Accurate estimates are the backbone of your plumbing business, which is why plumbing estimating software is crucial to enhance efficiency and streamline operations.
Whether you’re bidding on a new construction project or a residential service call, your ability to price jobs quickly and precisely can be the difference between winning a client—or losing money.
That’s why plumbing estimating software is a must-have in your plumbing business. Manual spreadsheets and guesswork can’t keep up with today’s fast-paced business demands. If you want to streamline your operations, impress customers, and grow your profits, it’s time to upgrade your tools.
In this guide, we break down the best plumbing estimating software options available today—highlighting their key features, pros, cons, and which one might be right for your business. We’ll also point out some of the best stand-alone and all-in-one software options.
What to Look For
Implementing the right software can bring several major benefits that streamline the estimating process and positively impact your business’ bottom line.
However, each software has different features so the key is to find the right one for your plumbing business.
Before diving into the top picks, here’s what the best plumbing software should offer:
1. Accurate Cost Calculations
Materials, labor and markups are just a few of the various costs your plumbing business needs to accurately track on a daily basis. However manual estimation of these costs can lead to mistakes. Even a small error in pricing or labor estimates can significantly impact profitability.
Plumbing estimating software streamlines this process, minimizing errors to ensure all estimates are accurate—taking into account material costs, labor rates and other expenses. This level of precision ensures that you’re charging your customers the correct amount for each job.
2. Time-Saving Automations and Reporting
Generating estimates manually can be labor-intensive and time-consuming.
With plumbing estimating software, you can create accurate estimates in a fraction of the time. This allows plumbing companies to spend more time focusing on other areas of the business, such as customer service and job execution, rather than on tedious paperwork.
In addition to time savings, plumbing estimating software improves overall operational efficiency.
The software simplifies workflows by allowing estimators and managers to quickly access templates, historical data and pricing information. This streamlined process ensures that estimates are completed faster, with fewer bottlenecks and delays.
3. Professional Quote Presentation and E-Signatures
A detailed, well-organized estimate presented to a client reflects professionalism, and mobile e-signatures make these mobile quotes all the more convenient for your plumbers.
Plumbing estimating software helps produce polished, easy-to-read estimates that include a breakdown of costs and services. This level of professionalism can improve customer trust and make your business stand out among competitors.
4. Integration With Dispatching, Invoicing and CRM Tools
The right plumbing estimating software integrates with dispatching, invoicing and CRM tools—allowing your pricing and materials to be updated in real-time.
This means you always have the latest information about product costs and availability, ensuring your estimates reflect current market conditions. It also allows your company to adjust pricing strategies based on supply changes, helping you maintain profitability.
This balance between estimates, dispatch, invoices and CRM is crucial to streamlining your daily operations both in the office and out in the field.
5. Customizable Templates
Look for software that offers customizable templates so you can tailor estimates and proposals to different types of jobs. These templates allow for easy input of data and include all necessary fields, such as materials, labor, overhead and other costs.
Stand-Alone Options: Top Plumbing Estimating Software
1. Trimble AutoBid Mechanical
Trimble AutoBid Mechanical is the market leading estimating software for commercial and industrial mechanical, piping and plumbing contractors with customized graphical takeoff tools and automatic fitting generation. The software intelligently adds necessary fittings as you define pipe runs. It features a database of over 100,000 items with customizable pricing options, making it ideal for large-scale commercial and industrial projects
2. PlanSwift
PlanSwift provides intuitive on-screen takeoff tools that simplify measuring piping and calculating quantities for fittings and fixtures with just a few clicks. It’s designed for small contractors with a user-friendly interface.
3. FastEST
FastEST features a comprehensive database with over 150,000 items from major manufacturers and provides up-to-date pricing for valves, flanges, piping and fittings. It’s ideal for commercial projects.
4. STACK Takeoff & Estimate
STACK offers cloud-based collaborative tools that allow field and office teams to work together in real-time on estimates and takeoffs. It’s perfect for distributed teams.
5. McCormick Estimating
McCormick features an extensive database with over 20,000 pre-built assemblies and automatically updates pricing from supply houses. It’s designed for mid-sized contractors handling multiple complex projects simultaneously.
All-in-One: Top Plumbing Estimating Software
1. FieldEdge
FieldEdge’s plumbing estimating software leads the industry by improving every aspect of your plumbing business—from estimating, dispatching, to invoicing to accounting integration. By streamlining your processes with just one software, you can build a scalable business, save significant time, generate more revenue and enjoy satisfied employees.
Features include:
Plumbing Estimating/Invoicing Software
When you use FieldEdge as your plumbing estimating and invoicing software, you can easily go paperless and streamline the entire process. Plumbers can quickly update invoices while out in the field and send them to customers via email or print invoices on the spot with a mobile printer. Plus, the integrated payments solution also gives customers the option of paying upfront so your plumbers can collect payments once a job is complete.
Dispatching
FieldEdge ensures that sending your plumbers to a job is easy. The dynamic dispatch board allows you to assign the right plumber for each job based on their skills and distance from the job. Dispatchers can simply drag-and-drop unassigned work orders to specific plumbers, and they are now assigned to that work order. Added bonus? Statuses give your dispatchers insight into what your plumbers are doing – pending, traveling, working, etc.
QuickBooks Integration
Your plumbing financials are accurately reflected in real-time. FieldEdge integrates with QuickBooks, allowing information between QuickBooks and FieldEdge to automatically sync between the two platforms. No more double entry and no more batch syncing – every transaction made in either the field or the office shows up in both FieldEdge and QuickBooks!
Customer Management Tools
With FieldEdge, plumbers are equipped with customer management tools so that all the information you need can be accessed quickly. You can view work order histories, invoices, quotes, memberships, track parts and so more for each and every customer in your database. This helps understand each customer’s history and provides tailored, high-quality customer service to each one of them.
Plumber Mobile App
The FieldEdge mobile app for plumbers makes it easy to access all the necessary information in the field. Your plumbers can personalize their services based on the customer’s individual histories. Use custom forms, add notes, update work orders and more to always provide white-glove service to your customers and create a positive reputation for your plumbing company.
2. ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan provides an array of tools to scale operations for multi-location franchises with multi-option proposal creation and real-time job costing. It’s designed for larger service enterprises with over 25 contractors and offers comprehensive features including CRM, project management, inventory tracking and analytics dashboards.
However, FieldEdge offers superior support with a 92% customer satisfaction rating from our chat support.
Check out our comparison here: FieldEdge vs. ServiceTitan
3. Jobber
Jobber offers easy-to-use scheduling capabilities where customers can book appointments online and the system will automatically put them on your calendar. It features drag-and-drop scheduling, team calendar synchronization and CRM integration.
However, FieldEdge offers powerful integrations with QuickBooks, Intacct, DocuSign, FleetSharp, and more.
Check out our comparison here: FieldEdge vs. Jobber
4. Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro integrates key business operations such as scheduling, dispatching, estimating, invoicing and payments into a single platform. It helps service contractors automate scheduling, dispatching, invoicing and track jobs-all from one platform with online booking capabilities and multiple payment options.
However, FieldEdge offers superior customer support.
Check out our comparison here: FieldEdge vs. Housecall Pro
5. Service Fusion
Service Fusion integrates with QuickBooks, syncing details on clients and services with invoices, payments and deposits. It provides all-in-one cloud-based CRM functionality that enhances efficiency for field technicians and office staff in managing appointments, workflows and customer interactions.
However, FieldEdge offers easy to use, payment processing built exclusively for FieldEdge.
Check out our comparison here: FieldEdge vs. Service Fusion
Let us show you just how much FieldEdge can do for your plumbing business! Book your FREE personalized demo today!
How to Choose the Best Plumbing Software for Your Business
With numerous options available, choosing the best plumbing software can seem overwhelming.
However, there are a few key considerations to help guide your decision:
- Ease of Use: Look for software with a user-friendly interface that doesn’t require extensive training.
- Scalability: Make sure the software can grow with your business, offering features and flexibility for larger jobs or more complex projects.
- Customer Support: Reliable customer support is essential for any software, so ensure that the provider offers adequate training, resources and ongoing support.
- Affordability: Compare pricing models to find a solution that fits your budget without sacrificing essential features.
Plumbing Estimating Software for Success
In today’s fast-paced business environment, using plumbing estimating software is essential in helping your business improve accuracy, save time and increase profitability.
By selecting the right plumbing estimating software with customizable templates, integration capabilities and real-time data access, your plumbing business can thrive and grow more efficiently.
Here are a few key takeaways:
- Plumbing estimating software increases accuracy, efficiency and professionalism.
- Essential features include customizable templates, real-time cost data and cloud-based access.
- The software can improve profitability by reducing errors and streamlining processes.
- When selecting software, focus on ease of use, scalability and affordability.
By investing in plumbing estimating software, you’re not just enhancing your estimating process—you’re setting your business up for long-term success.
Related: Grow Your Business With the Best Plumbing Software
