Switching Lighting Audit Software: Bring Your Price List and Audit Data
Switching lighting audit software is easier when you separate the information you will reuse from the records you need to retain. Your current product prices and usable fixture schedules can help you prepare the next quote. Previously issued proposals and project photos need a dependable archive.
For distributors and ESCOs considering a move from Retrolux, SnapCount or spreadsheets, the practical question is how to keep quoting while establishing a reliable workflow in the new system.
This guide explains how to bring product pricing and fixture schedules into LumaQuote, check a familiar project, and decide which open jobs to rebuild. It covers catalogue and schedule imports, rather than a direct transfer of another platform’s complete project database.
Start With the Information You Will Reuse
Before importing anything, sort your files by purpose. A product catalogue tells the estimator what they can quote and what it costs. An audit schedule describes what is installed at a particular site. These belong in different parts of the workflow.
Information you have | How to handle it |
Product descriptions and current prices | Import into the product library, then review specifications and pricing |
Existing fixture schedules or spreadsheet audits | Use AI schedule import, then verify the resulting audit lines |
Open jobs with proposals still being developed | Decide individually whether to finish in the current system or rebuild |
Issued proposals, supporting photos and closed jobs | Keep an accessible archive of the original records |
Choose the Products You Actually Quote
Start with the fixtures your team uses regularly: common panels, high bays, strips, exterior products and other relevant replacements. Remove obsolete products and resolve duplicate descriptions before importing.
Keep the original price file unchanged. Work from a copy so you can trace an imported product back to its source and effective price date.
Choose One Familiar Project for Validation
Pick a recent job with a clear fixture schedule and assumptions you understand. It should include enough variation to test the workflow, such as several spaces, different fixture types and at least one installation allowance.
A small, well-documented project is more useful than a large project whose old calculations nobody can explain.
Load Your Price List Into LumaQuote
Open Settings > Product Library > Import catalogue.
You can upload an Excel workbook, select its sheet, upload a CSV, or paste rows. LumaQuote detects headers and matches columns automatically. Description and price are the required fields, and the catalogue import supports up to 5,000 products.
Review the Column Matching
Check the suggested mappings before continuing. Make sure the price column contains the value you intend to use. A distributor export may contain list price, customer price, replacement cost and a promotional price in separate columns.
Where separate specification columns are unavailable, LumaQuote can read wattage, voltage, colour temperature, DLC references, body and size from product descriptions.
Review these extracted values. A description showing a selectable wattage range does not establish which setting will be used on the project. Likewise, a DLC reference in imported text should be checked against the exact product on the DLC Qualified Products Lists when qualification matters to the proposed scope.
Set Cost or Selling Price Correctly
The import lets you identify whether the file contains your cost or your selling price.
Cost: project markup is added when pricing the project.
Selling price: the imported price is used without adding that markup.
For example, a $100 cost with 20% markup produces a $120 selling price. If the file already contains a $120 selling price, treating it as cost would add markup again.
Check this on one familiar product before importing the full list. Also confirm that your team’s pricing rule uses markup rather than gross margin, since the percentages are not interchangeable.
Check the Unit of Measure
Choose whether the prices are per each, per 100 or per 1,000.
A price of $180 per 100 lamps represents $1.80 per lamp. Treating that row as $180 each would distort the quote even if the description and quantity were correct.
Review units before combining supplier files. If one sheet mixes pricing units, normalize the prices in a working copy or separate the rows into imports with a consistent unit.
Resolve the Import Review Results
The review screen groups rows into New, Price changed, No change, Check and Skipped.
Review changed prices and rows marked Check. Download skipped rows, correct the underlying data and import them again as needed. An import completing successfully does not mean every source row became a usable product.
LumaQuote remembers the column layout for subsequent files. When your supplier changes the spreadsheet format or price basis, recheck the mapping rather than assuming the previous layout still applies.
Bring Fixture Schedules Into the Audit
Product pricing and site inventory are separate imports. Load your supplier catalogue into the product library. Bring an existing audit schedule into the Audit tab.
On Pro, open Import with AI > From schedule and upload the audit, fixture schedule or spreadsheet. AI creates audit lines and can infer fixture body and size from descriptions. AI fixture-schedule import is included in LumaQuote’s paid plans.
Prepare a Clear Source Schedule
A schedule is easier to review when each row represents a distinct fixture group with its location and quantity. Where available, preserve:
Area and space names.
Existing fixture descriptions and counts.
Existing system wattage, including ballast where applicable.
Operating hours and the basis for those hours.
Mounting height, voltage and installation notes.
Existing controls and scope exceptions.
Keep installed equipment separate from proposed replacements. A sheet containing both can become ambiguous if it does not clearly identify which columns describe the existing condition.
Review Every Imported Line
The imported audit is a starting point for review. Check descriptions, quantities, locations and wattages against the original schedule.
Look especially for lamp counts interpreted as fixture counts, subtotal rows interpreted as fixtures, and proposed LED wattages assigned to existing equipment.
If the source says “2-lamp T8,” verify whether its quantity means fixtures or lamps and whether its wattage represents the complete fixture. Those distinctions affect both material quantities and savings calculations.
If a line is unclear, correct it from the source record or verify it on site. Do not let an inferred value become a proposal assumption without review.
Switching From Retrolux: Test the File You Have
If you are evaluating a Retrolux alternative, start with the records you can actually access. You may have a usable fixture schedule, a spreadsheet maintained outside the platform, previously issued PDFs or a separate supplier price file.
LumaQuote does not have a dedicated Retrolux importer. A schedule import should not be treated as a transfer of the complete project, including photos, pricing rules, revisions and previously issued proposals.
The practical test is whether your available schedule can produce accurate audit lines after review, and whether your reusable product prices can be established correctly in the catalogue.
The same approach applies when evaluating a SnapCount alternative or moving from a spreadsheet workflow. Test the actual file and resulting records before committing active jobs to the new process.
Rebuild One Job and Compare the Numbers
Use the familiar project you selected to check the complete lighting audit and proposal workflow.
Organize the audit by area > space > fixture. Set area hours and voltage, then check whether any spaces or fixture groups need different assumptions.
Match Replacement Products Deliberately
In Retrofit, switch to By fixture type to select an LED replacement once per type. Catalogue products matching body, size and voltage appear first.
That shortlist helps with selection, but suitability still needs review. Check output, mounting, emergency requirements, dimming and the intended wattage setting. A matching body and voltage do not establish that a product meets the site’s lighting requirements.
Split a fixture group where conditions require a different replacement or installation approach. Keep controls as a separately reviewed opportunity where they fit the project.
Reconcile Inputs Before Comparing Totals
Check | What to compare |
Fixture quantities | Counts by area and fixture group, plus the project total |
Existing and proposed watts | System watts and selected replacement settings |
Operating hours | Annual hours and any local exceptions |
Product pricing | Cost or selling price, unit of measure and markup |
Installation scope | Labour, access equipment, disposal and allowances |
Rebates and taxes | The same amounts, eligibility assumptions and tax basis |
Controls | Equivalent assumptions, with overlapping savings checked |
Payback | The same project-cost basis and annual savings components |
A different result is a reason to investigate. It does not automatically mean either system is wrong. One may use different hours, omit disposal, include maintenance savings or apply a different electricity rate.
Use a Simple Calculation to Find Differences
Consider this illustrative example, not a customer case study:
100 existing fixtures at 64 watts each.
100 proposed fixtures at 30 watts each.
3,000 annual operating hours.
The reduction is 3,400 watts, or 3.4 kW. Annual electricity savings are:
3.4 kW × 3,000 hours = 10,200 kWh
At an assumed avoided electricity cost of $0.15/kWh, that equals $1,530 per year. With an assumed net project cost of $8,000, simple payback is approximately 5.2 years.
This example excludes demand savings, controls, maintenance, financing and taxes. For an actual proposal, use the applicable avoided electricity cost and clearly state what the calculation includes.
If your comparison differs, work backward through quantities, wattages, hours, rates and costs. Match the assumptions before trying to match the final payback.
Export the Details for Review
On Pro, use Full Data Export (CSV) to review the project lines alongside the original schedule. Match records by area, space and fixture description rather than relying on row order.
Compare quantities and assumptions first, then costs and savings. Review the generated proposal as well. The customer-facing scope should agree with the underlying project data.
For guidance on presenting the finished job, see how to build a lighting retrofit proposal.
Decide Which Open Jobs to Move
Rebuilding every open project at once adds unnecessary work. Choose the approach based on the project’s stage and the records available.
Finish Advanced Jobs in the Current Workflow
Where you still have access, a project with an issued proposal and active revisions may be easier to finish in its existing system. Preserve the issued version and record subsequent changes.
If access cannot be retained, archive available records and prioritize the jobs that still require action. Rebuilding those projects needs a deliberate scope and pricing review.
Start New Audits in LumaQuote Field
Once the validation project is checked, use LumaQuote Field for new site audits. Capture areas, spaces, fixture records and photos, then sync to desktop before continuing the estimate.
Use a small first site to check the complete handoff. Confirm the audit has synced and that the desktop records match the field information. The iPad audit-to-desktop guide explains this workflow.
Keep Original Proposals and Photos Accessible
Previously issued proposals and project photos are not brought across by catalogue or schedule import. Keep available copies in a dependable archive, organized by client, site, project and date.
Retain supporting schedules and calculation assumptions with the proposal. A PDF alone may not explain how the original price or savings estimate was developed.
Switch After a Complete Workflow Test
A 30-day overlap can help when access and cost allow it, but the calendar should not determine readiness. A team quoting weekly and a team quoting monthly will complete different amounts of work in that time.
Before making the new workflow your default, complete these checks:
Import and review the product list you will use.
Validate a familiar audit and its calculations.
Capture and sync a new field audit.
Prepare, review and revise a proposal.
Confirm that historical records and remaining open jobs are accessible.
For a distributor or ESCO, ask the person responsible for estimating to review the test, not only the person setting up the software. The workflow needs to be understandable to the team that will use it.
Test Your Own Pricing and Audit Workflow
Start with a current price file and one well-documented audit. That gives you a practical way to assess importing, product selection, calculations and proposal preparation before rebuilding more work.
Review LumaQuote plans for feature access, or contact LumaQuote to discuss your existing file format and the workflow you need to establish.
FAQ: Switching Lighting Audit Software
Can LumaQuote directly import a complete Retrolux project?
No. LumaQuote does not have a dedicated Retrolux importer. Its catalogue and AI schedule imports handle specific pricing and audit inputs. They do not transfer a complete project database, photos or issued proposals.
Can I import an Excel or CSV product price list?
Yes. Use Settings > Product Library > Import catalogue to upload Excel, upload CSV or paste rows. Description and price are required. Review column matching, price basis, units and the import results before using the products in a quote.
How do I avoid adding markup twice?
Identify whether the file contains cost or selling price. Cost receives project markup. Selling price does not. Check a familiar product after import to confirm that its quoted price matches your intended pricing rule.
Can I bring an existing spreadsheet audit into LumaQuote?
On Pro, use Audit > Import with AI > From schedule. Review every resulting line, particularly fixture quantities, locations and system wattages. The schedule creates a starting point for the audit rather than a completed, verified project.
Will my existing photos and proposals move with the schedule?
No. Catalogue and schedule imports do not transfer historical photo collections or previously issued proposals. Keep those records separately. New audits captured in LumaQuote Field can include photos that sync with the field audit.
Why might the savings or payback differ from my old estimate?
Differences can come from fixture counts, wattages, operating hours, electricity rates, pricing, installation scope, rebates or the savings components included. Reconcile those inputs before comparing the final result.
Do I need to rebuild every open job before switching?
No. Where access remains available, finish advanced jobs in the current workflow and start new audits in LumaQuote. Rebuild selected open projects when necessary or useful, and verify their scope, assumptions and pricing before issuing a new proposal.
