Elk Electrical started out the usual way, as a man in a van, in 2015.
Over the years, owner Shaun Bates has built the business and carried out work on some big projects, from shopping centre renovations to large infrastructure projects across South East Queensland.
Like many growing electrical businesses, success also brought new pressure behind the scenes. More projects meant more admin, more estimating, more moving parts, and longer hours trying to hold everything together.
The challenge wasn’t a lack of work — it was finding systems that could support growth without creating chaos.
Day spills into night
In the early days, evenings were often spent catching up on admin long after the workday was done.
Manually entering costs, organising paperwork, and booking jobs regularly stretched late into the night. As Shaun explained, it eventually became unsustainable.
“Looking back, trying to somehow load all the jobs into Xero at midnight, it wasn’t ideal for anyone”
- Shaun Bates, Managing Director | Elk Electrical
There was often uncertainty around the systems they had at the time. Was all the work and associated costs being captured? Was the business getting a clear picture of project profitability?
We hear the same story often.
The fork in the road
It was when Shaun began a family that he started asking himself some serious questions. He distinctly remembers the moment that the need to make a decision became obvious.
Chip away and remain a small outfit or double down and build a serious electrical business?
Building a serious business and being able to spend time with the family easily have the potential to conflict, unless you put the right infrastructure in place.
Estimating for the future
Once the decision to go all in had been made, it was time to evaluate the systems that could sustain the growth.
First port of call was to make sure they were using their JMS (Job Management System - Simpro) as much as possible.
Then, estimating.
Shaun’s father had been an experienced project manager before taking the reins as Elk's estimator. His tried-and-true methods for pricing up jobs worked well. Experience, paper, highlighters and spreadsheets had served their purpose well.
Once he announced his plan to retire, it was time to pass the reins onto the next staff member ready to fill his shoes.
“We had to reflect on what has got us here, is that going to get us there?"
- Shaun.
Tom had been working with Elk for a while, working his way up the ranks. He understood the business and the industry well, so Shaun asked if he’d like to become the full-time estimator.
They looked at Groundplan. Despite Tom spending very little time with a computer, having been on the tools since he left school. The software needed to be intuitive.
Visibility for everyone
Over time, Groundplan became part of a broader workflow that included as-builts, pre-site markups, revisions, and improved communication between office staff and on-site electricians.
It has also improved visibility internally. Because markups and takeoffs are clearly documented in the software, anyone stepping into a project can quickly understand where things stand.
“Using drawings and stuff, it can get confusing when you’re trying to do a takeoff, or you’ve missed things. At least with Groundplan you can see exactly what you’ve got and double-check everything.”
- Tom Robinson, Head Estimator | Elk Electrical.
For Tom, who moved from working on the tools to estimating, the system's simplicity made a major difference.
Handover for the team on-site
During pre-construction, there are always conversations, clarifications, and decisions that never quite make it onto the engineer’s final drawings. Previously, that information lived in handwritten notes, phone calls, or marked-up paper plans.
Now the team creates their own revisions directly inside Groundplan, adding notes and updates onto the plans before handing them over to site crews.
“Now everyone is working from the same updated information, rather than relying on outdated drawings or on-site verbal instructions”.
- Tom.
The result is much clearer communication across the business.
Important details such as beam locations, transformer positions, switch wire locations, and wet-area constraints are clearly documented and shared with the team.
When client changes inevitably occur, updated drawings can be issued quickly to keep everyone aligned.
Instead of messy pencil markups and conflicting plan sets, the team now has a much cleaner, more professional workflow from the office to the site with everyone literally on the same page.
Clarity for everyone
From estimating and project planning through to construction handover and fit-off, Groundplan has helped the team improve visibility, communication, and consistency across every stage of a project.
And perhaps most importantly, it has helped replace the late nights and manual processes that often hold growing businesses back.
Because when plans are clear, communication becomes clearer for everyone involved.
Thankyou to Elk Electrical
We’d like to thank Shaun and Tom at Elk Electrical for their time and for sharing their story and experience.
Visit: ElkElectrical.com.au
