Tender & Estimating Software for Electricians
My Trade Hub is estimating and tendering software for electrical contractors that automates the quantity takeoff and pricing from your plans — points and GPOs, light fittings, switchboards, and cable and conduit runs — so you can turn a set of drawings into a client-ready quote or tender in minutes rather than hours. It is built for Australian electrical contracting, and every measured item stays editable so you keep full control of your rates and margin.
Key takeaways
- My Trade Hub automates the electrical takeoff from your plans — points, GPOs, light fittings, switchboards, cable and conduit — so nothing gets missed or double-counted.
- Automated takeoff is 60-75% faster than manual estimation, so you can quote more jobs without adding admin time.
- Every measured quantity stays editable, so you apply your own rates and margin and keep full control of the final price.
- Residential and small commercial electrical work is usually quoted directly; larger commercial and industrial fit-outs are won by formal tender, often against a consultant’s electrical services drawings.
- The same measured quantities that build your quote carry through to variations and progress claims once the job is under way.
Why electrical estimating takes so long
Electrical estimating takes so long because a single set of plans can hide hundreds of small, repetitive items that all need to be counted and measured individually — a missed GPO or an uncounted metre of conduit quietly erodes the margin on the whole job.
Unlike a single bulk trade quantity such as a concrete slab, electrical scope is spread across dozens of item types: power points and GPOs in every room, light points on every ceiling, a switchboard schedule with individual circuits and protective devices, and cable or conduit runs threading through walls, ceilings and risers. Reading all of that off a PDF or a printed drawing set and tallying it by hand in a spreadsheet is slow, and it is easy to lose count partway through a floor.
For most electrical contractors, that means estimating eats into evenings and weekends, or gets rushed to meet a deadline — which is exactly when items get missed and jobs get under-priced.
What’s in an electrical takeoff
An electrical takeoff is the measured count and length of every item of electrical work shown on the plans, broken down so each can be priced with materials and labour. A complete takeoff typically covers:
- Points and GPOs — general power outlets, USB and data points, dedicated circuits for appliances.
- Light fittings — downlights, batten holders, LED strips, external and sensor lighting.
- Switchboards — main switchboard, distribution boards, circuit breakers, RCDs/RCBOs and metering.
- Cable and conduit runs — twin-and-earth and other cable types measured in lineal metres, plus conduit and cable containment.
- Compliance items — safety switches, smoke alarm interconnection, and the testing needed for a certificate of compliance.
How My Trade Hub takes off electrical work from your plans
My Trade Hub’s estimation engine reads your electrical plans and performs the measured takeoff automatically — counting every point, fitting and switchboard item, and measuring cable and conduit runs — instead of you scaling them off the drawings by hand.
Because the takeoff is automated rather than manual, it is 60-75% faster than estimating the same job by hand, so you can turn a set of plans into priced quantities the same day you receive them rather than setting aside a weekend.
The output is a structured, itemised list of electrical quantities — not a black-box total — so you can review every line before it goes anywhere near a client.
Pricing electrical work: rates, labour and margin
Once the quantities are measured, pricing an electrical job means applying a materials rate and a labour rate to every item, then adding overheads and margin on top — the takeoff only gets you halfway to a number you can stand behind.
Labour is usually the larger cost on electrical work, and it varies with access, ceiling height, wall type (masonry versus stud) and how much of the job is first fix versus second fix, so your rates need to reflect the real conditions on site, not a generic average.
On top of materials and labour, add your overheads and margin, and factor in a reasonable allowance for testing, certification and any make-good to other trades’ work.
| Item | Description | Unit | Qty | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Double GPO, supply & install | No | 24 | $85.00 | $2,040 |
| 2 | LED downlight, supply & install | No | 48 | $65.00 | $3,120 |
| 3 | Distribution board, 12-way | No | 1 | $650.00 | $650 |
| 4 | T&E cable run, 2.5mm² | m | 380 | $4.20 | $1,596 |
From estimate to a professional quote or tender
With the electrical quantities measured and priced, the next step is turning that pricing into a document a client or head contractor can actually act on — a clear, professional quote for direct work, or a complete tender submission for competitive commercial jobs.
My Trade Hub turns the priced takeoff straight into a client-ready quote or tender, with your branding and terms attached, so you are not re-keying the same numbers into a separate Word document or spreadsheet.
Because the slow part — the takeoff — is already done, producing the quote itself takes minutes, which means you can turn quotes around the same day a plan lands in your inbox.
Quoting vs tendering for electrical work
Most electrical contractors move between two very different pricing situations, and knowing which one you are in changes how you should price the job.
A straightforward quote — a switchboard upgrade, a reno rewire, an EV charger install — is usually priced directly for the homeowner or head contractor as a fixed price with a short list of inclusions and exclusions. A commercial or industrial tender is more formal: you are usually pricing against a consulting engineer’s electrical services drawings and specification, sometimes with a Bill of Quantities, alongside other electrical subcontractors.
The estimating principle is the same in both cases — measure the scope accurately, then price it — but a tender demands more supporting documentation and a tighter, more competitive rate, since you are one of several contractors bidding the identical scope.
Common mistakes in electrical estimating
Most electrical under-quotes come down to a short list of recurring mistakes, all of which are avoidable with a consistent takeoff process.
- Missing points or fittings on a busy floor plan, especially in rooms with symbols that are easy to overlook, like robe lighting or external sensor lights.
- Under-pricing switchboard work, which often carries more labour and compliance cost than its size on the drawing suggests.
- Forgetting cable and conduit runs that are not shown as a single obvious line — risers, ceiling space runs, and containment for data or security cabling.
- Not allowing for testing and certificate of compliance costs, which are compulsory but easy to leave out of a quick price.
- Pricing from an outdated drawing revision, so the quote no longer matches what is actually being installed.
Who prepares electrical estimates
On most residential and small commercial jobs, the electrician who will do the work also prices it — reading the plans, counting the scope and building the quote themselves, since a separate estimator is rarely justified for a job of that size.
On larger commercial and industrial projects, a dedicated estimator or contracts manager inside the electrical contracting business usually prepares the tender, often working from a head contractor’s program and a consultant’s design rather than site knowledge alone.
Either way, the same bottleneck applies: someone has to manually read hundreds of symbols off a drawing before a single rate can be applied, which is exactly the step My Trade Hub automates.
How My Trade Hub helps electricians win more work
My Trade Hub automates the measured takeoff for electrical work directly from your plans — points and GPOs, light fittings, switchboards, and cable and conduit runs — so the slow, error-prone part of estimating happens in minutes instead of hours.
Every measured item stays fully editable, so you apply your own rates and margin and keep complete control of the final price before it goes to a client. Because the takeoff is 60-75% faster than doing it by hand, you can quote and tender for more electrical work without adding estimating overhead — and the same measured quantities carry through to variations and progress claims once the job starts.
Frequently asked questions
what’s the best estimating software for electricians?
The best estimating software for electricians automates the quantity takeoff from your plans — points, GPOs, light fittings, switchboards, cable and conduit — and lets you apply your own rates rather than relying on generic pricing. My Trade Hub performs that takeoff automatically and produces a client-ready quote or tender, while keeping every rate and quantity editable so you stay in control of the final price.
how do electricians price a job?
Electricians price a job by measuring the scope — points, fittings, switchboard items, and cable or conduit runs — pricing materials and labour against each item, then adding overheads, testing and certification costs, and margin. Automating the takeoff from the plans removes the missed items that are the most common cause of under-pricing.
how long does it take to quote an electrical job?
A manual electrical takeoff and quote can take anywhere from an hour for a small job to a full day or more for a larger fit-out, depending on how many points, fittings and circuits need to be counted by hand. Automating the takeoff cuts that time by 60-75%, so a job that used to take a day can be quoted the same afternoon.
what should be included in an electrical quote?
A complete electrical quote should list the scope of work (points, fittings, switchboard, cable and conduit), the price, what is included and excluded, any provisional allowances for items like light fittings the client hasn’t selected yet, compliance and certification costs, and the validity period of the price.
do electricians need to tender for commercial work?
Larger commercial and industrial electrical work is usually won by formal tender rather than a simple quote, particularly where a head contractor or client is comparing several electrical subcontractors against the same drawings and specification. Smaller commercial and all residential work is typically priced as a straightforward quote.
how do I estimate cable and conduit runs?
Cable and conduit runs are estimated by measuring the lineal metres shown on the plans between switchboards, points and fittings, then adding an allowance for vertical drops, containment and wastage. Doing this by hand from a drawing is slow and error-prone; My Trade Hub measures these runs automatically as part of the takeoff.
Ready to win more work?
Turn your plans into professional tenders 60–75% faster with My Trade Hub. Plans built around your tendering volume — no lock-in contracts.
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