Ghosts and goblins belong in October, not in your project budget. Yet for many business leaders, uncertainty around project costs can feel just as unsettling. Accurate estimating removes the mystery by providing a clear understanding of investment requirements, identifying potential obstacles, and helping you plan with confidence.
Communication
During the early stages of any project or idea, communicating the vision, goals, and requirements are the foundation to achieving a successful outcome. As the budgeting process advances, maintaining open and clear dialogue is vital, becoming more important as preplanning nears the final stages. Part of successful communication is having alignment with all parties involved, which is crucial to helping minimize potential challenges before they become costly issues. Project teams create alignment by engaging stakeholders early, defining goals, priorities and scope, identifying risks, and establishing agreed‑upon expectations for budget, schedule, and performance outcomes.
Accurate Costing and Transparency
Being in the construction industry, competition is fierce and the majority of the time, projects are awarded based solely on the lowest upfront cost. However, the most successful projects are built on trust, transparency and a shared commitment to delivering long‑term value. Throughout my career, I’ve found that business owners benefit most from realistic, well‑informed estimates that reflect the project’s current level of definition. As an owner, would you rather deal with constant cost increases or figure more on the conservative side and decrease cost as the project becomes more defined? Most likely the latter of the two options, however this approach requires some discipline. Being conservative doesn’t mean having huge contingencies or adding unneeded dollars, it means you’ve put real thought into the costs of the project. You’ve used historical cost data from similar projects, accounted for economic shifts, material increases and shortages, fuel hikes, inflation, and the vision and requirements that were communicated during the initial conversations; it means you’re accurate.
Transparency and clear understanding throughout the preplanning phase are just as essential as being accurate. It ensures all costs and project details are captured, communicated and understood by the project team. This reduces the likelihood of difficult conversations and financial hardships later in the project, often making the difference between a positive or negative experience.
Technical Expertise
Whether you’re budgeting for a new facility, software or product line, a subject matter expert is a must. This may be one person or an entire team, but having technical expertise helps ensure the project is reviewed in detail and builds confidence in estimated costs and problem‑solving solutions. With the right expertise and collaboration, budgeting becomes more than just numbers on a page. It becomes a way to better understand the project, make smarter decisions and move forward with confidence.
Problem Solving
I don’t have the data or spreadsheets to confirm this, but I would feel confident betting on the fact that no project has ever gone 100% according to plan. For that reason, an important part to a successful project is the ability to provide solutions to issues both in the budgeting phase as well as during construction or project implementation. It is imperative to have multiple back‑up plans and know the costs associated with each ahead of time. This keeps momentum moving and provides alternatives that may lead to other solutions and discussions that otherwise may not have been considered.
When mixed together effectively, communication, transparency, accuracy, technical expertise and problem solving, have proven to be the recipe for success. This season, don’t make your project into a witches brew of hidden costs and surprises … cost estimating shouldn’t be scary.
About the Guest Author
Spencer Dohms serves as Director of Estimating at Immel Construction where he provides leadership in preconstruction strategy, project budgeting, cost analysis, and strategic bid decisions for complex, multi‑million dollar construction projects. He also guides which opportunities to pursue, when to bid, and what margin approach best aligns with workload capacity, risk, and the company’s long‑term goals. With extensive experience developing accurate estimates, Spencer helps clients make informed decisions that align budget expectations with project goals from the earliest stages of development. Beyond his role at Immel, Spencer is a member of the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE) and serves on Northeast Wisconsin Technical College’s Architectural Advisory Committee, helping shape the future of construction education and workforce development in the region.
