APIC Solutions
"With our growth trajectory, we needed an estimating solution that didn’t just digitize spreadsheets but also fundamentally transform how we price, capture history, and execute bids. Smart Estimator gives us exactly that: a flexible, contractor-first approach that brings consistency and control to our estimating function while unlocking efficiency gains we couldn’t achieve with manual workflows."
Jesse Pickard, CEO APIC Solutions
Modernizes Estimating with OpenBuild Smart Estimator
APIC Solutions is a full-service electrical contractor and low voltage systems integrator headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico and backed by Tower Arch Capital. APIC has partnered with Runding Corporation to transform and modernize its estimating and pricing operations. The move marks a significant step in APIC’s digital transformation journey as it moves away from spreadsheet-based processes toward a scalable, automated estimating framework purpose-built for specialty contractors.
The Challenge
APIC Solutions is a fast-growing electrical and low-voltagecontractor roll up serving the commercial, government, healthcare, education,and gaming markets across the Southwest.
As the company rapidly expands and acquires additional operating companies, its estimating and pricing process remained heavily dependent on Excel spreadsheets and manual workflows. This approach began to constraint scalability and consistency as bid volume increased.
Leadership identified several risks:
- Inconsistent pricing across divisions
- Manual rework and time lost managing spreadsheets
- Limited visibility into historical estimate data
- Difficulty scaling estimating output to match growth
- Margin exposure due to inconsistent processes
APIC needed more than improved spreadsheets. The company required a structured estimating system capable of supporting disciplined growth.
The Solution
APIC selected OpenBuild - Smart Estimator from Runding to replace disconnected spreadsheets with a standardized estimating system built for specialty contractors.
The implementation focused on:
- Standardized estimating templates and assemblies
- Centralized pricing management
- Automated workflows from estimate to proposal
- Improved historical data capture
- Integration readiness with ERP systems
OpenBuild provided structure without unnecessary complexity. The objective was straightforward: create consistency, protect margins, and enable the estimating team to support continued expansion.
Results & ROI
With OpenBuild in place, APIC now operates from a single estimating system across divisions.
Key outcomes include:
- Improved pricing consistency and stronger margin control
- Reduced manual effort and faster estimate turnaround
- Greater visibility into estimate history and performance
- A scalable estimating foundation aligned with company growth
APIC has transitioned from managing spreadsheets to operating a disciplined, standardized estimating process that supports long-term expansion.
About OpenBuild
With more than two decades serving the construction industry, Runding’s approach is based on a core principle that specialty contractors should not be locked into rigid, proprietary systems built in Silicon Valley far away from the jobsite.
OpenBuild is flexible, open, and designed for how contractors actually work.
