Trimble GC WinEst vs. Wrike

WinEst is truly built for everyone. Their assemblies/database linking is perfect for self perform and subcontractors while their database management and custom reporting is perfect for GCs. While Excel set the bar, WinEst is on another planet. With the immediacy required by today's markets, WinEst allows you to deliver a superior product while being more accurate.

Incentivized

My organization used Google Sheets to work with subbies, but we've since switched to Wrike. It is user friendly, has formulas and customizable fields. Wrike has been a lifesaver because instead of sharing Google Sheets with external customers and typically they messing up - deleting formulas, users can simply fill out a request form without logging into Wrike . All details are displayed in a table view, making management much easier.

Incentivized

• It's very flexible when building an estimate and selecting items to include. You can either click your way to the datebase or quickly copy and paste similar items.
• The numerous ways to view and estimate whether it's by CSI, Uniformat, Master Format, or any view you'd like to see. One of ours is by program area, i.e. Sitework, Tower, Parking Deck, etc. After that, you can sort by Bid Package, CSI, etc. Quick buttons can be created far all the views you'd need which allows changing between views a breeze.
• The visual interface is pleasing and easy to read.
• It's easy to create your own database using Excel. Once you tag an item with unit costs, sort codes, etc., Winest will import it. You can also build it manually within the program but Excel was faster.

Incentivized

• Wrike has been consistent in emailing any updates or changes to each person involved in each task.
• Wrike has a simple to navigate website, with quick access to each task.
• Wrike keeps all data files located at the top of the task for quick reference, which makes it easier for each team member to find.
• Wrike adds date tags as well as any edited or deleted notes where we are able to cross-reference any major changes that may have been made.

Incentivized

• At times, WinEst controls feel counter intuitive. Also the tools available for actually developing the database can feel clunky. This means that if you do not take the time to create a robust import file, you will spend a serious amount of time fixing your errors.
• WinEst is also an object based database which means that it is difficult to do mass dumps of information (mainly takeoff) into the program. While this is great for ensuring that everything is done purposefully, it does lead to extended hours of data entry
• It takes hours upon hours of use before you begin to realize the true potential. The sheer number of tools is overwhelming and their help resources are very basic and only explain how to correctly enter the data but not the feature's best use cases.

Incentivized

• The email notifications that are automatically sent from Wrike when something is done are easy for users to miss or ignore.
• Reporting can be limited. You have to create workarounds for collecting/storing the name of the person submitting the form in instances where they do not have their own Wrike license.
• A more user-friendly interface, especially for those less familiar with project management software, would enhance overall accessibility.

I wish that Wrike had more drag and drop functionality that would be connected to assignee and also I wish that the finish date of a task would update to the date where you checked completed. It does not do that. Also finishing a task doesn't move the start date of the next task it "protects your time in that way", but our management team wants us to quickly see what we have down the pipeline rather than having to scroll down the list of upcoming tasks.

Incentivized

Wrike, overall, is pretty easy to setup and use. I still find challenges in changing milestone dates but our programs / date changes are different than industry standard so that is partly the issue. We love the Excel look along with the dashboards! There are also built in analytics that really assist in seeing where the projects are!

Over two years of (almost) daily usage without outages. Don't remember any errors. I give it 9 only because some Wrike plugins (for online document edit) are based on NPAPI architecture. These types of plugins are being phased out in new browsers, and NPAPI plugins are disabled by default in recent versions of Chrome so you have to do some browser adjustments when you switch browsers or move to another computer.

Wrike tasks loads fine, but I hate clicking files and wait for a bit of time since it is powerpoint or word, Wrike assumes I want to open those on Wrike. My suggestion is to link it to office 365 so we do not need Wrike based decoder for PPTX and DOCX

Incentivized

Doug Quinn was our trainer and travels all over the country. Whenever I have an issue I shoot him an email and he quickly responds as soon as his training gets a break.

Incentivized

Support is very quickly and they want to solve problems actively. When I need additional info I can use community forum, when I've an issue I can use support form to get help. The support is of excellent quality from the first level, to grow when you talk to the engineers it becomes even more important

Incentivized

We had staff in person provide some training

Incentivized

I love the Wrike training options. Wrike Discover has tons of courses, learning plans, certifications, etc. This is an area where Wrike definitely shines! I wish these resources were more in your face for new people, because it seems like a lot of coworkers didn't know all of this training was available to them.

Incentivized

There are a lot of bells and whistles in Wrike, and not all of it is easy or intuitive to understand once it's plopped in your lap. It's easier when there are a few choice people who understand Wrike as a platform and articulate it in such a way where it makes it easy to pass it along to others in the group

WinEst simply blows excel and Timberline out of the water. The shear depth of functionality is unparalleled. Not only does WinEst deliver a better product, it also shortens the amount of man hours required for each bid, alternate, pricing exercise, etc. On top of this, it has a number of redundant safeguards for catching errors that the others don't have.

Incentivized

I have not used other products except Microsoft Teams channels with file sharing and standard sharing from Adobe, text and email messaging, and Zoom/gotomeeting sharing. This is the first product that I have used that had the functionality and platform where the sharing is simplistic. It is better than standard sharing through email or other simple forms because everything stays together.

Incentivized

company purchase

Incentivized

The sky is the limit for what can be done in Wrike. We started with 1 use case and within 5 months we migrated several key business practices over to Wrike because they were easier to manage. Use cases so far: process improvement, management review, corrective actions, maintenance requests, month-end financial closing, and document management. As we grow, it's easy to imagine putting even more into Wrike where it becomes a cornerstone for how we do business

not sure

Incentivized

• We've not measured the rate of return but WinEst has made us much more efficient and organized.

Incentivized

• Adding versions of a document streamlines our editing process, preventing us from reviewing outdated versions of a document. This feature saves time, especially when working with external contributors who may not know Wrike well.
• Blueprints save time because we do not have to manually enter all the details when scheduling a recurring project.

Incentivized