ECN Forum
Posted By: aphares Estimating - 07/26/06 05:52 PM
How many of you guy's answering questions in here, run, own, thier own company, and what size S,M,L? What type of Electrical Estimating Programs do you use and what is your thoughts on the types avalable.
Thanks
Arthur
Posted By: SteveFehr Re: Estimating - 07/27/06 10:47 AM
I don't own my own company, but I do manage a sizeable power program (better than $1 million per year gross) and contract out all the electrical work. I'm an engineer, and we use RS Means to develop designs within our budget and put a reality check on high/low bids. Truth be told, I spend more time tweaking design on the the cost estimate sheet than I did the original design in CAD! Designing a code-legal electrical system is easy; designing one that meets a tight budget as well as high standards for safety and reliability- well, that's the hard part.

Also, they offer training sessions in Las Vegas, which is an excellent excuse to have your employer send you to Vegas for a few days and/or write it off on your taxes [Linked Image]

Edit: to clarify that I do mostly commercial emergency power stuff; generators and UPS and the like.

[This message has been edited by SteveFehr (edited 07-27-2006).]
Posted By: ExpressQuote Re: Estimating - 07/27/06 03:18 PM
While I don't currently run my own contracting business, I coach several contractors in improving their businesses.

Estimating, sales training, budgeting and cost controls are our primary focus with the contractors we work with.

When it comes to estimating systems, they all have pros and cons. My personal preference is simplicity. I like the system to be simple to use, easy to learn and yet must be very accurate. The best software for this varies depending on the style of work (IE. Residential, Commercial, New or Rework.)
© ECN Electrical Forums