Comparison
eMullion vs Excel
Excel is the tool every Division 08 estimator already knows: free-ish, flexible, and good enough to get a bid out the door. But the spreadsheet quietly costs you: stale manufacturer pricing, hand-keyed takeoffs, and the same job rebuilt three times from quote to submittal to order. eMullion is purpose-built CPQ for commercial doors, frames and hardware: one structured job, maintained price books, zero re-keying. Here's the honest comparison.
The bottom line
If you bid real volume, eMullion wins.
Excel is the flexible, no-cost tool everyone already knows. eMullion is the purpose-built system that keeps your pricing current, cuts the transcription errors that eat margin, and carries one job from takeoff straight through to the order.
Pricing that's never stale
150+ manufacturer books maintained for you, so you never bid off last year's numbers.
Fewer costly mistakes
Structured takeoff and automatic pricing kill the transcription errors spreadsheets hide.
One job, end to end
Takeoff flows to proposal, submittal and order. No rebuilding the same bid three times.
Side by side
eMullion vs Excel, line by line
| Feature | eMullion | Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Built for Division 08 | Purpose-built for doors, frames and hardware, end to end | A blank grid you have to build and maintain yourself |
| Maintained price books | 150+ manufacturer books kept current for you | You build, chase and update every catalog by hand |
| Takeoff & estimating | Structured bulk takeoff with automatic, current pricing | Manual entry, only as accurate as the last person to touch it |
| Bid proposals | Generated straight from the worksheet | Built by hand or from a template you maintain |
| Submittals & drawings | Built into the same workflow | A separate tool, or not at all |
| Order & change management | The same data carries through to the order | Re-keyed into other systems, change by change |
| Accounting integration | Syncs with common accounting/ERP systems | Manual export, or copy-paste |
| Audit trail & versioning | Every job and change tracked in one place | Whatever the last saved file remembers |
| Cost to start | An upfront investment that pays back in hours and accuracy | Low up front. The cost shows up later in rework |
| Learning curve | New software, with onboarding included | Everyone already knows it |
Why eMullion wins
- Price books maintained across 150+ manufacturers, so part numbers, finishes and pricing stay current without anyone babysitting a workbook.
- Structured takeoff and automatic pricing cut the transcription errors that creep into hand-built spreadsheets, the kind that quietly turn a won bid into a loss.
- One job carries from takeoff to proposal to submittal to order, instead of re-keying the same opening into three places and hoping they match.
- Submittals, drawings, change orders and accounting sync all live in the same system, not scattered across files, folders and someone's desktop.
Where Excel still earns credit
- Nothing new to buy or roll out, and no vendor in the loop.
- Total flexibility: you can model any oddball one-off exactly how you want.
- Everyone on the team already knows how to use it.
- Opens anywhere, offline, with no login required.
Choose eMullion if
You bid steady volume, pricing against manufacturer books that change, and you're tired of losing hours, and the occasional job, to stale catalogs, re-keying and spreadsheet errors. This is almost every growing distributor.
Excel might still do if
You quote a handful of simple openings a month, the flexibility matters more than the rework, and the volume just doesn't justify a system yet. For everyone past that point, the spreadsheet is costing more than it saves.
Frequently asked questions
Is Excel really good enough for door and hardware estimating?
What does moving off Excel actually cost me?
Can eMullion import my existing spreadsheets?
The platform
Explore eMullion, module by module
Ready when you are
See eMullion on your own jobs
A 45-minute demo walks your takeoff, pricing and submittals through the software, with your catalogs, not a canned deck.
HM door + frame · HW-12