Cypher1
Electrical estimating and contract costing software for UK contractors
About Cypher1
Cypher1 by SEC Solutions is an electrical and mechanical estimating software suite designed for UK and Ireland contractors. It covers project estimating, contract costing, purchase orders, stock-to-sales tracking, and final accounts, with features like 2D/3D on-screen takeoff, visual assemblies, and what-if margin modeling. SEC Solutions has been serving M&E contractors for over 35 years and offers both on-premise and cloud deployment.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Purpose-built for UK and Irish electrical and mechanical contractors
- Extensive industry-specific pricing and product databases included
- Mature vendor with 35+ years of estimating software experience
- 2D/3D on-screen takeoff removes manual quantity counting
- Flexible deployment: on-premise or cloud
- Free demonstrations at SEC offices, on-site, or remotely
Cons
- Pricing is quote-only with no public list prices
- Targeted squarely at UK/Ireland market with limited global relevance
- Windows-only; no native macOS support
- Interface is functional rather than modern compared with newer cloud-first tools
- Smaller community and third-party ecosystem than global construction software leaders
Key Features
Electrical Estimating
Dedicated estimating workflow for electrical contractors with wholesaler-specific pricing
On-Screen 2D/3D Takeoff
Take off quantities directly from PDF or CAD drawings without manual counting
Contract Costing
Track labor, materials, and profit against estimates throughout the project lifecycle
What-If Modeling
Adjust discounts, margins, and labor rates on the fly to see impact on project profitability
Visual Assemblies
Reusable pre-priced assemblies for common installations speed up repetitive estimating
Wholesaler Discount Import
Import preferential wholesaler discounts via Excel for precise material costing
Historical Price Database
Reference past projects and pricing data to refine future estimates
Proposal Generator
Produce branded, client-ready quotations directly from the estimate
Excel Integration
Bidirectional Excel integration for data import, export, and custom analysis
Dual-Monitor Interface
Split-screen and dual-monitor layouts tuned for professional estimators
Pricing
- Electrical estimating
- Contract costing
- 2D/3D takeoff
- Visual assemblies
- Historical database
- Proposal generator
- Excel integration
- On-premise or cloud deployment
Best For
Electrical Contracting
Produce accurate estimates and tender documents for commercial and industrial electrical installations
Mechanical Contracting
Estimate HVAC, plumbing, and pipework projects with industry-specific assemblies
Contract Costing
Track live project costs against the estimate to control margins and cash flow
Tender Response
Generate branded proposals and BoQ exports directly from the estimating data
Multi-Estimator Teams
Share historical pricing, assemblies, and databases across an in-house estimating team
