1. Better Allocation of Resources
The task of estimate writing can require a significant amount of man-hours. Outsourcing tasks such as these helps you focus “on” your company so you can make the necessary investments in systems, personnel, and marketing that will pay dividends in the future.
A quality estimate writing service will also check behind you to see if any items were missed or overlooked. The expertise of a good estimate writing company in many cases will pay for itself. Are you charging to protect floors? What about contents manipulation, detaching and resetting light fixtures for painting, and/or antimicrobial spray? There are dozens of items like this that can be used to increase your estimate amounts, honestly.
2. Freedom and Flexibility
Have you ever been over-worked during a busy season? An estimate writing service can help your business manage variations in demand caused by seasonality. Instead of spending additional time hunched over your desk staring at your computer writing estimates, you could leverage a secret of the lean business model which will have your company operating at a more manageable pace while earning more money.
The time gained can be also be used for important personal matters such as family, children, or investing in yourself. These matters too often go neglected due to urgent tasks that take up time such as estimate writing.
3. Focus
When you know that a company is writing your estimate based upon your notes, you are much more likely to take detailed notes of everything that you see at the site. This will ensure your team will be more thorough and take their time scoping since their notes will be read and input by someone else. This focus will help better document damages and reduce conflicts that may arise with adjusters, thus saving you time and helping you to get paid faster.
4. Price
The price of estimate writing services should be considered built into the price of each job. Xactimate estimate writing services range in price significantly. Remember that expert service and reliability are not cheap.
For example, let’s say you are using an estimate writing service that charges 2.5% of the gross for each estimate. Then, think of that price as just one percent of your earnings for each job. The price is a variable expense that is only incurred when you have work and is never incurred when you don’t.
When you use an estimate writing service, you’re always going to earn more money than you would if you were to employ a full-time estimate writer throughout the year.
To really hone in on this point let’s think about what an estimate writer may generate in salary plus benefits. Let’s say $50,000. In this case, if you use an estimate writing service that charges, say 2.5% of yearly gross revenue, that is the equivalent to your company earning $2 million per year.
If your company is not generating $2 million in revenue and you employ an Xactimate estimate writer you’re probably better off going with an estimate writing service. If you are generating over $2 million a year in revenue, an Xactimate estimate writing service may still benefit you because it will allow you to reallocate resources to help you streamline and grow your business.
5. Ease
If you are already taking detailed scope notes and measurements, using an estimate writing service would be very easy for you.