Reimagining Reporting: Empowering Preconstruction to Tell a Cohesive Cost Story

Preconstruction is the most important phase of the project lifecycle. It’s where the plan comes together for the entire project, yet too often the estimate is seen as just cost and quantities. But, it’s more than that—an estimate is a reflection of years of experience and judgement which form a vision and plan—a true blend of art and science. Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity of helping construction companies develop custom reports that don’t just present an estimate, they tell a cohesive cost story. 

In my previous role as a sales engineer at Beck Technology, I worked closely with clients to create both standard and custom reports. These weren’t just tools for internal use, they became a part of each company’s brand. From incorporating logos and colors to carefully structuring data, these reports helped companies communicate their expertise and professionalism.

But, there was always a challenge: construction companies I worked with did not have the expertise to tweak these reports very easily and they usually didn’t staff someone internal to play that role. As a result, many companies used banded-style reporting tools like Crystal Reports or XtraReports. While these helped fill a gap, they come with significant restrictions. Making even minor changes often requires specialized expertise, creating delays and limiting how companies can present their data—even more painful with last minute estimate revisions. 

At Ediphi, we’re rethinking this model entirely. By leveraging our last-mile Excel add-in, we’re breaking free from these restrictive tools. Now, estimators have a live data feed of their Ediphi estimate directly in Excel so detailed reporting, custom owner bid-forms, executive summaries, and dashboards stay up to date and automatically syncd. We’re giving construction companies the ability to build reports that are as flexible and unique as their projects without any double entry or complicated tools. No more waiting on a vendor to update your reports. No more compromises on how data is presented.

Instead, teams can focus on what matters most:

• Highlighting What’s Important: Tailor reports to emphasize the unique aspects of each project or estimate.
• Strengthening Brand Identity: Use every report as an opportunity to showcase professionalism through consistent branding.
• Staying Agile: Quickly adapt and customize reports to meet changing demands, all with tools you already know.

This shift isn’t just about functionality—it’s about freedom. Freedom to adapt, to innovate, and to tell your story the way you see it. Ediphi’s mission is to empower the people who plan the built world and ensuring they can easily tell their cost story is one part of the process that we’re laser focused on getting right.