Project, estimate, employee, and customer management are the best items in Contractor Foreman. It's nice to be able to assign leads out and use the same card to convert a customer through the entire process. I really like the kanban method of managing projects, and Contractor Foreman is well-suited to that.
[It's] Wonderful for small group or individual planning, brainstorming, explaining, projecting etc. It is also great for reporting or sharing findings of outcomes whether research or business related. It has a free viewer so that if you are presenting on a different computer, the viewer will allow the visuals to be shared. It is not ideal for collaboration unless everyone has this software.
GOAL SETTING: Because of the available templates, it is easy to set goals and then revisit them for revision or follow through. I like to brainstorm while I set goals and then come back and annotate my goals with changes, improvements, or add/substract them as needed.
STRATEGIC PLANNING: MindGenius is terrific for working through ideas and parameters. I can either use a freelance screen or a template and brainstorm through the goals that I need to meet. Then I can branch out from each objective with the required facets of each one. I am visual so color coding and using shapes to organize the parts of the objective (i.e. the resources needed, people/stakeholders that are involved, missing pieces etc.). When organizing a project or research, I find it invaluable.
BRAINSTORMING: MindGenius is a wonderful visual to use in a small group or classroom to brainstorm or record ideas. I also adjunct teach and I find MG a wonderful visual for planning a paper or demonstrating how to support ideas in a paper or to verify that research is completed properly. it is a teacher's must-have.
In the CDB, I'd like to be able to create a line item with a specified percentage, and when I pull that line item into an estimate or proposal, I'd like the system to automatically calculate it based on that contract value. (Example, Contingency line is always going to be 15% of the contract value).
I'd like to be able to rearrange "blocks" on a page when I'm getting ready to send or print it. Lots of dead space on pages. Estimates 4 pages in total when it could be 2.
I'd like to be able to create budget summaries. Where the line items are grouped into their respective master format categories, and the category has the sum of all the line items in that category.
MindGenius is not as intuitive as I would like it to be. Although there is a quick-key stroke or movement that will replicate a shape or field if I want to make a parent or child block, I never remember what it is. I always use the manual insert by clicking with the mouse and it takes longer. If CONTROL ENTER created a new shape field like "the last one" or the one where the cursor is blinking, that would help considerably.
Changing the default visuals for a template or making a new template is overly time-consuming. Although I understand these details may only matter to someone as ULTRA-VISUAL a I am, if the font is too small or the shapes need to be visually altered, there is not a way to quickly grab those boxes and change the settings in one fell swoop. Although there is a way they can be changed, I have to navigate inside this and then inside this to get to the screen and then I have to figure out which changes the lines or the inside color of the shape etc. These details are a little overwhelming.
It would be great if I could make one shape in the font and layout I want and then replicate that pattern to other shapes or apply a different color scheme to it entirely. If these features already exist, i cannot find them and I consider myself to be rather tech savvy.
We have compiled so much information on CF it would be counterproductive to move to another software. We have also sold a lot of clients on the client portal feature. It is crucial for our communication between customers. The only reason we wouldn't renew the service is if somewhere offered the exact same service but at a lower cost
Overall, Contractor Foreman is a great product, and I’m sure we’ve only scratched the surface of everything it has to offer. It can be a little quirky at times, occasionally displaying a 'Bad Gateway' message, but we haven’t experienced any timeout issues in the past few months. As we continue to use it, I’m confident we’ll uncover even more ways to streamline our workflow
Many times we had issues that turned out to be errors and bugs. At first, we would be told forcefully that there were no bugs, then we would document them, and we would get an acknowledgement but no apology for essentially either gaslighting us or being ignorant of their system
Absolutely top notch! They were always there to help and immediately. Very happy with the communication they provided and the knowledge they had of their product. I would venture to say that they are one of the best in terms of support in their space.
Contractor Foreman’s pricing is much more cost-effective for small to mid-sized construction businesses, making it a better fit for my company’s budget. It offers an intuitive interface with pre-built construction templates, minimizing setup time and making it easier at least for my team to adopt and start using. The platform’s focus on project tracking, financial management, and nice integrations that makes it highly efficient for tracking project progress, staying on budget, and managing subcontractors/bills. These factors combined made it the ideal choice for meeting my company's specific needs efficiently and cost-effectively.
I have not used another product like MindGenius. Although I use Microsoft One Note for sometimes making lists that sync across my PC and my devices, I do not have another mind-mapping programming. MindGenius only has an app for iPad and without accessibility on iOS, I have not been able to use it for my daily TO DO lists etc that I would otherwise do. I use One Note for that role since MG does not have a phone app
Prior to using Contractor Foreman we had to wait until the end to capture all change orders in one summary. Now, with the client portal, we can capture in real time and the client has visibility.
We have been trying to reduce administration time in tracking field expenses and with Contractor Foreman our field crew can uplaod reciepts and track expenses right from their mobile phones.
Punchlist - the punch list and To Do features are so robust we have drastically improved getting punchlists and small tasks completed in single trips without the wasted time and travel of multiple trips due to missed/forgotten items.
I have not tracked the positive or negative impact of MG on my overall business objectives. I have successfully used it in the aspects of my personal and professional management.
MG helps me stay on track with my research and personal editing. It keeps me accountable so that I meet my deadlines. Although I have not applied a dollar value to it, it helps me signficantly.
