Buildertrend vs. QuoteSoft

Buildertrend was made for a specific industry (building) and so I would recommend it to anyone in that industry, with the exception of Sales and Marketing. But for everything else from the financing to the permitting to the construction and all else, Buildertrend is exactly what our team has used and will ALWAYS use. Even with our decision to use other systems for Sales and Marketing, we have never given one thought to taking Buildertrend out of our process. We will always be with Buildertrend.

Incentivized

Quotesoft again is very well suited to any estimating department. I recommend a large screen monitor, but it's far more convenient than the old quick pen table or other methods. It's been great for jobs post mortem as well, we'll go back over as builds and make sure we captured and adjust estimates or change orders. It's also great for illustrating changes, and having all be very accurate.

Incentivized

• Manages in one place - crucial for organization.
• Professional, across the board it provides companies with a seamlessly organized and flawless presentation - to subs/vendors/owners/etc.
• Time Saver - you don't have to dig around through files/create templates/flip through your contact binder - it's all there.
• Practical tools- designed for contractors. You get what you need - period.

Incentivized

• Once you're over the learning curve, it's fantastic at getting accurate material takeoff. Because one is working off the real PDF prints of the project, it's very easy to get a good material list and takeoff.
• Excellent for giving options of transitions and allowing the user to account for the actual 3rd dimension of the project by being able to click and add the sections needed to transition between floors.
• The speed in which the user is able to takeoff is so much faster than traditional methods, and more accurate and easier to use than the other options on the market. Prints out great reports showing materials and hours, and lets you color code the systems while estimating so you know you aren't duplicating efforts.
• Very flexible as far as how it adjusts for your desired estimate. You can identify per floor, side of the building, system, etc.
• Allows for fast on the fly adjustments of sizes, materials and types of transitions with ductwork.

Incentivized

• Onsite consultants. There is a demand for this service that is great enough to allow outside BuilderTrend Super-Users like me to partner with BuilderTrend and make this a reality.
• As their company grows, their support needs to grow as well.
• Provide incentives for Super Users that are helping BuilderTrend acquire new business. Advocates should be their best friend.

Incentivized

• I'd prefer an 'all in one' as opposed to modules. I believe it's offered in that fashion but it was a touch more expensive. I was able to negotiate a footage takeoff tool for piping, to make it easier and more economical to our specific use, which is 95% dry side hvac estimating.
• Would be great if it could be preloaded with Smacna or MCA factors for labor, and also would be great if there was a faster way to update material costs. You do need to stay on top of your material factors and make adjustments per the price of steel and other consumables. The industry has been stable lately, but if for some reason you were lax in updating labor and material factors, you could be off on the estimate. That's true of ANY software or even standard old school estimating approach.
• It does require a dongle and a per seat license. The one drawback I don't care for, in a small company with tight cash flow, I do have estimators sharing the seat and scheduling takeoff around each other. Pretty standard though.

Incentivized

Its simple to use and intuitive. The level of support that we have from online videos, to access to customer support, and the ability to call anyone at anytime on the main line has been invaluable to utilize and not get stuck on something you don't know yet. We've never not had anyone that couldn't respond in time for us.

I highly recommend. The only suggestion I have would be to offer a free trial. They do offer a 30 day money back guarantee. The price point isn't daunting if you have had a 100 % no strings attached/no effort to cancel or try to remember to get your money back - no strings attached chance to try out the product. Especially for such a big purchase decision, I think Buildertrend would see an incredible increase in sales. They have the value and companies just need a chance to see it first hand.

Incentivized

The program has outstanding customer service. With project scheduling, project management, financial management, customer management, and service management capabilities in a single suite, there's really not much this program can't do! Owners generally love the use of this software as well, giving them the ability to view daily logs, photos, schedules, etc.

Incentivized

We were looking at this, as well as quick pen, and other industry standard programs like Wendes. QuoteSoft was far more versatile, user friendly and has proven to be the right choice. No specific equipment outside of a bigger monitor, ease of use, and tech support as well as the online training aspect was fantastic. Felt well supported while we rolled it out.

Incentivized

• The prior year cost me roughly $4300, which was barely reasonable for my volume. Some clients liked the format, some hated it and didn't participate. In my experience, few subcontractors or suppliers embraced the program, severely limiting the effectiveness.
• For the coming year the fees would have exceeded $17,000, far too much for a program with limited client, employee, and subcontractor appeal with as small a volume as I have.
• Honestly, for the last year, I feel they've been a burning tire hung around my neck and I regret not cancelling them in early 2019, I'd have $10,000 more in my pocket and no significant negative impact.
• I did appreciate the daily log as a way to report on progress, but less than half my clients made use of this option.

• First positive impact is time saved. We're able with our small team to estimate..ACCURATELY far more projects, thus winning more projects.
• Accuracy once we had our factors programmed is fantastic. It's tightened up our material and labor hours and made us more competitive
• Definitely has had a great return on investment. Helping to land more projects out of the sheer amount of available time to bid more, as well as being more confident in material costs.

Incentivized