1. The reality on the ground: the spreadsheet still dominates
Before talking about specialist packages, there is a truth software vendors do not enjoy hearing: most construction economists in France work mainly in a spreadsheet. Not for want of anything better, but because a spreadsheet is infinitely adaptable. A good model built by an experienced economist is often more powerful and faster than a specialist package for the everyday needs of a standard project.
The specialist packages bring real value on two precise points: the built-in price libraries, which save building your own rate base, and the automatic formatting of the deliverables in standard layouts. On everything else, the calculation logic, the structure of the schedules, the flexibility, the spreadsheet remains hard to beat.
2. The full picture: eleven tools by category
| Category | Tool | Publisher | Main use | Take-up in France | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement and estimating | Attic+ | ATTIC | Measurement, estimates, pricing schedules, priced bills | ★★★★★ | ~1 500–2 500 € a year |
| Measurement and estimating | Toltec | Toltec Informatique | Estimates, price libraries, specifications | ★★★★ | ~1 200–2 000 € a year |
| Measurement and estimating | Batigest | Sage | Quotations and invoicing, contractor and design team | ★★★ | ~1 000–1 800 € a year |
| Measurement and estimating | Spreadsheet, purpose-built | Microsoft | Bespoke estimates, dashboards, final accounts | ★★★★★ | Included with the office suite |
| Price library | Batiprix | Groupe Moniteur | Unit rate reference across every trade | ★★★★★ | ~1 500–3 000 € a year |
| Price library | INSEE construction indices | INSEE | Price adjustment indices for parametric formulas | ★★★★★ | Free |
| Model-based measurement | Revit with extensions | Autodesk | Quantity extraction from a well-developed model | ★★★ | ~3 000–5 000 € a year |
| Model-based measurement | ArchiCAD with extensions | Graphisoft | Quantities from an ArchiCAD model | ★★ | ~2 000–3 500 € a year |
| Model-based measurement | CostX | Exactal | 2D and 3D measurement, model-based quantities | ★★ | ~2 500–4 000 € a year |
| Programme and control | MS Project | Microsoft | Gantt programme, time and resource control | ★★★★ | ~130–180 € a month |
| Programme and control | Planradar | PlanRadar | Mobile site records, snagging, inspections | ★★★ | ~30–80 € per user a month |
3. The four indispensable tools
Four tools turn up in almost every practice, for different reasons: one for the whole workflow, one for prices, one for adjustment, and the last for everything the other three cannot do.
Attic+, the profession's standard
Attic+ is the package most used in French cost consultancies. It covers the whole economic workflow: entering measurements, calculating estimates, producing priced bills and pricing schedules, managing price libraries. Its main strength is its integrated library, compatible with the published price reference, so the economist does not have to build a rate base. Its main weakness is a long learning curve, three to six months before real productivity, and an ageing interface.
Batiprix, the price reference
Batiprix is the sector's reference price base. It covers every trade with unit rates updated quarterly, tracking the movement of the published indices. It is used either directly inside Attic+, which integrates it natively, or as a checking reference by economists working in a spreadsheet. Its subscription, 1 500 to 3 000 € a year depending on the package, is regarded as an unavoidable investment for any practice with regular workload.
The INSEE construction indices, free and indispensable
The construction cost indices published monthly by INSEE are the basis of every price adjustment formula in a works contract. Free to download, they are used to update estimates and to calculate the adjustment in final accounts. An economist who does not consult them regularly produces incomplete final accounts.
The spreadsheet, the general-purpose tool
The spreadsheet remains central for financial dashboards, final accounts, tender comparison schedules and every bespoke document that does not fit the layouts imposed by the specialist packages. An economist with advanced spreadsheet skills, conditional formulas, pivot tables, conditional formatting, simple macros, can produce professional-quality deliverables with no specialist software at all.
4. Model-based measurement: the promise and the reality
Extracting quantities automatically from a digital model is the promise that has fascinated the sector for ten years. In theory, a properly built model lets you extract the quantities of concrete, partitions and façades automatically and feed them straight into the estimate.
In practice the obstacles are many. The model has to be developed to a sufficient level of detail with every element correctly categorised, which is not the case for most models produced in French architectural practices. Interoperability between the modelling software and the cost packages remains imperfect, and exports frequently lose critical information. And validating the extraction remains indispensable: the economist has to check that the quantities extracted follow the French measurement rules, which takes an expertise automation does not replace.
ℹ Model-based measurement: where does it really stand? The practices using it productively are the ones that have invested in a strict modelling procedure, with a modelling protocol defining the minimum requirements for categorisation and parameters. On large projects, above 5 000 m², the time saved on measurement is real and can reach 30 to 50 % of the take-off stage. On ordinary projects, below 2 000 m², the time spent checking the extraction often exceeds the time a manual take-off would have taken.
5. Spreadsheet, specialist package or external economist: the honest comparison
The real question for an architect or a client is not which package the economist uses, but how to obtain reliable cost advice quickly. The table below compares the three genuine options.
| Criterion | Spreadsheet alone | Specialist package | External economist |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of entry | Included with the office suite | 1 200 – 2 500 € a year | No licence and no training, a fee for each assignment |
| Learning curve | Long, for a bespoke model | Three to six months to master | None; the economist brings the tools |
| Price library | To be built yourself | Integrated or compatible | The economist's own; ask where the rates come from |
| Quality of the quantities | Depends on the user's level | Good if well configured | Depends on the economist chosen; check it before issue |
| Delivery time | Variable, depends on workload | Variable, depends on workload | Agreed when ordering; have it confirmed in writing |
| Availability | Depends on the internal diary | Depends on the internal diary | Engaged assignment by assignment, subject to workload |
| Liability | Internal, carried by the practice | Internal, carried by the practice | Set by the contract with the economist |
| Suits which profile | A practice with a trained in-house economist | A practice with a dedicated economist | A practice with no in-house economist, or one that is overloaded |
The conclusion is simple. If you have an in-house economist or a trained colleague, a specialist package adds value. If you do not, or if your economist is overloaded, learning a new package to produce one estimate a quarter is neither efficient nor economic: the training time far exceeds the time it saves.
In summary
The spreadsheet remains the central tool of most French economists, for its flexibility rather than for want of an alternative. Attic+ is the standard in specialist consultancies, Batiprix is the unavoidable price reference, and the INSEE indices are free and compulsory for final accounts. Model-based measurement is promising but productive only on rigorously built models, which remain the exception. For architects and clients with no in-house economist, the question is not mastering one more package but whether to hand the cost work to an external economist, who brings the tools with them.
The nature of the figures quoted
The percentages and amounts quoted on this page are orders of magnitude for framing, not measurements. They illustrate mechanisms and proportions, and they substitute neither for a tender exercise nor for an estimate prepared on drawings.
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Sources: the BT construction cost indices published monthly by INSEE on its 2010 base, used to update the figures · construction cost statistics from SDES, the statistical service of the ministry responsible for construction · regulatory texts published in the Journal officiel and consolidated on Légifrance for the requirements cited.