one training to get started today!