Many software solutions can help HVAC businesses improve and scale their estimating processes. Some work well for service and repair estimating, while others work well for install and construction project estimating. A few platforms offer workflows that cover both. And understanding what each solution is best suited for is key to finding the right tool for your needs.
It’s also important to consider all-in-one platforms versus standalone estimating and takeoff solutions:
All-in-One HVAC Contractor Software: Software that gives you estimating tools alongside everything else you need to run the business, and connects them, so an estimate flows straight into purchasing, scheduling, invoicing, and accounting instead of being entered again manually. That's what ServiceTitan does.
Estimating and Takeoff Software: Software solutions that are solely focused on estimating, but may include integrations with accounting and invoicing software. They don’t connect to the other HVAC apps you use to run your business, so estimating stays in its own silo.
In this post, we’ll break down how the two types compare to help you decide which may be best for your needs.
We’ll also provide an in-depth walk-through of how ServiceTitan’s HVAC software handles estimating and connects it to the other key workflows involved in running an HVAC business.
Finally, we'll cover several all-in-one platforms and standalone estimating and takeoff tools (which run in a browser or on the desktop rather than as mobile apps) for you to consider.
All-in-One HVAC Contractor Software
Standalone Estimating & Takeoff Software
Want to see how ServiceTitan works to streamline your HVAC business operations? Schedule a call to get a live, one-on-one walk through of the features we describe throughout this article.
Standalone vs. All-in-One HVAC Estimating Apps: What to Look For
Standalone HVAC estimating apps and takeoff software (such as PlanSwift or FastDUCT) are designed to help you efficiently build estimates and manage bids. They are particularly useful for construction companies to speed up the process of quoting for projects, enabling them to:
Upload digital plans
Perform quantity takeoffs
Adjust quantities, prices, and labor units
Create and track change orders
Manage documents and reports
Work with project management teams during the bidding process
Create professional-looking estimates and bid packages
While these solutions are often priced lower than full-service contractor software, and are certainly better than using manual processes (such as spreadsheets and paper takeoffs), these estimating apps have a number of limitations.
The main drawback is that they rarely connect to the other apps you use to run your business, apps for scheduling, dispatching, work orders, billing, etc., so you’ll need to use a range of other apps or software to fill those gaps.
With estimating and takeoff software, you not only have to pay for multiple apps to accomplish these other key business workflows, but you’ll also spend tons of time learning how to use each of them separately and getting used to their unique interfaces.
And since these apps don’t communicate with each other, you’ll have to input the same customer details, invoicing information, job parameters, and more, into each platform individually. This is an inefficient process that adds to your workload and can easily lead to small inputting errors that may cause major issues that affect your bottom line.
And lastly, most HVAC estimating apps of this kind are built for construction and project bids, not the day-to-day of service work. So, if your HVAC business has both construction and service divisions, you’ll need a separate way to handle service estimating features such as flat-rate pricing, mobile HVAC quotes, e-signatures, and Good-Better-Best options, which standalone takeoff tools generally don't offer.
As a result of these issues, many HVAC contractors are opting to run estimating inside an all-in-one platform like ServiceTitan instead.
All-in-One HVAC Contractor Software
All-in-one contractor software builds estimating into one platform so that it runs alongside scheduling, dispatching, job costing, invoicing, and accounting. The estimate becomes the first step in a connected estimating workflow, so the numbers you quote carry through to procurement, labor tracking, and billing without anyone re-entering them. For a contractor running both service and construction work, that connection is what keeps profit margins visible and the office and field working from the same information.
We'll start with ServiceTitan, then cover six other all-in-one platforms below.
1. ServiceTitan
ServiceTitan HVAC software enables contractors to run office and field operations from a single platform. Estimating sits inside the same system you use for scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and accounting, rather than in a tool of its own.
Enter a job once, and that information carries through every step that follows (from requisitioning equipment and materials, to tracking inventory, to generating invoices and applications for payment, to recording financial information into your accounting software). That's what protects your margins. You skip the re-keying, and you cut out the small input errors that turn into billing problems later.
ServiceTitan also handles estimating for both sides of an HVAC business, construction and project work, as well as residential and commercial service. These different business divisions require different tools and operating procedures that standalone estimating apps generally do not support.
ServiceTitan brings together the tools for almost every part of HVAC job management, including:
Accounting (with optional Intacct and QuickBooks integrations)
Here's how the estimating side works, starting with construction and project work, then residential and commercial service. (You can skip straight to the service section here.)
HVAC Estimating Tools for Construction & Subcontracting Work
ServiceTitan helps to manage all of the key steps involved in construction estimating, including:
Creating detailed estimates
Requisitioning materials directly from the estimate itself
Generating and communicating purchase and change orders
Uploading photos to the project to share with your team and your customers
Tracking and recording labor hours
Generating applications for payment and invoices
Syncing with your accounting system
Managing this process begins with creating a new project that allows you to capture all of the relevant information for a job: customer/company name, address, job-site information, estimate number and date, start date, etc.
Each project page provides at-a-glance details for tracking project costs, as well as initiating key actions, such as changing the scope of the project, ordering materials, creating purchase order documents, and invoicing, for example, as shown in the image below.
From this screen, you can begin the process of building a customized estimate that takes into account your most up-to-date equipment and material pricing, as well as your inventory.
Your project managers and/or technicians can enter all relevant estimate information including:
Measurements
Materials and equipment needed
Required permits
Details about the work to be done
In addition, your team has the ability to upload images and video of the job site into ServiceTitan to document the work as it progresses, or to flag work that needs to be done in the future.
These photos and images are uploaded into the cloud and can be instantly accessed by techs, customers, and even specific experts contracted to work on the project. This prevents the usual multiple emails and long phone calls, or even additional site visits, to discuss project specifications and approaches.
In addition, you can create custom task lists and organize them using different colors, allowing you to organize and plan your tasks for executing the project.
Once you've collected all the information you need for your estimate, you can save the document as a PDF and share it with your client.
Connecting Estimates to the Rest of the Project Management Workflow
Unlike standalone estimating apps, ServiceTitan uses all the information included in the estimate as a starting point for the rest of the construction project.
As soon as you have been awarded the project, for example, you can begin ordering equipment and materials by selecting items right from within your estimate, and initiating a requisition.
This begins a guided workflow for creating purchase orders, allowing you to select suppliers, order quantities, delivery locations, and other pertinent details. These purchase orders can then be sent to vendors with a few clicks in one of several formats.
Then, ServiceTitan continues enabling you to manage the rest of your project in a highly detailed and integrated way. Specifically, you can:
Manage scheduling and dispatching of field technicians
Monitor your project’s status with real-time updates on the project overview summary pages, which include detailed financial reports for each period
Keep track of job costs, taking into account labor, materials, and other expenses, and compare budgeted costs to actual costs
Integrate approved change orders
Create payment applications and continuation sheets for general contractors
Generate invoices
Create payments and apply them to accounts receivable
Update accounts receivable using our integrations with the most popular accounting software (including QuickBooks and Intacct)
Compared to dealing with each of these individual processes manually, either on paper, or using multiple disconnected apps, ServiceTitan streamlines the construction project management workflow. It reduces time spent on transferring information between non-integrated platforms and avoids the potential input errors this can cause.
HVAC Estimating App Features for Residential & Commercial Service Jobs
Estimating for residential and commercial HVAC services requires a different set of estimating tools compared to construction projects.
For example, the following capabilities become particularly important:
Pricebook Management: The ability to maintain up-to-date, profitable pricing that’s reflected on all estimates.
Mobile Estimate and Proposal Creation: The ability to quickly create estimates and proposals in the field to present to customers.
Upselling Features: The ability to increase close rates and average ticket prices through multi-option proposals, offering customer financing, etc.
ServiceTitan has a suite of tools that offer all of these capabilities and more.
Streamlined Pricebook Management
Creating accurate estimates and proposals in the field depends on up-to-date pricing. ServiceTitan offers a suite of features for pricebook management that make this easier than ever, including tools to:
Organize pricebooks into categories for easy navigation
Keep prices up to date with individual item and bulk editing features
Use Dynamic Pricing to auto-update pricing according to customized parameters
Set your labor rates once and have them flow through to flat-rate pricing automatically
Users can upload pre-existing pricebooks, build them from scratch, or use our Pricebook Pro add-on, where we curate and continually optimize a flat-rate pricebook for you.
Either way, with ServiceTitan, your pricebook is easy to manage so you can keep your prices up to date, and your estimates priced correctly, without your techs having to even think about it.
Pricebook Pro also includes Price Insights, an AI-powered feature that compares your pricing against local market averages and shows a confidence meter, so you can bid competitively without leaving margin on the table.
Check out this article for an in-depth walk-through of our HVAC pricing features.
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Efficiently Create and Present Estimates and Proposals From the Field or Office
When technicians need to build an estimate in the field, they can do so easily via our Field Service Mobile App (compatible with Android and iOS devices) by leveraging a pre-built, customizable estimate template, or by building an estimate from scratch on the spot.
They simply select HVAC equipment from the appropriate part of the pricebook, which automatically pulls that item’s information into the estimate for the customer (including product details, images, pricing, etc.).
Technicians can also compile multiple estimates into a Good-Better-Best proposal for residential customers, which helps to increase average ticket prices.
Alternatively, for shops that prefer office staff to build estimates (a common preference in commercial service work), the appropriate person back at the office can easily build an estimate via our desktop app based on the data that’s been collected and entered into the mobile app by whichever field technician assessed the job.
Then, to help improve close rates, our integrated customer financing tool allows you to offer customers financing options that can be approved in real time, reducing friction in the sale.
Note: You can also accept payments in the form of a check or credit card to reduce the time it takes to get paid.
Atlas: AI Support in the Field
ServiceTitan's mobile app also includes Atlas, our AI field assistant. It works with the same job, customer, and equipment data your techs already see, so instead of calling the office or digging through paperwork, they can pull up equipment details, troubleshooting guidance, and job history on the spot. With the Field Pro add-on, Atlas can also draw straight from equipment manuals and spec sheets. Getting answers faster on site means less time stuck mid-visit and a quicker path to an accurate estimate.
ServiceTitan: Full-Service HVAC Software That Includes Comprehensive Estimating Features
If you want to secure more HVAC jobs and improve the efficiency of your service, making the estimating process easier and integrating it into all your other working processes is vital for any commercial HVAC contractor or residential service business.
ServiceTitan’s HVAC software provides comprehensive estimating features, as well as all the necessary tools to run the rest of your HVAC business.
Want to see how ServiceTitan works to streamline your HVAC business operations? Schedule a call to get a free, live, one-on-one walk-through of the features we describe throughout this article.
2. BuildOps
BuildOps is a field service management and construction platform built specifically for commercial MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) contractors, covering both service work and project work in a single system. It includes dispatching, work orders, project management, invoicing, and a mobile app for field crews.
Because it's purpose-built for the commercial trades, it's a strong fit for contractors focused primarily on commercial service and construction.
Check out our comparison article: BuildOps vs. ServiceTitan
3. Service Fusion
Service Fusion describes itself as an all-in-one field service management software, with features including estimates, customer management, scheduling, and dispatching. It's aimed primarily at small and mid-sized service businesses.
Check out our comparison article: Service Fusion vs. ServiceTitan
4. Jobber
Jobber is a field service management app for home service companies, covering scheduling, dispatch, quoting, and invoicing, with QuickBooks integration. It's built mainly for smaller residential trades rather than larger operations running commercial or construction work alongside service.
Check out our comparison article: Jobber vs. ServiceTitan
5. FieldEdge
FieldEdge is a field service management platform built for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical service businesses, with functionality for quotes and invoicing, scheduling and dispatching, and service agreements. It also offers project management tools for longer-term jobs, and serves both residential and commercial service work.
Check out our comparison article: FieldEdge vs. ServiceTitan
6. Simpro
Simpro is a field service management platform for trade and field service businesses, operating globally across the U.S., UK, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers scheduling, work order management, quoting and estimating, invoicing, preventive maintenance contract tracking, and a customer portal.
Its project capabilities are lighter and geared mainly toward service projects, which makes it a closer fit for contractors focused on service and maintenance than those running heavy construction work alongside it.
Check out our comparison article: Simpro vs. ServiceTitan
7. Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a mobile field service management platform built for home service businesses. It covers scheduling and dispatching, estimates, invoicing, and QuickBooks integration, along with online booking and customer communication tools. It's designed primarily for smaller to mid-sized residential trades looking for an easy-to-implement, all-in-one tool.
Standalone Estimating & Takeoff Software
Instead of running your whole business, these solutions focus specifically on takeoff and estimating.
A quick note on the word "app": These four run in a browser or on the desktop, rather than as mobile apps you use from the field. We've included them because they’re popular tools for detailed bid work worth knowing about.
The tradeoff of these apps, as mentioned above, is that they're built to produce an estimate, not to carry it through the rest of the job, and they stay on the office desktop rather than travelling with your techs and PMs.
8. QuoteSoft
QuoteSoft is a dedicated estimating and takeoff tool for HVAC, ductwork, and mechanical piping contractors, now part of ConstructConnect. Its Duct product handles on-screen takeoff for rectangular, round, and oval duct, fittings, and accessories, calculating labor hours and material costs from PDF, CAD and AutoCAD plans using SMACNA labor standards. A separate Pipe product covers plumbing and mechanical piping.
It's precise, specialized software for competitive bid work. But it's a bid tool rather than a business platform, so scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing happen elsewhere, and your estimates sit apart from the rest of your operation.
9. PlanSwift
PlanSwift is a digital takeoff and estimating tool for the construction industry. Its point-and-click interface lets estimators drag and drop parts and custom assemblies onto digitized plans to produce quantity takeoffs and cost estimates, and it exports to Microsoft Excel. Because it works across trades, including HVAC, it's a flexible option for construction bid work.
As with any takeoff tool, it's built for the estimating step alone. You'd pair it with separate systems for scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing to cover the rest of the job.
10. Stack
Stack is a cloud-based takeoff and estimating tool built for speed and collaboration. It offers on-screen measurement, autocount for common symbols, and anytime access with permission controls, so several estimators can work from the same set of plans whether they're at the office or off-site.
Being browser-based and multi-user makes it flexible, since estimators can share plans and work from any computer. It's still a dedicated estimating tool, though, so scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing live in separate systems.
11. FastDUCT / FastPipe
FastDUCT and FastPipe are estimating products from the takeoff software company FastEST. FastDUCT is built for HVAC and sheet metal ductwork contractors, and FastPipe covers plumbing and mechanical piping. Both run on-screen takeoff against a large built-in catalog and calculate material and labor costs for bids.
This is estimating-only software with very specific uses. It won’t connect to the other tools you use to run your business.
Choosing the Right HVAC Estimating App
Choosing the best HVAC estimating software for your business comes down to whether or not the functionality fits your specific estimating needs. But it’s also essential to consider how the tool you choose connects to the rest of your business’s workflows.
Standalone takeoff tools like QuoteSoft, PlanSwift, and FastDUCT are good at detailed bid work, and for a shop whose whole focus is complex construction bids, that may be worth adding to your tool stack. But most HVAC contractors run a mix of service and project work, and for them an estimate is the start of a job, not the end of one. It feeds purchasing, scheduling, invoicing, and accounting.
That's the case for an all-in-one platform. With ServiceTitan, your techs build estimates in the field or the office, and every approved estimate carries through the rest of the job, so nothing gets re-keyed and nothing slips through the cracks. You protect your profit margins and keep the office and the field working from the same information.
Want to see how ServiceTitan handles HVAC estimating, from first quote to final invoice? Schedule a call for a free, live, one-on-one walk-through.
ServiceTitan HVAC Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive HVAC business software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and achieve growth. Our award-winning, cloud-based platform is trusted by more than 100,000+ contractors across the country.
