Why WinEst?
April 03, 2017

Why WinEst?

Andy Ruda | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with WinEst

WinEst is our primary estimating software used by our pre-construction department.
  • 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.
  • As with other estimating software I've used, WinEst needs to make reports easier to do. You can make reports with your own headers and such but creating those templates is very difficult to create unless you're a programmer.
  • Initially, we had some database sharing conflicts with our server that needed to be overcome. I believe Winest has since improved this though.
  • Could really improve the takeoff function. It has an OST integrator but it's an afterthought at best. Using OST directly is a must.
  • We've not measured the rate of return but WinEst has made us much more efficient and organized.
  • MC2 and Timbeline
I'll take WinEst over MC2 and Timberline any day. My ranking would be WinEst number 1 followed by Timberline (Windows), Timberline (DOS), MC2.
I use WinEst in all stages of estimating from conceptual to GMP.

WinEst Support

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.
ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
No escalation required
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes - Being relatively new to the product we wanted that safety net. May drop it in the future.
Yes - Yes. Also, they are very responsive to added features we request.