Software Training

Electrical Training Classes

Our instructors have a unique combination of real world experience in developing and using estimating and billing programs for Electrical Contractors. Their experience in bidding and running jobs of all sizes and types provides a valuable insight into the most effective and profitable use Vision’s Electrical Bid Manager™ estimating software and Time and Material Billing Manager™ billing software.

Software Tools for Electrical Contractors
Estimating - Time & Material Billing - Pricing

Course 1 Outline

Time: 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Learn How Computers Help You

• Save time and improve accuracy
• Improve cash flow
• Stay ahead of your competitors and suppliers who are computerizing
• Avoid common mistakes and make better decisions
• Effectively manage material prices and labor units
• Handle a business environment that is changing at an ever-rapid pace

Electrical Bid Manager™ (8:30 AM to 12 Noon)

• Cut your estimating time in half (or more)
• Bid more jobs accurately and professionally
• Easy to use and customize - get up and running in a few hours
• Powerful features for any size or type of job

Course Topics

• Setup - creating new Jobs or Change Orders.
• Takeoff - standard methods and shortcuts to entering the quantities of material assemblies and items.
• Reports - price and labor hundreds of items in seconds and summarize bid totals in seconds.

EPIC™ Pricing (1 PM to 2 PM)

• Pricing and product information on over 800,000 items
• Updates prices on thousands items in seconds
• Save thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in your material purchasing

Course Topics:

• Pathway Lookup - searching for “generic” items like EMT, Boxes, etc.
• Manufacturer Lookup - finding specific brands and catalog numbers
• Custom Pricing - actual distributor pricing (or create your own price levels)

Time & Material Billing™ (2 PM to 4 PM)

• Quickly generate professional invoices.
• No electrical industry knowledge required.
• Flexible invoice formats and options.
• Interfaces with QuickBooks Pro and Peachtree.

Course Topics:

• Program Setup - standardize your invoice formats and pricing options.
• Customer and Job Setup - use your standard defaults to quickly create new Customers and Jobs (or override as necessary).
• Work Order - our form for quickly recording material and labor which makes input very fast and easy.
• Review different formats and cost reports before finalizing each invoice.

Course 2: 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Extended Training on Electrical Bid Manager
For Experienced Users

Learn the shortcuts and advanced features of this program in a few hours. Also learn the new features added in the latest version of Electrical Bid Manager and have all of your questions and feedback addressed by the designer of the program.

Overview (Job File, Takeoff, Reports, Database, Tools and Settings)

• Sidebar vs. drop down menus

Program Settings

• Company Information (customer name and address setup)

New Job (will also be used later to create a Change Order)
Takeoff

• Conduit & Wire
• Standard selections from menus
• Saved Assemblies
• Recalling Saved Assemblie
• Adding Saved Assemblies
• Updating Saved Assemblies
• Categories /Folders for grouping assembliesAudit Trail
• Edit to Source (revises entry of all related items from the assembly)

Device Assemblies

• Edit Assembly (prior to takeoff)
• Temporary vs. permanent changes

Custom Assemblies

• Multi-gang switch assemblies
• Using Saved Assemblies
• Fixtures
• Using Saved Assemblies
• Copy (from previous fixture designation)
• Review pros/cons of details in fixture takeoff
• Labor OverrideSwitchgear/Dist’n
• Using Saved Assemblies

Misc. Takeoff

• Search feature

Temp. Misc.

• Importing (and Exporting) from EPIC
• Using Catalog Number Lookup

Reports

• Job Extension
• Job Totals
• Quotes
• Overhead and Profit

Change Order

• Review Existing Job Setup
• Takeoff
• Feeders
• Parallel/Multiple Conduits
• Trapeze Hangers

Reports

• Job Extension
• Job Totals
• Templates

Sections and Breakdowns (e.g. multiple buildings, floors, alternates, etc.)
Create New Job

• Create Job Sections
• iCreate Breakdowns
• Takeoff
• Assemblies with conduit and wire)
• Moving entries from one Section to another
• Reports
• Job Extensions
• Sort
• Phase
• Section
• Breakdown
• Job Totals for Individual Breakouts pf Sections, Breakdowns, etc.

Database
Overview of Category, Sub-Category, Group, Items (and assembly) structure
Adding New Items

• To Existing Categories/Folders
• Importing from EPIC
• Using Pathways/Search in EPIC
• Phase
• Labor
• To New Categories (not importing from EPIC
• Description
• Price
• Copy
• Adding New Assemblies
• Copying an Existing Assembly
• Creating New Category

Misc.

• Job
• Copy
• Restore
• Backup
• Merge
• Default Settings
• Job
• Takeoff
  

Call to register:
phone: 800-258-7752
fax: 760-579-0291

*Non-refundable unless the course is cancelled by Vision.

Course 3: 8:30 AM to 4.00 PM

This course takes you through a complete takeoff of a medium size commercial office building. It is an excellent way to learn how to implement the basic EBM features in a real world session. Attendees will get structured instruction on takeoff as well as the opportunity to make entries on their own.

The class meets from 8:30 AM to 4:00PM with an hour break for lunch and breaks during the morning and afternoon as well.

$399 reserves 1 PC for 1 or 2 persons from the same company.

Call to register:
phone: 800-258-7752
fax: 760-579-0291

Overview

• Setting up the Job
• Interfacing the Scalex digital plan scaler
• Other tools and forms

Site (E-1)

• Utilities
• Conduits and Trenching for power and communications

• Site/Landscape Lighting
• Parking lot and landscape lighting

Lighting (E-2)

• Fixture Takeoff
•  Setup per fixture schedule
• Count and enter quantities
• Report for Quotations for Suppliers

• Lighting Devices
• Count and enter assemblies quantities per symbols

• Branch Wiring for Lighting/Devices
• Measure and/ or estimate branch wiring lengths
• Enter assemblies for above

Branch Power & HVAC (E-3)

• Branch Devices
• Count and enter assemblies quantities per symbols

• Branch Device Wiring
• Measure and/ or estimate branch wiring lengths
• Enter assemblies for above

• HVAC
• Safety switches
• Motor Hookups for Safety Switches and other motor connections
• Circuiting to above
  

Single Line & Panel Schedules (E-4 & E-5)

• Switchgear and Panel Takeoff
• Main Switchboard
• Panels
• House Metering
• Report for Quotations for Suppliers

• Feeders Takeoff
• Input from Single Line Diagram

Reports

• Job Extensions
• By Phase
• Review Price and Labor options

• Job Totals
• Material Quotes
• Other Job Costs
• Overhead and Profit

Extra Credit (if time allows)

• Breakouts/Alternates
• Pricing additional bid items
• Substitution (of higher or lower cost materials)