From three places, best first: your own job history, the labor units built into your estimating software, and published labor-unit manuals. Whichever you use, a labor unit assumes typical conditions. Adjust it for height, access, job conditions and your crew's productivity before you price.
The best units are the ones your crews actually hit. Compare estimated hours with actual hours on finished jobs, system by system, and adjust your units.
The units in your estimating software
Most estimating programs come with a labor database. It's consistent and fast, but it reflects average conditions, not your shop.
Published labor-unit manuals
National manuals give units for thousands of items. They're a good reference where you have no history, and they need adjusting like the rest.
Adjust the unit before you price it
Height: work from a lift or above a ceiling takes longer than work at bench height.
Conditions: occupied buildings, renovations, phasing, tight ceilings and security access all slow the work.
Productivity: crew mix, travel, weather and overtime change the real hours.
Quantity: a handful of an item usually takes more time per unit than a long run of the same thing.
Questions estimators ask
What is a labor unit?
The time to install one unit of an item, such as one receptacle or 100 feet of a given conduit size, under typical conditions. Estimators multiply it by the quantity, then adjust for the job's conditions.
Should I trust the labor units that come with software?
Use them as a starting point. Check them against your own finished jobs, and replace the ones that don't match how your crews work.
Where does Bidprobe get labor hours?
Yours first: your own labor units and your supplier's price file or quote. Where you have none, a national labor and price book fills in, marked as a reference so you know to replace it before you submit.
Does Bidprobe remember my choices?
Yes. For each line, Bidprobe suggests a match from your labor units, your supplier's price file and the national book. You confirm, and it remembers for the next job.
Price the takeoff with your own units.
One free bid check on every new account, no card required.