Compare CostMate vs. Malleo

CostMate is a specialized estimating software designed for residential builders in New Zealand, particularly targeting solo operators and small teams involved in renovations, such as bathrooms, decks, and extensions. It calculates labor costs using phase-specific production rates that take into account real-world site conditions like access issues, height variations, existing building constraints, and team size, moving away from a simple square-metre pricing approach. The software automatically applies BRANZ wastage percentages to material amounts, ensuring that estimates are both accurate and compliant with industry standards. Furthermore, every estimate inherently incorporates New Zealand Building Code stipulations related to external moisture, wet areas, energy efficiency, and timber framing, eliminating the need for a separate checklist. Before an estimate is forwarded to clients, a quote-checking procedure reviews the details and highlights common oversights in residential quotes. CostMate operates on a robust rules engine rather than a language model, ensuring that every quantity, wastage percentage, and code item is precise and can be traced back to its origin. It is important to note that this software does not function as a quantity surveying tool, project management system, or job scheduling application, making it distinctly tailored to the estimating needs of builders. Additionally, its design emphasizes transparency and reliability, allowing users to have confidence in the accuracy of their estimates.

Malleo offers comprehensive assistance in managing your costs effectively. By utilizing its estimating feature, you can establish your expenses right from the start. When it comes to purchasing, you can set your costs and finalize the process with ease. You can oversee vendor costs categorized by item, division, or subdivision. Additionally, Malleo allows you to manage default vendors based on activity, division, or subdivision. You can upload an estimate file and seamlessly integrate it with the default vendors and their associated costs, which in turn generates your budget. The platform enables you to issue, delete, and clone purchase orders as needed. Furthermore, it facilitates the issuance of purchase orders from approved vendor requests. You can create purchase orders for multiple invoices, splitting them according to all or selected lots within a subdivision. Malleo also provides lumber price comparisons based on plan names or sold properties. You can create a builder risk spreadsheet and issue purchase orders by job, enhancing your project management capabilities. Moreover, it allows for the management of specification levels, such as trim levels, and enables you to oversee plan names offered by subdivisions along with their base prices. You can also manage options available by plan names and their corresponding prices, as well as features offered by subdivisions, both internal and marketing. Overall, Malleo streamlines the entire process, making it easier for you to manage costs and vendors effectively.