AICOAST / Industries / Construction / Cost estimating
Cost estimating and budgeting, drafted by AI and signed by your cost engineer
We prepare estimate and budget drafts, price comparisons and exception lists from your drawings, quantities and price inputs. A licensed cost engineer on your side reviews, adjusts and signs; we do not certify, stamp or promise reductions.
Where estimating support helps — and where it stops
Good fit
- Cost consultancies preparing estimates, budget drafts or control-price drafts with named cost engineers
- Contractor commercial teams that need a faster first pass across many comparable projects
- Owners and project companies reviewing budget submissions for completeness and consistency
- Teams that want an auditable review record instead of a single opaque number
- Organisations that require price and quantity data to stay in their own environment
Not a fit
- Requests for signed, stamped or certified cost deliverables
- Anyone expecting guaranteed audit reductions, savings, accuracy or bid prices
- Bid-pricing decisions or price coordination of any kind — we do not provide them
- Projects without a licensed cost engineer available to review and sign
- Teams that cannot provide price inputs or quota baselines and expect AI to invent them
Three estimating scenarios we can scope
| Input | AI assist | Human review | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drawings or bills of quantities, enterprise quota baselines, information prices or market quotes and your drafting requirements | Generate a priced build-up draft, consolidate material price inputs, flag missing items and prepare drafting-note content for review | Your licensed cost engineer checks each line, adjusts conversions and assumptions, then signs | Priced estimate draft, review record and drafting-note draft |
| Multi-project budget and settlement data you are authorized to share, plus an indicator library | Extract cost indicators, compare like-for-like projects and produce deviation analysis with anomaly prompts | Your cost lead confirms data scope, indicator definitions and conclusions | Benchmark report and deviation list for internal use |
| Budget submissions, design and scope documents from an owner or project company | Check completeness, unit-price consistency and arithmetic; flag anomalies and missing scope items | Your cost team and cost engineer confirm findings before any formal use | Budget review memo and exception list |
What you receive
- Priced estimate draftA build-up draft where each line shows its source input, conversion or assumption for your engineer to check.
- Indicator comparison reportLike-for-like benchmark tables by building type, structure, storeys and region, based only on data you provide.
- Exception and deviation listAnomalies, missing items and inconsistent unit prices, each with the location and basis of the flag.
- Review recordPer-line review status, named reviewer and the adjustments made before sign-off.
- Drafting-note draftDraft wording for estimate assumptions and exclusions, for your engineer to revise and own.
- Acceptance sheetThe acceptance measures agreed before kick-off, checked off at delivery.
- Data return or deletion recordWritten confirmation of what was returned or deleted at the end of the engagement.
How the pilot runs
- 01
Diagnostic 1–2 weeks
Review one estimate or budget package, check input quality, confirm the reviewing engineer and agree acceptance measures.
- 02
Data and quota setup 3–5 days
Agree price sources, quota baselines, environment and confidentiality terms; name the review chain.
- 03
Draft run 2–4 weeks
Produce the draft, exception list and review record, then work through each flagged item with your engineer.
- 04
Acceptance and hand-over 3–5 days
Complete the acceptance sheet, hand over the SOP and agree whether to expand or deploy privately.
How acceptance is measured
- Every estimate line is reviewed by a licensed cost engineer before it is used
- Each line and flag is traceable to its source drawing, quantity line or price input
- Anomalies and missing items are recorded as closed, excluded or escalated
- The drafting note and assumptions are reviewed and owned by your engineer
- The acceptance sheet is completed item by item before the pilot closes
- Data return or deletion is confirmed in writing
What we do not do
- We do not produce, sign, stamp or certify statutory cost deliverables
- We do not promise audit reductions, savings, accuracy percentages or fixed error rates
- We do not set bid prices, recommend bid prices or participate in any form of price coordination
- We do not resell or publish information-price data; price inputs come from you or your subscriptions
- We do not guarantee that quota conversions or local pricing rules are complete in a first run
- We do not act as your cost engineer or take professional responsibility for the estimate
- We do not use client data to train models or share it across clients
Pricing approach
Priced by scope: number and complexity of estimate packages, data preparation, quota conversions, review intensity and deployment shape. A written project confirmation fixes scope and price; no prices are published on this page. Training programs are quoted separately on our Chinese training site.
Evidence for this scenario
Estimate draft with review record
A method sample built from public sample material: line structure, basis notes, exception list and review status. No client data and no result claim.
Cost consultancy client case
No cost-consultancy case is authorized at launch. After a pilot, an anonymized case can be published only with written approval.
Frequently asked questions
Can AI produce a final estimate we can submit?
No. It produces drafts, exception lists and review records. A licensed cost engineer on your side reviews every line, adjusts assumptions and signs the deliverable; we do not issue statutory results.
Where do price inputs come from?
From you: enterprise quota baselines, information-price subscriptions, market quotes or historic project data you are authorized to share. We do not resell information-price data or invent prices.
Can you guarantee the estimate will not be reduced in audit?
No. We do not promise reductions, savings or audit outcomes. What we can do is make the basis of each line visible, so your engineer can defend or correct it.
Do you provide bid prices or pricing recommendations?
No. Bid-price decisions and any form of price coordination are outside our scope. Estimating support is for internal review and budgeting by your own professionals.
Can you work with our quota and estimating software?
We work through common formats such as Excel and PDF exports. Native software formats and interfaces are assessed per project and per vendor; we do not claim official partnerships.
How long does a pilot take?
Typically 2–4 weeks per estimate package once inputs and access are ready, plus a short diagnostic. The scope and calendar are fixed in the project confirmation.
Where is our data processed?
In your intranet or a dedicated environment by default. We do not use client data to train models, and files are returned or deleted at project end with a written record.