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Case Study: Simkins-Hallin Lumber Co.
Deanne Lambrecht does the takeoffs at Simkins-Hallin Lumber Co. in Bozeman, Montana, using Enterprise’s Professional Estimating and an integrated graphics digitizer. She’s been using the system for nearly a year and says, "It’s definitely a timesaver!"

Deanne works on seven or eight takeoffs in a normal week. The plans are mostly for homes or small commercial projects. The turnaround for estimates at Simkins-Hallin is about a week, although Deanne completes an average takeoff in four hours. She says, "It’s a big difference from doing takeoffs manually. It helps, too, that the estimating software is totally integrated with our point-of-sale system, Enterprise’s Version 2. A lot of information is exchanged automatically. It saves me time entering numbers and prevents errors."

"My favorite thing about Professional Estimating the way it makes roofs simple. It calculates shingles in a flash. It figures changes in pitch, all those strange angles and valleys… It’s way easier than doing it by hand!" Deanne says.

Another great thing about the software, according to Deanne, is the way an estimator can easily start and stop work on individual takeoffs. She says, "When someone rushes into my office and wants me to quickly figure out a quantity on something else, I can save what I’m working on, pop into another screen, get the answer, and then get back to my project. It’s so convenient."

Deanne has found the software simple to use. She recently trained a new estimator very quickly. She says, "It’s great that it’s so simple. I can even explain takeoffs to my boss easily!"

And, everyone at Simkins-Hallin is very pleased with the accuracy of the takeoffs that are being produced. The salesmen are confident enough to place orders for materials straight off the takeoff.

Enterprise’s Professional Estimating interfaces to all Enterprise point-of-sale systems as well as to most other point-of-sale systems on the market.

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