Why Seletech Electrical Enterprises Ltd. Left the Legacy Brands Behind and Chose PataBid Quantify

Overview

Seletech Electrical Enterprises Ltd. is a Calgary-based electrical contractor with over 32 years in the industry and a second location in Edmonton. Under the direction of Shawn Bishop, Director of Operations, Seletech runs a diverse operation spanning commercial electrical construction, fire alarm and automation controls, a full communications division, and DC power for telco providers. With an estimating operation of that scale and complexity, the software they rely on isn't a minor decision — it's a foundational one.

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Seletech has been around long enough to have seen every generation of estimating software come and go. They've tried most of them. And they've learned what good looks like.

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Challenge

Seletech's estimating journey mirrors what many established contractors have experienced. They started with pen and paper, moved to custom spreadsheets, and eventually adopted purpose-built estimating software — first Accubid, then McCormick, and later XKey AI Estimation.

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Each switch came with a reason. Accubid was expensive, tied to individual users and machines, and not built with the end user in mind. McCormick was more affordable but came from an American perspective — unfamiliar part names and a workflow that didn't translate cleanly to the Canadian market. XKey failed to deliver on its AI promise and didn't understand what contractors actually need from a pricing integration.

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Seletech needed a platform that was modern, intuitive, built for how Canadian contractors actually work, and connected to live supplier pricing in a way that was genuinely useful.

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Solution

Shawn first encountered PataBid at an industry trade show. The impression was immediate. When his estimators got their hands on the platform, they preferred it over McCormick without hesitation — and the McCormick contract was cancelled shortly after.

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What set PataBid apart from day one was the combination of usability and live supplier integrations. Unlike Trade Service's static pricing database, PataBid's live integration with Gescan and City Electric Supply delivers contractor-specific pricing in real time — directly within the Quantify platform.  For Seletech's electrical division, this changed the economics of bidding entirely. 

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The support experience also stood out in a way Seletech hadn't encountered with previous vendors. With Accubid and McCormick, support meant talking to software people. With PataBid, it means talking to estimators — people who understand the work, speak the language, and can solve problems in context. From the development team to the sales reps, the PataBid team brings genuine enthusiasm for estimating and a hands-on commitment to helping their clients succeed.

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Outcome

• Walked away from Accubid, McCormick, and XKey after finding each platform expensive, difficult to use, or misaligned with how Canadian contractors work

• Estimators immediately preferred PataBid over McCormick after their first hands-on experience — leading to the cancellation of the McCormick contract

• Live supplier pricing through Gescan and City Electric outperforms Trade Service, delivering real-time pricing within the platform 

• Improved estimating capacity for the electrical division through a more intuitive, accessible platform

• World-class support from a team of estimators — not just software people — providing a level of understanding no previous vendor could match

• Confidence in the platform long term, with Seletech firmly committed to PataBid and actively looking to expand its use across additional departments as supplier integrations grow

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