In this fast-paced business world, an ideal businessperson is one who works smarter, not harder! Gone are the days when business demanded wealth and an equal amount of your health; many have stayed up for nights to establish their paw in industry. But nowadays, one smart move and you are a billionaire; that too overnight!

All thanks to the advanced and intelligent tools we have… Indeed we have!

Anyway, in today’s episode of smart business talks, we have brought you to talk about an exciting CPQ software that is changing the entire way of doing business! Yes, if most of your time goes into data entry and writing price quotes instead of sales, you probably need this software.
Nevertheless, cut straight to the point…

What is CPQ Software?
Back then, in the 1980s, it used to be known as the “Configurator,” i.e., to help the sales team to enable customers to choose their specifications. Fast forward to today, the same CPQ technology has evolved in every imaginable way. Let’s just understand the CPQ software;

CPQ: Configure, price and quote; it is basically a process salespeople follow while configuring products, determining the price, and producing a quote for the same products.

Configure, price and quote; well explained!

You must understand these three substantial CPQ terms, which are the crux of this advanced technology almost all businesses are dependent on.

Configure
When you offer services or products, it is necessary to configure them; why? We tell you… Every customer, of course, does not come up with the exact requirement your other customer wants, you deal with several customers, and all of them have different requirements. That’s when it is required to configure your services and products to meet your customers’ needs and deliver the exact product and services on time.

Here’s a scenario;
Despite the discrete, repetitious manufacturing of products and services, mass customization” is now becoming the major asset of the business. Obviously, customers increasingly want products and services to be tailored according to their specific desires and want them in no time. And if your business is unable to do so, chances are high that customers will look for some other business with the same services with better and more efficient customizations.

Price
Pricing is one of the essential parts of doing business; you can’t afford casualties in business. This makes it mandatory to do it right; in sales, CPQ software acts as a bidding software that helps salespeople choose between different pricing options, allows them to make packages based on the service type, and offers discounts if needed.

Configuration and pricing are interlinked as you offer mass customization. Obviously, you must price products and services accurately based on the client’s requirements, marketplace, geographical aspects, and sales channels. In a nutshell, your business needs a tool to track all of your pricing structures to ensure your business quotes are accurate; and that tool could be CPQ Software.

Quote
This is the final stage where the salesperson quotes after going through all legal aspects, amendments, and renewals; ensures that all the collaterals are legit and biddable. And if done manually, it might take days or maybe months. But at the same time, when CPQ Software is used, those days can be reduced to a few hours. The incredible power of CPQ!

Wrapping up
Needless to say, the entire business landscape has changed, and today if customers don’t find exactly what they’re looking for, they’ll move on to other service providers. So it goes like this; your business needs CPQ Software so that you won’t fail to offer an extensive configuration, pricing, and an apt quote for your products or services. Look no further to choose QDV, and don’t let the doors open for your competition to answer your potential customer’s needs and take that market share from you!

Many businesses that do not prefer to use CPQ software have slow sales. To turn a profit, they rush and provide incorrect pricing or promise discounted rates to their customers. Lowering costs and billing can be highly challenging for sales teams. And that’s why pricing software that can help ease mental anguish is essential these days.

Many people are unfamiliar with cost estimating software. A salesperson may offer a heavy discount to a customer to make a sale, which can cost the company a fortune. A seller’s job is to negotiate a fair price that benefits both the company and the customer.

This is where using CPQ software comes in handy. Many people may be unfamiliar with the term CPQ. As a result, we’ve put together a brief overview of what CPQ software is and how it might help your company’s sales.

CPQ is a shortened form for Cost, Pricing, and Quote. It supports finding the correct pricing and discounts. It combines with CRM and ERP projects as a sales analysis tool. Quotations with products and pricing are usually generated by it.

The Advantages of Cost Pricing Calculation Software

Whenever the company needs to build its rep, CPQ guides them through the process. Good pricing software ensures data integrity and accuracy. It automatically routes it to the appropriate parties for approval. You will gain:

1. Error-free pricing in units, discounted rates, and profitable revenue types
2. Creating accurate quotes with customized templates takes minutes.
3. It shortens the time frame.
4. The software improves the accuracy and speed of the selling quote process.
5. It reduces pricing errors and increases forecast accuracy.
6. It saves effort by generating and approving quotes.
7. It manages the tasks associated with repetitive orders and subscription services.
8. It generates renewal quotes automatically and allows departments to team up to help ensure sales quotes are accurate.
9. It also allows the creation of configurations and bundles independently with the help of SMEs (Subject Matter Experts).

Configure Price Quote software allows sales organizations to concentrate on the best strategies. Sales professionals see positive outcomes while delivering quotes. And it helps businesses grow naturally over time.

Prime Benefits

1. Formalizing rules and pricing
2. Establishing standards across the company
3. Increase in sales revenues
4. A decrease in costs

Buying pricing software allows your company to have a good sales process. It helps in building a unique collaboration with other departments in your organization. The CPQ software requires proper training and support from your sales team.

Resolve the Issue of Complex Products

Some complex products need attention. You will likely spend more time developing a valid quote. Some businesses attempt to reduce the effect by establishing a separate deal desk. It relieves the burden on salespeople. You can reduce the time the salesperson wastes by using help from price estimating software.

The Final Thing

Pricing software is a tool that assists you in recapturing lost sales opportunities. It shortens the time cycle. Plus, it gets you the right quotes with correct pricing and client approvals in real-time, which helps you beat the competition.

The Configure Price Quote software continues to evolve in the modern market. And it brings greater precision, accuracy, improvement, and speed in every sales aspect.

It offers excellent insights into your customer’s needs. The best part of CPQ software is that you can access it from anywhere because of its cloud-based application system. It is already integrated with pricing databases for greater accuracy and consistency.

It reduces the cost of time management. Plus, it enables access to control channel-specific selling through partners and distributors globally.

Are you still searching for the best cost estimating software for construction-based work? We understand it is not easy to manage within a busy schedule. Do you want to clear the clutter of lengthy paperwork? That’s why you must have an automated tool that helps you ease your burden of managing.

Working and managing the paperwork has led to many human errors. Presently, businesses are using software that enhances their level of production. With the best cost estimating software, you can manage many spreadsheets simultaneously. Time is important. Time is money. And cost estimation software can aid in saving time and much energy.

Here are the things that a cost estimation software can provide:

Better Organizing of Documents

A cost estimating software complies with bundles of spreadsheets in an organized manner. It interactively links the documents, which are easy to access without problems. It makes it easier for the person to bring estimation of costing and pricing.

Modern Templates to Match Your Needs

Templates are easy to build in software. You can distribute the design with easy parameterization according to your project plans. And it supports an understanding of the breakdown structure of processes.

It also gives preexisting and customizable templates used to describe the tasks’ layout.

Robust Gantt Chart Feature

Gantt Chart is a planning tool that allows you to present your ideas in the form of a dynamic diagram. It helps to calculate the costs and manage the profit and loss statements.

Flexible Cost Management For All Tasks

With the best cost estimating software, you can manage task lists, spreadsheets, and calendars in one place. The monitoring and tracking of the estimation of prices make it easy for the user to work on.

The Gantt chart will automatically update the system whenever you add something.

Workbook Feature

With the feature of the excel workbook, price calculation becomes easy and convenient. Besides, it creates custom sheet data. Also, it includes creating columns like selling factors, risk factors, and a lot more.

It also helps keep records and removes calculations’ complexity with “Organized Breakdown Structure.”

Real-Time Collaboration with Others

You can easily share your budget estimation and connect with cross-functional teams in the office or on-site. The features like tracking, reporting, and planning help keep your budget intact. And it prevents you from overspending.

You can keep track of your reports directly from the dashboard within the software. It provides a high level of progress and delivers real-time cost metrics.

Manage Finances with Clients By Syncing Data

It easily integrates with the third-party cost estimation tools. Manage your finances in collaboration with all your other people working with you.

Dynamic Cash Flow:

With a planner system, you can calculate the cost estimation of your construction. It helps you distribute resources and create sale sheets while increasing or decreasing the margin.

Easy Scheduling and User-Friendly Interface :

With the help of the best cost estimating software, you can :

1. Exceed scheduling
2. Manage payrolls without going over the allotted budget.

The best cost estimation tools help in organizing construction drawings.

It helps in providing tools like:

Creating proposals
Bid requests and managing orders.

The interface of the software is like an Excel version of Microsoft. It makes it easy to familiarize yourself with the program’s user interface.

Wrapping it up

The field of construction is changing. So, having the best cost estimation software boosts your working process. And, having someone have your back in managing costs and prices becomes essential.

The right software will aid you and help you develop new creative ideas to market and manage your costs. And it will also keep an eye over your project so that you don’t wander off from your budget estimations.

Construction Estimating Software is a collection of multiple spreadsheets or packs of paper papers used to estimate the projected cost of their property and projects. People think construction estimating tools is an automated tools that can perform and calculate the number of materials taken off. Several software packages aid in this procedure. In reality, material takeoff consumes the vast majority of estimation time. An estimator spends around 90 percent of their time on each estimate completing manual material quantity takeoff. The bulk of an estimator’s effort is still spent on the material takeoff phase, despite the importance of the estimated price.

They re-created the wheel by manually re-running the identical calculations for each task. Along with accuracy issues, this manual method is the most time-consuming challenge in the bid process. Because it is time-consuming, many businesses have elected to forego material quantity takeoff in favor of a turnkey estimate, price, or bid from a supplier, vendor, or contractor.

Cost Estimation Techniques

Project cost estimation software affects project cost prediction, making it challenging to produce exact estimates. Fortunately, cost estimation methodologies exist that can facilitate the development of more precise cost estimates.

Analogous Estimating

Consult with professionals working on comparable projects or utilize your previous data. If you have access to relevant historical data, consider equivalent estimation, which can help establish early-stage project costs based on previous examples.

Parametric Estimating

There is statistical modeling or parametric estimating, which utilizes historical data on significant cost drivers and then predicts what those costs might be if the project’s duration or another factor were altered.

Bottom-Up Estimating

Bottom-up estimating is a more granular technique of Project Cost Estimation Software that takes estimates of individual jobs and then combines them to calculate the project’s total cost. This cost estimation approach is much more precise than parametric estimating and is used for large projects with several variables, such as software development and building projects.

Three-Point Approximation

The three-point estimate is an alternative method that generates three scenarios: the most likely, optimistic, and pessimistic ranges. These are then entered into an equation to provide an estimate.

Reserve Evaluation

Reserve analysis determines the amount of contingency reserve required. This strategy attempts to contain ambiguity.

Price of Quality

The cost of quality consists of money spent during the project to prevent failures and funds paid after the project to fix faults. This might help you refine your total cost estimation for the project. And comparing vendor quotes can also assist in determining expenses.

Dynamic Equipment

When calculating expenses, it is helpful to collect all project information using an online application. Many of these strategies may be included in project management software that can be used in congress to facilitate the process. Utilize online applications to design project teams, objectives, and tasks. Even manage your vendors and monitor project expenditures as the work progresses. We’ll demonstrate how.

Conclusion

Construction Estimating Software is utilized to estimate construction expenses since it calculates construction prices. Consequently, not only architects or engineers use this software, but also contractors, as the effectiveness of a project is highly reliant on its expenses. Most of these applications are geared for contractors, who, with the aid of such software, can readily assess the predicted prices and make swift cost-based alterations, such as wooden floors against laminate flooring, etc.

The name is relatively self-explanatory of the term “Work Breakdown Structure“. A work breakdown structure initiates with a large project or pursuit and splits it into smaller manageable fragments that can be easily assigned among teams. This structure in project management cleaves the entire work strategy politely and helps the team evaluate project requirements and, consequently, work efficiently. Of course, when a task or work project is divided into subparts or levels or steps it becomes easy to access it and do it right in no time, what say?

A work breakdown structure is a project management tool used to define and manage a project’s deliverables like; initial designs, time-tracking reports, project budget, and final project report.

Well, before we actually move further let’s just make you well aware with a few terms:

Project Management

Project management features processes, skills, tactics, knowledge and of course, experience to achieve specific project objectives according to the project approval standards and approved parameters. Project management has final deliverables constrained to a finite timescale, budget, and progress report. Managing a project laboriously by hand, you often need technical skills, team management skills, and good business awareness. But things could be easy if you have an online project management tool! And needless to say, QDV is an inexpensive tool that every project professional might need; it really helps deal with efficient management, no matter what!

Two major components of project management:

Project management

1. Product Breakdown Structure
2. Work Breakdown Structure

Product Breakdown Structure

It is basically like a shopping list that consists of all the physical assets of a particular product or system you work on. This exists as a hierarchically structured blueprint of products and elements that the project mandates to achieve or the outcomes that the project will yield. PBS starts with the end product from the top, pursued by subcategories of elements correlated to the product. The composition of the product breakdown structure is more likely than the structure of the work breakdown structure, that is…

Work Breakdown Structure

The WBS is a hierarchical structure intended to break down complex tasks into more effortless components. This allows the team to see the individual deliverables that need to be achieved for a project.

However, most project management tools concentrate on scheduled actions, work breakdown structure focuses primarily on planned outputs. It is easy to carefully systematize a work breakdown structure with QDV as it becomes a project manager to execute complicated tasks within a project. Not just this, this tool clearly defines and assigns accurate costs and deadlines to a project, i.e. simplifying planning, execution, and monitoring projects with efficiency.

QDV for work breakdown structure

QDV, being the best project management assistant, helps complete the project with accuracy and precision. It holds all the elements a project management tool should have. Here are the critical attributes of QDV:

Defined: It offers a user-friendly interface that can easily be understood by project participants and stakeholders, i.e. helping users to access it effectively. Be it work breakdown structure or product breakdown structure; it equips both!

Easy estimation: helps in time management cost analysis in order to estimate the cost and time required for the sake of the project.

Flexible: It is a versatile industry-leading project management tool that can be used in many industries with all the required assets and elements. It works adroitly in the construction industry or any other commercial business.

Your search for “Best Cost Management Software” ends here! QDV is the one leading among all estimating and management software companies. Reasons are many, being flexible in working with different industries is the most prominent one. Yes, you read it right QDV can be used in many companies apart from construction.

If you own one construction company, you might know the value of earning by completing a project on time with all guidelines followed, don’t you? Well, how will you do that manually? Human errors are common, no matter what! Most companies that deal with large projects use Cost management software, which holds a reason…

QDV: Features

QDV bidding software is designed keeping all business aspects in mind. Do you know why QDV is the best cost management software? Because this is devised especially, to make ease with the end-user that is “you.” This software is developed based on business development, i.e., marketing to affordability; everything has been considered wisely. Quick Devis equips tools to make quick and well-organized estimates across all channels. Here are the two key features QDV holds:

Parameterizability

As mentioned, QDV is easily accessible and helps users understand it’s working in no time. This software can be basically parameterizable by anyone, by anyone, we mean; the administrators or the operators and the end-users/consumers. Yes, there are two types of users under QDV:

• Administrator: is responsible for appropriately setting up the complete software for your business. Considering all your business needs, the admin will customize the software and avail you of all the features you want. Administrators manage all documentation and programming and make the software used under parameters! Parameterization requires no specific IT knowledge, and it becomes easy for end-users. QDV holds in bricks already prepared for an estimating application—databases and articles, selling factors, configurators, sorting based on various tree structures, and many more. Administrators take just a few days to set up the software, depending on the elaborateness of your logic, and deliver the tool fully in line with your conditions. Users can grasp the design quickly and even try the administrators’ parameterized sample template and use them further.
• End-Users: that is you, who will use it for their business. End-user can be a cost, building, electrical, or chief estimator. End-user will get guidance in estimating by the parameterization made by the administrator. So, be it input tools, buster tools, multiple reports, step-by-step workflow, and keeping users in the trail, it is all administrators’ responsibility. Your sole purpose is to use the software.

Programmability

QDV can be a self-made tool as it can be programmed and has a code editor! Yes, if you or your estimator has the programming skills and knows how to deal with programming languages like C# or VB .NET languages, then this is the tool for you. You can change the purpose of native functions and create your functions with purpose accordingly.

Moreover, the programmability allows you to create user interface links to your system or embed Quick Devis in your applications. In fact, QDV supports editing under Microsoft Visual Studio, permitting access to many languages. Q to reach all your needs; it can be your building estimating tool, pricing tool, an industrial estimating tool, a CPQ (Configure, price, and quote) too!

QDV: Quick Devis works efficiently in industries like:

• Automobile
• Aerospace
• CPQ Tools (Configure, price and quote)
• Defense
• Engineering & designing
• Electricity and HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning)
• SMEs (Small and medium-sized enterprises)

Quick Devis provides an accurate organization of all documents, and work structure, and dynamically fills tendering records, Overhead Workbook. Moreover, it generates MS Word & Excel documents, sales quoting software, and an organized planner! Get into the world of QDV and sign in to Dynamic costing and pricing solutions!

After several months of discussions with the previous owners, we have bought the business assets QDV of one of our historic distributor and integrator, the firm PROJECTS PARTNERS
The latter, in activity since more than ten years, was present exclusively in France in the trades of the second technical work of the Public Works Building and incidentally in industry.
The clientele is made up of majors in the Public Works Building sector such as EIFFAGE, VINCI energies and the SNEF, very established in the south-east of France, as well as many
Small and Medium Enterprises.

The company, whose head office is located in the Val de Marne, has been using offices in Marseille in recent years. IAES, the publisher of QDV7, the leading cost and margin evaluation software, is diversifying by integrating one of its distributors and its technical and administrative resources. The new company, QDV CONSULTING, takes over the Marseille offices and will be co-
directed by a manager from the publisher IAES and a manager from one of these integrators.

This first step is part of a more global and strategic approach to creating a distribution, integration and marketing center for QDV7. QDV7 is a precise, flexible and intuitive analysis tool that has been designed to meet your most demanding requirements. You can present your prices exactly the way you want, while keeping full control over your margins ! The QDV solution has been chosen by almost all of the construction majors within their technical finishing activities and now within their structural work activities, among many other software. The costing part but also the  lanning, the WBS, the Word documents, the printing reports, the link with Excel, the links with the calls for tenders, the multi-language allowed our customers to see the full extent of our proposal. This  uccess was achieved thanks to the configuration adapted to the businesses as well as with its API which allows QDV to be fully integrated into their information systems.

Yet another proof that QDV is the leading price study software that adapts to your methods while guaranteeing the security of your calculations.

Photo credit: routard.com