AI Construction Estimate

Location on ribbon: Tab DVD Cons → Group QS

Command ID: btnAIEstimate

PRO feature

This command is part of the PRO plan. STANDARD accounts activated before 01/07/2026 keep access until their licence expires; other Standard accounts get an upgrade dialog when they click it.

What it does

The command opens the AI Construction Estimate window: it reads the item list from your current selection and asks AI (Gemini) to estimate Vietnamese market unit prices in VND per unit, together with a short breakdown note (material / labour / plant).

It is meant for early pricing: you have a bill of quantities but no time to look up cost norms yet, or you need a quick reference price to sanity-check a subcontractor quotation. Results are previewed in a grid and only written back to Excel when you apply them.

How to use

1. Select a range containing at least an item name column and a unit column (a quantity column helps too).
2. Click DVD Cons → QS → AI Construction Estimate. The window is modeless, so Excel stays usable.
3. Set the column positions, counted from the first column of the selection: Item name column, Unit column, Quantity column (0 = none).
4. Click Read selection — the items load into a grid with the columns ✓ / Item name / Unit / Qty / Unit price (VND) / AI note.
5. Click Ask AI for prices — the AI fills in an estimated price and a note for each row.
6. Review the rows and untick ✓ for anything you do not want written back.
7. Set Price column and Note column (0 = skip), then click Apply to Excel to write the prices into the sheet. Click Close when finished.

Example

A structural BoQ lists Foundation concrete M250, 1x2 aggregate (m3), Foundation formwork (m2) and Foundation rebar D≤10 (kg).

Select B5:D7, set Item name column = 1, Unit column = 3, Quantity column = 0, click Read selection then Ask AI for prices. The grid returns VND/m3, VND/m2 and VND/kg figures with material/labour/plant notes. You untick the rebar row (its price is already fixed by contract), set Price column = 5 and Note column = 6, then click Apply to Excel — the two remaining rows get their prices in column E and notes in column F.

Notes

• AI prices are ESTIMATES based on general market data and carry NO contractual value — always verify against cost norms, local price schedules and supplier quotations.
• The command needs an internet connection and an AI API key configured in Preferences; without a key, "Ask AI for prices" returns an error.
• Column numbers are counted from the first column of the selection, not from the sheet's A/B/C letters.
• Applying prices overwrites the target cells directly — Ctrl+Z will not restore them, so save the workbook first.
• Long lists take tens of seconds and consume API quota; batch a few dozen items at a time.

Related

• Interim Payment — turn agreed unit prices into a value-of-work-done table.
• Variation Register — price variation items that have no contract rate yet.
• Compare BoQ — check quantities and values between two BoQ versions.
• AI Chat — ask follow-up questions about norms and take-off inside Excel.