Good product, but not good fit
Updated December 13, 2019
Good product, but not good fit
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Modules Used
- Project Management
- Quality & Safety
- Field Productivity
Overall Satisfaction with Procore
Better clarity on the activities, documentation and critical information associated with our projects, which number in the hundreds. Procore allows us to easily collaborate with our employees, outside members, other consultants, our clients, etc. Perhaps most importantly, Procore enables us to better serve our clients by keeping critical project information together in a trusted system. It has even enabled us to compete with much larger firms by showcasing the quality of work produced.
- Field communication is made easier (with the right workforce)
- Drawings and their markups are more accessible
- Forms can be used to get safety logs done quicker after the initial phase of showing/teaching employees how to use and navigate
- Customer support did not help with new features being released
- Many things that were talked about in the initial demo were not quite what they were made out to be
- Hard to use with our accounting system ComputerEase
- Learning how tech-savvy your workers need to be to use Procore to the full extent has led us to look for other alternatives.
- Procore has shown us how big of a tool unit-based budgets can be
- A field communication system has to be able to talk back and forth with your accounting system
ComputerEase did not quite work like we had hoped.
BusyBusy time-keeping was initially integrated with Procore but ended up not being used once Procore's time-keeping system was released.
We use the form tool inside Procore to fill out our daily reports. Being able to know who has not turned in their forms by a certain timetable saves us time not having to track down pen and paper reports, since you can send them by email after filling them out in Procore.
Procore more than anything else showed us the need to look for and recruit workers who were familiar with using technology on a daily basic. We saw the application being used more efficiently when the worker had experience using apps and software for school, past jobs or had a healthy social media presence.
Procore was our first dive into field-to-office software. We have not tested or demoed any of the products listed above but these have been the other "big players" that we have heard of other companies in our are using.
Procore Feature Ratings
Using Procore
20 - Most users are in the field as project managers or foreman. The rest are made up of office workers (accounting, payroll, HR, IT manager) and of course the director of operations and president.
2 - In-house support falls on our IT guy and the director of operations who is approving time each week. These two users were over the implementation of Procore and over that and teaching others how to use the software for their field of work, gradually became the most learned on the applications. Patience is a key aspect of learning the program and then teaching it to the end users.
- Time keeping in the field
- Daily safety forms being filled out
- Use of other add-ons that were available (zapier, Azure)
- Procore BIM just added to our package looks like a game changer for us
- Wearable technology seems to be something Procore is looking into, that would be a big game changer for construction
- Deeper dive into the construction financials module
Evaluating Procore and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Product Reputation
- Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
- Third-party Reviews
Procore had the features we wanted. It was the biggest name in field to office technology. All other packages lacked when showed next to Procore, and the company knows this. They charge a premium for the software and do not expect them to make changes for small companies when they already do enough business.
Ask for a trial period. Speed up the set up to see where we lacked in areas before turning it over to the field end users. A lot of modules can be hard to grasp/learn. Having a bigger team to go over the training would have helped the evaluation and selection.
Procore Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Yes -
Train the Trainer approach was taken. The IT guy was put through many hours of videos and reading to get comfortable with the system then he would roll out the technology in phases (in the following order)
- In - House users
- Project Managers and Foreman's
- Field Employees
Change management was a minor issue with the implementation - Change will always cause issues, but the roll out process was so long that users were able to work out kinks before the final day to roll out the technology.
- Communication with our accounting software and Procore
- Training users on the tools they needed to learn
Procore Training
- Online training
We used training to get familiar with the product before use.
Configuring Procore
Make sure before you buy, what you want to do is supported and you see for yourself the application. Do not take the sale's men word on the matter. They are doing their job in making the product look like the right fit, it is up toy you to determine if it truly is or not.
No - there is no facility to customize the interface
No - the product does not support adding custom code
None was allowed.
Procore Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Quick Initial Response | Not kept informed Escalation required Need to explain problems multiple times |
When we needed to create a CSV export file to go into our accounting system, the agent who was over the creating of the macro was very helpful. All though it was annoying to have to create on in the first place, the agent who we worked with for multiple days was helpful and very insightful on how to make the sheet work.
Using Procore
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use | Difficult to use Requires technical support Slow to learn Lots to learn |
- All of Procore's modules need time to learn
- Once you learn them however, they can be used fast (forms, time keeping, mark ups etc)
- Loading unit installed budgets
- Exporting weekly time sheets to go into our accounting system
Yes - One of the better tools the Procore package has to offer for your company. A well made app that is very mobile friendly for iPhone's Androids and iPads.
Procore Reliability
Integrating Procore
- ComputerEase Accounting Software
Very difficult, all communication in-between the two systems is manually forced and not seamless in any way.
Make sure you know what you are getting into with this BEFORE you buy.
- None as of right now
- Procore BIM answered a lot of that for us
- File import/export
- Single Signon
- API (e.g. SOAP or REST)
- Javascript widgets
Make sure you know what kind of time and resource commitment you are getting into with Procore. If the software you are wanting to use with it is not a single push function that talks back and forth, you are going to have to get with their support and find out a way t make that connection.
Relationship with Procore Technologies
NONE, you sign a contract, make sure you know the ins and outs of it before you agree.
Very helpful, they will be easy to work with, just do your part and come to the table knowing what you and your company need from Procore, and make sure that is discussed to your satisfaction before moving forward.
Upgrading Procore
- We have not upgraded any new modules since purchasing
- We our looking at the Procore BIM to help solve issues in the field to office commutation between the designers