NetSuite’s Accurate Estimation Tool for Project Costing
Electrical Service | Australia
The more projects you work on, the greater your expertise grows, correct? But what if you had a tool to guide you in making accurate estimations for your projects? When managing multiple projects and assignments, it's crucial to understand their costs upfront. This case study illustrates how we've achieved this by empowering users to define values and providing options to apply discounts.
Client Portfolio
An Australia-based electrical services provider operating in the domestic housing sector approached us to implement an efficient project costing tool in NetSuite. They sought accurate project estimations to improve their financial calculations.
Problem Statement
Our client, a general installation and maintenance provider in the electrical industry, reached us with a critical need for a project costing tool in their NetSuite system. With a portfolio including over 30,000 projects, they faced challenges in accurately determining the cost of each project.
The complexity arose from the numerous factors influencing project costs, including labor charges, materials, and potential discounts. Manual entry of such vast data sets in Excel was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors, risking the accuracy and efficiency of their project estimations. In light of these challenges, our client sought a solution that could simplify the process, ensure accuracy, and improve efficiency in project cost estimation.
What We Suggested
Our team proposed a solution using the capabilities of NetSuite to develop an advanced project costing tool. We suggested the following key features and functionalities:
•Automated Cost Calculation: Implement formulas to automatically calculate project costs based on predefined values and real-time data inputs, such as the number of employees, apprentices, labor charges, and working hours.
•Material Cost Display: Integrate NetSuite records to fetch material data including quantity available and price, and dynamically generate the total cost of materials based on the project opted.
•User-Friendly Interface: The project costing tool page allows users to easily navigate through project details, update price quotes, and apply discounts as needed.
•PDF Export Functionality: Enable users to download project quotes in PDF format for convenient reference and sharing.
Customer Success
Following the successful deployment of the NetSuite-based project costing tool, our client experienced significant improvements in their project estimation processes:
•Reduction in Turnaround Time: Project estimation time reduced dramatically compared to the previous manual process, enabling faster response to client inquiries and bid submissions.
•Error Rate Reduction: The implementation of the project costing tool led to a 70% decrease in error rates in project cost estimations, significantly enhancing the reliability of budget projections.
•Improved Accuracy: With real-time data integration and automated calculations, the tool minimized the likelihood of errors in project cost estimations, leading to more accurate budgeting and forecasting.
•Better Collaboration: The user-friendly interface encouraged effective collaboration among project teams, allowing for quick updates and revisions to project quotes as needed.
Key Achievements
•Reduced project estimation time by 80%
•70% decrease in error rates in project cost estimations
Way Forward
Looking ahead, the project cost estimation tool has helped our client understand the true cost of a project, including planned working hours, labor payments, and the cost of items. Even if you’ve planned for a discount, the tool will show its margin and discount ratio so that you can adjust the amount accordingly.
Are you searching for a better project cost estimation tool? Do you need a more efficient process to adjust quotes based on available resources? Contact us today to improve your operations with our automated solution.
