A Day in Australia’s Largest Estimating Outsourcing Business

Whoever thought outsourcing estimates would take off? Well, it has, and it’s not just a “Fred in the shed” set-up. It’s big business, writing over a million dollars a day in estimates.

• 3:30amEstimators log in and say good morning on Slack
• MorningUnfinished estimates, authorised jobs and new quotes
• All dayTeam leaders and admin watch every workshop channel
• AfternoonTeam meeting on Zoom: wins, issues, improvements
• Mid-arvoHandovers done, estimators log off

It’s 3:30am and the day has already started for many of the virtual estimators (VEs) at BSR, Australia’s largest estimating outsourcing business. While most of the country sleeps, these dedicated professionals are logging in from across the globe, aligning their hours to match the time zones of the workshops they support.

The first stop is Slack, the team’s dedicated central communication hub. A quick “Good morning” in the staff group chat sets the tone. From there, each estimator logs into their assigned workshop’s Slack channel and estimating systems, greets their local workshop team, and gets down to work.

Keeping the workflow moving

The early hours are spent reviewing any unfinished estimates from the previous day and revisiting authorised jobs to track updates. New jobs trickle in constantly throughout the day as the onsite staff scope up new quotes and sups to be written: damage photos, job sheets and insurer requests. The estimators get to work reading methods and insurers’ accident descriptions, quoting and doing sups with precision.

Overseeing this complex web of activity are Admin and the team leader group, who monitor every workshop chat channel looking for roadblocks, questions, auditing or anything that needs urgent attention. If a VE is unexpectedly unavailable, a backup is deployed within the hour, either another team member or one of the team leaders themselves.

The support crew behind the scenes

At the same time, Alecks in admin is sifting through emails, new agreements, system alerts, support and onboarding requests to prepare the day’s workflow. Jim, the Operations Manager, is running back-to-back Zoom calls: training new recruits, conducting quality checks, and checking in with existing team members and clients.

New estimators who have recently passed BSR’s intense in-house training program are placed into the buddy system, shadowing experienced estimators to sharpen their skills before being permanently assigned to a workshop. It’s a crucial step in maintaining BSR’s high standards and getting them ready for remote work.

Meanwhile, the dedicated MSO team leaders are carefully reviewing overall estimator workloads and balancing the distribution of jobs across MSOs and larger clients with multiple VEs, to ensure no one team member is overwhelmed. The other team leaders are caretaking the single-site and small MSO operators.

Managing growth and quality at scale

Ash, the Managing Director, and Alecks split their time between onboarding new workshops, handling financials and payroll, AI training, strategic planning, and running marketing campaigns to support BSR’s steady growth. Most weeks, they could be onsite or on video calls with a new client, training a local estimator to work hand-in-hand with their assigned VE, developing training programs, or reviewing performance metrics across dozens of workshops and VEs.

Ash and Jim work closely together throughout the day to monitor all active workshops, ensuring consistent service quality and smooth operations. When you are compiling over a million dollars’ worth of estimates every day, anything can go pear-shaped, and we need to be ready to jump in and keep it rolling for our clients.

Finishing strong

As the day winds down, the team regroups. Most afternoons end with a team meeting on Zoom, where staff reflect on the day, share wins, raise any client issues and brainstorm improvements. It’s part of the company’s culture of constant evolution: finding smarter, faster and more effective ways to serve the repair industry and help clients generate profits.

Afternoons, when the dust settles

One of the biggest advantages of starting early is finishing early; time zones allow this.

By mid-afternoon, once the last estimates are wrapped up and handovers completed, most VEs are logging off. For many, this means heading out to pick up the kids from school, catching an afternoon walk, or simply enjoying some well-earned downtime.

This work-life balance is a major drawcard for virtual estimating in different time zones. While the job requires skill, discipline and commitment, the flexibility allows estimators to blend productivity with family life, something that’s increasingly rare in today’s fast-paced industry.

It’s a unique rhythm: early mornings filled with fast-paced quoting, followed by quieter afternoons spent at home with loved ones. For the BSR team, it’s not just about helping workshops run better. It’s about building a lifestyle that works for everyone.

A backbone of the repair industry

As we approach 100 workshops supported, with millions of dollars in estimates processed weekly, BSR has become the quiet engine powering repair shops across the country. Our model blends early starts, tight teamwork and constant communication, and while it might be hectic at times, it’s also deeply rewarding.

The success of BSR lies not just in technology or ongoing training, but in its people: from the early-rising estimators to the team leaders, admin and management, all working as one, behind the scenes, to keep Australia’s repair industry moving.