ConstructConnect Bid Management vs. HomeTech ADVANTAGE

SmartBid is also very useful for conducting sub-contracting analysis and management simulations in the didactic field. The procedures for sharing documents are helpful, but the graphic can be improved. Many forms can be pre-filled. This helps a lot in saving time and money! SmartBid is great for exporting and/or sending single or mass emails. However, as mentioned, it would be useful to simplify some pre-construction processes and improve the overall communication

Incentivized

Any integrated agency (more than just a single-discipline agency) that's looking for a one-stop shop to manage all aspects of running the business would do well to consider Advantage as the single-source tool to do it all. Single-discipline agencies could probably find a less robust tool that's equally as effective for tracking and reporting.

Incentivized

• It's very easy to set up a job and manage who receives solicitations. You can also keep detailed notes on who've you contacted and see if they're actually downloading and reviewing the documents.
• You can add a confidentiality agreement clause which they must accept before accessing the documents. It then stores this information if it ever needs to be accessed. This is much cleaner and easier then sending out a NDA form and having the subcontractor return it before actually sending drawings/docs.
• You can send Invitations to Bid and set it up to continue sending these ITB's until the subcontractor responds. However, this can also be a negative point because once you set up a delayed ITB, it doesn't update as the subcontractors view and respond to the ITB's. So if a sub is "Not Responded" and you set up a delayed ITB to fire off every day for 5 days, and the sub responds after day 2, that sub will continue to receive ITB's for all 5 days.
• Uploading drawings is quick and easy. It's especially convenient if you link to one of your cloud services such as Egnyte, Google Drive, etc.
• The search tools are quick and easy and often very accessible from any page.

Incentivized

• Media billing
• PO Organization
• Time Details on Billing

Incentivized

• Create sub categories under other trades that allow to better narrow down the exact jobs you are looking for.
• Not send repeatetive emails for the same projects.
• Make the service more affordable to small business's looking to grow.

Incentivized

• Advantage is hugely cumbersome. There are hundreds of functions I will never use, and that I'm not sure anyone else in the organization uses.
• The user interface could be better. Every time there's an update, there's a small but definitive learning curve.

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

iSqFt is a solid competitor in the bidding/estimating platform world but as a user, Building Connected is the front runner. iSqFt lacks on the collaboration side and isn't as easy to use and access as its competitors. Building Connected is used by most of our clients so it's easier to use because there is more information in one place.

Incentivized

We have also used BidClips. I find that Advantage gave us more flexibility with custom estimates & report tracking.

Incentivized

• SmartBid helps eliminate jumping all over the place, all your invites are on one system.
• It allows us to see who and how many general contractors are bidding, let’s us know if it’s a job worth spending time on.

Incentivized

• It keeps job time organized by job so we can bill properly for work
• It keeps POs organized by job so that we can track easier
• Provides reporting that gives insight into employee time and where it's spent

Incentivized