Accubid Anywhere provides electrical contractors with a cloud-based, multi-user estimating environment designed to keep estimators, estimate data, and project information working together.

Multiple estimators can work in the same estimate without having to merge individual jobs. Data is automatically saved in real time, and estimates and change orders can be organized within the same project area.

Accubid Anywhere also provides powerful database tools such as global variables, breakdowns and attributes, logical formulas, part relationships, lookup tables, intelligent assemblies, and other features that can make electrical takeoff and estimating faster and more consistent when properly implemented.

The key is taking advantage of these capabilities instead of treating Accubid Anywhere like a basic takeoff program.

The Accubid Anywhere estimating database contains the items, assemblies, labor information, designations, formulas, and other data that estimators use to build electrical estimates.

The quality and organization of that database can have a major impact on how efficiently an estimating team works.

A well-developed database gives estimators useful assemblies and organized content that can be found quickly during takeoff. It can also use Accubid Anywhere features such as formulas, part relationships, and lookup tables to automate repetitive decisions and improve consistency.

The estimating software provides the tools. The database determines how much of that capability is ready for your estimators to actually use.

An electrical estimator makes thousands of decisions while developing an estimate. A well-built Accubid Anywhere database can reduce the number of repetitive decisions that have to be made manually.

Instead of repeatedly building common electrical installations from individual items, estimators can use organized assemblies, designations, takeoff pads, formulas, and lookup tables that already contain the appropriate estimating logic.

This can make takeoff faster, reduce unnecessary searching, and help different estimators approach similar work more consistently.

A powerful estimating platform is only as useful as the data and processes built into it.

Yes. Accubid Anywhere allows multiple estimators to work in the same estimate at the same time without requiring separate estimate files to be merged together.

This is especially valuable for larger estimates where several estimators may be responsible for different scopes of work.

LiveCount can also support multiple users working within the same estimating environment without the job-merging process associated with older estimating workflows.

For electrical contractors with multiple estimators, this creates a much more collaborative estimating process.

Yes. Accubid Anywhere is cloud-based and automatically saves data in real time rather than relying on estimators to manually save their work.

This reduces the risk associated with forgotten saves and eliminates the recovered-job workflow that users of older desktop-based estimating systems may be familiar with.

For an estimating department, automatic saving also means less attention has to be spent on file management and more attention can remain on the estimate itself.

Global variables allow estimators to make broad changes across an estimate without manually changing every affected item or assembly.

This can be particularly useful when an addendum changes project requirements or when an estimator wants to evaluate different estimating scenarios.

Rather than making the same adjustment repeatedly throughout an estimate, global variables can allow the underlying value to be changed once and applied wherever that variable is being used.

When incorporated properly into an estimating database, this can make revisions and comparisons significantly more efficient.

Yes. Accubid Anywhere allows estimators to make mass changes to information such as breakdowns, specifications, hangers, and other attributes.

That can be extremely useful when project requirements change or when estimate information needs to be reorganized after takeoff has already begun.

The ability to change information in mass is one of the reasons a well-structured database and estimating process matter. The more consistently the underlying data is built, the more effectively these tools can be used.

Assemblies allow electrical estimators to take off complete installations rather than repeatedly selecting every individual component required for common electrical work.

A useful assembly should do more than simply contain a fixed list of material. Well-developed assemblies can be flexible enough to adapt to different installation conditions and estimating scenarios.

Accubid Anywhere can also use logical formulas, part relationships, and lookup tables within the estimating database to make assemblies and takeoff more intelligent.

When assemblies are properly developed and organized, estimators spend less time searching for individual items and rebuilding common installations.

Yes. Accubid Anywhere's resolver can be used to update global or job assemblies when the underlying assembly changes.

This helps prevent assemblies already used in an estimate from becoming "dead" copies that can no longer benefit from database improvements.

Changes can be updated through the audit trail with a full resolve, allowing the estimating team to continue improving its database while maintaining active estimates.

This is particularly valuable for contractors that continuously refine their estimating standards and assemblies.

Formulas, part relationships, and lookup tables allow an Accubid Anywhere database to make decisions based on the conditions of the takeoff instead of requiring the estimator to manually select every component.

These tools can be used to build estimating logic directly into the database.

When properly developed, that logic can make takeoff quicker, reduce repetitive selections, and improve consistency between estimators.

The real value comes from developing that logic around the way electrical work is actually estimated and installed.

Assemblies should be organized so estimators can quickly find the installation they need without searching through unnecessary or poorly categorized content.

Speed during takeoff isn't only about clicking faster. It is also about reducing the amount of time an estimator spends looking for the correct assembly, remembering where information is located, or rebuilding something that should already exist.

Organized assemblies, prebuilt takeoff pads, clear designations, and a logical database structure can significantly improve the day-to-day usability of an electrical estimating system.

Designations allow estimators to identify and organize project-specific equipment and conditions while maintaining a consistent estimating structure.

They are particularly useful for quoted items such as lighting fixtures and electrical equipment, where many different types may exist within the same project.

A properly developed designation structure can reduce repetitive setup and make takeoff easier to understand and manage across an estimating team.

The Keystone Accubid Anywhere Database includes more than 400 prebuilt designations for lighting fixtures and electrical gear so estimators do not have to build that infrastructure from scratch.

Consistency comes from giving estimators a common estimating process rather than requiring each person to develop their own methods.

A well-structured Accubid Anywhere database can provide common assemblies, designations, formulas, takeoff pads, breakdowns, and estimating logic for the entire team.

That doesn't remove the estimator's judgment. It reduces unnecessary variation in repetitive parts of the estimating process so estimators can focus their experience where judgment is actually required.

For contractors with multiple estimators, this can help reduce estimator-to-estimator variance and make estimates easier to review.

Accubid Anywhere allows estimates and change orders to be organized within the same project area using a familiar folder-style structure.

Keeping related estimating information together makes it easier for estimators and managers to understand where project data is located and how individual estimates or changes relate to the overall project.

A consistent project organization standard is especially important as an estimating department grows and more people need access to the same information.

A truly developed Accubid Anywhere database can take years to build and refine.

Creating items is only part of the work. Contractors also have to develop assemblies, designations, formulas, part relationships, lookup tables, takeoff pads, reports, organization standards, and the estimating logic that ties everything together.

That system then has to be tested and improved through actual estimating use.

The Keystone Accubid Anywhere Database represents approximately 10 years of development, with much of that work already completed so electrical contractors can take advantage of the capabilities of Accubid Anywhere without dedicating years to building the same infrastructure internally.

Yes. Keystone Electrical Consulting is a Trimble partner and can help connect your company with the appropriate Trimble representative to begin the process of acquiring Accubid Anywhere licenses.

Once Accubid Anywhere is in place, Keystone can help your team get started with the Keystone Accubid Anywhere Database, implementation, training and ongoing support.