TIP: Using EBMUTIL for Data Compaction
SOFTWARE: Electrical Bid Manager SQL Plus/Pro

Feedback from those using our SQL versions of Electrical Bid Manager (EBM), in reference to increased speed and stability, has been tremendous. There is no doubt the efficiency EBM provides during job takeoff is enhanced when the program is installed in the SQL environment, especially for those who run the application across a network. However, over time one may notice that the disk space requirements for the database may increase greatly.

This is a common occurrence with SQL databases, where SQL Server will increase the database files to reserve space for future transactions. SQL Server will allow the database to be shrunk by using the DBCC SHRINKDATABASE command, through Query Analyzer, in order to regain unused disk space. Yet, this has been known to affect performance, forcing SQL Server to attempt new disk space acquisitions during each data transaction (see Microsoft Knowledgebase article #315512).

So, where is the happy medium in regards to the keeping disk space consumption to a minimum, while maintaining optimum performance? That would depend on the application. Should the need arise to regain disk space reserved by EBM data files, we suggest using the “Compact Database” function in our EBMUTIL program. This function takes into consideration the space requirements for the many data transactions EBM will perform during takeoff, while recovering unused disk space from SQL. Available disk space can be recovered, while performance during job takeoff is kept at an optimum level.

To learn more about using EBMUTIL, contact technical support at 800.605.2167, or email support@visioninfosoft.com.
To learn more about our Electrical Bid Manager SQL, click here.

written by Carlyle Poole – Vision’s Technical Support Professional
1-800-605-2167

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Generic / Commodity Materials

One of the peculiarities of the electrical and plumbing industries is the fact that a number of manufacturers provide nearly identical products. Many products in the industry are relatively generic. For example, over a dozen companies make conduit fittings for electrical and plumbing, at least a half dozen make electrical wiring devices, and several companies also make a number of the supports and other materials which are used in both industries. For the most part, contractors perceive the different brands as interchangeable and don’t usually specify the brand when ordering these materials.

Other products are virtually true commodities. Conduit (or Pipe) and Wire are rarely listed or specified by brand. The industry standards for these products are well established and it would be rare for a contractor to care of even be aware of the brand of pipe or wire they purchase.

Unique Materials

And then there are unique products that are essentially available from one manufacturer. Many fixtures for electrical and plumbing are relatively interchangeable, but for specific styles and features, there may be only one choice. And even when there is more than one choice for a component, the owner or engineer may specify a limited number or selections. In this case, the contractor will purchase a particular brand and catalog number.

Your Pricing Strategy

Specifying specific material brands usually complicates estimating and billing matters for the contractor, depending upon the approach. In all of the major estimating software and billing software programs for electrical and plumbing contractors, the vast majority of items are treated as generic or commodity types of items. This simplifies pricing for the supplier, contractor and end customer because there is no need to select the manufacturer or catalog number. For contractors and customers who want to select and price the brand of specific items, this makes matters more complicated. Most people try to avoid this level of detail because all parties involved: supplier, contractor and/or end user; may need to reference or provide this information in any pricing reports or quotations.

So the question is why do some contractors insist on using specific products rather than the generic ones and does this make sense from a business point of view? The desire to price specific rather than generic or commodity items seems to be driven by the need to have very accurate pricing.

Target Price

In all of the Vision programs for estimating, billing and pricing, the Target price generally provides enough cushion so that the contractor won’t under price any item, whether he uses a generic, commodity, or manufacturer/catalog number specific item. For bidding, the concern is that overpricing an item or items can result in a lost bid. For Time and Material work, the concern is that overpricing some items could result in a disgruntled customer. Occasionally, I run across contractors who are nearly obsessed with pricing from their true cost and are therefore forced into pricing specific items. This not only requires a tremendous amount of time to set up and maintain, but it seems to result in a much less profitable pricing strategy.

Meeting Customer Pricing Demands

Of course I cannot claim to understand a contractor’s knowledge of their type of market or its local demands. But I have trained literally thousands of contractors over the years and while the desire for super competitive pricing isn’t unusual, it certainly isn’t the norm to take it to the extreme of obtaining true cost on all items. My observation is also that the contractors who use the “generic” pricing and markup on the Trade price (or even use Retail) pricing are the ones who are the most successful and profitable at service work. Sometimes, contractors get so caught up in trying to provide accurate and fair pricing that they lose sight of the whole process. I know from personal experience and feedback from our customers I have trained, that most of their customers only inquire about the hourly rate when they need service; they rarely ask how the material is priced.

There certainly are end customers who are extremely price conscience. But normally, they are the minority and my suggestion would be to either give them a lower hourly rate, a lower markup on the highly visible items, or just don’t do business with them. But don’t spend endless hours trying to devise a pricing system that is totally fair to the highly cost sensitive customer, yet less profitable for the other more reasonable customers. The price sensitive customers won’t care what you charge anyway; it will always be too much.

To learn more about our Time & Material Billing Manager software, click here.
To learn more about our EPIC Pricing System software, click here.

written by Brian Hoffelder – Vision’s Software Training Professional
1-800-258-7752 x120

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