A Great Resource and Asset to Our Firm

The overall product is great!! I had been using BB alongside another program since 2015. I now use BB exclusively for all of our projects.

Pros

What first caught my attention about BB was the User interface. It is very simple and neatly organized in a manner that makes it easy for any electrical contractor to navigate and confidently complete a competitive bid. I also like having the added takeoff program included with the estimating program. It's ability to automatically transfer takeoff information into the estimate portion of BB, in my opinion, is second to none. Having the two programs work congruently removes a lot of the headache and potential for error that can commonly occur when doing takeoffs by hand or in a standalone program. The program has a myriad of features including reports that translate well into the field. We are able to use many of these reports to track and compare the progress of each job to how we bid it. Having this ability is priceless, because it allows us to sharpen our pencils and correct errors (if any) on the next bid. I am also impressed with knowing that I own this program and I don't have to pay annual fees/subscriptions. Lastly, customer service has been awesome!!! I encountered issues when installing the program. Customer service was prompt and knowledgable. I was up and running in no time.

Cons

Ran into issues with installation when upgrading from an older version. As a result of the issue I lost old data. The issue was more than likely with my computer, but having an option to backup and restore the database, may have saved me the hassle.

The Best estimating software my company has used

I would recommend this software to anybody wanting to use estimating software or any company upgrading or changing the way they do take off's and estimating. By far this has been the best choice i made. I have been using their software for about 10 years now and have never regretted purchasing this software once. The support team is amazing and if i ever run into something that doesn't quite work for me they are there to help me out always.

Pros

Ease of use Great integration between take off and estimating packages Allows me to do take off's and estimate my way not have to change to the way the software wants it Support is amazing Has allowed more efficiency and production in the office I believe we have more awarded projects because of this software Allowed us to be more competitive and profitable and allowed us to keep better track of material and man hours

Great tool to have on hand when estimating for electrical jobs

Pros

What I liked most about this product is how a good tool it is to have on hand when one is rushed into making a estimate on a job.

Cons

Aside from it being a great tool to have on hand when rushed to estimate a job, sometimes it's not as accurate as one hopes. I prefer estimating ourselves instead of using the program but when in need, it's a life saver!

Electrical Estimates

[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] at Best Bid has been Excellent to work with. Always answers my question timely.

Pros

Best Bid has increased my ability to produce accurate estimates quickly. I wear all of the Management hats in my company. In this past this has caused me to have to no-bid some larger protects. That is not the case now. In the past two weeks I have bid 6 projects and won 4. The other two are still pending.

Cons

The data base takes a little time use to learn, but it is very complete and easy to edit. It even has PVC-Coated rigid conduit in it. You can start "Driving this software right out of the Box". No training sessions need. They are available if you are read the directions first type of person.

I am an electrical estimator for R&C, a small electrical contractor that does residential and commercial electrical work ranging from 1,000 sq. ft up to 80,000 sq. ft of lease spaces and ground up projects. Before I used McCormick and On Screen Takeoff, or entered projects manually on paper from blueprints. As you may know, paper form is now obsolete and using the bigger programs such as McCormick, which is not very electrician-friendly, is the best way to do estimating. I personally believe that the best estimators are electricians whom work out in the field. Unfortunately, many of them are not computer savvy and Best Bid is actually friendly enough to use that these electricians can learn to estimate. The software programs must be easy to use to save time and to create the competitive edge for landing jobs for a company. Therefore, the more user-friendly and simple the software, the easier it makes estimating. Best Bid is user-friendly, efficient and productive and has cut the data entry of projects in half. The software bidding program, Best Bid, is very user-friendly for electricians that are electrical project estimators. It is very easy to create custom assemblies and has a large range of assemblies to choose from, which helps to save time when bidding projects. There are also built in proposals that help to make bidding a project more efficient and quicker, as well as the ability to create a change order. It also has a large range of material and supply costs readily available to make bidding easier and the net price feature helps to make the pricing more accurate. Best Bid’s customer service representatives are second-to-none and their response to assistance inquiries is quick and helpful. I personally own the following; Best Bid, First Choice, Digi-Count, and Panel Scheduling and am very satisfied with what the programs have to offer. I look forward to seeing what other programs that they have in store in the future. Best Bid has benefited me, as an electrical estimator in the following ways: submit more accurate bids, shortened the length of time spent on a project and freed my time to put in extra projects per week which I would not have had the time to do.