Canadian electrical estimating software, priced in CAD

VOLTA is Canadian electrical estimating software for contractors who bid to the Canadian Electrical Code and get paid in Canadian dollars: $9.99 CAD a month after a 30-day trial, built in British Columbia, in English and French. This hub covers electrical estimating Canada-wide, from CAD pricing and GST/HST to the code edition each province enforces, and compares VOLTA with the US-priced electrical suites and with general Canadian construction estimating software.

On this page: Software and price · Quotes and tax · Takeoff · The CEC · Provinces · Labour rates · Comparisons · Checklist · FAQ · Sources

Electrical estimating software Canada-wide: one CAD price in every province

VOLTA reads your PDF drawings in the browser, drafts the takeoff, prices it with Canadian rate defaults and turns it into a client-ready quote. There is one plan: a 30-day trial, then $9.99 CAD a month plus applicable tax, with GST/HST added at checkout for your province. No tiers, no per-seat charges, no sales call, and you can cancel month to month. Every labour rate, markup and tax percentage is a setting you change, so a shop in Halifax prices with the same tool as a shop in Kelowna.

The landscape, priced in CAD

Full head-to-heads: VOLTA vs. Accubid · VOLTA vs. McCormick · VOLTA vs. ConEst.

Electrical quote software Canada's small shops can learn in an evening

The quote is where Canadian details either show up or get missed. VOLTA's quotes come in several layouts, including a formal letterhead that puts the price first, then the scope of work, a labour-hour allocation and a terms box you edit for each job, with suggested clauses chosen from the quote's own scope. Client totals are shown tax-included, in English or French.

GST, HST and PST: get this right in the bid

GST (5%) applies across Canada; HST provinces roll provincial tax into one combined rate. Your quote should show the client the tax-included total so the cheque matches the paper. In BC, PST (7%) can additionally apply to materials on real-property contracts — the rules on who pays and when are specific, and the BC government's PST for real-property contractors pages are the source to check. Federally, the CRA's GST/HST for businesses pages cover registration and remittance.

VOLTA's defaults follow the BC pattern — 5% GST on the bid, optional PST on materials — as plain percentages you adjust or switch off for your province.

Electrical takeoff software Canada-based shops can check line by line

Upload the PDF set and VOLTA reads the legend, the schedules and the plan sheets, then drafts the device and fixture counts. The draft is a starting point, not a verdict: each counted line can be opened against the sheet it came from, and any line can be changed or deleted before it prices, and the report explains how the wire and conduit metres were calculated. Conduit and cable are allowances worked out from the device counts, not routes measured on the drawings, and the report says so on every estimate. More on how the reader works: PDF takeoff and what AI takeoff software actually does.

CEC-based assemblies: what VOLTA follows and what you still check

The Canadian Electrical Code, Part I is CSA standard C22.1. CSA Group updates it every three years, and every province and territory references it in its own electrical safety rules, choosing which edition to enforce. VOLTA's assemblies are written for Canadian work: NMD90 for in-suite residential wiring, RW90 conductors in EMT for commercial fit-outs and TECK90 to mechanical equipment. The suggested quote terms include a Codes clause stating that the work is installed to the Canadian Electrical Code as adopted in the province and the requirements of the authority having jurisdiction.

Two checks stay with you. VOLTA does not measure routes, so its wire report marks voltage drop as not checked, and it does not size raceways for conduit fill. Rule 8-102 sets the voltage-drop limits, and the edition and amendments your province enforces set the rest. Our guide to the CEC for estimators covers the edition cycle, the provincial amendments and how they change a takeoff.

Province by province: the code edition you are pricing to

Checked with each regulator on October 16, 2026. The permit date matters as much as the province: in BC, work under a permit issued before March 4, 2025 generally stays on the 2021 edition until it is finished, and mixing sections between editions is not permitted.

Every other province and territory also builds on CSA C22.1 and picks its own edition, so confirm the edition with your provincial authority before you price to it. VOLTA's province guides so far are for BC, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec (in French), linked in the table.

Canadian labour rates: wage ≠ billed rate

The number you pay a journeyperson and the number you bill for their hour are different animals. Published wage data is the floor. On the Government of Canada's Job Bank, the median wage for electricians (NOC 72200) in Canada is $35.00 an hour, with a low of $20.00 and a high of $48.00, for the 2023–2024 reference period. The provincial medians on the same page run from $34.00 in British Columbia and Ontario to $38.00 in Alberta and $41.30 in Quebec, which Job Bank draws from a different data source.

On top of the wage sit burden (WorkSafeBC or your provincial WCB, CPP, EI, vacation), small tools, vehicle, supervision, overhead and margin. VOLTA ships billed-rate reference defaults — labeled as VOLTA's own market estimates, reviewed September 2026 — and every rate is a slider you set to your shop's reality. The full arithmetic is worked through in how to estimate electrical work in Canada.

Is the best construction estimating software Canada offers built for electrical work?

Often it isn't. General construction estimating software is built for the general contractor's view of a job: every trade, one budget. An electrical sub needs assemblies, labour units and panel schedules, which the electrical suites go deep on, at a reported range of $2,500 to $10,000+ per estimator per year. VOLTA sits in between: electrical-only, browser-based and priced for a small shop. Where each one wins is in VOLTA vs. the incumbents and in our roundup of the best electrical estimating software in Canada.

A Canadian buyer's checklist

• Is the price published, in CAD? If you need a sales call to learn the cost, budget negotiation time too.
• Does it handle GST/HST and provincial tax without custom setup?
• Does it name the code edition? The quote should say which CEC edition and provincial amendments the work is priced to.
• Are default rates Canadian — or will you translate US material and labour figures?
• Is there a real trial? Price one actual tender before you commit a year.
• What's the training cost? Courses and onboarding days are part of the price. (Do you need training at all?)
• Do your files stay yours? Estimates you can save, reopen and hand to a partner.

Frequently asked

Sources

Each source was opened and checked on October 16, 2026.

1. CSA Group, Canadian Electrical Code, Part I – Safety Standard for Electrical Installations
2. Technical Safety BC, Information Bulletin: Adoption of BC Electrical Code, 2024 Edition (June 11, 2024)
3. Government of Alberta, Electrical codes and standards
4. Electrical Safety Authority, 2024 Ontario Electrical Safety Code (29th Edition) (November 15, 2024)
5. Régie du bâtiment du Québec, Électricité
6. Government of Canada, Job Bank, Wages: Electrician in Canada (NOC 72200)

Related: The CEC for electrical estimators · What the CEC changes and what estimating software should cost · How to estimate electrical work in Canada · VOLTA for small shops · estimating glossary