OUR SERVICE faq’s

No, we won’t bill you for printing the plans. We will send you the take-off drawings digitally.

We can do any portion of the bid that you require. The cost will be adjusted accordingly.

Our quote includes the following:

• Detailed estimate on an Excel spreadsheet.
• Detailed quantity list and take-off drawings
• Material and labor calculation
• Scope letter
• RFQs- Separate quantity list and documents to be sent for supplier pricing
• RFIs- For any discrepancies, missing information and items that need further clarification

First off, we do the take-offs from the information provided. Then, we begin to compile the estimate. Real Cost has a large, accurate and updated database, with details of trade prices for over 750000 individual items. and is updated on a weekly basis, to obtain trade prices. Based on our market knowledge and wholesaler terms, we apply discounts to these trade prices.

The calculations for labour times and rates are obtained mostly from the knowledge and experience of our electrical engineers. We then apply your relevant hourly rate to achieve the labour cost for the estimate.

Definitely! Once the estimate is compiled, we can arrange a review session with you, either in person or over a call. We will let you review the full estimate and drawings, and engage in discussions about the project in general, how we compiled and built it up, and what markup percentages you need. In follow-up to the review, we make revisions to the estimate as per your requirement. Once there is consensus regarding the work, we will mail the final estimate complete with the tender summary and qualifications.

We do not quote a project for more than one client. If you request a bid for a job that we already have, we will inform you, and your request will remain confidential.

Our trainers are certified professional electrical estimators with several years of experience in commercial and industrial electrical estimating projects. We offer a comprehensive one-to-one hands-on session tailored to the requirements and career goals of each participant.

Our training on estimating software is intentioned to eliminate the risks involved in your electrical estimating decisions:

Financial Constraints on Investment
As times change, it becomes impossible for a business to survive without considerable investment in new technology. Moreover, it might cost you a lot in terms of expenses and future business growth opportunities if you continue with your existing electrical estimating system. With intensive training in electrical estimating software like Trimble Accubid, your estimators gain the same advantage as large competitors who can make huge technological investments.

Avoid Errors due to Distraction
Good software training improves your accuracy and lowers the amount of time taken to complete and check a count. With Trimble Accubid training, even if your electrical estimators are distracted by a phone call in the middle of a count, the software won’t let it carry forward without checks.

Lower Complexity with a one-stop Solution
Traditional electrical estimating systems required assembly of parts from multiple vendors and a cocktail of technologies. The system was complex, resource-intensive and expensive. With Trimble Accubid, it becomes easy for smaller companies to deploy and maintain electrical estimating systems.

Maximise Investments with No Specialised Skill
Traditionally, electrical estimating infrastructure needed specialized skills that are not just scarce, but also take experience and time to acquire. Especially when your team is small and inexperienced, you can rely on Real Cost’s Trimble Accubid training to empower them with the easier technique for effective electrical estimation.

Trimble Accubid is an Easy Solution
A simple electrical estimating software designed for the rapidly evolving electrical construction industry, Trimble Accubid is a handy tool for anyone who aspires to excel at electrical estimating work. With a main database populated with over 30,000 electrical up-to-date material priced items linked to associated proven labour units as well as your own separate personalised custom database to match your target market in estimating and tendering saving time and money.

When our clients send us the tender information, we always ask for the required return date to be included as well. Our estimators always promptly respond in the least turnaround time. We would expect as much notice as possible of an estimate that you need to compile. In the case that a project is urgent, we can accommodate short-notice tender deadlines too.

We can perform site visits if the nature of the project demands it. Our team would visit and compile the estimate on your behalf, charging only the standard hourly rates and any additional expense incurred.

Our course content teaches everything from the basic baby steps of estimating to leveraging advanced software for electrical estimation. Some of the topics we cover in this course are:

• What you are responsible for as an estimator
• Getting organized
• Tools necessary to perform the job
• Sources of potential projects
• Discovering the project’s electrical scope of work
• Composing a scope letter
• Counting major deliverables for supplier and subcontractor quotes
• Soliciting bids from suppliers and subcontractors
• Preparing a bill of material for supplier quotes
• Take-off techniques and counting commodities
• Evaluating supplier and subcontractor quote
• Calculating overhead and labor burden
• Submitting the bid
• Bid Day Follow-up

Not only do you gain the advanced technological know-how required for this role, but also the project management skills, negotiation, sales, and personal branding skills necessary to become a successful one.

With us, you receive database manager training, learn advanced takeoff methods, and go digital in your take-offs. In effect, you produce accurate estimates faster.

An estimator estimates the cost of each component installed on a project and the time taken by a worker to install it. The estimator then extrapolates these costs for every component across the entire project, and comes up with an estimate. 

With changing geography, project, and time of the year, costs change too, and good estimators quickly adapt and factor those conditions. We thoroughly enhance your ability with our training program so that you can get the estimate right the first time.

There are many ways to become an electrical estimator in Canada:

• Once you have taken a degree in electrical engineering, intern or work for a firm which does electrical contracting. Take up a specialised electrical estimating course like the Real Cost package,and start taking up estimating roles in addition to your daily duties. You get bonus skills, and your employer gets an employee with initiative!
• If you’ve been working as an electrician for some time, and your company wants you to take up estimating as an added responsibility, do not dive in without the relevant training required for this role. Inefficient estimating is risky and can cause loss of reputation for you and your employer. The Real Cost system course is designed to prepare you for a new role.
• If you’re an electrical contractor, or if you own an electrical business, sometimes, it’s difficult to find good estimators. You can upskill yourself along with some of your employees with the Real Cost estimator training.