One of the best ways to make better decisions in the present is to learn from the past. For example, if you're looking to improve your personal finances, reviewing past spending helps you spot patterns and make informed budgeting choices in your day-to-day.
This principle also applies to preconstruction. Historical project data can help you navigate unpredictable costs and uncover insights for refining estimates and forecasts. You can also use previous estimates and outcomes as benchmarks or even templates for standardizing workflows.
Here's the good news: preconstruction teams are often sitting on a mountain of project data. It's just a matter of establishing the right systems and standards so you can collect the right information and extract useful insights.
Let's explore the ways you can do just that.
Templates and standardized workflows can significantly enhance collaboration and team productivity. When folks aren't busy chasing down information or creating things from scratch every time, they're able to focus on what matters: building accurate estimates and delivering reliable numbers to clients.
When it comes to construction estimating, you can use previous project costs as templates, reducing the time it takes to generate accurate estimates.
Consider these best practices:
Use consistent and meaningful coding for project costs during operations. This allows you to convert raw spend data into reliable historic unit cost data that can be compared across projects.
For best results, align construction cost codes with scopes of work and contracting structures. This lets you create a framework that's easy to analyze and reuse in future estimates.
For instance, if excavation costs are always coded under the same category and tied to clear units (e.g., cost per cubic yard), you can quickly benchmark across projects. Instead of just seeing a lump-sum line item, you'd have data that shows excavation for a downtown project averaged $47 per cubic yard, while a suburban site averaged $36. That level of detail helps estimators adjust projections based on project type, location, or scope.
ProEst makes it easy to convert past project data into quick and reliable estimates. You can open any previous estimate and use it as the foundation for a new conceptual estimate—simply adjust the project size, and the software automatically generates a starting point. This saves time and ensures your numbers are anchored in real-world results.
From there, you can import drawings and set the correct scale to perform quantity takeoffs using items like "Interior Footprint," "Wall Length," and "Pier Count." ProEst's assemblies feature lets you group related items together and apply regional or size-based percentage variables for greater accuracy.
When you've built out the framework of your estimate, navigate to the "Estimate" tab and group items by Assemblies for better visibility. Then, input the expected project duration and apply cost modifiers—such as labor escalation or regional pricing adjustments—to bring your numbers in line with real-world conditions.
When you're ready to present, ProEst makes it simple to generate polished proposals directly from the "Reports" menu. Estimates can be exported in PDF or Excel format, giving you flexibility depending on whether you're sharing with clients, internal teams, or subcontractors.
Once an estimate is awarded, you can seamlessly move it into Autodesk Build Cost Management to keep your financials aligned across systems. In ProEst, go to Company Setup > Integrations and enable the Autodesk Build Cost Management toggle.
Next, configure your budget code segments so they match ProEst's structure—this step ensures consistency between estimating and cost management. From there, you can send the awarded estimate directly to the appropriate Autodesk Build project. This creates a ready-to-use budget in Build, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of mismatched numbers.
Keep naming conventions and budget segment structures aligned between ProEst and the Autodesk Build Cost module. This enables the systems to "speak the same language," so project teams can move from estimating to execution without having to re-map codes or reformat data.
This consistency supports smoother transitions from preconstruction to operations, ensuring estimates flow directly into budgets that teams can act on.
For example, if ProEst categorizes costs under CSI Divisions (e.g., Division 03: Concrete, Division 09: Finishes), make sure those same divisions and naming rules are reflected in ACC. Without that alignment, a line item such as "Concrete Foundations" could appear under different codes in each system, forcing project managers to reconcile discrepancies. With consistent structures in place, estimates drop seamlessly into budgets, making it easier to track commitments, actuals, and forecasts across the project lifecycle.
Putting your historical data (especially material costs) to work can really pay off, as it helps you make smarter material sections as well as create a more accurate budget.
If you haven't done so yet, take a look at how your team currently tracks costs, and then identify gaps that can be addressed by the right historical data.
Autodesk Build Cost Management makes this a whole lot simpler. Rather than manually pulling data from disconnected sources, Autodesk Build can serve as a centralized repository for all project cost data. This makes it easy for you and your teams to access and retrieve cost details from previous projects during the planning process.
Autodesk's cost management capabilities also make it easier to spot material price trends before they impact your bottom line. The outcome? Better cost forecasting and optimized resource allocation.
Another smart way to leverage historical data is to draw parallels (or contrasts, in some cases) between ongoing projects and completed ones.
Doing so helps you detect risks early and plan accordingly.
Autodesk Construction Cloud enables you to do all of that with the following capabilities:
ACC doesn't just give you access to analytics; our platform offers data visualization and organization tools such as dashboards and reports so you can quickly surface trends and insights.
Rather than manually crunching numbers or building spreadsheets, ACC automates the heavy lifting. It organizes and presents cost data in clear, actionable formats so you can make smart decisions faster.
Need to slice and dice data in a certain way? With ACC, you can customize views to compare scopes, costs, and timelines. This flexibility makes it easier to identify trends, explore alternatives, and deliver the right information to the right people.
The future of preconstruction is powered by data. Autodesk Construction Cloud and ProEst make it simple to leverage past costs for sharper estimates, stronger budgets, and smoother execution.
Ready to elevate your estimating process? Explore how ProEst can help your team build smarter from the start.
