HCSS vs. Stairkey

Stairkey

Overview
Product	Rating	Most Used By	Product Summary	Starting Price
HCSS	Score 8.6 out of 10	Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)	HCSS is a construction software suite. It includes functionality for bidding, time card and project management, safety, planning, scheduling, equipment management, and data warehousing and reporting. Each module can be purchased separately. The suite can be hosted in the cloud.	N/A
Stairkey	Score 0.0 out of 10	Small Businesses (1-50 employees)	Stairkey is a business management platform for contractors, trades, and home-services companies. It combines estimating, invoicing, project management, scheduling, job costing, and accounting in a single system, aiming to replace the mix of spreadsheets and disconnected point tools that small contracting businesses typically rely on. Core capabilities include customizable estimates that convert into projects—automatically seeding tasks, materials, and tool…	$20 per month

Pricing

HCSS

Stairkey

Editions & Modules

No answers on this topic

Base: $20
per month

Offerings

Pricing Offerings
HCSS	Stairkey
Free Trial
No	Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No	No
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No	No

Entry-level Setup Fee

Required

Optional

Additional Details

—

Stairkey uses a simple usage-based model with a predictable ceiling. The $20/month base gives you full access to CRM, Takeoff (with a starting catalog), Estimates, Project Management (client and contractor portals, material and tool lists, change orders, job costing, and scheduling), and Invoicing — plus a $20/month activity allowance that covers your day-to-day work. Activity across the platform — creating contacts, invoices, and estimates, sending emails, uploading files, running reports, and using AI features — draws from that monthly allowance. Most small contractors stay within it. If you go beyond, additional activity is billed pay-as-you-go at low per-action rates (cents per item; AI actions range from $0.35 to $2.00), and total usage is capped at $100/month so your bill can never spike unexpectedly. Add-ons: Accounting module +$20/month (includes another $20 of allowance). Website page +$10/month. Additional users +$[10/20]/month each. Launch promotion: 50% off your base plan and add-ons for the first year (limited time).

More Pricing Information

Community Pulse
	HCSS	Stairkey
Considered Both Products	HCSS Angelique Hamm Corporate Applications Manager Chose HCSS The company utilizes several platforms to achieve their overall project control goals. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose HCSS I was not part of the team that looked at other potential products at the time of purchase of HCSS. Incentivized Helpful? Dan Watkins Estimator/Project Manager Chose HCSS We did not try any other software. In discussions with employees that have worked with other companies, they said to go with the Cadillac of softwares from the get-go, and that's what we decided to do. We wouldn't have it any other way now that we have used HCSS. Incentivized Helpful? J. Mickey Merguerian Project Controls Coordinator Chose HCSS We've used Sage in the past and even though I would say it's on par, it did not provide the integration that we needed for our new systems and databases. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose HCSS I don't have any other to compare to, as my previous company we built a software system from the ground up that did all of these functions already. Incentivized Helpful? DD Dennis Daikoku Equipment Fleet Manager Chose HCSS NA Incentivized Helpful? Christian Long Chief Estimator Chose HCSS We used to use Estimating Link. It was very helpful in our transition to a larger company. It was like HeavyBid light, but also a fraction of the cost. Incentivized Helpful? Drury Ellard Senior Estimator Chose HCSS HCSS is my preferred system. Incentivized Helpful? Olaf Johnson Scheduling Manager Chose HCSS none Incentivized Helpful? DS Dave Socci Sr. VP Preconstruction Chose HCSS None recently, other than possibly moving Heavybid to the cloud. Incentivized Helpful? Dave Luytjes Chief Estimator/Vice President Chose HCSS Occasionally I have come across an individual you is a spreadsheet user for estimating. and has not used heavybid. Usually after a little bit of orientation the individual can readily see the increased efficiency and the potential for less errors. I have also talked to … Incentivized Helpful? DS Dave Steely Estimator Chose HCSS Bid 2 Win; much more cumbersome and non-user friendly to use Incentivized Helpful? James Duncan Vice President of Engineering Chose HCSS HCSS has mobile apps and is very attentive to its customer's needs. Support is awesome. Incentivized Helpful? Doyle Potts Safety and Logistics Manager Chose HCSS We researched other software companies but none provided the depth of support and knowledge that HCSS brought to the table. HCSS is also always growing and listening to its customers. Customer support seems to remain the backbone of the company that is always striving to grow … Incentivized Helpful? Jack Fink Civil Engineer / Cost Estimator Chose HCSS None. Outside of Excel spreadsheets Heavy Bid is the only estimating program I have used. Incentivized Helpful? Heather Gunzelmann Director of Operations Chose HCSS I've looked at a couple different software systems, both at this company and others, and nothing has compared to Heavy Bid and Heavy Job. The versatility and functions of both are truly amazing and have helped us in many ways. Other systems just don't compare. Incentivized Helpful? Michael Daughters Chief Estimator Chose HCSS Other estimating products I have used consist of ICE/MC2 and MS Excel. ICE was not a good fit for our company, as they have awful technical support and offer very poor training. MS Excel is great for simple estimates where there is not a lot of data being compiled. However … Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose HCSS HCSS is the best we have ever found. Incentivized Helpful? Verified User Anonymous Chose HCSS In general, HCSS has allowed us to grow to a point with technology as a company where we're now confident in pursuing more advanced technologies to help in other back office areas. We have also been able to grow our IT support team to open new doors for us that didn't exist … Incentivized Helpful? JM Jim Murray Operations/Estimating Manger Chose HCSS I worked for Kiewit for 26 years and they wrote their own program which is similar to HCSS, but their operations program was better than HCSS. Incentivized Helpful? Michael Trotta Vice President Chose HCSS Bid2win, and Hard dollar. Heavybid is far above both in terms of product features, but even if they were equal, HCSS support makes a huge difference. Incentivized Helpful? Linda Pawlak Vice President Strategic Improvement Chose HCSS We were able to retire our in-house bidding software. Incentivized Helpful? Randy Gambrill Operations Manager-Secretary/Treasurer Chose HCSS None Incentivized Helpful? Dominic Mascia Estimator Chose HCSS N/A Incentivized Helpful? Joseph McElwee Vice President Chose HCSS none Incentivized Helpful?	Stairkey No answer on this topic

Features

HCSS

Stairkey

Construction Project & Field Management

Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of Product A and Product B
	HCSS 5.1 Ratings 37% below category average	Stairkey - Ratings
Plan distribution & viewing	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Plan markups & sharing	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Issue tracking & punchlists	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Photo documentation	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Jobsite reports	6.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Document sharing	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
RFI tools	3.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Collaboration & approvals	5.00 Ratings	00 Ratings
Mobile app	7.00 Ratings	00 Ratings

Best Alternatives
	HCSS	Stairkey
Small Businesses	FollowUp CRM Score 1.4 out of 10	FollowUp CRM Score 1.4 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies	InEight Score 8.2 out of 10	InEight Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises	InEight Score 8.2 out of 10	InEight Score 8.2 out of 10
All Alternatives	View all alternatives	View all alternatives

User Ratings
	HCSS	Stairkey
Likelihood to Recommend	10.0 (0 ratings)	- (0 ratings)
Usability	7.0 (0 ratings)	- (0 ratings)
Support Rating	10.0 (0 ratings)	- (0 ratings)
Implementation Rating	8.2 (0 ratings)	- (0 ratings)

User Testimonials
	HCSS	Stairkey
Likelihood to Recommend	Our operation uses several pieces of what we call specialty equipment (not used every day on every job). The foreman when finished will give a location of where this equipment is left, this many times can be very vague and lead to a lowboy driver trying to block around to find the piece or driving down a street he cannot get turned around in. With the GPS devices, the driver can pinpoint exactly where the unit is and if he has room to turn around at that location. Incentivized Olaf Johnson Scheduling Manager Read full review	No answers on this topic
Pros	#1 is support! HCSS is by far the best software support of any product we have ever used. Unlike most software companies HCSS utilizes their support calls to help upgrade their software. When you here them tell you that they will write down a particular issue you come across during a support call if they can't help you then and there they will research and get an answer to you extremely fast. If the software will not do it, you can bet there is a good chance it will be on the list of enhancements you will see come out in the near future. Estimating software is very extensive. Their software is capable of handling the smallest estimate all the way to the largest joint venture estimate. It has advanced features that make it extremely useful for analyzing job materials, subcontractors etc. HeavyJob is an extremely useful tool for the field to keep the office up to date with job costs. Everything is at the Foreman's fingertips on Tablets to allow the information from the field to get uploaded to HeavyJob manager which then can export to accounting. We are also able to give our Foreman the ability to deal with the Daily and weekly safety needs (Tailgate Meetings, incident Investigation, observations etc.) right on the Tablets thru HeavyJob. MD Mike DeRousse President Read full review	No answers on this topic
Cons	All their apps are on mobile devices. Although there is not a clear company policy on Android versus iPhone. Updates for features lag behind on Android. Some apps are exclusive to one platform making it hard to fully interconnect all programs. James Duncan Vice President of Engineering Read full review	No answers on this topic
Usability	As mentioned, user interface appears messy and complicated at initial onset. Training is necessary but becomes easy to maneuver through after solid daily use. Incentivized Angelique Hamm Corporate Applications Manager Read full review	No answers on this topic
Support Rating	The people at HCSS who I interact with, whether it is a support technician, product manager, or the HCSS President, Mike Rydin, are as passionate at making construction management for heavy civil contractors a valuable experience as I am. They want to get us emphatic, project management addicted people in to tell them why their product is not working, and work with us to design the software to work for us. HCSS is good for the heavy civil contractor; it is going to help us to manage our projects with precision, accuracy, and accountability. JS Julia Salgueiro Project Manager Read full review	No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating	It is critical to select the right team to take to HCSS for implementation. They take very good care of you and your team and listen to all of your concerns. During implantation we often discuss wants and needs with VPs and Officers as they pass through to check on our progress. Verified User Anonymous Read full review	No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered	We researched other software companies but none provided the depth of support and knowledge that HCSS brought to the table. HCSS is also always growing and listening to its customers. Customer support seems to remain the backbone of the company that is always striving to grow with the industry. Doyle Potts Safety and Logistics Manager Read full review	No answers on this topic
Return on Investment	Because of the codebooks (bid item codebook for DOT's specifically), we're able to carve off significant time in "stick-building" estimates It's very easy to train newer estimators with HeavyBid due to the abundance of resources available on HCSS Academy and elsewhere (i.e. Arthur Nix's material) The KPI's and Insights that Pre-Con offers helps us to make better decisions on Bid Day. Incentivized Verified User Anonymous Read full review	No answers on this topic
ScreenShots	HCSS Screenshots	Stairkey Screenshots