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Electrical estimating databases and labor units: what do you own?
By SourceX Editorial · Reviewed by Noah Loul ·
Short answer
Electrical estimating database ownership is usually split three ways: the vendor's base database and default labor units are licensed to you, your adjusted labor units and assemblies are your work stored in the vendor's format, and your bid history is your own business record. Your software license governs exports and reuse, so read it before switching or licensing anything.
Key takeaways
- Vendor base databases and default labor units are licensed to you, not owned by you.
- Labor units your estimators tuned against job cost history are usually your work, though stored in the vendor's format.
- Adjusted labor units may qualify as a trade secret only if you take reasonable measures to keep them secret.
- Drawings and specifications used for takeoff generally belong to the design professionals, not the contractor.
- Separate vendor content from your own records before any software switch, sale or data license.
Who owns an electrical estimating database?#
An electrical estimating database usually has three owners in practice, not one. The software vendor supplies a base database of items and default labor units under a license; you add adjusted labor units, correction factors and assemblies built from your own experience; and your bid history records what you actually estimated, bid, won and built.
The question matters when you switch estimating software, when a chief estimator leaves, when you sell the company, and when anyone proposes using your estimating records for AI. Each layer has a different answer, and the software license is usually where the answers start.
Three layers of estimating data#
Three layers of estimating data sit in most electrical contractors' systems, and each is controlled differently. Use the table to sort yours before any export, sale or license.
| Layer | Typical source | Who usually controls it | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base item database and default labor units | Estimating software vendor or a published labor unit manual | The vendor or publisher, licensed to you | License grant, copying limits and termination terms |
| Material pricing feeds | Pricing service or distributor updates | The pricing service, under its own terms | Whether prices can be stored or shared outside the software |
| Adjusted labor units and correction factors | Your estimators, based on job cost results | Usually you, though stored in the vendor's format | Whether the license claims modifications and how they export |
| Assemblies, templates and bid recaps | Your estimating team | Usually you | Export format and any vendor-owned components inside them |
| Bid history, takeoffs and win or loss results | Your bids and their outcomes | You, subject to project and customer documents | Confidentiality terms in bid invitations and subcontracts |
| Plans and specifications used for takeoff | Architects, engineers and owners | The design professionals | Limits on use beyond the project |
Can adjusted labor units be a trade secret?#
Adjusted labor units can qualify as a trade secret if they meet the legal test, and many contractors treat them that way. Under 18 U.S.C. 1839(3), information is a trade secret only if its owner has taken reasonable measures to keep it secret and it derives independent economic value from not being generally known to, or readily ascertainable by, others who could profit from it.
Default labor units from a widely sold database are unlikely to meet that test, because many competitors hold the same numbers. Units your estimators tuned against years of job cost results are a different matter. DOJ guidance describes protective measures as reasonable under the circumstances rather than absolute, with examples such as need-to-know access and confidentiality agreements.
In practice, that means limiting who can export the database, putting confidentiality terms in estimator agreements and tracking where copies go. Whether your units qualify in a given dispute is a question for counsel.
What your estimating software license may say#
Your estimating software license may decide more than you expect about exports and reuse. Read these provisions before you switch vendors, sell the company or license any estimating records:
If the license says nothing about user modifications, do not read that silence as ownership either way. Ask the vendor in writing how it treats customer-created labor units and assemblies, and keep the answer with the contract.
- License grant: who may use the software and database, on how many seats and for which business.
- Restrictions: limits on copying, extracting or redistributing database content, including labor units.
- User content: whether data you enter or modify is yours, and whether the vendor claims any rights in it.
- Export: which formats are available for items, assemblies and bids, and whether export requires an active subscription.
- Termination: what happens to your data and access when the subscription ends.
- Third-party and AI use: any terms that limit sharing data with other software, service providers or AI tools.
Who owns the work your estimators create?#
Work your estimators create as employees within the scope of their jobs is generally treated as the company's. Under 17 U.S.C. 201(b), for a work made for hire the employer is considered the author and, unless a signed written agreement says otherwise, owns all the rights in the copyright.
Contract estimators and outside consultants are different. The Copyright Office explains that commissioned work counts as work made for hire only in certain statutory categories and only with an express written agreement. If outside estimators built part of your assemblies or labor units, check their agreements for an assignment of rights.
Bid documents and plans are not all yours#
Bid documents and plans you received from others are not all yours, even when they sit in your estimating files. Under AIA A201-2017 Section 1.5.1, the architect and its consultants are deemed the authors and owners of their instruments of service, including drawings and specifications, and contractors and subcontractors may not claim a copyright in them. Section 1.5.2 allows their use only for performing the work.
Your takeoff quantities, prices and outcomes are your own records; the drawings behind them generally are not. Projects using other contract forms may set their own terms, so check the documents for each project before reusing anything outside it.
Illustrative: sorting estimating data before a software switch#
Illustrative: a fictional commercial electrical contractor plans to move to a new estimating platform and is also asked whether its bid history could be licensed for AI training. Its chief estimator has spent years adjusting the vendor's labor units for the company's crews and keeps bid recaps for every project it priced.
Counsel reviews the old license and finds that it restricts copying the vendor's database but makes no claim to the contractor's modifications. The team exports adjusted units as a difference file against the vendor defaults, saves bid recaps and win or loss results in a neutral format, and leaves vendor items, pricing feeds and project drawings out of any package. The licensing question then moves forward on bid history and job outcomes alone.
How SourceX reviews estimating records#
SourceX reviews estimating records during the Rights step of the SourceX five-step transaction, separating vendor-supplied content and design documents from the contractor's own bid history and job outcomes. In the SourceX Enterprise Data Value Framework, reproducibility reduces value, so default vendor units add little, while bid histories linked to actual job costs carry domain expertise. Each approved package is documented in a SourceX Evidence Packet that records licensing rights and permitted use.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my labor units if I cancel my estimating software?
Possibly, but it depends on the license and on the export options. Your own adjustments may be exportable as data, while the vendor's default units usually stay with the vendor. Export what you can while the subscription is active and have counsel confirm what you may keep and use afterward.
Can a former estimator take our labor units to a competitor?
Taking confidential company information can create liability under trade secret law and employment agreements, but outcomes depend on the facts, the agreements and the protective measures you used. Strong confidentiality terms, limited export rights and prompt offboarding reduce the risk. Ask counsel if you suspect a problem.
Is our bid history confidential to the general contractor?
Your bid prices are your own records, but bid invitations, NDAs and subcontracts may impose confidentiality terms on project information. Before sharing or licensing bid history, remove project names, owner details and anything received under a confidentiality obligation, and check the terms that applied to those bids.
Do distributor price feeds belong to us?
Usually not. Material price feeds are typically licensed for use inside your estimating software, and their terms may limit storage or sharing outside it. Keep pricing data separate from your own labor and bid records whenever you export or license anything.
Does selling the company transfer our estimating database?
The company's own records, including adjusted labor units and bid history, usually stay with the business in a stock sale and can be listed as assets in an asset sale. The vendor license is a separate question: many software licenses restrict assignment, so a buyer may need the vendor's consent or a new subscription.
Sources
- Under 18 U.S.C. 1839(3), information qualifies as a trade secret only if the owner has taken reasonable measures to keep it secret and it derives independent economic value from not being generally known or readily ascertainable through proper means. Source
- DOJ guidance states trade secret protective measures need not be absolute but must be reasonable under the circumstances, citing need-to-know access and confidentiality agreements as examples. Source
- 17 U.S.C. 201(b) provides that for a work made for hire the employer is considered the author and, unless a signed written instrument says otherwise, owns all rights in the copyright. Source
- Copyright Office Circular 30 explains that a commissioned work is a work made for hire only in certain statutory categories and under an express written agreement. Source
- AIA A201-2017 Section 1.5.1 states the Architect and its consultants are the authors and owners of their Instruments of Service, and contractors, subcontractors and suppliers shall not own or claim a copyright in them. Source
- AIA A201-2017 Section 1.5.2 authorizes contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to use the Instruments of Service only for performing the Work. Source
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