For electrical contractors, generating accurate estimates for every electrical project is difficult because no two jobs are the same. Costs are constantly shifting based on labor, equipment, and job complexity, which directly impacts your final price. To maintain profit, many residential electrical contractors are moving away from simple spreadsheets and relying on robust electrical estimating software to streamline their entire estimating process.
This guide dives into the top 10 features of the best electrical estimating software every electrician needs. We will show you how the right software solution helps you manage everything from digital takeoff and material costs to ensuring healthy profit margins. Sera offers field service management software built to enhance efficiency, and we'll outline the top features of electrical estimating software your electrical contracting business needs to guarantee profit.
As the name suggests, estimating software is a cloud-based resource that helps contractors with job costing. Contractors can break jobs down by factors like labor, materials, and difficulty, to supply customers with the most accurate estimates. Most vendors also provide related functions with estimating software, such as quote-building and material pricing.
Electrician estimating software is often included as part of all-in-one field service management software, such as the software solutions provided by Sera. FSM software considers the various inefficiencies contractors face across all operations, including scheduling, dispatching, and customer booking as well as estimating. Opting for FSM software is often the best option for increasing productivity and profitability.
While several generic construction estimating software platforms are available for general contractors, electrical contractors need more than just basic tools. To ensure profitability and efficiency, electrical businesses require specialized functionality tailored to the unique complexities of electrical takeoffs and installations. Here are the key features of the best electrical estimating software you need to look for:
To calculate labor costs, estimators must consider those directly involved in providing services (electricians) and those providing support (office staff) for electrical projects. They must also factor in subcontractors or specialty contractors brought on to help with more involved projects. Estimating software should enable estimators to evaluate all the information necessary to accurately determine labor costs.
A primary benefit of electrical estimating software is helping electricians offer immediate, exceptional customer service. Under a manual system—often relying on complex Excel spreadsheets—the estimating process forces the electrician to contact office staff for current pricing, significantly impeding service and causing delays.
But today, the top-rated electrical estimating software features a user-friendly mobile app, allowing electricians to generate full, customized quotes using pre-built templates within minutes at the job site. This means massive time savings and happier customers.
Quote generation allows for detailed estimates that instantly calculate the necessary markup and clearly display the final price. This feature is especially advantageous for membership building, as it enables techs to instantly reveal the cost savings of members versus non-members when providing quotes. This transparency and speed help electrical contractors boost recurring revenue for year-round work.
Electrical contractors need a system for managing the equipment used for projects to calculate material costs. An item and cost database is an essential feature of estimating software as it delivers access to real-time prices for matching material costs across partnering distributors. The result is better bids and proposals for increasing job volume.
The main culprit behind struggling electrical takeoff is a lack of data management. Estimating software should offer features that enhance digital takeoff. For example, symbol recognition automatically matches a symbol for digital plans with one that correlates to database items. Similar functions include color-coded measurements, calculating algorithms, and drafting of takeoff reports. In addition to accelerating quantity takeoff, these features increase accuracy and help avoid errors.
Residential electrical contractors and low-voltage estimators love the efficiency of pre-built assemblies in their electrical estimating software. An assembly is essentially a saved bundle of parts—like specific wire, conduit, and the required labor units—needed for common jobs. The best electrical estimating software includes thousands of these pre-made bundles, all linked to a reliable material database. This feature must also let you easily customize and save your own unique assemblies. Using assemblies drastically speeds up the entire bidding process and guarantees consistent accuracy in every single quote.
As with all construction projects, safety must be the top priority for electrical contractors. The most reliable electrical estimating software ensures this by building in the current National Electrical Code (NEC) tables. This feature is crucial because the software will automatically adjust wire sizing and equipment requirements following a change order, guaranteeing your installation remains compliant with safety standards. This proactive compliance feature protects your crew, your customer, and your business.
Contractors may utilize a range of software solutions to achieve efficiency. Instead of operating each platform separately, they can search for estimating software that enables integrations. Usually, contractors need all-inclusive FSM software for such a feature. Software to integrate includes but isn’t limited to:
Even if the main goal of attaining FSM software is to improve cost estimating, contractors should also consider job scheduling features. FSM software typically offers automated scheduling that empowers workflow optimization and ensures the right electricians are assigned to the right jobs, boosting customer service.
Contractors want to know if estimating software is worth the investment. The best software gives them the tools to evaluate how much productivity, customer service, revenue, and similar aspects have improved since implementation. Estimators find dashboards and other visualizations that make analyzing data and disseminating findings to all employees easier.
From making your bids more competitive to generating highly accurate estimates in minutes, the value of specialized electrical estimating software for residential electrical contractors is undeniable. The right tool transforms your bidding process from a stressful gamble into a predictable, profitable workflow.
For the ideal software solution that integrates all the features you need—from lightning-fast quoting to guaranteed profit margins—turn to Sera. Our Field Service Management (FSM) software was created specifically for small and medium-sized home service businesses. Beyond enhancing your estimating capabilities, Sera aids with other essential elements of project management, like efficient scheduling, real-time dispatching, and proactive profit margin management.
Ready to see how Sera helps you take control of your price and profitability?
To learn more about the features and pricing of our FSM software, contact us today and schedule a 15-minute discovery call.