BD Estimator

How to install

Windows 10 and 11 · 64-bit · no administrator password needed

Two or three minutes

01Downloading and installing

  1. Download the file Go to bdestimator.com and press Download for Windows. The file is called BD-Estimator-Setup-1.0.0.exe and is about 80 MB — worth knowing if you are on mobile data.
  2. Double-click the file It is usually in Downloads. Your browser will also list it, at the bottom of the window or at the top right.
  3. If a blue screen appears, see section 02 below It can come up the first time. It is not a virus warning, and there is a way past it.
  4. Wait for it to finish It will not ask where to put itself and will not ask for an administrator password. It installs inside your own account.
  5. Open BD Estimator Type BD Estimator into the Start menu, or double-click the desktop icon. The first launch takes a few seconds while it reads every rate in the books.
No money is needed yet

The whole program runs for fourteen days with no key, no card and no registration. Buy it after that, if it has earned it.

02If “Windows protected your PC” appears

Windows may show this blue screen the first time you install:

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Windows protected your PC
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen prevented an unrecognised app from starting. Running this app might put your PC at risk. More info Don't run

What to do:

  1. Press More infoIt is set in small type and easy to miss.
  2. Press Run anywayA new button appears, and the install begins.
Why it appears

Windows keeps a reputation score for every new program, and that score only rises once a large number of people have installed it. A new program starts at zero, which is what this screen is reporting. It has nothing to do with anything found on your computer.

It will not come back once this is installed — later updates are fetched by the software itself, and that path does not show this screen.

If an office computer blocks it

Many government and corporate machines are set by policy to refuse new software, and on those the Run anyway button does not appear at all. That is not something we can change from here — your IT department would have to allow it.

03Where your files are kept

Estimates, templates, your own rate lists and the licence all sit on your own computer, here:

C:\Users\<your name>\AppData\Roaming\BD Estimator

BD Estimator can open it for you — Help → Where are my files? in the menu bar at the top of the window.

An update loses nothing

Installing a new version does not touch that folder. It survives uninstalling the software as well, and is picked up again if you reinstall.

04Updates

Shortly after it opens, the software looks to see whether a new version has appeared — not more than once a day. If one has, it asks, and it will not download without your say-so. With no internet it says nothing at all and carries on as normal.

To look yourself: Help → Check for updates in the menu bar.

05If something goes wrong

What you are seeingWhat to do
The installer will not start Check the file downloaded completely — it is about 80 MB. A half-downloaded file will not run; delete it and download again.
An antivirus is blocking it Add the file as an exception. If an antivirus flags it wrongly, tell us and we will report it to them.
A white screen after it opens Close it and open it again. Tell us if it keeps happening.
You cannot type into any field Minimise the window and restore it. This was fixed in version 1.0.0; if you are on an older build, update.
A licence key is refused Paste it exactly, with no extra space at either end. It needs an internet connection.
The easiest way to tell us

From inside the program: ⋯ → Report a problem. That attaches the software version and the Windows version for you — without them we can work nothing out. Nothing from your estimate is sent, and you are shown exactly what will go before it does.

Otherwise write to support@bdestimator.com.