Estimating

[phase3electric]

Hi Guys ,
I am looking for a simple and inexpensive Est. software to use . I am a 1-2 man shop and do mostly service and jobs under $10,000. Does anyone know of such a program

Glenn
Phase 3

 

[luckylerado]

I am in love with BlueBeam :thumbsup:. It requires some savvy and setup time and knowledge of excel but if you do it right you end up with a great estimate, a list of parts per task and space and a shop drawing that you can send to the field. Might be a better fit for a larger shop but I cannot function without it anymore.

 

[bristlepad]

I can't imagine there is anything out there easier or cheaper than power estimator

 

[Greg Swartz]

Service Shop

Service Shop

Glenn,
As the owner of a service focused electrical contractor, I pretty much use some base figures and modify them. I don't really use software unless it is much bigger (roughly $20k and up)

What does that mean?

Over the last several years, we have performed a number of residential service installations, changeouts, AC hook ups, Hot Tubs, etc... You name it...
We have figured out how long each item takes, plus or minus. (For example a panel swap 1 for 1 takes X hours. Averaged over 100 jobs gives you a good feel.)
We have figured out how much each project costs material wise (Again, a panel swap out costs $Y for materials at the supply house.)
But also, we have figured out how much each electrician costs per hour, our overhead costs, etc...

We take the material, mark it up a certain percentage. The same with the labor. Then tack on a permit cost. (Some believe it is a sin to mark up the permit, but we do that too...) And I arrive at a number that I am comfortable with... and over 50% of the time the customer is too.
A standard garage back to back 100A 1-for-1 swapout is $X
Go to a 150, add $Y
Go to a 200, add $Z
Meter can needs swapped out, add $A
Meter can is too low / too high, add $B
Riser needs replaced / raised / whatever, add $C
If it is more than 2' indoors, we need a disconnect or main panel, add $D plus $E per foot for SER

It really is easy. I try to spend no more than 1 hour per estimate, and that includes talking with the customer, and filling out the estimate. And I try to fill out a material list right there on the spot.

Give the customer a price right then and there, before you walk away.


Anyway, I do this with pretty much everything.
A/C install pre wire is $X. A/C hook up to 50' is $Y.
Hot Tubs have more variables, but still easy and less than 1 hour.

And I teach my electricians who estimate how to run the numbers my way.


It works well, we have a basis for WHY and HOW we charge, and we can adopt very easily as needed...
And I don't need to subscribe to fancy expensive software at $1500 per year.

 

[Fulthrotl]

Glenn,

As the owner of a service focused electrical contractor, I pretty much use some base figures and modify them.
I don't really use software unless it is much bigger (roughly $20k and up)

+1 on all of that.

if you can define the scope of work clearly, flat rate is the only way to go, imho.
if you can't define, there is T&M.

i've got a pretty good idea what most of the stuff i do often is worth.
it really comes down to what your actual cost of doing the work is,
and how much you want in your pocket, walking away afterwards.

around here....
service change is $1,800~$2,800 depending on where and what is needed.
can lights are usually $100 a hole if you are doing a bunch of them.
etcetera.

when i'm quoting, i'll just pull a number out of the air, and go with that.
it usually works ok for me, and the one time in 20 it doesn't, and i have to
eat a dry biscuit, has been made up in time savings by not driving out to
20 places to give a number.

driving out is the death of your workday in so calif. most anything under about
$5k, i'll wing it. let's say i do twenty $5k jobs...... and eat one....
my profit on $5k is about $3k usually, profit on material and labor.

so, i make $60k on those jobs. but one tanks, and i walk away with zero.

so, make $55k on those twenty jobs. and save 40-60 hours of my productive
time, driving to bid,for the profit on a $5k job, which would normally be $3k.

can i make more than $3k profit in those sixty hours? well, yeah.
sixty hours of my billable time right now comes out to fifteen half days.
in fifteen half days, i can net about $18k. work is really good right now.

if work sucked right now, i'd be driving out to jobs more.

YMMV.

 

[DrSparks]

Glenn,
As the owner of a service focused electrical contractor, I pretty much use some base figures and modify them. I don't really use software unless it is much bigger (roughly $20k and up)

What does that mean?

Over the last several years, we have performed a number of residential service installations, changeouts, AC hook ups, Hot Tubs, etc... You name it...
We have figured out how long each item takes, plus or minus. (For example a panel swap 1 for 1 takes X hours. Averaged over 100 jobs gives you a good feel.)
We have figured out how much each project costs material wise (Again, a panel swap out costs $Y for materials at the supply house.)
But also, we have figured out how much each electrician costs per hour, our overhead costs, etc...

We take the material, mark it up a certain percentage. The same with the labor. Then tack on a permit cost. (Some believe it is a sin to mark up the permit, but we do that too...) And I arrive at a number that I am comfortable with... and over 50% of the time the customer is too.
A standard garage back to back 100A 1-for-1 swapout is $X
Go to a 150, add $Y
Go to a 200, add $Z
Meter can needs swapped out, add $A
Meter can is too low / too high, add $B
Riser needs replaced / raised / whatever, add $C
If it is more than 2' indoors, we need a disconnect or main panel, add $D plus $E per foot for SER

It really is easy. I try to spend no more than 1 hour per estimate, and that includes talking with the customer, and filling out the estimate. And I try to fill out a material list right there on the spot.

Give the customer a price right then and there, before you walk away.


Anyway, I do this with pretty much everything.
A/C install pre wire is $X. A/C hook up to 50' is $Y.
Hot Tubs have more variables, but still easy and less than 1 hour.

And I teach my electricians who estimate how to run the numbers my way.


It works well, we have a basis for WHY and HOW we charge, and we can adopt very easily as needed...
And I don't need to subscribe to fancy expensive software at $1500 per year.

sounds like you have a good system. I mark up EVERYTHING, even permits. Most smaller localities don't have online filing and my time and fuel consumption must be paid for.

 

[troberts2007]

I am in the same boat, I just had to pass on a nice commercial job that was bigger than what i normally do because i didn't feel comfortable with the estimating the job ( the work would have been easy- existing building,existing service nothing but lights and a few plugs just gutted and ready for new. right now i mostly run service calls and small jobs i can do quickly. I just bought one of the RS means estimating book to help me learn a proper system to estimate and it comes with some software that you can download. I have not downloaded it yet i want to make sure i have the manual way down first. you might want to give it a try.