Our goal is to help electricians learn to estimate electrical projects. You may be the best electrician in the field but have never had the opportunity to work in the office under a senior estimator. We can teach you the skills that you need to become an estimator.
We also help seasoned electrical estimators move from pen and paper to computerized estimating. No matter how little or how much you know about estimating electrical projects you need estimating software to maximize your skills.
You will fail or succeed based on your ability to estimate.
I rarely make a statement like this but no one can estimate as quickly or as accurately manually as they can by using software.
Just by entering a quantity, the software can instantly produce a material list, priced and extended without mistakes, and tell you how long it should take to install. This can be done before you could manually enter your first item.
Let’s just say there is no argument that most successful electrical contracting companies rely on electrical estimating software.
At Best Bid, we interact with electrical contractors every day. Our customer base ranges from people that have very little office skills and struggle to understand English to large shops with multiple electrical estimators. We understand your needs on multiple levels.
Once you learn to use electrical estimating software you could never convince anyone to go back to pen and paper.
This article is written for the people that have either tried to use software and failed or never tried at all.
Software companies have stopped providing trials due to the high rate of failure. No one will say this but it is true. Most of the time people that download a free trial will never purchase the software. This has nothing to do with the software it has to do with expectations. We have learned this over the past 25-plus years. This isn’t 100% true. Some people follow the instructions and do fantastic but people that interact with us and do a screen share to see what the software offers are the ones that seem to go on and take advantage of what software offers.
It is all about the expectations
In general, most electrical contractors fall into one of two categories. They are busy because they have so much work or they are busy because they are trying to get work.
Either way, most electrical contractors don’t have a lot of free time. They are looking for a better way to estimate. Something that will speed up the process and provide them with more time to do other things.
When you are despite for more time you want an instant fix. Software is the answer but it is not an instant fix. Just like when you started to learn how to bend conduit.
You didn’t master it the first day. When you studied to take your Masters license you didn’t just walk in and take the test. Learning software is also a process.
We still offer a free trial +++BUT+++
When you elect to download our software we offer the user (3) videos that show exactly how to download the software and access the help files just in case you are not comfortable downloading software.
We also provide a picture profile showing what your computer screen should look like during the process.
This is just downloading the software. We find that as many as 70% fail by just downloading the software.
Why?
They NEVER watch the videos and they do not follow the written instructions and they want to call and just ask for us to load it for them.
Out of the 30% that get the software downloaded only 15% of those open the software more than once.
The frustration
Once you download the software we offer a Quick Start guide that goes step by step on how to use the software. We also have a help library with videos on every topic. The information is right there to learn how to use the software. We also offer screen share sessions to one on one answer questions.
We often call and check up on a user and they say I couldn’t figure it out. When we ask did you follow the Quick Start guide? The answer most of the time will be I didn’t see a Quick Start guide. We ask did you watch the videos and the answer is often I didn’t know there were videos. If they allow us to get them started they get it right away.
The Truth
We have found out over the years an amazing amount of people have a pressing quote to turn in and they download a trial to do the estimate. I will wager to say 100% of these people fail. No matter how easy the software is you will not open it up and do a real estimate the same day. You are setting yourself up for failure.
Most people are in such a hurry that they never read or watch any of the help that is provided. They try to push enough buttons to figure it out on their own. They never understand how the software works.
We also provide an AI simulation of how to get started while you are prompted to select certain buttons to create your 1st assembly. Only about 1 in 50 ever go through this function.
How to succeed?
All the information is available for the self-starter and we are available to answer questions via email. From time to time a screen share may be required. We will try harder than you to make sure that you succeed.
- Do not expect to master the software on your first day.
- Do not attempt to estimate a real project until you learn the software.
- Allow time each day to learn something new.
- Learn how to import a PDF-Then learn how to count.
- Next, learn how to transfer the counts into the estimate.
- Go slow and don’t get frustrated. Ask if you get stuck.
- Setting up the software to estimate the way that you want it to is important.
- Set up your company’s information-Tax rate-Labor Rate etc.
- Learn how to read the reports.
- Accept that you can only absorb so much at one time.
- Watch the videos, YouTube Best Bid’s tip of the day.
Conclusion
If you go about it right you will master the software in no time at all. You will enjoy years of success. Every estimate will get easier and easier and you will become one of the ones that would never give up their software. It just takes an investment of time just like it did learning how to be an electrician.
The good news is you don’t have to do it alone. We are here to help.
Call Us: 800-941-7028