HeavyBid Reviews

Have experience with other software estimating systems.

Comments: I have had 15 plus years experience setting up Heavy bid with two different companies. I changed jobs to another company that had Sharpesoft. Support was awful. When ODOT and PENNDOT changed the electronic formatting a few years ago, it was very frustrating because Sharpesoft didn't keep up. It was a nightmare. I did change companies once again & I am a very happy user of HCSS Heavy bid.

Pros:

Easy to incorporate to the type of work you do. It is only limited to your imagination.

Cons:

I think the review can be updated to be easier to see what has been reviewed. I talked about it at our users meeting in Houston earlier this year. I was told it has been brought up and the software engineers are looking into it. That is a great thing with HCSS..... taking users comments and making the software better.

Timecard, material and equipment tracking

Comments: With heavy job, we were able to transition our export files to a new payroll system when we made a change. Customer service was excellent at guiding us through the process.

Pros:

This software is so easy to set-up, from adding employees, job classifications, to merging employees into the job, to exporting timecards. The setup flow just make sense. Works great for those who have crews out in the field, foremen can use their tablets to record time, material and equipment used on the job and submit. No more paper time cards to do manual entry with.

Cons:

This software has "user licenses" you have to buy, so at times they may all be used by other users in the company. It does allow you to "boot" them off, but you better make sure they are not in the middle of something if you do or they will lose the information. A quick phone call to ask if they can log out is best.

A functional software for mid size GCs or sub-contractors.

Pros:

Very functional for companies who bid similar project and can get advantage of the recording system of the software. Plus the ability of identifying the calendar per item is very useful.

Cons:

When the size of the project is big, it doesn't work properly. You have to be careful about your initial coding system. if you decide to change in the middle of the bid, that would create a nightmare. There are a lot of reporting systems, but it depends on all child and parent item. for a simple report if you have many child (level 4,5,6) items, you are not able to see them in the report and you need to transfer everything into excel and using functions and prepare it for the closing.

HCSS Heavy Bid is the Heavy Lifter for Highway Construction

Comments: HCSS Heavy Bid is one of the most widely used estimating software for heavy-civil construction.

Pros:

The advance calculation routines and checks allow me to have confidence in my costing and pricing. The escalation features is time saver, especially at bid time when final scheduling is provided. HCSS customer service is the best. Never been on hold or transferred. Immediate connection to a friendly person who can help.

Cons:

There is a steep learning curve, however, they host user group meeting that can bring beginners up to speed quickly.

HeavyBid

Comments: Like any software it isn't what you are used to, but, once you understand HCSS software (HeavyBid & HeavyJob) it is extremely helpful to managing work both prior during bids, during, and after as a resource for labor rates etc.

Pros:

Great for CIVIL work. Lots of helpful shortcuts, like the fact it automatically pins most recent jobs to the main screen (you can also pin bids manually to always be on that screen). HCSS doesn't just hire techs to go around and tech the software they hire real construction professionals that have experience in both the software and industry which is very helpful.

Cons:

Worst part about the software is the error sounds it makes when you forget to fill out a field and try to move onto a new task (that can be shut off). Great for both new bids and pricing COR work and managing budgets (with the help of HeavyJob in the field)

I used Heavy Bid regularly for almost 6 years and it was great.

Comments: i makes bids more accurate and consistent

Pros:

It was the first bidding software that I ever used and it seemed very intimidating at first but it was very simple to get the hang of after a very short period of time. Their live help line is amazing and they are so good at helping an new and seasoned user.

Cons:

You can only have so many administrators and i worked in a very large office so if something needed changed as far as rates or crews it wasn't always convenient to get it changed

The BEST Estimating Software

Comments: I have been a HeavyBid Advanced user for over 14 years now and its amazing to see how far this small company from Texas has come. I still remember when we ordered the software and a representative from the company came to our main office in CT and over the course of 2 days went over everything from setting up labor, benefits, burden, equipment, crews, bid items (manual entry and DOT import), etc. to showing us how to enter activities into bid items and actually creating an estimate. Such a great overall experience from the early stages of implementation to the countless support center calls at all hours of the day and night before a bid (which were always answered) up to the present day where all of the above is still true today.

Pros:

Unmatched customer support, ease of use and the ecosystem of programs/applications on multiple platforms that integrate perfectly with each other and will only grow with your company.

Cons:

Recently I purchased an iPad Pro 12.9" pretty much for the sole purpose of using a handfull of apps such as Projectwise, Bluebeam Revu and HeavyBid Mobile. Well, after emailing HCSS Support I find out that HeavyBid Mobile is no longer supported. I was looking forward to trying something different with HeavyBid on the go, even if it wasn't the full blown version.

HCSS Heavybid is the best product on the market.

Comments: Look no further, write the check.

Pros:

The power of the system, the ability to manipulate and quickly adjust pricing. Customer support is un-stumpable. The ability to import data from previous bids makes the estimating process fast and accurate.

Cons:

As with anything this powerful, you must dedicate the time to learn the system. The ideal program is to bring in a trainer once a month for 6 months to grow and groom the new user.

Limited Fields are Biggest Negative

Comments: It's great for most estimating functions and it is super easy to copy files. However, the limited description is such a drawback it would probably preclude me from actully recommedning it to others in my field who would invariably run into the same issue.

Pros:

It offers lots of options for how to enter bid items. The modules talk to each other well so information does not have to be entered numerous times.

Cons:

The character limit in the description field is the most aggravating quality. I enter descriptions that are sometimes three lines long and they don't fit. I have to make up absurd abbreviations because my estimators don't like the Alternate Description feature as they have to toggel between them.

We use heavybid since 10 years and are very satisfied

Comments: Very useful, save us a lot of time in our estimating process

Pros:

Service and formation are great, software is improved every year, it saves us a huge amount of time in our estimating process

Cons:

From Texas in english only, although we are working in french in Quebec, some features need to be purchased at an higher price and implementation in a company may be long

The Best Estimating Software I've Ever Used

Pros:

I love how you can preload your labor and equipment cost into the system and only allow certain people to adjust them as union wages go up or inflation hits. This adds to the accuracy of your estimates. I also like how you can pull in quotes from subcontractors and these are stored on the system. The integration to HeavyJob is seamless. This makes bidding the job and managing the budget simple and efficient. The customer support line is extremely useful.

Cons:

It's very expensive and it takes a little while to get set up and can be a little frustrating at first. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes a lot easier and much more efficient and accurate than an Excel sheet.

Great product for tracking time, materials, subs, costs!

Pros:

The ease of use for the tablet users like my foreman or superintendents. This product is a great way to track my crews time, costs of labor and equipment, materials deliveries, subcontractors costs, and progress of the project. With this product I can quickly review my job cost to date on a whole or by an activity level. In addition there is always tech support available for any an all questions.

Cons:

This product doesn't have many flaws. They have really worked hard on getting this system down for the construction industry. The only complaint I have is the integration between the office to cloud and cloud to tablet is sometimes sluggish.

This software gets the job done. With good planning you can have a smooth rollout!!

Pros:

Dispatcher is invaluable for us. Heavyjobs also does a great job of tracking hours. Both save us time and money!

Cons:

We wish it would work seamlessly with our financial management program. Right now, we are manually entering the information.

great software

Comments: use it every day. dont know where i would be without it. even when the rare issue arises, support is always avaialbe and very professional. anyone looking to keep their estimating at top notch needs this program.

Pros:

ease of use and its overall functionality

Cons:

almost too indepth

Building America

Pros:

HCSS allows me to keep all my estimates and bid data in one database. It has the power to expedite and simplify the estimate process so that proper if not advanced analysis can occur.

Cons:

The subcontractor evaluation is limited. I want the ability to see scope items along with pricing information real time on the screen. The additional lines need to have the ability to take text input or additive cost input. Without this ability I have no way of knowing if the $40,000 bid of one contractor includese the same scope as the contractor that bid the same line at $35,000. Attaching a spreadsheet or printing a report is only a partial solution to this issue. I need to see it on the screen. Also, the kiosk stand I filled this out on is too short and not ergonimic...

I have not had an opportunity to find this much detail in any estimating platform in over 20 years of estimating.

Comments: I would highly recommend this to any business that is into production estimating. Once you are set up, and ready to go you can estimate a lot of work using the stored information quickly.

Pros:

The ability for me to create an estimate that can be handed off to a project manager that doesn't have him asking me 100 questions. It is all there for them and helps them get the project started off right.

Cons:

There is a fair amount of learning that goes into it, and if you are not careful about the set up you can really have problems that multiply through the estimate.

HCSS Heavy Bid - Top of the Line Bidding Software

Comments: HCSS Heavy Bid has numerous essential features that other bidding software just do not have. They improve the ease of use and efficiency of almost every part of the process. They also allow for easy integration into their HCSS Heavy Job software, if you win the bid. After having used multiple bidding software, this one stands out as the best.

Pros:

- Ease of use for adding custom items and making changes after the fact - Well laid out and easy to navigate menus - Ability to have multiple tabs open

Cons:

- None

IT Manager - Review

Pros:

As a product, HeavyBid makes estimating quick and accurate. Our estimators' success rate is quite impressive, and I'm sure they're very thankful to have the assistance of a powerful tool. As a vendor, HCSS has the best support and customer relations around, hands down. Their support is one of the best because they are willing to take on any issue and spend as much time as possible to resolve it. Unlike many other vendors I have worked with, they don’t require additional costs for remote support or training during a support session. Their answer rate is very quick, usually only taking 10 minutes to get someone on the phone. Their support staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Their after-hours support is equally impressive. I would highly recommend them based on their support alone.

Cons:

They have always resolved any gripes or dislikes I may have had in the past by listening to customer feedback, improving with updates, or through support calls.

HCSS HeavyBid is Powerful and Effective

Pros:

There is no end to the amount of detail you can get simply into a bid with HeavyBid. Once you figure one part of a project, you never have to do it again on future bids. Once you build an activity, it can be used as a starting point for future work and modified quickly. Once you set up labor, equipment, material, crews, etc. in the system, it is quick, simple, and precise. On the fly changes are easy to make, and I can be sure that my costs are covered. Being on the lower end as far as size contractors who use HeavyBid, i have never felt that i am treated as less important to HCSS than their largest user. HCSS has always been a delight to deal with and I consider them to be an important partner in our business. And they make us feel important to them.

Cons:

The only thing that would make me like it better would be if it were free. But the constant improvements and excellent support make ownership costs easy to justify.

Probably the industry standard for construction estimating software

Pros:

HCSS offers very good 24 hour support. The program is very adaptable to all levels of construction estimating/bidding and can speak to most well known accounting software. Several levels of the software provide more or less detailed options, depending on your requirements

Cons:

Extremely structured and difficult to set up database initially. Upkeep is fairly easy, if your initial setup was performed with some aforethought.

My experience with this product is for Heavy Civil estimating

Pros:

What I like best about this product is the many ways that you can get the same result. I also like that you can customize almost every report to give you what you are looking for.

Cons:

What I do not like about this product is that it can be time consuming and confusing on how certain things are supposed to be entered. sometimes it is not clear what report it is you need to run in order to get the report you want

HeavyBid for Civil Construction

Pros:

What I like best about heavy bid are the automatic features. For example, once we set up quote class with material resource codes it has made are bidding process very efficient. HCSS has the best customer support, if you are a DOT contractor like us and have an issue at midnight they will answer.

Cons:

Some of the reports could be better. They have been making some improvements in the later released.

Great time at the Seattle Heavy Bid 101

Pros:

The functionality is superb and lets you save time by utilizing labor rates, crews, bid items etc. from common taks/jobs as templates. Powerful tool

Cons:

Steep learning curve and non-intuitive interface. It could be much more clear and have a better dashboard. Other than that, pretty stellar.

great product suite

Pros:

great way to submit electronic time cards and production quantities / materials used. the new mobile app release with it's job analysis is great - you can quickly see how jobs are doing in the field instantly

Cons:

there's not much not to like... I wish the export of production quantities to timberline worked - it's causing us to manually enter quantities into accounting software

Worthwhile and successful!

Pros:

Structure and organization to prevent error or doubling up of costs. Useful for both public and private bidding. Review and if/then analysis is very powerful and timely on bid day.

Cons:

Career learning opportunity when using this complex and detailed estimating program. Demands on Head Estimator to manage the program reduce the estimating capacity of that individual.