Bimx vs. Contractor Foreman

As an ARCHICAD user, this is almost a no-brainer. BIMx is included (although there are some paying options) and works well out-of-the-box. There is little to setup from the ARCHICAD side. You prepare a set of layouts/views and can publish the model on Ine go. The free version focuses on the 3D-model viewer. You publish an interactive model and can walk through it. With the PRO version, you also can publish the "Hyper-Model" - an integration of 2D and 3D views. If you are looking at tuning your own interactivity, e.g. in precisely defining what can happen and what information to show, you cannot customize BIMx that way. You have to look at alternatives, such as game engines or other 3D visualization software.

Incentivized

Contractor Foreman has been a great tool for managing a variety of projects, from home remodels to large-scale builds. It works especially well for keeping everything organized in one place, whether it’s estimates, schedules, or job costs.
One scenario where it’s been really useful is in managing multiple jobs at once. With several remodels and new construction projects happening at the same time, having a centralized system to track progress, store documents, and communicate with subcontractors has helped keep everything on schedule. It’s also great for estimating—being able to quickly generate and send professional proposals has made bidding much more efficient.
It’s especially well-suited for projects that require a lot of moving parts, like tracking permits and compliance documents. For larger jobs, like school construction, it helps ensure that all approvals, budgets, and schedules stay on track without getting lost in a mess of paperwork.
Where it’s less ideal is for smaller, one-off jobs where a full project management system might be overkill. If it’s just a quick repair or a simple remodel, sometimes it’s easier to just handle things manually. The mobile app could also be a bit more intuitive for on-site use, especially for field updates and quick changes.
Overall, it’s a strong tool for contractors managing multiple projects, budgets, and teams. It keeps things organized and saves time, especially on jobs that require detailed tracking and coordination.

• Mix functions together
• calculate the impact of variables
• advanced log book

Incentivized

• Estimate templates for that allow line items a broader scope of an estimate template to be selected.
• Training with CF is outstanding. Live chat as well as countless videos.
• Talk to text is a great feature for adding notes to a project.

• It is an out-of-the-box solution for end-users. There is almost no customization possible (e.g. API for developers)
• Pricing is a bit confusing with two options for in-app purchase (PRO and Share a Model) and the separate Desktop Viewer
• Android version takes a long time to get updated to iOS version
• Only for ARCHICAD users. No other software is supported.

Incentivized

• Security and sensitive file visibility. Users with no permissions can have access to some hidden files.
• Daily log navigation. Users now need to exit one log entirely to view or check another, resulting in a significant waste of time and reduced efficiency.
• Customization options for reports. No options to set up and automatically send reports by email to specified users.

Incentivized

Most people using it are thrilled about it. But our use of ARCHICAD in projects is (alas) a bit limited, especially compared with the attention for Revit with our clients. And as an ARCHICAD teacher, I have to remember to keep introducing it as it is accepted well with most users.

Incentivized

Broken promises for 3 years. I'm done waiting for basic improvements to bring the app into anything close to an industry standard

Incentivized

Overall, Contractor Foreman is a great product, and I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface of everything it has to offer. It can be a little quirky at times, occasionally displaying a 'Bad Gateway' message, but we haven’t experienced any timeout issues in the past few months. As we continue to use it, I’m confident we’ll uncover even more ways to streamline our workflow

Incentivized

Availability was good, FUNCTIONAL availability was more spotty

Incentivized

Many times we had issues that turned out to be errors and bugs. At first, we would be told forcefully that there were no bugs, then we would document them, and we would get an acknowledgement but no apology for essentially either gaslighting us or being ignorant of their system

Incentivized

I rarely give anyone a 9 or 10 rating for service. The main reason for this rating is Contractor Foreman's dedication to improvement. To be completely frank, CF has fallen down on their tech help with me several times, but I am an exceptionally difficult user to service as I tend to use a product up to it's limits and want more. CF has actually addressed these wants several times (after waits that seemed interminable, but were actually pretty damn fast in the reality of software development)

Incentivized

Implementation was moderately difficult, it's the functionality and execution that are seriously lacking

Incentivized

Direct publishing to a 3D model can be done with a few other tools, but if (and only if) you are using ARCHICAD, it is the easiest to use. For Revit users, there is more choice, including Revit Live or some online model-viewers and publishers. For full custom interactivity, you have to look at e.g. Unity3D or Unreal where you can include and extend endlessly, but you will lack the ease of BIMx. You'd also have to look for good similar navigation. Especially the link between 2D views and 3D model sections is hard to beat. But in that context, if you want to e.g. allow users to choose design alternatives, select another material or include animations and sound, this is not possible in BIMx.

Incentivized

There's just no comparing these two. I'm actually going to suggest we keep CE to my boss, and here's why: Clearestimates is perfect for what I just described. You have a little job that you just BOOM it's done? Put it into Clearestimates. That system does not care at all if you did it "properly." Now Contractor Foreman does so. much. more. than CE. It just does. You can do everything on CF (just not anything haha). Most businesses wouldn't need anything else, but since we're still growing, we do some handyman stuff every now and again that CE is perfect for, and we don't have to go through CF's really picky system to make sure every little tiny thing is correct

Incentivized

We had just 2 users

Incentivized

• increased the efficiency in project management
• collaboration was improved
• risk estimation is better viewed

Incentivized

• Positive return for invoice/change order tracking
• Great price
• Prior to using Contractor Foreman we had to wait until the end to capture all change orders in one summary. Now, with the client portal, we can capture in real time and the client has visibility.
• We have been trying to reduce administration time in tracking field expenses and with Contractor Foreman our field crew can uplaod reciepts and track expenses right from their mobile phones.
• Punchlist - the punch list and To Do features are so robust we have drastically improved getting punchlists and small tasks completed in single trips without the wasted time and travel of multiple trips due to missed/forgotten items.

Incentivized