If you are from the construction industry, then accurate estimates are a crucial part. Every construction company needs to provide detailed estimates to potential customers. The labor expenses, material costs, and overall project details are all included in these estimates. Electrical estimating software is extremely useful for electrical projects that help electricians, electrical engineers, and contractors plan out expenses related to upcoming and current projects.
Electricians, construction managers, and engineers utilize electrical estimating software to estimate the volume and cost of electricity necessary for a certain site or activity. Electrical costing and estimating are two of the most important elements in any building project. Builders, contractors, and project developers can obtain an accurate project cost. However, creating an exact estimate can be difficult because most contractors have little clue about the project’s time, supplies, or other costs. To generate estimates for their electrical projects, builders, contractors, electrical estimators, and project developers of any size can use the best electrical estimating software. Read our guide on Best Construction Management Software For Small Business.
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In this guide, we have listed the best-rated electrical estimating software with their use cases, pricing and pros and cons, and how to choose the best electrical estimating software. Let’s get started with the best electrical estimating software program for your unique business and estimate the costs, materials, and labor time of your electrical projects!
What Are The Best Electrical Estimating Software Tools Of 2022?
What Is An Electrical Estimating Software?
Electrical estimating software is a cutting-edge tool that allows construction firms and electrical contractors to accurately determine labor and material costs for each project. Electrical cost estimating software can effectively provide estimates for electric tasks, and it can work in tandem with best-in-class bidding management and better offer execution.
Electrical construction companies build them using a number of approaches and procedures. Like any other estimate, electrical estimates can be created utilizing software in today’s world. The electrical estimating process is made faster and more accurate with these best electrical estimating software programs.
Numerous databases for various items and electrical equipment are included in the best electrical estimating software app, allowing for faster quotes and enhanced profitability. Construction businesses and the power sector can use the electric estimating system to efficiently manage projects, modify jobs from everywhere, and communicate with engineers.
Aside from that, electrical estimating software assists electricians and electrical engineers in estimating expenses such as labor, materials, and equipment for a new project, as well as allowing you to customize various bids and estimates prior to submission. Basic project management modules and maintaining customer relationships are also useful tools for electrical estimators.
What Are The Benefits Of Using An Electrical Estimating Software?
If you are planning to purchase the best electrical estimating software app, then you need to consider some important things that will make your job easier. There are various things that you need to consider to make your job easier:
- Increasing Accessibility: You would only be able to make estimates from your workplace if you did not use any estimating software. It would also necessitate a backlog of work to authenticate and verify the project’s minute aspects. Furthermore, all data is stored in the cloud. As a result, you don’t have to worry about losing crucial data like unit prices or client contact details.
- Time-Saving: Generally, most electricians would argue that time is more important than money. As a result, estimating requires tools that allow you to save time by swiftly generating estimates. With the help of estimating software, you can save up to half the time it takes to create a new estimate from scratch.
- Bid Management: Managing all of the offers at the same time is a difficult task. This necessitates a great deal of planning and management of different offers. However, this is only true if you do not use estimation software. The quotation management tool makes it easier to manage bids.
- Labor Cost Tracking: Estimating labor costs is just as important as the final computation, after which the estimating can provide the client with a final price. The majority of operating costs are calculated on an hourly basis. Now it is very easy to calculate any job-specific rate management as well as possible personnel hours.
- Estimate-Quote Conversion: Now you can create customer-facing quote or proposal paperwork using data from internal job estimated costs.
- Project Management: Once a proposal is approved, make all of the necessary arrangements for the project to move forward, such as workers, materials, and so on.
- Customer Management: For improved customer service, keep track of customer contact information, historical project data, bid history, and other necessary details.
- Billing And Invoicing: To properly bill clients for services, use estimates and bids, then deliver professional bills.
- Accurate Takeoffs: Electrical estimating tools can reduce the chances of estimating mistakes. In this way, you can save your time in revisions and correcting previous mistakes, which will save the cost of correcting those mistakes.
- Document Management: Now you can retain past quotes in a digital storage and retrieval system for future access when making new job estimates.
How To Choose The Best Electrical Estimating Software?
Before purchasing electrical estimating software, various deciding elements must be addressed. The deployment model, cost, and feature all play a significant effect. To make a final decision, you must verify user reviews and the product vendor’s support options.
Before you get the best electrical estimating software, for your electrical contracting business, you need to consider the following things:
- Pricing is most likely the first consideration for contractors since every organization operates on a tight budget. So, only go deeper if your organization can afford it.
- Always look for tools for project management that are simple to use
- The capacity to work on both residential and business projects
- With a material database, you can keep track of current material costs.
- Allows you to estimate templates, tracking, and bid generation
- Always look for software that gives you the chance to offer clients more affordable substitutions during the bid process.
- Better customer support from the start potentially increases your profit margin
- Other things include item cost database, customer information database, and PDF exports.
List Of Best Electrical Estimating Software Tools
Esticom is a cloud-based construction planning and electrical estimating software that gives contractors real-time access to manpower, pricing, blueprints, and a material database to assist them to manage their projects. Esticom primarily serves professions such as electrical, plumbing, structured cabling, fire safety, security, and HVAC, and also offers solutions for managing operations, custom quotes, and programs. It is a robust, user-friendly all-in-one estimating solution that assists electrical contractors in improving estimating speed and accuracy. In a single, easy-to-use estimating system, the platform combines bid management, quantity takeoff, and estimation.
You just upload your blueprints, execute a quantity takeoff, alter quantities, material pricing, and labor units, adjust overhead and profit margin, and create customer-facing quotations that give your electrical contracting firm a professional look with Esticom. Unlike traditional estimating tools or spreadsheets, Esticom uses the web to allow team collaboration for evaluating project schedules, issuing change orders, and assigning work to various members of your team, all while putting everyone on the same page. You can also submit marked-up plans for examination and approval by your customers.
Esticom Features:
Esticom provides purpose-built estimating, project management, and operations management tools to help you develop a profitable and successful contracting firm.
- Increase takeoff speed 5x
- Count items across multiple pages
- Filter results to ensure accuracy
- Measure conduit and wire runs
- Add fittings automatically
- Designate drop distances
- Update project with new versions
- Organize plan sheets into folders
- Automatically rename plan sheets
- Upload company logo
- Lump-sum phased, or unit pricing
- Add inclusions and exclusions
- Place design-build symbols
- Cloud & annotate plans
- Export to PDF with the legend
- Out-of-the-box parts and assemblies
- Includes labor units & material prices
- Easily customize database
Esticom Pricing:
Esticom comes with a 14-day free trial and costs $139/month
For faster takeoff, more accurate estimating, and more competitive tenders, Procore is one of the best electrical estimating software for small contractors. It enables you to easily and accurately put your projects up for success by performing quantity takeoffs, estimates, and professional bids.
Procore is an all-in-one solution that allows users to manage their projects from start to finish without having to navigate between different apps. You can win and deliver more lucrative, effort-free, and error-free estimates with Procore. Furthermore, using a configurable database of components, assemblies, equipment, and services, head contractors and trades of all types can streamline straight, area, or weight-based takeoffs. To expedite the takeoff procedure, use auto-count and plan overlay. Procore is highly suited for General Contractor, Owner, Architect, Specialty Contractor, Preconstruction, Project Management, Engineer, Resource Management, and Financial Management. The Procore App comes with an app marketplace and integrates seamlessly with 300+ partner solutions.
Procore is an excellent software to use if you want to improve your construction business and acquire better insights. It allows you to dive deep into issue areas and make quick decisions on how to fix them. This tool allows you to increase your productivity and share real-live data with on-site teams that will help you make smart business decisions. It also provides great cross-platform functionality and excellent customer support.
Procore Features:
- Quickly build accurate construction cost estimates and win more projects in less time.
- Move from takeoff to completed estimate with a single click
- Apply historical rate tables to move quickly and accurately
- Automatically calculate material and labor costs
- Easily update to support shifting labor and material costs
- Replace manual symbol recognition required for takeoff with AI Auto-count
- Count items across multiple pages & filter results to ensure accuracy
- Support any type of construction with the area, linear, or weight-based takeoffs
- Ensure data is never lost in the handoff between teams
- Automatically turn accepted estimates into project budgets
- Create a budget or SOV in Project Financials with a single click
- Sync revisions between drawings and estimates
- Quickly and easily price changes during construction
Procore Pricing:
Procore comes with a 14-days free trial with unlimited data and support. Procore has custom quote pricing that is included with every subscription.
STACK Estimating is a cloud-based free electrical estimating software or on-screen takeoff for professionals of all sizes and trades. STACK allows customers to upload digitized blueprints and complete takeoffs fast and easily. Users can then generate thorough estimations and submit precise bids.
STACK preconstruction software gives you a centralized hub for streamlined plan administration, lightning-quick takeoff and estimation, proposal customization, and real-time cloud collaboration. With seamless product catalog access, STACK is a versatile takeoff and estimation solution for product makers and suppliers looking to generate new business and create long-term customer relationships.
Apart from that, STACK preconstruction takeoff and estimating software take on extra responsibilities, allowing your teams to be more productive and efficient. It comes with a comprehensive set of pre-built reports that include detailed descriptions of all common building equipment, labor, and materials.
STACK Features:
- Document Management: Helps you to keep your project docs organized and your team laser-focused.
- Cloud-based Quantity & Material Takeoff: Automate takeoffs 10 times faster and have everyone on the same page from the start.
- Detailed Cost Estimates: Costs, markup, tax, and overhead should all be adjusted. Quickly and easily create personalized estimates and branded bids.
- Real-Time Collaboration & Connectivity: Markup, callouts, sharing, and invites keep your entire team on the same page.
- Integrations: Stack has seamless integration with various platforms that helps you to increase your overall productivity and business performance and help your firm drive workflow efficiencies.
STACK Pricing:
STACK offers a free plan with 3 subscription plans:
- Free Plan includes 7 days/Project, 10 Takeoffs/Projects, 2 Concurrent Projects
- Start Plan Costs $1999/yr and includes 1 full access user, 2 view-only users, unlimited projects
- Grow Plan costs $ 4999/year and includes 3 Full Access Users, 6 View-Only Users, and Unlimited Projects
- Build Plan comes with custom pricing and includes 4+ Full Access Users, 7+ View-Only Users, and Unlimited Projects
Accubid electrical estimating software is a versatile solution that streamlines the entire construction workflow, from estimation to purchasing, project management, and invoicing, for all contractors of any size. It is an original full-featured estimating software that enables contractors searching for comprehensive capabilities to bid on more work with greater accuracy.
Accubid Classic is one of the best industrial electrical estimating software for labor units, labor monitoring, and cost codes, and it helps you spot mistakes! You can also develop customized, project-specific components on-the-fly for any size project and compare estimate elements to their quick bid summary. It has the best construction workflow foundation and provides both online and one-on-one support. Using this tool, you can get the following benefits which are as follows:
- Easily Catch Potential Errors: Subtotals from all breakdowns can be viewed in any order, allowing you to rapidly spot potential problems.
- Hit The Ground Running: The program offers labor units, labor factoring, labor monitoring, and cost codes.
- Easily Create: On-the-fly custom, project-specific assemblies for any size project.
- Quickly Compare: Now you can estimate components with their fast bid summary.
Trimble Accubid Classic Features:
- Proven Material Database: Over 40,000 parts and 9,500 assemblies are available, allowing you to tackle any job.
- Dynamic Takeoffs: Compute necessary assembling component quantities or count specifications immediately.
- Live Extensions: Jump from record-keeping to expanded bill of materials by instantly calculating each takeoff as it happens.
- Multi-level Breakdowns: Subtotals from all breakdowns can be viewed in any order. Break down the complete bid into logical and physical components, such as floors, system, area, cost code, or design, then export the data to other software.
- Better Collaboration: This collaboration platform enables your team and other stakeholders to share information more efficiently and make better decisions.
- Instant Bid Summary: Utilizing labor-to-material ratios, costs-per-foot, per system, or per floor, compare estimate elements.
Trimble Accubid Classic Pricing:
Trimble Accubid Classic doesn’t provide any pricing details. If you want more information, you need to contact the vendor for pricing.
McCormick electrical estimating software is one of the fastest and most customizable estimating and digital takeoff software on the market. McCormick Systems provides contractors with the electrical estimating software they need to perform the fastest, most efficient bids. This is a complete solution for low voltage, solar, and other specialist contractors in the commercial, industrial, and residential markets.
Aside from that, McCormick offers numerous estimating tiers and a full-featured estimating package with over 30,000+ pre-built assemblies to assist contractors in creating accurate and detailed estimates. With this small business estimating software you can maximize the productivity that helps you to create fast and accurate estimates.
McCormick Features:
- Speed up takeoff with prebuilt items and custom assemblies
- Automatically count assemblies, receptacles, and measurements with a click
- Their patented Auto Home Run instantly draws and measures your run so you’ll know supply needs, cost, and best path
- Get real-time pricing updates from preferred suppliers so costs are always correct
- Customizable breakdowns of jobs
- Auto-count items and features within job drawings
- Create job hotlists to make takeoffs faster
- Audit trails to quickly see every change or update
- Instant material lists are formed as breakouts develop
- Customizable symbols, items, and assemblies make your plans easier to read
- Overlay multiple drawings to see differences easily
- View bid summaries, automatic graphs, labor scheduling, and proposals
- Customize your dashboards so every bid matches your ideal setup
- Never run out of space with unlimited job storage
- Collaborate on jobs or let each estimator create their own bid
- Price out subcontractors, direct job expenses, equipment rentals, and more
- Choose which employees are on the job and their hours so you know exactly what you’re spending
McCormick Pricing:
McCormick comes with custom quote pricing and doesn’t provide any pricing details. If you need more information, you can contact their vendor for more details.
For estimating residential, commercial, light industrial, structured cabling, audio/video, and fire alarm projects, Red Rhino is one of the best electrical estimating software applications. The software includes monthly material pricing for thousands of electrical goods, as well as built-in labor to compute installation time automatically. Hundreds of pre-built assemblies for speedy material input are included in Red Rhino’s “speed tools.”
Red Rhino is an online Electrical Estimating Software that gives you the advanced features that today’s contractors need to estimate quickly, accurately, and profitably. Red Rhino is a completely integrated business system for growing your electrical contracting firm, with interconnected modules for purchasing, billing, and project management.
This cloud-based electrical estimating software is built for any size contractor and allows you to estimate fast, correctly, and profitably. Furthermore, Red Rhino electrical estimating software offers personalized training appointments that are absolutely free and open to all users, as well as training videos. What’s the best part? It comes with a 14-day free trial, so you can see if it’s right for you and your business. You do not have to pay anything until you are ready to subscribe to the service.
Red Rhino Features:
- Powerful Estimate Recaps: The Recap analyzes all of the material and work put into your Take-Off and provides you with a complete report.
- Time Saving Wizards: With the help of their Wizards, estimating becomes more efficient. Within minutes, the Conduit Wizard, for example, allows the user to enter the conduit, amount of runs, and also included wire.
- Professional Proposals: The software generates proposals quickly, with the specifics of your estimate instantly filled in. Your proposals can be readily modified to match your specific requirements and sent straight to your clients.
- Simple & Accurate: Red Rhino Electrical Estimating Software is a powerful tool that can assist any size contractor quote fast, accurately, and effectively.
- 14-Days Free Trial: The 14-Day Free Trial verifies that the Estimating Software is right for you and your business. You do not have to pay anything until you become ready to join the service.
- Personalized Training: Customized training sessions are free and open to all users, and training videos can be found all through the software.
Red Rhino Pricing:
- 14-Days Free Trial costs $0 and includes estimate creation, product catalog, assembly catalog, wizards, proposal, and more
- 1 License costs $99/mo and a $175 one-time setup fee which includes 1 user login, product catalog, wizards, proposal, billing, and more
- 2 Licenses cost $198/mo and a $175 one-time setup fee which includes 2 user logins, estimate creation, product catalog, billing, project management, and more.
Final Takeaway On Best Electrical Estimating Software
Days are gone when electrical contractors created estimates and bid rates using ink, paper, and their memories. Electrical estimating software companies have transformed the market, and you should jump on board as quickly as possible.
It takes a long time to manually create an estimate. Deadlines and budget constraints are common in projects. Accurate estimation can help to ensure consistency and improve labor and material efficiency. Electrical estimate software can help the building sector. Builders and contractors have been able to evaluate building cost codes and detect overhead costs with the help of the best electrical estimating tools. If you are an electrical engineer, contractor, or estimator then you must get the top electrical estimating apps to meet the deadlines and budget restrictions.
We hope that this blog has assisted you in evaluating the best electrical estimating software available in the market. If have any questions, please leave them in the comment section below. Our experts will guide you to choose the best one! Thanks for reading, have a great day!
