John and Marielle Newland, JOMA Construction, How Much Guru

If you've ever completed a remodeling project (and we know many of you have!), you are likely aware of the frustrations of estimating. Whether it's scheduling multiple on-site consultations, waiting for estimates, comparing estimates, or making sacrifices to fit your budget, it's all very time-consuming. Especially with increasing material costs and supply chain issues, many people simply want to know if a project is feasible! 

Now there is a solution that helps you, the client, and dramatically reduces the time it takes contractors to produce estimates. Remodeling is a relationship business and the more time contractors can spend focusing on their clients' needs rather than an estimating spreadsheet, the better for everyone.

JOMA's mission is "to improve ourselves, our community, and our industry, one project at a time." How Much Guru is a result of that mission. We have invested a tremendous amount of time and effort in solutions for the most significant issues in the remodeling industry, and this is just the beginning.

How Much Guru in motion.

We created a new company, How Much, LLC, secured a catchy URL (HowMuch.Guru), and partnered with designers, coders, and marketing specialists to bring this idea to life. Project cost calculators are nothing new, but no one has developed one that can be embedded on a contractor's website that utilizes each contractor's specific cost structure.  The Calculator below is the MVP (minimum viable product) and we are already working on upgrades and additional features.

In short, we’re all in.

HowMuch.Guru comprises two components: the Estimator and the Calculator. The Estimator is a web version of a spreadsheet we created almost ten years ago. We continually improve the spreadsheet, and to date, we have used it to complete over 2500 estimates. It is a robust and efficient method for producing highly accurate estimates with hundreds of interconnected calculations.

The Estimator provides helpful insight and kickstarts the process. 

The Calculator allows clients to interface with the Estimator with no additional construction knowledge. Using "Dynamic Modified Templates," the Calculator instantly produces initial cost ranges for dozens of remodeling projects based on your inputs. 

The Calculator generates pricing and allowance guide for prospective clients. 

JOMA will be the first contractor to have the Calculator on our website, and we are currently recruiting other contractors as beta users. We hope that contractors across the country will see the value in providing this tool for their clients. Feel free to share this with your friends and any other contractors you know. We would be happy to show them the benefits of using HowMuch.Guru

We are so excited to share this with you. We would appreciate feedback after you have had a chance to try it yourself. Enjoy!