# Estimating Software



## Sparky Girl (Apr 15, 2015)

I've used three different estimating programs, Accubid, McCormick and Electrical Bid Manager (EBM). I found the first two required some outside help to get started. And both require some time developing a database that fits a contractor's scope of work. If I was starting out on my own, I would not choose either.

I found Excel quicker and easier and developed a small database for the work I was estimating. The jobs were mostly under $100K. As the database grew, it became a bit more time consuming to put together bids but there was almost no learning curve

Later, while working for another contractor, I started bidding larger jobs ($500K & above) and the contractor bought EBM. It had a much smaller learning curve and I was able to get up to speed much more quickly. Of the three, I'd say EBM was the easiest to learn and quickest to get up to speed. You'll still need a good database though.


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## LuckyLuke (Jun 1, 2015)

I tried demos with a few products to get away from using spreadsheets etc. I ended up getting Turbobid partly due to their pricing which has been great so far for jobs 30-80k. We don't do anything larger then that normally for construction.


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## dawgs (Dec 1, 2007)

I've used EBM for years and like it.


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