CMiC Construction Platform vs. GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
CMiC Construction Platform
Score 7.7 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
CMiC Project Management is a construction project collaboration and management solution. It centralizes project-related communications and documents onto one platform, and connects the job site with the back-end office.N/A
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Score 5.2 out of 10
N/A
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is a construction and estimation software offering from CPR, Inc.N/A
Pricing
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Top Pros

No answers on this topic

Top Cons
Features
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
5.9
28 Ratings
21% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data5.419 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history6.122 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration6.618 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.5.717 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting6.213 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management6.313 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)5.418 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.0
22 Ratings
16% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
-
Ratings
Pay calculation6.322 Ratings00 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors5.714 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.214 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration4.915 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files6.519 Ratings00 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management6.018 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management5.414 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
5.2
17 Ratings
35% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets5.217 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.9
51 Ratings
16% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
-
Ratings
Dashboards7.139 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports6.450 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports6.941 Ratings00 Ratings
Data exportability7.248 Ratings00 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.5
101 Ratings
15% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
5.0
1 Ratings
41% below category average
Plan distribution & viewing6.464 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing5.660 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists6.078 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation6.374 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports6.285 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing5.985 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools7.886 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals7.091 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings5.651 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app6.561 Ratings00 Ratings
Submittal design and management7.281 Ratings00 Ratings
Checklists6.443 Ratings00 Ratings
Meeting Minutes6.947 Ratings00 Ratings
Specifications6.336 Ratings00 Ratings
Change orders7.755 Ratings00 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.5
54 Ratings
20% below category average
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
-
Ratings
Takeoff tools4.920 Ratings00 Ratings
Job costing7.650 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost databases8.042 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost calculator7.429 Ratings00 Ratings
Bid creation4.727 Ratings00 Ratings
Best Alternatives
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
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Score 9.5 out of 10
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
7.9
(110 ratings)
7.0
(1 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.4
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
6.6
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
5.7
(95 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.9
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CMiC Construction PlatformGeneralCOST Estimator for Excel
Likelihood to Recommend
CMiC
  • The platform is well suited for tracking project financials. The direct tie between the project budgets and costs on the accounting side makes this platform extremely valuable as we have real time cost data to make decisions from.
  • The platform is great in that it integrates the majority of our major processes. We can track a pursuit in Opportunity Management and push that information directly to a project. We hire people through the system and they are available to input on a project. We track time and pay people through CMiC and even manage our equipment fleet. This one platform satisfies a lot of our business needs, which makes our technology stack a bit easier to manage.
  • The platform as it stands today is not well suited for mobile consumption. We have users not use the mobile platform due to issues with losing data when not in wifi and issues with not understanding how to use the system.
Read full review
CPR, Inc.
Specific scenarios where GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is well suited include:
  • Small to medium sized contractor who typically works on small to medium sized projects with limited complexity
  • Contractors who value low prices over full functionality (this software application is very affordably priced)
  • A new contractor or new contracting accounting / finance professional who would appreciate the specific limitations imposed by the software
Specific scenarios where GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is not well suited include:
  • Larger contractors who think about and price projects in line with typical commercial design and construction
  • Residential projects (the software is much better suited for commercial lease buildouts, for instance)
  • A contractor whose finance department already uses full-suite accounting software
Read full review
Pros
CMiC
  • The user interface is similar to that of other project management software applications so folks in our company that had previously used other applications have been able to switch over fairly easily.
  • I really like the software and it was much less expensive than other applications.
  • I like the mobile application so that our superintendents can view the documentation on their phones.
  • I really like the punch list capability mobile field, however, we have a hard time getting our superintendents to use it for some reason.
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CPR, Inc.
  • Convenient estimating
  • Streamlines the price quotation process
  • Standard cost application
  • Overhead calculation and pplication
Read full review
Cons
CMiC
  • Entering a code of the vendor instead of the company name while recording an invoice takes time and seems counter intuitive
  • Editing an invoice created through Image Management on the AP side is limited to description and address field. When changing the rest (invoice# or a date or an amount) - the whole trace of who entered/submitted/approved disappears. The way it works now is: deleting an invoice from the batch, locating it through Registry/invoice search, unsubmitting it, making changes, submitting, adding back to batch - time consuming
  • In Multiple distribution pop up window, when entering a new invoice, I'd make the field "Company" to be autofilled once "Job" is entered. It takes time to memorize what job number belongs to what company.
  • There is only web version available and it is limited compare to a desktop client. For instance I can only make one change at a time and save it. Multiple changes don't get saved in one click
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CPR, Inc.
  • Only CSI construction cost database data
  • Only works with Microsoft Office (Excel)
  • The online help system has limited functionality
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
CMiC
This is a platform that would continue to be in the best interest for our company. I just hope that CMiC support removes the gaps between the enhancements that they create to better the system to what they currently have
Read full review
CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Usability
CMiC
I believe it isn't easy to use and is unintuitive. Undecipherable error messages appear throughout the application without indicating what is wrong or how to correct it, in my experience. The terminology on the screens is specific to Canada, which adds to the confusion.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
CMiC
Sometimes since this is a cloud based product the system can become slow but we haven’t had any issues of availability without CMiC first letting us know it would be down
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Performance
CMiC
Reports are pretty shown to run but general pages typically load pretty quick.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
CMiC
The support team [has] been in touch with our deployment team and has given them effective guidance up to completion. It has helped us in [the] best methods of resource allocation and secure record-keeping process. We have tracked all our billing information and made the right payments with documentation and avoided [unnecessary losses]. [The] support team has [to] lead our teams to the right channels and empowering our team with the right skills for maximum production.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
CMiC
The training was on system functions and not really how best to use it for our business. It would have been nice to be provided recommendations for use rather than just a blank slate of functionality.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Online Training
CMiC
I felt the training was good and the trainers knew the software.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
CMiC
Lots of confusion between sales and implementation regarding what was included and not included...the security encountered a "bug" and made it extremely difficult to set up roles and individual responsibilities
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
CMiC
CMiC Construction Platform is the best price point in the market. Others are revenue-based billings, and the annual fees reflect as such. CMiC Construction Platform support staff is generally amazing and offers real-time support on critical issues. The imaging and workflow functions are real-time savers. CMiC Construction Platform is generally a smaller and in touch organization that treats your team like their own and stays with you after the purchase.
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CPR, Inc.
GeneralCOST Estimator for Excel is cheaper, easier to use, more streamlined and is easily installed and up and running. The flip side to the ease of use is the limited functionality, somewhat outdated cost bucketing profile and general lack of sophistication. The add-in also does not talk with full suite accounting software which requires additional reconciliations if used within a large organization.
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Scalability
CMiC
CMiC has several key features that can either work together or independently depending on your companies needs.
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CPR, Inc.
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
CMiC
  • Better project visibility, surely. I can step into a former project and see how well/poorly it was run.
  • Forecasting underway - nearly complete with year 2.
  • Cost status tracking - this has been valuable, especially when figuring out how much of a liquid budget is left over.
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CPR, Inc.
  • Allows us to quickly bid on small projects
  • Allows us to pay less for accounting / finance professionals
  • Allows us to standardize our cost structure
Read full review
ScreenShots

CMiC Construction Platform Screenshots

Screenshot of CMiC FIELDScreenshot of CMiC AnalyticsScreenshot of CMiC Drawing ManagementScreenshot of CMiC FIELD