CMiC Construction Platform vs. Microsoft Dynamics SL

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
Microsoft Dynamics SL
Score 7.2 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft Dynamics SL is one of the ERP products in the Dynamics family. This product was acquired from Solomon 2000. The product is typically used by SMBs, particularly in project-based businesses (e.g. construction). It has strong accounting and project management capabilities.N/A
Pricing
CMiC Construction PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
CMiC Construction PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
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 PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
CMiC Construction PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
Human Resource Management
Comparison of Human Resource Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.1
29 Ratings
24% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
-
Ratings
Employee demographic data4.919 Ratings00 Ratings
Employment history6.723 Ratings00 Ratings
Job profiles and administration7.319 Ratings00 Ratings
Workflow for transfers, promotions, pay raises, etc.6.618 Ratings00 Ratings
Organizational charting5.513 Ratings00 Ratings
Organization and location management7.213 Ratings00 Ratings
Compliance data (COBRA, OSHA, etc.)4.618 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.3
23 Ratings
18% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
8.5
2 Ratings
16% above category average
Pay calculation6.723 Ratings9.62 Ratings
Support for external payroll vendors4.814 Ratings00 Ratings
Off-cycle/On-Demand payment7.614 Ratings00 Ratings
Benefit plan administration6.316 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files7.220 Ratings9.01 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management7.019 Ratings00 Ratings
Reimbursement management4.714 Ratings00 Ratings
Asset Management
Comparison of Asset Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
4.5
18 Ratings
51% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
-
Ratings
Tracking of all physical assets4.518 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
7.3
55 Ratings
11% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.8
9 Ratings
2% below category average
Dashboards7.642 Ratings7.15 Ratings
Standard reports6.654 Ratings7.19 Ratings
Custom reports6.945 Ratings6.19 Ratings
Data exportability8.152 Ratings00 Ratings
Construction Project & Field Management
Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.4
105 Ratings
15% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
-
Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing5.966 Ratings00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing5.262 Ratings00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists5.680 Ratings00 Ratings
Photo documentation5.776 Ratings00 Ratings
Jobsite reports5.887 Ratings00 Ratings
Document sharing5.988 Ratings00 Ratings
RFI tools7.789 Ratings00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals7.294 Ratings00 Ratings
As-built drawings5.353 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile app7.663 Ratings00 Ratings
Submittal design and management7.384 Ratings00 Ratings
Checklists5.646 Ratings00 Ratings
Meeting Minutes6.750 Ratings00 Ratings
Specifications5.938 Ratings00 Ratings
Change orders8.059 Ratings00 Ratings
Estimating
Comparison of Estimating features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
6.1
55 Ratings
29% below category average
Microsoft Dynamics SL
-
Ratings
Takeoff tools4.320 Ratings00 Ratings
Job costing7.751 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost databases8.042 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost calculator7.029 Ratings00 Ratings
Bid creation3.628 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.0
6 Ratings
19% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings6.06 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings6.04 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
7.3
9 Ratings
11% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings7.49 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings7.38 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
7.4
10 Ratings
3% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings7.610 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings6.63 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings7.43 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings7.32 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
4.3
5 Ratings
58% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings6.05 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.7
3 Ratings
15% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings6.02 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings6.03 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Subledger and Financial Process
Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
5.8
3 Ratings
24% below category average
Billing Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Cash and Asset Management00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
Travel & Expense Management00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting00 Ratings6.32 Ratings
Period Close00 Ratings7.43 Ratings
Project Financial Management
Comparison of Project Financial Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
4.7
3 Ratings
47% below category average
Budgeting and Forecasting00 Ratings7.33 Ratings
Project Costing00 Ratings6.33 Ratings
Cost Capture00 Ratings2.12 Ratings
Capital Project Management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
Project Revenue Recognition00 Ratings2.01 Ratings
Grants Management
Comparison of Grants Management features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.3
1 Ratings
18% below category average
Award Lifecycle Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Manufacturing
Comparison of Manufacturing features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.0
1 Ratings
23% below category average
Production Management00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
Supply Chain
Comparison of Supply Chain features of Product A and Product B
CMiC Construction Platform
-
Ratings
Microsoft Dynamics SL
6.0
1 Ratings
19% below category average
Inventory Planning00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
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User Ratings
CMiC Construction PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
Likelihood to Recommend
7.8
(114 ratings)
6.6
(17 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(7 ratings)
5.4
(8 ratings)
Usability
6.2
(6 ratings)
1.8
(6 ratings)
Availability
9.0
(1 ratings)
9.9
(2 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(1 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
4.8
(96 ratings)
9.5
(4 ratings)
In-Person Training
7.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
1.0
(1 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.5
(5 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.0
(1 ratings)
1.4
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
CMiC Construction PlatformMicrosoft Dynamics SL
Likelihood to Recommend
CMiC
CMiC is a robust platform best suited for large companies with resources for implementation and management of the program. One analogy is CMiC is like a droid phone where the user must decide how to use all the features of the program (as opposed to an iPhone where most configuration decisions are made for the user). Smaller companies with limited resources can struggle with CMiC both with the expense and configuration.
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Microsoft
For a small to mid-size business, MS Dynamics SL is effective. We are capable of managing our finances with a very low risk of error. We have worked with MS Dynamics for almost 15 years and have more than doubled the size of our business in that time with very few issues from the program. We have exponentially increased our revenue and reporting demands and have found SL to be very dependable and stable. The program does have the occasional glitch and those are sometimes outside of the realm of expertise of our IT department. SL support is excellent, but their timeliness is not as urgent as ours.
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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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Microsoft
  • Provides flexibility for complex project based cost accounting
  • Strong and flexible allocation processer for cost allocations, markups, and pricing
  • A "Flexible Billing" module under the project controller series that allows for multiple billing formats ranging from fixed price schedule of values, T&M or Cost Plus, and scheduled billing.
  • Flexible reporting with options using Crystal Reports, SSRS, a Quick Query tool, and ability to tie into MS Office tools such as MS Access and MS Excel
  • Tight integration with Financials, but also the ability to integrate with modules such as Sales Order, Inventory, and Field Service
  • Customization abilities ranging from a VBA (visual basic for application) foundation to allow customizing existing forms to the ability to use the SDK (Software Development Kit) to build more complex customizations that integrate with Dynamics SL.
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Cons
CMiC
  • Needs to be more user friendly on the mobile side of the platform. Ease of use is key here.
  • There is not much instruction or support in standing up some programs like deploying ECM for outlook, making Collaboration Gateway work, or setting up the system for getting Plans available on the mobile devices.
  • Security configuration is extremely detailed and spread throughout the system. It is extremely hard to make adjustments to a person's security unless you know exactly where to look, which requires years of experience but shouldn't.
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Microsoft
  • Reporting in the Project module is lacking functionality. I understand that most companies have specific needs when it comes to tracking project information but the standard reports are not good.
  • I would recommend a product like Management Reporter that is for Projects only. Project Reporter should allow users to pull in all Project related data into reports.
  • Fixing suspended batches. Obviously all of us users have experienced this mess. SL knows what needs to be corrected and there could be some step by step fixes in a separate repair module to do the steps we do in Query Analyzer.
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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
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Microsoft
Unfortunately, Dynamics' lack of ability to smoothly integrate with our CRM system is causing us to look at other solutions. The efficiencies that we gain by using Dynamics for our day to day accounting are lost in the constant headaches of getting sales quotes to import properly into the system for invoicing. Another major issue for us has been budgeting and reporting. We currently do all of our budgeting and board reporting in Excel, which is too time consuming and inefficient, especially when a system as robust as Dynamics should easily be able to handle this relatively simple task.
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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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Microsoft
I rate it a 10 because we have removed the fields we don't need so users can really crank the data into the system. The software was designed for the professional services firm in mind but does a tremendous job for construction firms and "blended" companies that are both distribution firms but project centric as well. Perhaps they drop ship inventory to a project where their employees or subs need to work on a project for example.
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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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Microsoft
We have had only one unplanned outage for 2 hours in the last 30 months. We shut down for 30 min to 1 hour once a month, but that is for Microsoft OS updates to the servers. Being a 24/7 world wide operation, the reliability is really important. We do get an 8 hour window on the weekend that we can be down for a short period to install Microsoft Dynamics SL updates, but we do not have many of those. On our last version upgrade, we shut the users out at 9:30 am and were fully operational in less than 6 hours. The upgrade was New SQL server, New SL server and 2 new Citrix servers.
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Performance
CMiC
Reports are pretty shown to run but general pages typically load pretty quick.
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Microsoft
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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Microsoft
Support is only used when needed, so unfortunately ,they get all the odd issues. It's a difficult business, but Microsoft and our firm do a great job of meeting customer needs. We get routine feedback that our support services are very good.
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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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Microsoft
No answers on this topic
Online Training
CMiC
I felt the training was good and the trainers knew the software.
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Microsoft
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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Microsoft
Just to let it take its course. The implementation for me once I became a part of my former organization was pretty seamless. Just get to know the basics and call the support team to ask questions if you need help on an issue, should they arise. They are ready, willing, and able to help!
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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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Microsoft
Of the comparable mid-range ERP systems, Dynamics SL competes at the lower end based on price, but also above the high-end based on flexibility, data, and reporting. Being able to stay with the same core accounting from a $100 million dollar company to a $3 billion dollar company shows the range of capabilities.
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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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Microsoft
Since the backbone of the database is MS SQLServer, the database can be easily scaled.
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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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Microsoft
  • More time is spent on manipulating reports which can and should be automated.
  • Lack of electronic invoicing process and other green technology features creates more cost on printing and storage costs.
  • The lack of a user friendly interface requires more training and a bigger learning curve for staff.
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ScreenShots

CMiC Construction Platform Screenshots

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