Estimating is rarely a solo activity. On a complex commercial project, you might have a chief estimator overseeing the overall budget, a senior estimator handling the self-performed work, a junior estimator doing quantity takeoffs, and a bid coordinator managing subcontractor solicitations. Until now, ElkConstruct treated each project as a single-user workspace. Today, that changes with our new Team Collaboration features.
The centerpiece of this release is real-time concurrent editing. Multiple team members can now work on the same estimate simultaneously, with changes visible to everyone in real time. Each user's cursor and active area are highlighted so you can see who's working where. Think of it as Google Docs for construction estimating. If your senior estimator is pricing Division 03 Concrete while a junior estimator takes off Division 09 Finishes, both can work simultaneously without conflicts.
Role-based permissions give you granular control over what each team member can see and do. We've defined five roles: Project Admin, Lead Estimator, Estimator, Bid Coordinator, and Viewer. Project Admins can manage all project settings and user assignments. Lead Estimators can edit any aspect of the estimate and approve final pricing. Estimators can edit assigned divisions but cannot modify markup or fee structures. Bid Coordinators manage subcontractor communications and bid packages. Viewers have read-only access for owners, architects, or executive reviewers.
The activity feed provides a complete audit trail of every change made to an estimate. You can see who modified a line item, when they changed it, and what the previous value was. This is invaluable during the frantic final hours before a bid deadline when multiple people are making last-minute adjustments. If a number looks wrong, you can trace it back to the specific change and the person who made it.
Division assignments let Lead Estimators allocate specific portions of the estimate to individual team members. When a division is assigned, the assignee receives a notification and the division appears on their personal dashboard with a due date. Progress tracking shows how much of the assigned scope has been estimated, making it easy for project leads to monitor team workload and identify bottlenecks.
Comments and mentions enable contextual conversations within the estimate. Tag a colleague on a specific line item to ask a question, flag an issue, or request a review. Comments are threaded and persistent, creating a record of the decisions and discussions that shaped the final estimate. This is far more efficient than the email chains and sticky notes that typically accompany collaborative estimating.
We've also added estimate templates that capture your company's preferred division structure, default line items, standard markup calculations, and presentation formats. Templates ensure consistency across your team and reduce setup time for new projects. When a new project comes in, select the appropriate template and your estimate is pre-populated with your standard framework.
Team Collaboration is available for Professional plan subscribers with up to 10 users per project and Enterprise plan subscribers with unlimited users.