Innostruktúra
INKA – road-works cost estimate builder
INKA (InnoStruktúra Költségvetés Asszisztens) is a Windows desktop program that InnoStruktúra Kft. uses to build cost estimates for road works. Items are picked from the ÚME road-works item list, prices are kept in a shared database, and the finished estimate goes out as Excel. We designed and built the program.
Tech stack
Python
PySide6 (Qt)
MariaDB
DockerThe challenge
Cost estimates used to be built in Excel. Items had to be looked up by hand in the ÚME item list, which runs to thousands of rows, past unit prices were scattered across files, and working together on one project was hard.
What we delivered
- The ÚME item list as a searchable catalogue: 5,616 items in 8 chapters, as a tree
- Pricing with a single unit price, or separate material and labour prices
- Shared MariaDB database on the office NAS, for several users at once
- Excel export: priced and unpriced estimate, with one sheet per chapter
The solution
Items from the item list
The estimator picks from the 5,616 items in a category tree or by search, then enters quantity and unit price. Anything not in the list can be added as a separate K-item.
Prices that stick
The program remembers unit prices used before and suggests them on the next project. Common combinations can be saved as templates.
Several people at once
The database runs on the office NAS. If two people edit the same project, the program flags the conflict, and every export saves a new version (v1, v2…).
Measurable results
ÚME items in the catalogue
Excel files per export: priced and unpriced
releases in 3 months
From item list to finished estimate in one program
Picking items, pricing and the Excel export all happen in one place, from a shared database. Past unit prices and templates are ready for the next project.