Coates Plastering has been running jobs for 10 years. Estimate volume moves with the season, sometimes as many as 10 quotes going out in a single month. With that kind of volume, the estimating process has to keep up without eating into time on the tools.

The old way

Before Assemble, Coates Plastering estimated jobs on another platform. The breaking point wasn't the software itself so much as what happened around it: the company behind the tool changed hands, and the disruption that came with it was the last straw.

The most frustrating part was when the software I used to use changed companies.

The move to Assemble came through word of mouth, seeing other contractors on the tools using it and getting straight answers when they needed help.

The guys in Assemble are always there for support if you need it, they have real construction knowledge.

The difference

There was no single job where it suddenly clicked. It has just been solid from day one, and that consistency is what has kept Coates Plastering estimating with Assemble ever since.

The day-to-day impact comes down to two things: speed and precision.

Assemble is easier to use and quicker. And it's good to be exact with materials especially these days.

What stands out to Dylan is that Assemble feels built for contractors, not adapted for them. No steep learning curve, no bloated feature set to wade through, just a straightforward way to get accurate numbers out the door. And for a tool that saves hours every month, he points out that the cost barely registers. At around the price of a case of beer a month, it's an easy call for a business of any size.

Getting exact on materials matters more now than ever. With prices moving the way they have, a few sheets or bags miscounted on a takeoff isn't just an inconvenience, it's the gap between a job that makes money and one that doesn't. Being spot on with quantities protects the margin on every job Coates Plastering quotes.

The advice

Asked what he'd tell another contractor sitting on the fence about Assemble, Dylan kept it simple.

Do it.

His message to any builder or subcontractor weighing it up is to stop weighing it up. Take the first step and try it. Setup takes about five minutes, and the two-week free trial means there's nothing to lose by seeing it for yourself.