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RS Means Estimating Books: Why RS Means

RS Means is a well-respected provider of construction cost guides. RS Means Cost Data books have been the gold standard for generations of project managers and others who seek to provide accurate estimates in an efficient manner. These RS Means resources are authoritative.

If you bid on a government contract, your RS Means data will not be questioned. That is also true for many other types of bids, such as those for insurance work.

And what happens if someone tries to sue you, claiming you overcharged? Rather than hire an expert witness (at huge cost) to fight another expert witness regarding how you charged the job, you merely need to show your RS Means data. End of dispute.

But if you use "finger to the wind" or "past projects" as your basis for an estimate, bid, cost justification, or whatever--you face an uphill battle you don't stand a great chance of winning.

A similar situation exists when you file your taxes. If you use one of the recognized tax preparation programs, the IRS auditor does not question the program's computations. That issue has already been resolved ahead of time. Likewise, when you use RS Means, your costs for a given unit of labor or other cost input is simply accepted as accurate.

So, the benefits of using RS Means are tangible from the standpoint of keeping you out of trouble. But the benefits are also very real from another standpoint: Managing your costs.

Using RS Means, you know with certainty what your costs should be for labor, material, and various services. You don't have to guess. This means you don't overpay and thus cut into your margin. Nor do you underpay and cut into the quality that keeps customers coming back.

So, don't wonder if you can afford an RS Means guide for your business. The fact is, you can't afford not to have one. An RS Means guide typically pays for itself shortly after you start using it.

Just do the math.

Example 1. You bid on a $90,000 construction project (20% margin, or cost of $72,000). But you bid from a previous project and your costs are low by 6%. On this project, that amounts to $4,320 you simply left on the table. Did you need to bid so low to get the job? Probably not. But how many hours of your wages does that $4,320 represent?

Example 2. You bid on a $90,000 construction project (20% margin, or cost of $72,000). But you bid from a previous project and then develop your own cost increases to come up with your cost data. Consequently, your "costs" are high by 6%. On this project, that amounts to $4,320 you think you need to do the job. Suppose the customer comes back and asks you to cut the price. Will you be willing to do that?

Example 3. You bid on a project, but you miss key elements in your bid--elements covered by RS Means. It's really not your fault, is it? After all, you haven't done a project like this before. But your suppliers and your customer don't see it that way. You made the bid, and you have to eat the difference. The fact is, the folks at RS Means draw on thousands of projects and other resources you don't have access to, then they compile the cost data based on the type of work. If you overlook something because you didn't have an RS Means resource, you have only yourself to blame.

Sure, you saved $116 by not buying that RS Means book. But you took a $20,000 hit on the job you just did and now you have to go get a loan so you can meet payroll. How many times can you afford to do that?

Example 4. You have a time and materials contract to do various construction projects for the city. You just billed the city for work you did. The City Manager comes back to you and says the bill is too high. What are you going to do? You can:

Cut the price, thereby admitting you overcharged this project. That then implies you overcharge other projects. Kiss your profits goodbye.
Refuse to cut the price, thereby forcing the City Manager to look at arbitration or a lawsuit to obtain the price the city has deemed acceptable.
Meet with the City Manager, and walk through the pricing, using your authoritative RS Means as the basis.

The correct choice here is obvious. Isn't it?

$227.00	2008 RS Means Assemblies Cost Data The 2008 RS Means Assemblies Cost Data provides thousands of building assembly and component costs. With the accompanying drawings, explanations, component breakdowns, and reference tables all within one easy-to-use format you can quickly estimate a building's square foot cost and easily compare and price alternatives. Means Assemblies Cost Data enables you to easily price and compare various building assemblies.
$177.00	2008 RS Means Building Construction Cost Data Looseleaf, 66th Edition Use the 2008 RS Means Building Construction Cost Data, Looseleaf Edition to make accurate estimates and bids for your building construction jobs. It includes more than 23,500 unit prices for 2008.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Building Construction Cost Data Softcover, 66th Edition The 2008 RS Means Building Construction Cost Data is the professional estimator's first choice of reliable price data for accurate budgeting and estimating. This nearly 848-page reference contains unit costs for nearly 21,000 building components.
$187.00	2008 RS Means Building Construction Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 Building Construction Cost Data from RS Means on CD-ROM provides unit costs for nearly 23,500 building components. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Concrete and Masonry Cost Data, 26th Edition The 2008 RS Means Concrete & Masonry Cost Data includes the latest unit price data, with illustrated concrete and masonry assemblies cost tables. Use this for accurate and complete concrete & masonry estimating data. The Concrete & Masonry Cost Data includes the latest unit price data with illustrated concrete and masonry assemblies cost tables, helpful reference data and estimated aids for accurate, complete concrete and masonry estimating data.
$187.00	2008 RS Means Concrete and Masonry Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 RS Means Concrete and Masonry Cost Data on CD-ROM provides you with cost facts for virtually all concrete/masonry estimating needs. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Electrical Cost Data The 2008 RS Means Electrical Cost Data provides detailed unit cost items, comprehensive assemblies costs, and informative reference information for residential and commercial electrical projects. The RS Means 2007 Electrical Cost data book reflects the volatility of material and labor costs in the coming year. This is an essential resource for anyone involved in the installation, planning, or maintenance of non-industrial electrical equipment or systems.
$187.00	2008 RS Means Electrical Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 RS Means Electrical Cost Data on CD-ROM contains pricing information for every part of electrical cost planning all on CD-ROM. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$327.00	2008 RS Means Facilities Construction Cost Data, 23rd Edition The 2008 Facilities Construction Cost Data from RS Means includes thousands of unit prices for existing facility modernization, repair and renovation construction projects. It includes information on more than 200 pages of charts, tables, pointers, tips, and guidelines.
$297.00	2008 RS Means Facilities Maintenance and Repair Cost Data, 15th Edition The 2008 RS Means Facilities Maintenance and Repair Cost Data details the costs of all aspects of maintaining your facility. Now you can ensure your facilities maintenance plan is accurate and your facilities repair costs are in line with standard cost metrics.
$147.00	2008 RS Means Heavy Construction Cost Data, 22nd Edition The 2008 RS Means Heavy Construction Cost Data will help you prepare complete and accurate heavy construction estimates. It provides costs for all types of heavy construction, including highways, bridges, utilities, rails, marine, sanitary, and storm sewer projects.
$187.00	2008 RS Means Heavy Constructon Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 RS Means Heavy Constructon Cost Data on CD-ROM is a comprehensive guide to heavy construction costs, in productivity-enhancing CD format. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Interior Cost Data, 25th Edition The 2008 RS Means Interior Cost Data provides you with prices and guidance needed to make accurate interior work estimates for commercial, institutional, and residential construction.
$187.00	2008 RS Means Interior Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 RS Means Interior Cost Data on CD-ROM provides you with prices and guidance needed to efficiently make accurate interior work estimates. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$297.00	2008 RS Means Labor Rates for the Construction Industry, 35th Edition The 2008 RS Means Labor Rates for the Construction Industry provides instant answers to hourly wage questions for over 300 major cities and 46 trades; exact rates for accurate estimates, comparisons, and negotiations.
$117.00	2008 RS Means Light Commercial Cost Data, 27th Edition RS Means Light Commercial Cost Data for 2008 is the cost guide you need to estimate smarter, faster, and more reliably. It focuses on light commercial and upscale residential projects. Its more than 800 pages cover such structures as apartment buildings, motels, office buildings, retail stores, and warehouses. This resource also covers educational, social, and medical institutions. It includes costs for hundreds of modifications and add-ons; assemblies costs for more than 150 standard assemblies, costs for thousands of alternate specs and configurations; and unit costs for more than 10,000 components.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Mechanical Cost Data, 31st Edition The 2008 RS Means Mechanical Cost Data provides definitive data on unit costs for materials, methods, labor, and equipment. Addresses the full range of mechanical work, including construction, renovation, testing, tuning, balancing, and demolition. Covers new installations and retrofit/renovation projects of building mechanical systems, including HVAC, refrigeration, building services, and process piping (among others).
$187.00	2008 RS Means Mechanical Cost Data on Costworks CD-ROM The 2008 RS Means Mechanical Cost Data on CD-ROM provides costs for HVAC and controls in productivity-enhancing CD format. Your 12-month subscription includes downloadable quarterly updates throughout 2008.
$170.00	2008 RS Means Metric Construction Cost Data, 66th Edition The 2008 RS Means Metric Construction Cost Data contains all the cost facts you need to design, bid, or build any project in metric in the year ahead. Don't try to bid on government construction jobs without this resource, because they require metric units.
$137.00	2008 RS Means Open Shop Building Construction Cost Data, 24th Edition The 2008 RS Means Open Shop Building Construction Cost Data provides over 23,000 unit costs. These include material, labor, and equipment. The labor rates apply to skilled workers responsible for installation. Instant access and detailed information. The 2008 RS Means Open Shop Building Construction Cost Data also provides productivity information, including labor hours and daily output for open shop crews.