Estimating Software

brianlinx

Has anyone out there purchased electrical estimating software? And does anyone have any thing good or bad to say about any of the following softwares? ConEst, Accubid, McCormick, EBM. Recommendations?

festerized

Look into “UDA Construction Suite” if all else fails

Sco

Estimating software is kind of a personal preference. I used accubid in a previous life but found it to be way too detail oriented for the size of the jobs I was estimating ($150,000.00 jobs). In my opinion for any job less than half a million dollars, estimating software like accubid is not the way to go. If you are bidding on large projects then accubid is a really good program. It will take a considerable amount of time to build the databases that you will need for pricing and assemblies but in the long run it would be worth it. For my money I will stick with my scales, my calculator and microsoft excel with the formulas I have created specifically for my business.

BDB

I was in the market this past summer for estimating software, had demo from McCormick, Accubid and Conest. I bought Conest and I have still not used it on a job yet, I am still trying to learn how to use it.

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Proud father of a newly honorably discharged U.S. Army Solider

rselectric1

I know how you feel. I have UDA construction Suite Pro, and it is SO complex and does SO many things that I sometimes get overwhelmed.

I must say that the Total Care package ($300 per year) has been terrific. They will stay on the phone and talk you through things as long as you need them to.

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220...221...whatever it takes!

brianlinx

220......221....whatever it takes. I think we say that every morning at the shop.......I mean every morning!!! lol Michael Keaton........funny. ("Mr. Mom" is the name of the movie for anyone who is lost.

Anyway. My partner swears up and down that we need some estimating software to get our bids out quicker. I would say the bulk of my electrical bids will be in the 75k to 175k. Yall got me thinking the software may be overkill.

The functions I am looking for is if I want to know what a 3 inch piece of rigid costs or a roll of hospital grade MC cable or a 2.5" myers hub cost I want to know within 30 seconds.

The other function is the meshing of labor units with parts. If I put out 250 foot run of 3/0 in EMT I want the labor units to pop up next to the parts and then I can choose if it is a level easy or a level hard install.

Do you think that this is a ConEst/Accubid situation or do I need to not be lazy and build my own Excel sheet.

By the way.......Great feedback guys.......thanks on the comments up to now.

Brian

rselectric1

UDA will plug in RSmeans numbers automatically. But I still find myself going back to my good old, time tested, self written Excel spreadsheets to check. In my area, RSmeans is a little low even though the use a multiplier for my zip code.

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220...221...whatever it takes!

macmikeman

Turbo Bid is a lower priced but high value product that is also out on the market. They have been making product upgrades at a regular pace since it hit the market and comes highly recommended. http://www.turbobid.net/TurboBidHome.html

TravelTradesman

I used accubid for plumbing and did not like it. Your EBM is probabally the same as PBM for plumbing. I used the PBM and liked it. A little learning curve but when you get the hang of it you can fly through bids. Do get the cost book, it is worth every penny! Just my .02

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J&J Plumbing and HVAC