http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog Electrical and Plumbing Contractor Software News Wed, 09 May 2012 19:34:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/30/overcoming-the-fear-of-electrical-estimating-software/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/30/overcoming-the-fear-of-electrical-estimating-software/#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:01:00 +0000 Jim Duff http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1822 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/30/overcoming-the-fear-of-electrical-estimating-software/feed/ 0 Years ago, electrical contractors had limited choices on how to estimate an electrical project. The first option was to complete it the old-fashioned way, using their intuition, guts, a calculator. A second option was — and still is — to guess, square foot the project or weigh the drawings. It wasn’t until the 1970s that ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/25/backing-up-electrical-estimates-preventing-the-crisis-of-data-loss/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/25/backing-up-electrical-estimates-preventing-the-crisis-of-data-loss/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:14:40 +0000 Katie Evans http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1809 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/25/backing-up-electrical-estimates-preventing-the-crisis-of-data-loss/feed/ 0 Somewhere in the world, at least one major power outage happens a month. You’re working on an electrical estimate on your computer, things are going well, you’re ready to hit “save” when you hear the droning sound of life evaporating from all of your electronics. Never mind the fact that you’ve lost all that you ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/18/11-things-you-should-include-in-bid-proposals/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/18/11-things-you-should-include-in-bid-proposals/#comments Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:00:43 +0000 Jim Duff http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1777 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/04/18/11-things-you-should-include-in-bid-proposals/feed/ 0 Your firm’s proposal is often your first chance to make an impression on a general contractor or owner. You have an opportunity to present not only your price for a project, but terms that clarify and protect your company’s interest. Attention to detail in your proposal will set your firm apart from your competitors. My ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/03/29/epic-education-series-epics-target-price-the-true-price/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/03/29/epic-education-series-epics-target-price-the-true-price/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:07:39 +0000 Carlyle Poole http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1710 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/03/29/epic-education-series-epics-target-price-the-true-price/feed/ 1 The EPIC Pricing Service and Software in a Nutshell: EPIC Pricing includes a software application that helps a user dig through all 1.8 million items as needed. EPIC also offers a data update connection with estimating software and some billing software applications. Data subscription options range from daily updates to annual updates. Commodity prices are ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/02/29/updates-time-and-material-billing-manager-feb-12-enhancements-and-fixes/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/02/29/updates-time-and-material-billing-manager-feb-12-enhancements-and-fixes/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 23:01:09 +0000 Jillian Moulton http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1643 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/02/29/updates-time-and-material-billing-manager-feb-12-enhancements-and-fixes/feed/ 0 We have released the newest update to our Time and Material Billing Manager™. Our support team appreciates our customers’ feedback, as it helps us further develop our software and create new features that make your job easier. This version upgrade contains enhancements and fixes for minor anomalies found in earlier versions. Among these features is ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/26/estimating-software-updated-jan-2012/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/26/estimating-software-updated-jan-2012/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:18:21 +0000 Carlyle Poole http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1587 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/26/estimating-software-updated-jan-2012/feed/ 0 The newest update to our electrical estimating software, Electrical Bid Manager (EBM) Plus and Pro is here with the highly requested Advanced Substitution feature! With Advanced Substitution, estimators may easily make global replacements on previously entered conduit and wire, or cable takeoff entries. This new feature adds more power to EBM’s long list of audit trail ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/11/successful-electrical-estimating-in-a-declining-market/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/11/successful-electrical-estimating-in-a-declining-market/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:07:26 +0000 Jim Duff http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1501 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2012/01/11/successful-electrical-estimating-in-a-declining-market/feed/ 0 Ask any electrical contractor and they will tell you that electrical estimating is an expensive endeavor; many consider it a necessary evil. In the economy we face today, contractors need all the help they can possibly get. It can be difficult to come to the office as an estimator and feel the weight of knowing ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/09/how-to-check-electrical-estimates-for-accuracy/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/09/how-to-check-electrical-estimates-for-accuracy/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:38:18 +0000 Jim Duff http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1467 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/09/how-to-check-electrical-estimates-for-accuracy/feed/ 1 Electrical estimating is all about details. As estimators, we need to get the facts, or the facts will get us. When we are looking for these facts, they need to be right, as the wrong facts will hurt us. The process of checking an electrical estimate for accuracy starts before the bid documents even arrive ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/05/obama-pledges-4-billion-for-energy-efficient-building-retrofits/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/05/obama-pledges-4-billion-for-energy-efficient-building-retrofits/#comments Mon, 05 Dec 2011 17:13:55 +0000 Derrick Delliquadri http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1446 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/12/05/obama-pledges-4-billion-for-energy-efficient-building-retrofits/feed/ 0 I saw this announced today and thought I should share it. This private sector and government-funded initiative looks to retrofit commercial and industrial buildings with new energy efficient lighting, manufacturing equipment. This sounds like a winning combination: Save energy, create electrical contracting jobs and create hundreds to thousands of new projects. What do you think ... http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/10/28/customer-spotlight-d-and-s-electric/ http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/10/28/customer-spotlight-d-and-s-electric/#comments Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:31:38 +0000 Katie Evans http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/?p=1305 http://www.visioninfosoft.com/blog/2011/10/28/customer-spotlight-d-and-s-electric/feed/ 1 I started D and S Electric in January of 2001. I like to say I started the company with “a pickup truck and a ladder rack” because aside from hand tools, a cordless drill, a ½” bender and my Fluke, I didn’t have much else. There was a niche for me in the residential area ...