Basecamp is a web-based project-management tool. Basecamp offers features standard to project management platforms, as well as mobile accessibility, unlimited users, and 3rd party integrations. Basecamp is priced by space requirements and concurrent projects.
$15
per month per user
CoConstruct
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
CoConstruct, from Buildertrend since the November 2021 acquisition, is a custom builder & remodeler software. It allows users to enter data once and have that information flow through the estimate, specs, selections, bids, proposals, change orders, and budgets, including to and from QuickBooks. In addition, CoConstruct includes scheduling and 3-way communication between builder, client, and trade partners. Everything is captured via email and texting. Login isn't required for…
$49
per month
Pricing
Basecamp
CoConstruct
Editions & Modules
Basecamp Plus
$15
per month per user
Basecamp Pro Unlimited
$299
per month (billed annually)
Basecamp Free
Free
Limited Capabilities
Ramp
$49
per month
Plus 5
$299
per month
Plus 10
$399
per month
Plus 15
$499
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Basecamp
CoConstruct
Free Trial
Yes
No
Free/Freemium Version
Yes
No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
No
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
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CoConstruct pricing is based on active job sites that have client access online, which means it is adaptable to builders & remodelers businesses. This means that there are an unlimited amount of projects available for estimates and proposals, so that customers only pay when they win a contract. Also built into the pricing are a myriad of services: a dedicated implementation coach, free estimate & scheduling templates based on industry best practices from successful builders and the NAHB, unlimited storage and users, software branded with the customer's logo, unlimited amount of warranty projects, and unlimited phone & email support. The vendor offers a money-back guarantee that is good for the first 90 days of service.
We used Basecamp for two years in conjunction with CoConstruct, to make up for the team communication CoConstruct lacks. Basecamp was excellent for that purpose. We also used it to get quick, simple approvals for change orders, because CoConstruct did not have a simple method …
CoConstruct has no CRM or ability to search the system for information, and the team collaboration and tasks either don't work or don't work well across the board.
For the things that CoConstruct does, it does well, but the things it lacks in it might as well not do at all.
Basecamp is a wonderful tool for teams of varying degrees of technical knowledge, teams managing lots of different types of "agifall" and waterfall projects, and teams that are remotely distributed. It's probably less useful for more strictly agile-focused development teams, compared to other more flexible software applications like Jira and Asana.
Having the ability to completely manage a project from start to finish with one app is super helpful. The time reporting feature (when it works correctly) is a nice added bonus as it allows employees to switch from one task to another on the same project or to another project and task with ease, aiding in the accounting process of the total project. This was helpful for running analytics to see where we were spending too much time on certain tasks, thus allowing us to assess any training needs.
Task management - It is very easy to add, organize and discuss tasks within Basecamp's interface.
The "Campfire" function is great for communicating when you just have a quick question for someone on the team.
Notifications - Basecamp lets you decide how often and about what you'd like to be notified. The ability to respond to messages in Basecamp directly via email saves a lot of time.
The integration of all aspects needed to run a remodeling company efficiently: project scheduling and management, financial planning and customer service. Since it’s an all-in-one suite and cloud-based, it enables our team to keep track of all our projects in real-time. Communication breakdown is the last thing we want, so being on the same page is not only desirable but makes for the best possible relationship with our clients.
Product education - We like how CoConstruct helps new users and get them to start using the tool right away. The dashboard resource materials are incredibly useful. We don’t have to spend a lot of time training new hires on the system and onboarding new clients.
High Learning Curve. It's true that it can be easy to use, but to use well and effectively takes some time to learn. It's recommended to have an agreed-upon system in your team of what tools to use and when.
Notification Overload. If people aren't careful they could send a notification to everyone when only a couple people were meant to be prompted. And since emails are sent by default, you could have your mailbox overloaded with unnecessary updates. This is where it takes a bit of training in your team to have an agreed-upon system.
Lack of organization with Archived Projects. I will often need to reference an archived project to make a new one, but there is only a list of archived projects in alphabetical order, with no way to organize by archive date, or even search.
Internal Communication - CoConstruct lacks the ability to tag-team members for internal communication using @mentions or any other means. This has been crippling for us and forced us to use alternative software for communicating among our team members.
Pipeline Management - CoConstruct's lead-tracking system feels clunky and hard to navigate and doesn't provide a pipeline view that's easy to navigate. We have moved our Pipeline Management outside of CoConstruct to make it easier for our sales team to track leads.
CRM - CoConstruct doesn't offer anything for customer follow-up after projects are completed. This, in addition to the lack of an effective pipeline system, has led to our decision to use Hubspot as our CRM. Moving projects into CoConstruct for Design and back our after Production.
When I bring new people onto a project, it's immediately obvious how to use Basecamp. I don't have to worry about teaching them the features or walking them through it, it's just incredibly user-friendly. For this reason, I'll continue to renew my subscription even as new people are brought onto production jobs or the client changes.
It is easy to use, even for clients who have no experience with the platform. It can only get a little cumbersome to ensure that a client can't see certain documents you might want to keep in the Docs & Files folders. And sometimes, getting a client to actually use an unfamiliar platform can be a challenge.
I've never experienced downtime while using Basecamp, or been unable to access it when I needed it. That's not to say they've never had downtime, but I've been lucky enough not to encounter any, and I work odd hours, including late nights when maintenance is often undertaken.
For the many reasons I've given, Basecamp is a very strong program. There are a few features I can imagine that might make it even better, but I don't have a basis for comparison to be able to say that there is definitely a better one out there. I've noticed that Basecamp has evolved a bit from the time I started using it until now, so that makes me think that the producer of this program values it and believes in continuous improvement. If you could use the features offered by Basecamp, I would think you could use it with confidence.
The support staff is brilliant; they don't operate on Australian time, so you can't just dial up support when you need it. The response times are quick, and the staff is knowledgeable. They are also well versed in most of the differences between buildings in the US and the building in Australasia. Despite their funny accents and strange use of the English language, we get by just fine!
Decide the process before implementation - i.e. when it's due 8/9 does that mean 8am, noon, 5pm, 11:59pm? Check your to-do list frequently Set-up templates - just not with the dates (they can be funky)
Pretty good, but [Basecamp] has its drawbacks. Honestly I find the interface non-intuitive and sometimes have trouble figuring out how to change the status of a task. Perhaps it has something to do with the way it was originally set up by the admin, but I'm not sure. I liked Jira's drag and drop obvious functionality, but the project management side of the software was lacking. Smartsheet has excellent project management functionality, but the task management isn't as good.
Products like Procore and PlanGrid are geared towards projects with huge projects teams, multiple stakeholders and dozens of subcontractors. CoConstruct can be used for projects big and small (value) and also with small project teams or large projects teams. For small partial renovation or addition projects CoConstruct is a good more cost effective option.
It has saved me time when having to get the same message out to multiple restaurants
It has helped us make smarter operational decisions because we can all collaborate on an answer in a shorter amount of time (instead of calling a meeting!!!)
The calendar function allows us to plot out our marketing agenda for the month and add/change it together as needed. The chef will post his recipe, the managers will cost it out, the social media manager will post pictures on it, and ultimately we will get that information out on an info sheet to the staff by printing the page.
