Top 10 Mechanical Estimating Software: Ratings and Reviews

Best mechanical estimating software provides all the services to the construction companies. Features encompass the entire construction cycle which includes accounting, estimation, project scheduling, job costing and customer management. They provide a flexible environment so that you can modify the features accordingly.

Virtuous Reviews team is therefore here at your service to provide the best mechanical estimating software to its visitors. Ratings and reviews of all the software are cent percent accurate and will definitely give you and your business a new direction to work in. We at Virtuous Reviews strive hard to find out those options which do not focus only on one characteristic but have a wide point of view.

Mechanical estimating is a tedious task as it is not about a specific job. It consists of several small entities which group together and reshape into a big bunch of various requirements. Hence choosing an efficient software to get your work done is a wise choice. Virtuous Reviews provides you the chance to be wise.

How to choose the Mechanical Estimating Software?

Here are the factors that you have to consider -

Item database - The system should offer a large database of mechanical-specific parts and items, including fittings, valves, and piping, as well as light gauge, heavy gauge and industrial sheet metal materials for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and cooling. The database should have more than 100,000 items.

Assemblies - The system should offer a large library of pre-built mechanical assemblies. This will allow the estimator to more quickly build their estimate and not have to build their own library of assemblies. Of course, the system should also allow for easy creation of custom assemblies.

MCAA or PHCC labor tables - A mechanical-specific or air conditioning estimating software should have integrated labor tables from the MCAA or PHCC. These tables help the estimator determine the types of labor that will be required to perform a specific task. That is then matched with current labor rates.

Mechanical-specific pricing services - There are well over 100,000 different materials and items for plumbing, piping, sheet metal, ventilation and other mechanical work. The best accounting software for HVAC business manages more accurate item cost databases by integrating with a mechanical-specific pricing service such as Ferguson, Harrison, Trade Services or Porter.

BIM integration - Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology is gaining wider use in large projects and is especially relevant to mechanical work. If your commercial HVAC maintenance estimating software integrates to BIM tools, the BIM models can pass detailed takeoff data directly into the system. Estimators will benefit from eliminating the takeoff process through this integration.

Mechanical-specific reports - Estimators want to run a variety of reports, including historical win rates, job costs, actual costs versus estimates etc. While many of these reports are similar to those offered in generic price estimate systems, the data they present will be unique to mechanical work. Buyers should evaluate available reports to ensure they meet their needs.

Features:-

• Plumbing & mechanical-specific pricing catalog, jobs and bids
• Support for a large variety of digital plans formats (including PDFs)
• Specifications that can be tailored to each plumbing & mechanical job
• Takeoffs performed directly on digital job plans using our on-screen digitizer
• Labor rates based on industry standards that can be adjusted for job or site conditions
• Material pricing that can be job-specific based on your supplier quotes
• Labor and material reports filtered and sorted as you require
• Export to a Microsoft Excel® workbook for final quote

Benefits:-

• Fast and Easy Estimating - Mechanical estimating software gives you the flexibility needed to create accurate, competitive bids. Organize your estimates by phase, system, building or any user-defined sort type to create a custom view of your information. In addition, each item can have multiple labor levels based on difficulty factors and multiple material costs for comparing vendors.
• Digital Takeoffs - With built-in digital takeoffs, mechanical estimating software gives you the flexibility to perform takeoffs on-screen using electronic plans or using paper blueprints.You won’t find this integrated feature, which reduces takeoff time by up to 50%,  in many other mechanical estimating software systems. With digital takeoffs for mechanical contractors, you can spend less time on estimating and more time pursuing new work.
• Flexible Markups - The mechanical estimating software makes it easy to refine your estimate by analyzing and adjusting your markups, which ensures that your bid is both competitive and profitable. The software even gives you an at-a-glance snapshot of your estimate by displaying all your costs on a single screen.
• Mechanical Contractor Database - Your affordable mechanical estimating software subscription includes robust Mechanical Database
• A complete piping database with over 100,000 items
• Integration with Harrison Publishing and local vendors for automatic material price updates
• The option to use MCAA labor units or input your own units
• Worry-free maintenance and support