ProEstimate HEAVY is specifically designed for heavy/highway contractors and subcontractors to assist the estimator in the preparation of a bid. This program substantially reduces the amount of time required to prepare an estimate while at the same time increasing the amount of information available to the estimator and management. This program will also help the estimator prepare a more accurate and improved proposal with substantial savings in time and effort. The need to prepare an estimate by hand or using a simple spreadsheet program becomes obsolete. The system is designed to be flexible enough to handle all types of construction project bidding, whether DOT, private, design estimates, etc.  ProEstimate HEAVY is designed to be used from the time initial cost estimates are created through submission of the bid. The amount of information received from the program is proportionate to the amount of information entered. ProEstimate-HEAVY contains various options that provide varying levels of detail. At every level, the program has been designed to be easy to learn and to use.

This overview of ProEstimate HEAVY highlights some of the most important features of the program. More information is available on individual topics throughout this manual. This built-in Help System can be used from within the program to provide specific information. To access the Help System, simply press "Help" at the top of the main estimating screen and then select the "On-Line Manual Option." A window will be displayed showing information pertaining to your current location within the program.

• One of the best time-saving features of ProEstimate Heavy is the ability to create crews and save them in the Crew Database.  Once a crew is saved in the database, you can load it into any estimate with just a few clicks.  A crew can contain default production rates, labor, equipment, material, subs, and other costs; it can also contain hauling, blasting and trenching worksheets.  Additionally, combining multiple crews into a Master Project can further streamline the estimating process.

• Set up and maintain multiple Labor Rate Databases.  The  labor database includes the ability to enter labor classes and rate information including base rate, insurance, taxes, and fringe benefits.  You have the ability to select the labor classification pay rate by the hour, week, or month.  Within an estimate, the system will calculate overtime based on your work schedule (NOTE: Overtime will only be calculated on hourly rates).

• Set up and maintain multiple Equipment Rate Databases. Each database includes the ability to enter 7 hourly cost rates (i.e. base rate, repairs, etc.) for each piece of equipment (three of which are user-defined fields).  The system also has the ability to enter a fuel consumption rate allowing you to calculate fuel costs within an estimate. The system will calculate the hourly fuel cost according to fuel prices established in each project.

• Set up and maintain Material and Asphalt Mix Databases.  The materials database allows you to categorize materials for easy look-up within an estimate.  The Asphalt Mix database allows you to create and price mix designs and, once a mix is loaded into an estimate, you can track the raw materials needed for all mixes.

• Set up and maintain a Contractor Database.  The contractor database includes the ability to enter minority status, type of work, and locations where each sub works.  Using the contractor database you can also write form letters to selected subs, and print lists sorted on a variety of criteria.

• Set up and maintain Pay Item Databases for each State DOT (or any bidding authority such as Corps of Engineers or a municipality). Using plug prices for items in the database allows you to quickly to generate plug estimates to determine job size and work mix.  DOT average prices can also be loaded for each pay item from our BidTabs Professional program.  Additionally, private databases can be created for commonly used pay items in private work.

• A comprehensive Security System is provided to restrict access to any portion(s) of the program.  The Security Database allows system managers to control access levels for each user.

• Export prices to DOT files or Expedite files.

• Import and export estimate information from/to Excel-compatible spreadsheets for use within your own spreadsheet formats or templates.

• Enter and track minority participation(DBE & WBE), including the ability to mark materials and hauling as a minority. 

• Enter and print notes for a job, pay item or task to allow the estimator to document the methods used in bidding.

• Balance or un-balance a bid and track changes (variances) made to the bid.

• List subcontractors and minority subs used in the job by pay item.

• Print blank sub quote sheets and sub recap sheets based on selected pay items.  This function greatly enhances the quote management process.

• Print a variety of reports that quickly provide summary and detailed information on an estimate.

• Track and subtotal alternates and category totals within the bid.

• Export successful bid data into accounting and/or scheduling systems.

• Convert an estimate from Metric to English (and back).

• Use a flexible mark-up system that allows the estimator to enter percentages by cost type or to enter mark-up for each pay item.

• Use a custom quote system allowing the estimator to select specific pay items to quote and create a mail merge document (this option requires Microsoft Word).

• Use multiple mark-up routines for different pay items and subcontract items (allowing different work types or company divisions to be marked up separately).

• Export and import cost data from more than one estimator, allowing multiple estimators to work on the same project simultaneously.

Optional Features
A ProEstimate Network version is available that allows a company to set up and maintain databases on a server, allowing multiple users to share the databases.  Using the network version, multiple estimators can work on the same estimate at the same time.  The network version also includes the ability to disconnect from the server and load all of the databases and estimates onto a laptop.