The National Estimator

What do you like best?

I liked it had many updates throughout the year and it had pricing for many products and job positions. It also had a way to adjust the pricing by location. I don't recommend this to anyone and it is very hard to find anything to like about this product

What do you dislike?

I disliked just about everything about the program, from the way it looked like something from windows 95 to trying to do something simple like price a job. Unless you read the directions while you are working or have a print out of them accessible it is often difficult to remember what to do or how to read what is printed out.

I am very computer literate and often help other people with their computer problems. The fact that I dread every moment that I need to use this product because I know it will take me a lot longer than if I were look up each product online myself.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Unless you understand and use Craftsman other estimator books and services stay far far away from this product. It was a complete time suck and waste of money. I don't see the benefit of learning this archaic system that is often counter-intuitive. When you need a separate chart or guide to read what is produced there is something that needs to be reworked with your product.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

The only problem national estimator solved was it confirmed I wasn't pricing my labor to high in my estimates. Which is something I often worried about when submitting bids to clients. Other than that it was a significant time suck that I often priced materials too low and I would've lost a lot of money if I used the estimates as is. It essentially doubled the time it took for me to put together an estimate for a job.

There aren't any real-life benefits that I have found using this product. I find it horrible and it needs a complete overhaul if they want me to purchase this product again.