From Pen and Paper to $1.2M in Awarded Projects: How SG Electric Scaled Their Estimating Operation with PataBid Quantify

Overview

SG Electric is a commercial electrical contractor that launched with a clear ambition: compete for and win meaningful commercial work. Founded by a pair of partners — one of whom spent nearly a decade as a field electrician — the company hit the ground running in a competitive tendering environment, pursuing projects ranging from $25,000 to nearly $2 million in scope. From the start, the goal was simple: get their numbers in front of more general contractors, build their reputation, and grow.

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What they needed was a way to estimate at a pace that matched their ambition.

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Challenge

When SG Electric first started pursuing commercial work, estimating was done entirely by hand. The co-founder, coming from a field background rather than a formal estimating role, was working off raw experience and instinct — reviewing drawings manually, checking items off one by one, and building quotes in spreadsheets or on paper.

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The problems were hard to ignore. Manual takeoffs were slow, pulling hours away from other critical parts of running a new business. Items were easy to miss without a structured process. And perhaps most limiting of all, the volume of tenders the team could realistically pursue was capped by the time it took to get through a single set of drawings.

With commercial projects demanding precision across dozens of line items — receptacles, branch conduit, distribution, lighting, and more — the pen-and-paper approach wasn't a long-term path to growth.

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Solution

After connecting with PataBid and going through a walkthrough with the Customer Success team, SG Electric started their free trial and moved to full-time use of Quantify in November 2024.

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Two features became central to how the team works:

a) Rapid Count AI. For item-dense takeoffs — think 100 receptacles spread across a single drawing — Rapid Count captures 80 to 90 percent of those items automatically, in a matter of minutes. A task that previously took 20 to 30 minutes of focused manual clicking now gets done in a fraction of the time, freeing the estimator to move immediately into higher-value work like branch conduit, distribution, and lighting takeoffs.

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b) QuickPad Assemblies. Rather than building out each item from scratch, SG Electric set up their most common assemblies in QuickPad. A commercial receptacle, for example, is now a single click — EMT or BX, box, device, wiring, cover plate, and all associated labor included automatically. What once required manually adding each component to a spreadsheet now takes seconds.

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With the efficiency gains in place, SG Electric was also able to hire a full-time estimator, effectively doubling their output. Rather than one person doing the work, two people are now putting numbers on anywhere from 30 to 60 tenders per month.

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Outcome

In just four months of using PataBid Quantify, SG Electric saw measurable results across their entire estimating operation:

• $1.2 million in awarded projects in under four months of using Quantify

• 30 to 60 tenders per month submitted, up from what one person could manage manually

• Doubled estimating capacity by hiring a full-time estimator and maximizing output with two people on the platform

• Significantly reduced takeoff time on item-dense drawings, freeing time for higher-value work

• Pursuing projects ranging from $25,000 to nearly $2 million in scope with confidence and accuracy

• Company growth trajectory firmly on track, with a significant top-line revenue target set for the year

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