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Case Study: Alf Curtis Home Improvements, Inc.

Alf Curtis Home Improvements, Inc. Located in Peterborough, Ontario 50 employees Member of Castle Building Centres group

Alf Curtis started the yard in 1975 and today the business is one of the largest in the area. They are members of the Castle Building Centres group and do about 90% contractor sales. They bought a Dataline system in 1995 and, according to Brent, always like to stay current with software tools that keep them efficient.

Brent says, “I saw a demo of Professional Estimating at a Canadian users meeting and we bought it in 1997. I was impressed immediately that this software allows you to modify the system to do calculations the way you want to. Many other packages are pre-set and have grave limitations. Professional Estimating is versatile.”

All the members of the contactor sales team at Alf Curtis do takeoffs. Three of them use the system regularly – one full-time, all the time. They do takeoffs for residential construction, mostly, with an average of 300-400 takeoffs a year.

“Another great advantage of Professional Estimating is that it’s designed to work with the graphics digitizer. Estimators don’t have to waste time plugging in measurements and numbers. The digitizer allows for quick measurements that just get pasted in,” Brent explains.

He adds, “We love that Professional Estimating is integrated with the ECS Pro software. We save time and eliminate errors re-keying information. Professional Estimating transfers the takeoff and puts prices to it. The system transfers files as loads or levels from the estimate, turns each section into an order, prints tickets, and the order is on its way from the yard… It’s all done in the system.”

Fine-tuning is always a good idea, Brent says. “We tweak continually and love that we are able to make adjustments; some systems just don’t let you. For example, wall assemblies vary. We see about four different configurations. We fine-tune for each, setting correct waste factors. Having the correct waste factor might be the difference that wins us the job!”

And roofs? Brent says, “It’s just amazing for stick frame roof takeoffs, though Alf Curtis does mostly trusses these days. Hip, valley, beams, rafters, all measured to a tee. Reduces waste. It’s just amazing.”

Alf Curtis Home Improvements recognizes several advantages with Enterprise’s Professional Estimating – the integration with their point-of-sale system, the convenience and accuracy of the graphics digitizer, and, perhaps most importantly, the ability to save time using a system that they’ve configured to work the way they want it to. Doing takeoffs quickly and accurately makes money for Alf Curtis, after all.

For more information about Professional Estimating, please contact us at info@ecs-inc.com.