Expert Estimation
First-principles cost estimating and budgeting software for construction and engineering
Founded
1987
Starting Price
$130 AUD
Category
Project Management
Last updated August 17, 2026
About Expert Estimation
Expert Estimation is first-principles cost estimating, budgeting and tendering software from Australian vendor Pronamics, used by civil, mining, infrastructure, mechanical and electrical contractors to build detailed bottom-up estimates from resources, formulas and templates. It is a Windows desktop application (a Server and Shell component installed on your own machines or network) sold on a monthly subscription or perpetual licence rather than a browser-based SaaS app. Three licence levels — Excelerate, Express and Genesis — scale from spreadsheet replacement through to matrices, cost coding, WBS, cashflow forecasting and takeoff.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Genuine first-principles estimating — resources, formulas and build-ups are exposed and auditable rather than hidden behind fixed unit rates, which suits civil, mining and infrastructure tendering
- Vendor publishes real subscription prices per edition (AUD ex GST) instead of hiding everything behind a sales call, which is unusual in construction estimating software
- 24/7/365 Australian-based phone and online support is repeatedly singled out by long-term users as better than category norms
- Deep template and library reuse means standard build-ups carry across tenders, cutting repeat work on similar projects
Key Features
First-principles cost build-up
Build estimates bottom-up from base and group resources with a dedicated formula column and live formula review, so every step of a calculation is visible and reusable.
Overhead cost schedule
A dedicated overhead schedule apportions indirect costs and profit across the priced items in an estimate so hidden costs are recovered rather than absorbed.
Margin and spread management
Set margins independently by resource type across direct costs, overheads, risk and opportunities, preadjustments and provisional sums, then spread values across the bill.
Library and template projects
Maintain a reusable resource database and template projects so standard build-ups, rates and structures carry from one tender to the next instead of being retyped.
Matrices for repeatable work schedules
Genesis matrices automate repeating work schedules with variables, letting you apply bulk value changes and replace error-prone third-party spreadsheets.
Cost codes and multi-level WBS
Create complex code sets and multi-level work breakdown structures to analyse and report forecast cost across a project for client and internal stakeholders.
Pricing
Excelerate
$130 AUD/month
- Per licence, ex GST, on a 12-month subscription
- For teams moving off paper or spreadsheets
- Direct and overhead project costs
- Cost estimates with base and group resources
- Complex formulae and custom units of measure
Best For
Civil and infrastructure tender pricing
Civil contractors price roads, bridges and earthworks tenders from first principles, building rates up from plant, labour and materials so every submitted number can be defended line by line during client scrutiny.
Mining and resources cost estimation
Mining and resources estimators model complex, repeating work schedules with matrices and variables, applying bulk rate changes across an estimate when fuel, labour or haulage assumptions shift.
Replacing high-risk estimating spreadsheets
Teams still tendering out of Excel move to Excelerate to get structured overhead recovery, revision control and reliable formulas, removing the broken-link and copy-paste errors that spreadsheets accumulate.
Cashflow forecasting for project approval
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