A Conest IntelliBid alternative for the counting part

Conest IntelliBid is electrical estimating software with a database of over 140,000 items and 500,000 assemblies, labor units and supplier pricing, sold in Standard, Plus and Pro editions by quote¹. Takeoff from drawings happens in Conest's SureCount, which writes counts into IntelliBid¹³. AmpCount covers the step before IntelliBid: it turns a vector PDF set into checked device and fixture counts per drawing, holds uncertain marks for review and compares fixtures with the schedule, for $149 a month for up to 3 people, in a browser rather than a local SQL Server install.

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Written by Agustín Policano, founder of AmpCount. Facts about IntelliBid come from Conest Software Systems's public pages, checked November 3, 2026. Sources at the end.

What IntelliBid is

IntelliBid comes from Conest Software Systems, in business since 1989 and now part of the JDM Technology Group¹³. It's built for electrical, low voltage, datacom and solar contractors, with built-in labor units, six levels of labor difficulty, Auto Labor Factoring and links to NetPricer, EPIC and TRA-SER (licensed separately)¹. Plus adds Count Sheets and Smart Substitution; Pro adds change orders, custom proposals and bid analysis¹². It installs on a Windows PC or office network, or runs through Conest's CE Cloud¹⁴. Conest says cost depends on edition and number of users¹.

AmpCount vs IntelliBid at a glance

	AmpCount	IntelliBid
What it is	Electrical takeoff for commercial contractors. Counts devices and fixtures on vector PDF plans.	Full electrical estimating: item and assembly database, labor units, supplier pricing, bid management¹.
How counts start	Reads the legend, then matches every symbol on every sheet by its drawn geometry. No clicking to start.	In SureCount, counted manually or with its patented auto count, then sent into IntelliBid³.
Uncertain symbols	Anything not an exact match is marked uncertain and stays out of the count until you confirm it.	Not described on Conest's public pages¹³.
Fixture schedule check	Checks counts against the fixture schedule and shows the sheet with the difference.	Not described on Conest's public pages¹³.
Pricing and labor	Not included. Bring the counts into your estimating software.	Core of the product: labor units, labor factoring, supplier price comparison¹.
Price	$149 a month or $1,490 a year, published. Up to 3 people, no sheet limits.	Quote only. Priced by edition and number of users; pricing services extra¹.
Runs on	Browser, on Windows or Mac.	Windows 10 or 11 with SQL Server, or CE Cloud from Windows, Mac or Chromebook¹⁴.
Export	Excel, CSV and an estimating sheet with your item codes per drawing.	Takeoff and summary records to Excel, custom proposals on Pro¹².

Prices as listed on November 3, 2026. Check the vendor for a current quote.

To see IntelliBid next to the rest of the field, the electrical estimating software guide lists 14 tools with their published prices, and the electrical takeoff software guide explains the four ways software counts a plan set.

Where IntelliBid is strong

A large electrical database with manufacturer-specific items and pre-built assemblies¹.
Labor units, labor difficulty levels and Auto Labor Factoring built in¹.
Supplier price comparison across up to 10 local suppliers¹.
SureCount takeoff that counts, measures runs, overlays revisions and writes straight into IntelliBid, with US-based support since 1989³.

Where AmpCount is different

Counts only, in the browser

AmpCount doesn't replace IntelliBid's database or labor. It runs in a browser on Windows or Mac with nothing to install, and hands you counts per drawing to enter where you price.

Held for review, not added

Conest describes SureCount counting all symbol types at once³. AmpCount also counts the whole legend at once, but anything short of an exact geometric match waits in an uncertain list instead of reaching the estimate, and each number links to its marks.

Fixture types checked before IntelliBid

AmpCount reads the type tags next to fixtures and the fixture schedule, and shows the type and sheet where they disagree, so the quantity you key into an IntelliBid assembly has already been checked.

No server to set up

A local IntelliBid install runs on Windows with Microsoft SQL Server⁴. AmpCount is $149 a month or $1,490 a year for up to 3 people with no sheet limits, and needs only a browser.

The matching is plain geometry, step by step, as shown in how AmpCount works. A vision model helps read titles, legends and schedules but never confirms a mark or counts, as the AI electrical takeoff guide explains.

Where the time goes in an IntelliBid estimate

IntelliBid is built around the estimate: job specs, assemblies, labor factors and supplier pricing¹. The quantities still have to come from the drawings, either typed into takeoff or Count Sheets, which Conest says emulate the green sheets estimators used for years¹, or counted in SureCount and sent across³. If your shop has IntelliBid without SureCount, that usually means counting every device and fixture by hand before any pricing happens.

AmpCount replaces the hand count or the Count Sheet. The set is counted from the legend in one pass, the fixture schedule is checked, and you review a short uncertain list. The quantities per drawing then go into IntelliBid against assemblies you already trust.

What it costs to count faster

Conest prices IntelliBid by edition and number of users, with pricing services licensed separately¹, so there's no public number to compare, as of November 3, 2026. If you already own it, the question is what the counting costs you in estimator time.

Against that, AmpCount is a $149 monthly line for up to 3 people, or $1,490 a year on the yearly plan, with no sheet limits for the team. The saving to look at is estimator hours, priced at what an electrical estimator is paid: if your shop owns IntelliBid but not SureCount, every device on every sheet is counted by hand today, and that's the time AmpCount gives back. Put your own bid count and hours into the ROI calculator.

Run the numbers for your shop

Keep IntelliBid, speed up the count

Upload the drawings you'd otherwise count in SureCount or on Count Sheets.
Settle the uncertain marks and any fixture mismatch before anything reaches IntelliBid.
Tag each symbol with the IntelliBid item or assembly it maps to; you do this once.
Download quantities per drawing, already in IntelliBid's item codes.
Key the quantities into IntelliBid and let its labor factoring and supplier pricing do the rest.

Pricing the counts by hand for now? The electrical estimate template and the electrical estimate calculator take quantities straight from the export.

Before you switch

Check whether you already own SureCount and how much of your counting it handles.
Check that the drawings you count in SureCount or on Count Sheets arrive as vector PDFs.
Pull your most-used IntelliBid item and assembly codes so each AmpCount symbol can carry one.
Run one recent bid through AmpCount and compare totals with your IntelliBid takeoff.

Choose IntelliBid if

You want pricing, labor, takeoff and bid management in one electrical system. Trimble Accubid, McCormick and Best Bid sell the same kind of all-in-one program.
You already run SureCount and IntelliBid and the counting isn't your bottleneck.

Choose AmpCount if

You price in IntelliBid but enter quantities by hand, and counting devices and fixtures eats the day.
You want quantities checked against the plan and the fixture schedule before they reach IntelliBid's assemblies.
You want a monthly price in the browser, on Windows or Mac.

Get started, $149/mo

Cancel anytime. Full refund within 14 days if it doesn't fit your plans.

Questions

How much does Conest IntelliBid cost?

Conest doesn't publish a price. Its FAQ says IntelliBid is priced by edition and number of users, that material pricing services are licensed separately, and that you request a demo for a quote, as of November 3, 2026¹.

Can I download IntelliBid?

Conest's site offers demo requests rather than a public trial download¹. Customers with an active service contract get product upgrades by download through Conest support, and CE Cloud customers download Conest's cloud application⁵. Get IntelliBid only from Conest.

Does AmpCount replace IntelliBid?

No. IntelliBid holds your items, assemblies, labor units and supplier pricing¹, and AmpCount has none of that. Shops looking for an IntelliBid alternative for takeoff usually keep IntelliBid for pricing and replace hand counts or Count Sheets.

How is AmpCount different from SureCount?

Conest says SureCount's patented auto count counts all symbol types at once and sends takeoff straight into IntelliBid³. AmpCount reads the legend, keeps anything that isn't an exact match out of the count until you confirm it, and checks fixtures against the schedule. It doesn't measure runs, and it exports a file rather than writing into IntelliBid.

Does AmpCount work on a Mac?

Yes, in the browser. Conest's system requirements list Windows for local installs and say ARM-based machines aren't supported⁴; CE Cloud can be reached from a Mac¹.

Other comparisons

Guides and calculators

Sources

IntelliBid is a trademark of Conest Software Systems. AmpCount is not affiliated with Conest Software Systems. If something here is out of date, email support@ampcount.com and we'll fix it.