Accurate estimates are a pillar of any successful construction operation. A bad estimate doesn’t just set you back on that job; the opportunity cost sets you back time, energy, and profit. You could have taken that profit and hired another person for the next job, gotten another piece of equipment, or even just had you and your guys get a much-needed day off to improve culture. These construction calculators are designed to help save you time, energy, and profit.
Opportunity cost underscores the importance of having accurate numbers when making any choice in the construction industry. Whether you’re managing an entire project or working on the ground, having a construction cost calculator can simplify, speed up, and increase the efficacy of your decisions. While some software can require a hefty investment, there are free alternatives that still pack a time and cost-saving punch. Here, we’ll outline some of the best cost-free construction calculators available and what they have to offer.
Time Card Calculator
busybusy’s free time card calculator makes it easier to track the number of hours your employees are working. With so many different project teams and specialized positions in the construction sector, it can be daunting to keep tabs on everyone’s hours. This free time card calculator gives users the ability to monitor daily work hours, weekly totals, time-off, lunch breaks, and overtime hours. It follows a simple format and instantly provides results that can be downloaded, printed, and even emailed.
Labor Burden Calculator
There’s a lot of confusion around the question, “what is labor burden?” Labor burden is the actual cost to a business for hiring an employee. People often confuse this metric with a worker’s pay rate, which doesn’t reflect the total cost to the employer. Miscalculations of labor burden are very common and usually lead to significant losses. A construction labor burden calculator allows managers to quickly estimate the cost of an employee beyond their hourly wage. Standard rates for SUTA, FUTA and FICA are already included to ensure a seamless and accurate result. These numbers will help users to better visualize the real cost of labor without having to spend a dime.
Contractor Savings Calculator
While most calculators only average your construction costs, a contractor savings calculator will show you how much you could save. After all, revealing shortcomings without implementing solutions doesn’t change the outcome. According to the American Payroll Association, the average employee rounds up 42 minutes each day when filling out their timecards. That’s nearly four hours of overclaimed work each week! Using that estimate, this contractor savings calculator will give managers an accurate display of how much they could be saving if workers were to record their working hours accurately. These numbers offer more insight and really put into perspective just how much money can be saved when tasks are optimized.
Why Rely on Construction Calculators?
There’s never a dull moment in the construction industry – we get it. No project manager or industry professional is going to implement a new tool or strategy that’s not worth the investment. Fortunately, these construction calculators have been designed solely to make oversight and management in the construction space easier. These tools are free, easy-to-use, accurate, and useful. Even the most experienced workers will appreciate the clarity these calculators offer, the money they help save, and the oversight they allow. Be sure to bookmark these free, easy-to-use construction calculators for quick data to improve job site visibility.
There’s another solution to using these different calculators that will save you even more time and money. The busybusy’s software calculates labor burden for you automatically, gives you exact time card data in real-time with GPS to prove employee whereabouts if you have a dispute with a client or other employees, and offers a host of other features. Schedule a free busybusy app demo now! The busybusy app is built specifically for construction, it’s easy to use and workers prefer it over paper because it’s a hell of a lot easier to fill out and to keep track of. It’s compatible with all devices, including iPhones and Androids, and can be found on Google Play and the App Store. They’re so confident that you’ll love it, they’ll give you the first 30-days for free.
