Estimating Software can determine how accurate an estimate will be Electrical estimating is unforgiving, compared to other construction estimating activities. Unless the project is very simple, quick and dirty approximations using square-foot unit measures may give wildly inaccurate results. Bids for conduits, wiring, and sub-assemblies will be too high and lose you the job, or too low and lose you money – bad news for a generalist contractor and disastrous for an electrical specialist.

Accuracy in electrical estimating is therefore paramount. So is rapidity. If your bid success rate is 10 percent, for instance, you’ll need to bid 10 projects in order to win one of them. However, each of your 10 bids has to be spot on and supplied in time to your potential customer. You may also be dealing with a plethora of products and labor rates, meaning you need up-to-date pricing information at your fingertips and a foolproof way of recording and calculating quantities to determine the total cost.

Software for electrical estimating can help meet these challenges. Our pick of six electrical estimating software covers a wide range of budgets and features. However, the software that suits your competitor may not be the one that suits you, and vice versa. A little time spent thinking about what you want out of electrical estimating software can give you a valuable head start as you hone in on the app that is right for you.

Here are the following apps:

Turbo Bid Likely to appeal to the smaller to mid-sized MEP or specialist electrical contractor.

View Point Pricing for this relatively advanced and specialized estimating software is available on request, a common approach for vendors aiming at the midrange and upper levels of the electrical estimating software market.

Vision Infosoft These versions cover the needs of specialist electrical contracting companies working on small, medium or large jobs.

McCormick The entry-level WIN 1000 is the vendor’s suggestion for a small or new contractor. WIN 3000, for a small to medium contractor, offers multiple levels of pricing and labor.

Accubid Suited to contractors estimating for medium to large commercial, industrial or multi-unit residential projects

Intellibid Medium to large contractors and electrical installation specialists are likely to appreciate the “smarts” and performance of Intellibid software, from the Lite version upwards.