HCSS CONSTRUCTION SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS REVIEW
REVIEW SUMMARY |
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A.J. Workshop is a residential contractor that renovates historic and domestic properties. For the past year, it has been using Heavybid for "estimating materials, labor and equipment, etc., for quotation purposes, and job costing on completion of contracts."
"We had looked at various contractor software solutions available in New Zealand, but had not found any that were suitable for our specific needs," one A.J. Workshop employee said. The company obtained Heavybid from an acquaintance in the U.S. "The sender thought it suitable for our needs, though it has proved to be somewhat more comprehensive in its capabilities than is required in our small company."
The benefits were immediate and substantial. "Time saved is considerable, and there is now a greater degree of accuracy in the estimates of time, materials and other costs required in the preparation of our quotations. This has boosted our competitive edge in our niche market."
"We incur less wastage of both time and money, as we can accurately project estimated quantities and costs of materials and labor required in any project. For example, on a recent job we needed an accurate estimate of the expensive special cladding material required. At the end of the job we had minimum wastage. Before we had this software we were obliged to order in excess of actual requirements resulting in inevitable wastage."
"Clearly the best features of the software from our perspective are the estimating and job costing tools. On completed projects since using this software, we estimate that we have halved the time required to prepare our bids, and 20% on the cost of completing projects."
As a result of saving time and money with Heavybid, A.J. Workshop would recommend the estimating software to "construction companies who want to maximize profitability," and state that "people who are computer literate, that is, who are familiar with word processing, spreadsheets, and databases should be able to use this software effectively."
USER PROFILE |
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| Company: | A.J. Workshop |
| Location: | New Zealand |
| Type of business: | Residential contractor |
| Experience: | 3 years. |
| Software tools used: | Microsoft Office Pro., M.Y.O.B., Heavybid |
| Tool & Version | Heavybid |
REVIEW DETAILS |
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What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
How long have you been using this tool?
Where did you obtain it?
How much did you pay?
How are you using this product?
Why did you pick this product?
Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made this product better)?
Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool, what has changed?
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
What would you change about the product if you could?
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?
Who would you recommend use this tool?
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
Did it take much training (or studying) to learn to use this tool?
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
Overall, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this tool?
What kinds of construction projects do you mostly work on?
Residential -- new/renovation of historic/domestic properties.
One year.
Where did you obtain it?It was in place when I got here
How much did you pay?Unknown.
How are you using this product?Estimating materials, labor and equipment for quotation purposes, and job costing on completion of contracts.
Why did you pick this product?
A colleague thought it was suitable for our needs -- though it has proved to be somewhat more comprehensive in its capabilities than is required in our small company.
Did you look at other tools on the market before picking this one? What was it you didn't like about them (or made this product better)?
We had looked at various job costing and estimating software solutions available in New Zealand but had not found any that were suitable for our specific needs.
Comparing the way you work now with the way you worked before you bought this tool…what has changed?
Time saved is considerable, and and there is now a greater degree of accuracy in the estimates of time, materials and other costs required in the preparation of our quotations. This has boosted our competitive edge in our niche market.
Can you give us an example of a job where this tool really made a difference?
Every project we have. It allows us to save a lot of time on administrative processes.We incur less wastage of both time and money as we can accurately project estimated quantities and costs of materials and labor required in any project. For example, on a recent job we needed an accurate estimate of the expensive special cladding material required. At the end of the job we had minimum wastage. Before we had this software we were obliged to order in excess of actual requirements resulting in inevitable wastage.
Can you estimate how much time or money you saved or other measurable benefits your firm realized using this tool?
On projects completed since we started using this job costing and estimating software, we estimate that we have halved the time required to prepare our bids and reduced by 20% the cost of completing projects.
What are the best features (for your business) in this tool?
In view of the above, clearly the best features of the software from our perspective are the construction estimating and job costing tools.
Do you think it's a fair value for the price you paid?
I am not sure how expensive it was.
Thus far we have not encountered any problems, so would not need to change any aspect of this software.
Are there features that you don't use? Why not?Doubtless we have not yet realized the full potential of this job costing and estimating software in our present limited operations. As our business expands, we may use some of the additional features available in this package.
Who would you recommend use this tool?Construction companies who want to maximize profitability by using the best estimating software available.
How much computer experience do you think someone needs to use this tool effectively?
People who are computer literate, that is who are familiar with word processing, spreadsheets and databases should be able to use this software effectively.
No direct training is required, but there is no doubt that time and application are important to success. We received no actual training before beginning to use the software, but perseverence was the key to success.
Have you ever called the company's support lines and asked for help? What was your experience like?
No. N/A.
How would you rate the user documentation? Is it helpful?
The user documentation enabled us to begin using the software with confidence from the beginning.
When the next version of this software comes out, will you upgrade to it?
Yes, we would ugrade if new features are useful in development of our business and the cost can be justified.
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