HeavyBid Pricing, Features, Reviews & Comparison of Alternatives

Pros

This tool is very powerful. Given good input data/information, cost management and projection have been revolutionized. As a project manager, I find this tool to be highly valuable. The future of construction management is bright.

Cons

HCSS has heavily marketed this to upper management at construction companies as a tool to be used in the field by foremen to enter all information needed to track all project costs. The selling point is that all data entry is completed by the time it reaches the project engineer/manager so that those employees can spend their time reviewing the data - data which has already been analyzed for you by the HeavyJob tool.
The problem here is how much time and effort it takes to manage the foremen and the data/information that they submit. "Garbage in, garbage out" comes to mind. A project management team cannot use this as a tool for cost management if the information upfront is not good. A lot of time and money is spent managing the information input and less time on the information output, as HeavyJob is marketed. Most of what I have seen are construction companies using HeavyJob as a "glorified electronic timecard," when it really can do so much more.
I am hopeful that with new generations of foremen coming up through the ranks, we will eventually get there, but it will take a while, unless your company is willing to invest in a lot of foremen training (and follow up training).

Pros

Product: This is a very fast, user-friendly, automated estimating and bidding system that is particularly effective for Unit-Price contracts. It allows quick creation of accurate estimates, accommodates variations in quantities, allows risk evaluation on an item-by-item basis, and provides the means to price individual bid items so that they reflect the bidder's assessments of quantity, value, and risk for each item.

Vendor: HCSS sets the standard for customer support. There is no software company anywhere, of any type, with whom I have had contact that comes even close to the responsiveness and excellence of HCSS' technical support. It is extremely rare that a call is not answered before the third ring by a human who understands the problem (no matter how arcane) and who has the right answer, without sending me to a second- or third-level technician. The professionalism and expertise of the Technical Support team are near-perfect. I tell people whom I am training that if they get stuck on a problem for more than three minutes, they should call Tech Support. The person who answers will have the problem solved, and the estimator will be back in production nearly instantaneously.

Cons

There is little to dislike in a system that works so well and with a technical support team that is so knowledgeable. HCSS takes suggestions from its users and implements them in new releases of the software so that the system is always cutting-edge and fulfills its users' expectations. The system seems expensive to purchase and maintain, at least to the non-using evaluator, but the confidence in the accuracy of the estimate, the outstanding technical support, and the continuous improvement of the software will provide confidence that offsets cost. One caught and corrected mistake that that would have gone unnoticed without HeavyBid's analysis tools, could pay for a dozen licenses for years.

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.

Pros

I have used this system since the DOS days. Todays system and its various styles of reports provide us with quick turn around times in responding to our clients needs. The 24 hour support service is no joke. We introduce HCSS to clients all over the world and with time zone differences of 6 to 13 hours we have called upon theses services at 1 AM and 3AM when we have proposals due in Qatar, Dubai and Zurich.

Cons

The 24 hour service that is so good is also frustrating. Because of HCSS's commitments to its client base our commitments to our clients sometimes suffers as it appears that the 24 hour hot line only travels with one HCSS representative For some reason it always happens to our firm. You need to be able to answer our calls so we can respond and answer our client's issues.

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.