BuildingConnected, an Autodesk product vs. ConstructConnect Bid Management

It is perfect for anyone in construction - whether you're an estimator or project manager. BuildingConnected is the go-to resource to help you stay on top of your projects. It is not as appropriate for people that are not in the construction field. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to be more organized.

Incentivized

As mentioned before in some of the previous questions, the confidentiality agreement feature is extremely helpful. I have worked on several projects where it's so early in the design phase that the documents are considered confidential and we are required to get a signed NDA from every person who sees the documents. This feature makes it extremely painless. SmartBidNet is less appropriate if you're just doing a quick cost exercise where you might not need to contact several subs. It's easier to just use email and a cloud sharing program like Box or Egnyte.

Incentivized

• Helps keep track of multiple jobs at once
• Helps sort your bid invites into won/lost/pending/archived etc.
• It is a central location where general contractors can put all their updated files and addendum
• Lets you see which contractors are bidding the same job so you can coordinate your estimating

Incentivized

• Even with a "Limited Access" free account, you are able to see all the necessary files. When using it to just look at a job and download documents, this is all you should need. With more access you can see more projects that are out to bid but as a sales engineer for a manufacturer, I receive the bid requests from my contractors who are bidding there is no need to upgrade my access level.
• Documents are very easy to download into a .zip file and you can pick and choose which documents you want to download for specific trades. Plus there is a specific tab for Addenda so you don't have to search through the Documents tab. The tabs also show the amount of files in each tab so you can easily stay up to date on current documents.
• The Dashboard of each job shows the project general contractor and for subcontractors, responding to a bid request is as easy as clicking a button to indicate if you will bud or will not bid. This dashboard also shows location and the project description which are particularly helpful for a manufacturers rep/sales engineer that may not see the project description otherwise.

Incentivized

• Stronger Sub search for situations in which we are not creating and publishing a project within BuildingConnected. In many instances, we simply need to find a trade subcontractor immediately. We cannot waste time in creating, publishing a project, documentation, files, etc., etc.. We should have an excellent advanced search window for this purpose.

Incentivized

• iSqFt has one major flaw that makes it a pain to use. I go there to get plans and specs. You think a company that sends you plans and specs would have a faster download speed, it takes forever to get the plans and specs. I usually find a way around iSqFt to get the plans and specs.

Incentivized

Very easy to use.

Incentivized

Though I haven't had to utilize any live support at BuildingConnected, I know others at my company have and have had good success with them. They seem to be very responsive and since the software is so simple, there are not that many pitfalls or hurdles that you need to work through to accomplish your task.

Incentivized

SmartBid has an excellent support team that is always at your service. Any problem I've had (when I've even had them) has been resolved almost immediately, along with tips on how to avoid them in the future. If you're looking for a program with excellent customer service, look no further than SmartBid.

Incentivized

Quick and easy. Pretty much menu-driven

Incentivized

BuildingConnected is one of my favorite bid management softwares because of its ease of use and simple interface. At a quick glance you can easily see where your project is, who is planning on bidding, and what values submitted bids equal out to. BuildingConnected makes it really easy to find and engage new subcontractors, and is very easy to use as a team.

Incentivized

SmartBid is the first software of its kind that I use. However, comparing it with other software used by colleagues, it is evident that SmartBid has a much higher potential than software of the same category. By allowing easier management of documents and sub-contractors, SmartBid allows a high increase in the overall speed and efficiency of the interventions in the construction sites. Furthermore, using it makes it possible to increase the number of projects we can manage simultaneously.

Incentivized

• Our company is able to view the number of bid responses and award percentages for each subcontractor.
• We save a considerable amount of admin time by utilizing BuildingConnected. Correspondence to all subcontractors can be concurrent rather than individually where a general note must be distributed.

Incentivized

• It has helped increase exposure and the number of General Contractors we can meet and bid with
• It has caused some wasted time by digging through bids that do not have all the relevant information to issue a proposal
• It has made bidding opportunities easier by sending them directly to us.

Incentivized