HeavyBid

4.6 (506)
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Estimating software for the construction industry

Overall rating

4.6 /5
(506)
Value for Money
4.2/5
Features
4.5/5
Ease of Use
4.2/5
Customer Support Software
4.8/5

98%
recommended this app
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506 Reviews

Jacob
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

A good tool, but a bit dated

Reviewed on 2021-12-17

Overall it is a useful product. Hopefully the web version is a bit smoother to use.

Overall it is a useful product. Hopefully the web version is a bit smoother to use.

Pros

The desktop app of Heavybid is a powerful tool.

Cons

Can be buggy at times and crash. Takes some time to figure out and has a very old feel.

dan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

I used Heavy Bid regularly for almost 6 years and it was great.

Reviewed on 2018-05-01

i makes bids more accurate and consistent

i makes bids more accurate and consistent

Pros

It was the first bidding software that I ever used and it seemed very intimidating at first but it was very simple to get the hang of after a very short period of time. Their live help line is amazing and they are so good at helping an new and seasoned user.

Cons

You can only have so many administrators and i worked in a very large office so if something needed changed as far as rates or crews it wasn't always convenient to get it changed

Bill
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

Have used the product for estimating for the last 10+ years.

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

The software is easy to use and the support is very knowledgable. HCSS listens to it's customers and implements changes they are requesting in updates to their product.

Cons

There is not too much I dislike about the product. At points it would be nice to have a better laid out users manual for the program we utilize to help some of the newer estimators understand the product more ithout having to attend training.

Richard
Overall rating
  • Industry: Civil Engineering
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Missing helpful additional feature

Reviewed on 2022-08-25

Estimating Projects

Estimating Projects

Pros

Sub Total Feature, Equipment Set Up, Merge Set UpItems

Cons

Not able to highlight or color headings; Equipment , Local Materials

Dustin
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HCSS Heavy Bid is the Heavy Lifter for Highway Construction

Reviewed on 2017-08-08

HCSS Heavy Bid is one of the most widely used estimating software for heavy-civil construction.

HCSS Heavy Bid is one of the most widely used estimating software for heavy-civil construction.

Pros

The advance calculation routines and checks allow me to have confidence in my costing and pricing. The escalation features is time saver, especially at bid time when final scheduling is provided.

HCSS customer service is the best. Never been on hold or transferred. Immediate connection to a friendly person who can help.

Cons

There is a steep learning curve, however, they host user group meeting that can bring beginners up to speed quickly.

Kyle
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 201–500 Employees
  • Used Daily for 6-12 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 8.0 /10

HeavyBid

Reviewed on 2017-12-12

Like any software it isn't what you are used to, but, once you understand HCSS software (HeavyBid &...

Like any software it isn't what you are used to, but, once you understand HCSS software (HeavyBid & HeavyJob) it is extremely helpful to managing work both prior during bids, during, and after as a resource for labor rates etc.

Pros

Great for CIVIL work. Lots of helpful shortcuts, like the fact it automatically pins most recent jobs to the main screen (you can also pin bids manually to always be on that screen). HCSS doesn't just hire techs to go around and tech the software they hire real construction professionals that have experience in both the software and industry which is very helpful.

Cons

Worst part about the software is the error sounds it makes when you forget to fill out a field and try to move onto a new task (that can be shut off). Great for both new bids and pricing COR work and managing budgets (with the help of HeavyJob in the field)

Justin
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 11–50 Employees
  • Used Daily for 1-5 months
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

The BEST Estimating Software

Reviewed on 2016-10-28

I have been a HeavyBid Advanced user for over 14 years now and its amazing to see how far this...

I have been a HeavyBid Advanced user for over 14 years now and its amazing to see how far this small company from Texas has come. I still remember when we ordered the software and a representative from the company came to our main office in CT and over the course of 2 days went over everything from setting up labor, benefits, burden, equipment, crews, bid items (manual entry and DOT import), etc. to showing us how to enter activities into bid items and actually creating an estimate. Such a great overall experience from the early stages of implementation to the countless support center calls at all hours of the day and night before a bid (which were always answered) up to the present day where all of the above is still true today.

Pros

Unmatched customer support, ease of use and the ecosystem of programs/applications on multiple platforms that integrate perfectly with each other and will only grow with your company.

Cons

Recently I purchased an iPad Pro 12.9" pretty much for the sole purpose of using a handfull of apps such as Projectwise, Bluebeam Revu and HeavyBid Mobile. Well, after emailing HCSS Support I find out that HeavyBid Mobile is no longer supported. I was looking forward to trying something different with HeavyBid on the go, even if it wasn't the full blown version.

Riccardo
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 501–1,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 7.0 /10

Excellent product for Civil Construction Projects

Reviewed on 2018-02-08

Pros

It's like a giant spreadsheet and helps you to manage several parts of your project
Really great auditing features

Cons

Program is still based on an old and archaic data structure that sometimes requires maintenance
Not very good for complex mechanical projects

Josh
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HCSS is the bomb.com

Reviewed on 2017-05-18

Pros

Allows you to customize your bids to your liking. Bids can be streamlined for customers and/or you can copy what the owner has set up.

Cons

THE SELECT BID ITEMS FEATURE NEVER WORKS. EVERY TIME I TRY TO ADD BID ITEMS THROUGH THE SELECT BID ITEMS IT DOESN'T WORK!

doug
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Heavy Bid is great

Reviewed on 2018-07-12

Pros

Very functional. Can modify bids very easily and create and remove bid files very quickly. Customer service is great.

Cons

The quote form (I believe Crystal reports) loads and closes very slowly. Calculation routines are complicated

Marshall
Overall rating
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software

Reviewed on 2013-05-06

Pipeline Utilities, Inc. is a General Contractor based in Raleigh, NC that specializes in undergroun...

Pipeline Utilities, Inc. is a General Contractor based in Raleigh, NC that specializes in underground utility installation, maintenance, rehabilitation, and repair. We work on a broad spectrum of types of underground utilities; from water & sewer to underground chilled water & steam lines.

Prior to HeavyBid, we were using spreadsheets written in Lotus and converted to Excel. We had used these particular spreadsheets since 1985. We began looking for an estimating software that would help us standardize our process and format while remaining flexible enough to handle the variety of work that we do.

We purchased HeavyBid in February of 2010 and have been using it since June 2010. The training and implementation that we received from HCSS has proved invaluable. We initially trained our two estimators, then six months later, we trained the rest of the project management staff. HeavyBid is easy to use, but it takes a little getting accustomed to. HCSS is a great resource. Their support staff is always available. If you forget how a certain function works, the person that answers the phone will be able to help you remember.

As far as benefits, we have been able to spend less time performing rote data entry and more time actually thinking critically about our estimates. In 2011, we were able to bid four major projects in two months time. Prior to us using HeavyBid, we would have been limited to only bidding one of them. There are many time-saving functions in HeavyBid, from the COPY routine, to the CODEBOOKS, that help Pipeline Utilities produce better, more detailed, estimates that are more quickly analyzed.

Mark
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Good Bye Spreadsheets, Hello Heavy Bid

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

I like the ease of use with Heavy Bid. An estimator can be as detailed or as generic as he wants to be. You have the ability to breakdown multiple activities and phases within one bid item. The audit checks help identify mistakes. The ease of changing mass amounts of data within the estimate is easy. From tracking DBE dollars to comparing subcontractor and supplier quotes, everything is a the tip of your fingers. You can get a report for just about anything in the estimate. The ability to build in automation is a huge time saver and maintains consistency within your organization

Cons

Hard question to answer. Once you buy the product, HCSS is on your team. Their support group is fantastic. I don't have any dislikes

Travis
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HCSS heavy bid is the best estimating software I've used in 22 years.

Reviewed on 2017-07-20

I would and have recommended this software to others.

I would and have recommended this software to others.

Pros

Customer support is amazing. There is always someone there to receive my calls at any time and on any day.

Cons

So expansive it's hard to learn all the tricks. It's hard to transfer all the tricks I've learned to coworkers but we have weekly trainings to share information.

Josh
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Great product for tracking time, materials, subs, costs!

Reviewed on 2016-09-08

Pros

The ease of use for the tablet users like my foreman or superintendents. This product is a great way to track my crews time, costs of labor and equipment, materials deliveries, subcontractors costs, and progress of the project. With this product I can quickly review my job cost to date on a whole or by an activity level.
In addition there is always tech support available for any an all questions.

Cons

This product doesn't have many flaws. They have really worked hard on getting this system down for the construction industry. The only complaint I have is the integration between the office to cloud and cloud to tablet is sometimes sluggish.

Dustin
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 1,001–5,000 Employees
  • Used Daily for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Gets the job done correctly

Reviewed on 2018-11-27

Pros

Heavy Bid gives you a lot of flexibility for determining where to put costs and revenue. Overruns/Underruns are handled with ease.

Cons

This is a steep learning curve for heavybid however, their support is world class. No waiting and instant help.

Mike
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HeavyJob & HeavyBid Review

Reviewed on 2015-03-25

Pros

I enjoy the ease of use with this product. Although, there is a bit of a learning curve once you get the hang of the software everything comes naturally. I can hop between each program seamlessly to pull reports, gather information, review time, and finish estimating tasks. We use both HeavyJob and HeavyBid for our work and wouldn't consider anything else. Customer service is also top notch and we never have to wait on hold if we have a phone question.

Cons

No complaints about the software or vendor. There are some minor technical things I would like to see addressed in the future but they are mostly minor.

Michael
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

HeavyBid Rocks

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

HCSS prides itself on innovation and customer service. They are constantly updating their products to keep up with modern technology and the changing construction environment. HeavyBid makes the estimating process streamlined and much more effecient. It helps us bid a lot more work.

Cons

There is not much to dislike about HeavyBid. The only negative that I can think of is that the software (although user friendly) can be very complicated. But that is where their helpful customer service comes to the rescue to help you out.

Dylan
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Great Product for the Industry

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

The codebooks are very helpful if setup correctly. Being able to bring in activities with a states standard item code speeds the bidding process up tremendously. Also, Support is second to none. Call anytime and someone will be there immediately to help. They wont get off the phone until the problem is resolved.

Cons

Some very minor tweeks might need to be changed, but if you know what they are they can avoid them. However, if you do make the mistake, you can still find it in the end under the Estimate Review.

Riccardo
Overall rating
  • Used Weekly for 2+ years
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software

Great program for bidding

Reviewed on 2017-08-08

Pros

This is a great program for bidding minor and major projects, it does it with ease and is very easy to work with.

Cons

It cannot get too granular as some bidding softwares can get...as such, you may have to use subsequent excel sheets to keep track of bidding.

Scott
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HCSS HeavyBid is Powerful and Effective

Reviewed on 2014-07-18

Pros

There is no end to the amount of detail you can get simply into a bid with HeavyBid. Once you figure one part of a project, you never have to do it again on future bids. Once you build an activity, it can be used as a starting point for future work and modified quickly. Once you set up labor, equipment, material, crews, etc. in the system, it is quick, simple, and precise. On the fly changes are easy to make, and I can be sure that my costs are covered.

Being on the lower end as far as size contractors who use HeavyBid, i have never felt that i am treated as less important to HCSS than their largest user. HCSS has always been a delight to deal with and I consider them to be an important partner in our business. And they make us feel important to them.

Cons

The only thing that would make me like it better would be if it were free. But the constant improvements and excellent support make ownership costs easy to justify.

Allison
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Company size: 51–200 Employees
  • Used Weekly for 1+ year
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Great Estimating Software for Heavy Civil Bidding

Reviewed on 2018-03-30

Pros

The software is easy to use once you get familiar with the system. The integration with Vista by Viewpoint is extremely helpful, as that is the Construction Software we use. Great reports to get data that you need. Reports help with the buyout process as well. Considering implementing HCSS Heavy Job at our company for tracking in the field. I love that you can get production requirements from direct cost report to the guys in the field.

Cons

Takes a little time to get familiar, but then very easy to use. It seems a little overwhelming at first.

Matthew
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Value for Money
  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Must have in your estimating arsenal!

Reviewed on 2016-09-07

Pros

Always pleased with HCSS updates to their program. I love that they don't sit around, they are always making their program the best it can be. They are second to none!

Cons

Not as easy for the new people to learn and understand.

Drew
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

HeavyBid Review 1

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

Very user friendly and good customer support. The ease of entering in bid items is great.

Cons

bid pricing screen needs more room for alternates. Would like to see # equipment and labor pieces on entimate entry screen.

JT
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Likelihood to recommend 9.0 /10

Heavyjob- Worth the Grind

Reviewed on 2016-02-17

Pros

Before coming to this event in Houston I liked how intuiitive the HeavyJob software is. It allows for easy production tracking and therefore easy field adjustments that can benefit the individual job, the company, and the future jobs within the company based on information gleaned from the results of the tweaks. After attending this event HCSS has proven to be highly nowledgable of their own product and ready to work to make it even better.

Cons

The lack of easy transition from not usong the software to using the software for primarily field employees has proven challenging. Also there is not a great way to quickly take copies of field tickets and incorporate them into a pdf of daily reports.

Brandon
Overall rating
  • Industry: Construction
  • Review Source

Overall rating

  • Ease of Use
  • Customer Support Software
  • Likelihood to recommend 10.0 /10

Heavy job is a great product

Reviewed on 2016-02-18

Pros

The best part about Heavy Job and HCSS is the customer service. They are very quick to solve any issue. They also listen to there customers to help improve the product.

Cons

I dont know that there is anything that i dont really like about HCSS. I know that they cant make a product that is great for everyone. I guess they do not keep up on the android mobile app as much as the IOS.