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This calculator vs. D-Tools
Two different shapes: D-Tools System Integrator is business-management software for running an AV, security, or low-voltage integration firm's whole design-to-delivery pipeline. This page is a free, private worksheet for one question — what should this one camera install cost, and do the storage, PoE, and cable-run numbers on the quote actually hold up — before you send it.
What each tool is for
D-Tools makes System Integrator (SI), founded in 1998 by Adam Stone and headquartered in Concord, California. SI is business- management software purpose-built for AV, security, and low-voltage integrators: it connects system design (through an AutoCAD or Visio integration for engineered drawings), the bill of materials, procurement, project management, and financial visibility across a whole firm, with an on-premises edition and, since 2019, a cloud edition aimed at smaller projects. It is an account-based platform: a firm signs up and runs its design-to-delivery pipeline through it on an ongoing basis, not a one-off bid worksheet. D-Tools' own pricing page is not reachable from this session to confirm today's exact plan names or dollar figures, so no price for it is invented here: only its well-documented identity and category — business-management and system-design software for the AV, security, and low-voltage integration trade — are stated, and no dollar amount for D-Tools appears on this page.
This calculator does none of what D-Tools does. It draws no CAD layout, tracks no procurement, and stores no customer or job record on a server. It takes one camera job's count and construction type (accessible attic, drop ceiling, masonry, or a lift job), resolution, codec, frame rate and the motion-only share of the day, the retention days you are quoting and the drives you actually plan to buy, the PoE switch's rated budget and each camera's draw, run length, and your loaded installer wage, payroll burden, overhead, and target margin, and turns that into the storage the quoted retention needs versus the days the fitted drives will actually hold, the PoE headroom against an 80% planning ceiling, any run past the 328 ft Ethernet limit, the installed price, the price per camera, the walk-away floor, and a printable customer proposal for that one job. It runs free in any browser, keeps no account, and uploads nothing you type.
| Question | Where to answer it |
|---|---|
| I run an integration firm and need CAD-linked system design, procurement, project management, and financials tracked across every job. | D-Tools, or a comparable business-management platform — running the whole pipeline is not something this calculator does. |
| What should I charge for this camera install, given the drops, cable, construction type, and my own wage and margin? | This calculator — free, instant, private, no account. |
| Will the drives I'm about to buy actually hold the retention days I'm quoting? | This calculator's storage output — the retention the quote needs versus the days the drives deliver, shown separately on purpose. |
| Is the PoE switch about to be overloaded once heaters and a spare port are counted? | This calculator's PoE budget check, flagged at an 80% planning ceiling. |
| Is any run past the point where a mid-span switch, extender, or fibre is needed? | This calculator's run-length check. |
| I need engineered CAD drawings and a bill of materials tied to a project across a whole design team. | D-Tools — built as an ongoing, account-based platform for exactly that job. |
| Do I need to create an account or sign up to use the tool? | This calculator: no. D-Tools is used through a licensed, account-based platform. |
Most integration firms get different value from each: D-Tools (or a comparable business-management platform) for CAD-linked design, procurement, and project management across the whole firm as an ongoing account, and a private calculator like this one for an instant, no-login answer to what one camera job should cost, and whether its storage, PoE, and cable-run numbers hold up, before a business system is involved. This page's own figures are a pricing model, not a project record, a procurement order, or a signed contract.
This tool needs no account and no sign-in: it is a static page, the arithmetic runs in your browser, and once it has loaded it keeps working with the connection off.
Common questions
Should I use this calculator or D-Tools?
They do different jobs, and a security or AV integration firm of any size will likely end up touching both eventually. D-Tools, founded in 1998 by Adam Stone and headquartered in Concord, California, makes System Integrator (SI), business-management software built for AV, security, and low-voltage integrators that ties system design (through AutoCAD or Visio integration), procurement, project execution, and financial visibility together across a whole firm, sold as an ongoing platform with an on-premises product and, since 2019, a cloud edition. This calculator does one narrower thing: starting from camera count and construction type, resolution and codec, frame rate and motion-only share, retention days wanted and the drives you actually plan to buy, switch PoE budget and camera draw, and run length, plus your loaded installer wage, burden, overhead, and target margin, it turns that into the storage the retention needs versus what the drives will actually hold, the PoE headroom against an 80% planning ceiling, any run past the 328 ft Ethernet limit, the installed price, price per camera, and the walk-away floor — before any of it touches a design or business-management system. It runs free in any browser, keeps no account, and uploads nothing you type. An integration firm that already designs systems in CAD, tracks procurement, and runs project management across a whole book of jobs is better served by D-Tools or a comparable platform; an installer who wants an instant, private answer to what one camera job should cost, and whether the storage and PoE numbers on the quote actually hold up, is in the right place here.
Is this page affiliated with D-Tools?
No. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by D-Tools, Inc. D-Tools and System Integrator are trademarks of their owner, named here only to describe what this calculator is and is not.
Open the Security Camera Bid Calculator to price your own job, or read the pricing walkthrough.