While the Estimate Generator helps you create your initial estimate, the Estimate Assistant helps you keep working with it by adding detail, making changes, checking information and using your plans to build out your estimate.
You can ask Blu questions or give it instructions in plain language, and it will use the information available in your estimate and plans to help you.
Note: The Estimate Assistant is currently a Preview Feature and is still being rolled out. It is available for users who choose to add it to their account, but it is not live in all accounts. As the feature continues to develop and roll out more broadly, functionality and availability may change.
Important: Plans are the only uploaded documents the Estimate Assistant can read and interpret. Other document types, such as supplier quotes, contracts or standalone specifications, are not currently supported. We're tracking to have this available October 12th.
Watch this video here or scroll down for full details.
What can I use the Estimate Assistant for?
There are lots of ways to use the Assistant as you work through an estimate.
You can use it to:
Edit your estimate - change materials, quantities, finishes or pricing.
Add further detail - give Blu additional information and ask it to update the estimate.
Upload and work with plans - ask questions about your plans or use information from them in your estimate.
Create resources - generate things like Scopes of Work and quote packages.
Check information - review your estimate against your plans and identify missing or conflicting information.
The idea is simple: tell Blu what you need, rather than manually working through the estimate yourself.
Edit your estimate
Once your estimate has been created, you can ask Blu to make changes to it.
For example:
Swap the tiling to 12 x 12 inch tiles.
Blu will work out which parts of the estimate are affected and make the relevant changes.
You can also ask it to help reduce the price.
For example:
Find items that could be downgraded to bring the total price down.
After Blu makes the changes, you'll get a summary of what it updated.
You can then continue asking for changes if you need to.
Add more detail to your estimate
You can also use the Assistant to add information that wasn't included when the estimate was first created.
This could be additional materials, finishes, fixtures or other project requirements.
Just tell Blu what you want to add and it can work out where that information belongs in the estimate.
For example:
Add the specified fixtures and finishes to my estimate.
Upload plans
The Assistant can work with uploaded plans, allowing you to use the information in those plans without manually going through every page yourself.
Plans are the only uploaded documents the Estimate Assistant can read and interpret. You can ask Blu questions about your plans or ask it to use information from them to update your estimate.
Ask your plans anything
You can ask questions about information contained in your plans.
For example:
What's the specified cladding on the western elevation?
Blu will look through the uploaded plans and provide an answer based on the information it finds.
This can also help when you're trying to find specific details without manually searching through your plans.
Find unclear or conflicting information
You can ask Blu to review your plans for information that is missing, unclear or conflicting.
For example:
Draft RFIs for anything unclear or conflicting.
Blu can identify the issues it finds and help draft Requests for Information (RFIs) that you can send to the relevant architect or designer.
Add windows and doors to your estimate
If your plans include a window and door schedule, Blu can extract that information and turn it into costed estimate line items.
For example:
Add the window and door schedule to my estimate.
This saves you from manually reading the schedule and creating each estimate item yourself.
Add fixtures, appliances and finishes
You can also ask Blu to pull specified items from your plans into the estimate.
For example:
Add the specified fixtures and finishes.
Blu can use the information in the plans to identify the relevant items and add them to your estimate.
Check your estimate against the plans
One of the useful ways to use the Assistant is as a final check before sending your quote.
You can ask Blu to compare your finished estimate against the plans and identify anything that may be missing.
For example:
What have I missed in this estimate compared to the plans?
Blu can review the information in the plans and compare it with your estimate to help identify potential gaps in scope.
This gives you another opportunity to catch something before the quote goes out.
Create Scopes of Work and quote packages
The Assistant can also use information from your estimate and project plans to create trade-specific documents.
For example:
Create a Scope of Work and a quote package for the framing carpenter.
Blu can create a trade-by-trade Scope of Work and a quote package that you can use when requesting pricing from subcontractors.
These are documents created by the Assistant, rather than documents that the Assistant reads as source material.
A quick reminder
Blu Estimator can help you work through a lot of the estimating process, but it's still important to review the final result before sending your quote.
Use the Assistant to help you find information in your plans, make changes and catch potential gaps, then give the estimate a final check yourself.