Armor Tech Security on cutting estimating time by 75%

We recently caught up with Nick Scicolone, Head of Business Development at Armor Tech Security, a rapidly growing low-voltage and security company based in New Jersey. Since adopting Countfire at the start of 2025, Nick and his team haven’t looked back. In fact, they’ve even coined a phrase in the office – “Thank God for Countfire!”

Nick shared how Countfire has transformed their estimating process, why it’s already become an essential tool for their business, and how our team of ex-estimators brings real industry expertise to the table. 

About Armor Tech Security 

Founded nearly 6 years ago by CEO Abe Zaks and CTO Alex Silver, Armor Tech Security started with a focus on residential projects, predominantly security fittings for houses. Over time, they evolved into a trusted partner for general contractors, real estate developers and large enterprises across northeastern USA. 

Today, the company now specialises in large scale commercial projects including multi-floor office buildings and nationwide supermarket chains. 

Nick joined the team a year ago bringing his background in banking and technology sales to lead business development. Under his leadership, Armor Tech Security has placed a strong emphasis on growth and efficiency, aiming to scale up while maintaining a high-quality service.

The need for a new solution

As Armor Tech Security began to take on larger and more complex projects, the team quickly realised their existing methods for handling takeoffs were inefficient and holding them back from growth. 

Initially, they relied on tools like Bluebeam but found it slow and lacking true automation. Unconvinced by its capabilities, Nick took to Adobe Acrobat, creating his own colour coded keys, manually counting items and hoping he didn’t miss any critical details. However, large projects could easily start to consume the day. A four-floor office building meant meticulously manually counting thousands of security cameras, wireless access points, data jacks, and fire alarm systems. This method was not just time-consuming but prone to human error.

Nick described this process as “caveman, bronze-age type stuff” and knew there had to be a better way. “A big project was taking me the whole day. That’s not ideal when you’re trying to grow a business and be aggressive in the industry”.

Nick explored several estimating solutions, including Togal AI, but ultimately none met his expectations for accuracy and true automation – until an acquaintance in the industry suggested they try Countfire. 

Discovering Countfire 

From the very first demo, Nick was impressed by Countfire and eager to see how it could transform Armor Tech Security’s estimating process.

“I reached out to Countfire, and in less than 24 hours I was speaking with Product Specialist Tom, who gave me a personalised demo and I loved it! I was so excited I invited our CEO and CTO to jump on that call with us to see it for themselves.” 

For Nick, the ability to test a product before committing was crucial – something that had been a major obstacle when evaluating other software solutions. Countfire’s free trial gave his team the time they needed to fully explore its features in a real-world setting on their live projects. 

“Even though we knew we liked it from the demo alone, the free trial just confirmed it – it was like the cherry on top of the cake.” Nick says, “By the time the trial ended, Countfire was already a part of our daily workflow and at that point there was no choice, we had to go with Countfire!” 

At Armor Tech Security, the team have always embraced cutting-edge technology to stay ahead. Despite being a relatively young executive team, Nick at 26, is the oldest member. “We always joke that we’re the ‘boring mid-20-year-olds’ all already married and settled, but we’ve always been very tech-savvy.” 

Having grown up in a digital world, Nick saw firsthand how technology could scale businesses, grow teams, and outperform competitors – making Countfire an obvious choice. 

Since implementing Countfire into the business "we now send out quotes much faster, and our projects are neatly organised and professionally presented. This has increased our chances of landing contracts significantly."

Another aspect that sets Countfire apart, according to Nick, is its commitment to continuous improvement. The platform allows users to vote on feature requests, creating a collaborative environment where the software evolves based on the real-world needs of its customers. Nick and his team feel like active participants in the product’s development, not just passive users.

Industry expertise

One of the biggest standout features for Armor Tech Security is Countfire’s hands-on support. Nick describes the customer service as “fantastic”, highlighting how the support goes beyond static FAQ pages or generic step-by-step guides. 

Instead, the team at Countfire take a personalised approach, often using tailored screen recordings and videos to walk customers through their live projects. "The support has been great. Both Katie and Tom answered our questions and sent over videos to guide us through any challenges we faced when initially using the software."

Beyond this, Nick also emphasises the value of Countfire’s industry expertise and insights from those who truly understand their challenges: 

“What you’re getting with Countfire is ex-estimators who know the electrical estimating business. They have so much expertise, and their background as estimators means they understand our needs and that’s been really beneficial for us.”

Final thoughts

When asked what advice he’d give to electrical estimators frustrated with their takeoff process, Nick’s recommendation is clear: book a demo, ask plenty of questions, explore the free trial, and involve senior decision-makers early on. This ensures everyone is aligned and can see the value of Countfire firsthand. The results? Game-changing. 

For Nick and his team at Armor Tech Security, Countfire has completely transformed their approach and flipped the script on takeoffs: 

“It's changed the game. Everything's faster. Takeoffs are no longer stressful. Projects that used to take me four hours now take me less than an hour. We can’t wait for Countfire to make us a lot of money. As we say on my team – thank God for Counfire!”

Start your free trial today and book a demo with a product specialist to see how true automation can transform your electrical estimating process. 

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