5 Questions to Ask Before Buying Estimating Software

With all of the "bells and whistles" offered by electrical estimating software vendors today, it's easy to lose sight of what's important to you and your business when you're shopping for your first estimating software system. But asking a few questions should help when you're evaluating contractor estimating software.

1. Is it User-Friendly?
According to Sheldon Needle, president of CTS, a software review and rating service, one of the top features you should look for in any contractor estimating software is ease of use. "The program should be Windows-based with intuitive navigation and it should include plenty of easy-to-use features," he says.

First-time users in particular are concerned about the level of difficulty when it comes to learning how to use the software. "I wasn't that familiar with computers when I first started using the program," says Francis J. Rogan, president of 3R Electric Inc. in Hunlocks Creek, Pa., who uses Vision InfoSoft's Electrical Bid Manager. "I tested a lot of other software and found it to be the most simple and user-friendly."

Ease of use should also translate into time savings from day one. "You want to be able to navigate through the program in a way that's compatible with Windows so there's less of a learning curve," says Don Barnett, senior estimator at Houston-based TAG Electric Company, who has been using ConEst's IntelliBid software for more than a decade. "It's also important to see everything you need on one screen, rather than having to pop up windows and scroll back and forth between screens."

2. Is it Flexible?
Another important feature of a good estimating software system is database flexibility. "Some of the software for electrical contractors is more customizable than others," says Derrick DelliQuadri, director of marketing at Vision InfoSoft Corporation, maker of Electrical Bid Manager. "If it doesn't quite fit your needs perfectly, you want to be able to make it fit your business' needs, by customizing the materials database— narrowing the items down that you actually do use—so it's not that complicated and it improves the overall workflow."

"We use a lot of specialty items and our software includes many of the items that we use," Rogan adds. "We have customized it for our needs."

Your estimating software also should offer flexibility to adapt to control the labor factor and adapt to regional differences. "One of the real issues with estimating software is that it has to have a lot of flexibility, because labor in different sections of the country is different," Barnett says. "You want to have a factoring system that will take the labor units and adjust it so that it fits the production at the location you're working."

Your software also should be adaptable to changes. "Being able to control the labor factor on an installation is very important because the labor on installations can change when the degree of difficulty of the installation changes," says Jan Thayer, vice president of sales and customer relations at ConEst. "The other thing is having software that can provide the estimator with built-in [NEC] code tables that helps them correct installations that are taken off incorrectly."

3. Does it Offer Access to Real-Time Pricing?
Your estimating software choice should provide access to real-time material pricing information, so that you can be assured that you'll be able to bid projects intelligently and deliver the job at the right price.

"In today's environment, there are so many options, pricing is one of the biggest reasons many companies get into using estimating software," DelliQuadri says. "An estimating software program should be able to update the pricing very easily."

4. Does it Simplify Takeoff?
An effective software system should speed up the estimating process by making it possible to specify materials required for a project and create dynamic takeoffs that automatically calculate required quantities. "The takeoff system is one of the most important features of a program, right up there with pricing," DelliQuadra says. "How easy it is to take off assemblies and take off single items that you're trying to add to your estimate?"

5. Does the Manufacturer Offer Solid Support?
As with users of any software product, electrical estimating software users need access to training and technical support. "[Vision InfoSoft] holds class across the country and we've attended several of them," Rogan says. "We also buy their support and upgrade packages."

More than a provider of technical training and support, your software supplier should be a company you can work with over the long term. "You want to make sure the company understands your industry really well," Barnett says. While interviewing software companies before he purchased the ConEst product more than 10 years ago, Barnett realized that, "These were people who had been in the electrical construction industry. Obviously, that was a selling point," he says.

It's also important to watch for the frequency of improvements and upgrades as a way to determine whether your software vendor listens to customer needs, he says. "I want to see that recommendations from customers are being incorporated into changes in the software on a regular basis," Barnett says.

Before You Start
If you're considering investing in an estimating software system, here's what to do first. "Contractors should take a look at demos of the software or at least the automated demos that the Web site or a sales rep can offer just to see if it fits their company's needs," DelliQuadri says.