Buildxact Reviews

I love the take off tools and the ease of generating a quotation, it allows me to get ontop of pricing and take offs and the ability to calculate variations based off of subcontractors m2 rates without waiting for my subbies to get back to me is invaluable.

also when entering the line items I love that it can allow me to add in a picture into the specifications so that my client knows exactly what products are included in my quote and it also gives me to option to nominate items as provisional costs or provisional sums at the click of a button further more, I can select if the item is a task in the schedule so I have the ease of generating a gannt chart as i go with little to no down time so when I submit my quote I know exactly how long I need to build.

overall they have captured everything well and the only items I dont like are some of the little bugs that come with developing such a great software such as:

1. I would like a little more functionality in the plan scaling section.
2. The RFQ's tie themselves to line items and can't be adjusted without deleting the RFQ's or overriding them manually
3. All RFQ's have to be tied to a Job, you can't send off rfq's once the project becomes a Job for further item shopping for savings nor can you issue the rfq to subbies without having to mess around with your Quotes and categories.
4. the project cost analysis only seems to work off of purchase orders and work orders, you can't just tally up numbers under line items such as fixings which may require 10=15 receipts so you need to create a purchase order to tally it up. also, you can only issue invoices in the cost plus projects for expenses worn and not preempt expenses which makes it impossible to issue invoices in a pro active manner to get the client paying the bill.
6. The gannt chart lacks the flexibility and function that I am used to from such programs as smart sheet (another great software that we use)
5. It would be great to have it as an app and in the future look at expanding the software to a fully integrated project management software similar to plan grid

The ease of Authoring the Quote. Being able to create and add Categories and line items keeps the quotes organized and easy to review. I like my quotes to be presented chronologically as the work will be progressed. The ability to Move categories, and or individual items is great. And simple as this sounds, being able to insert a line where ever I want, is priceless.

I have only used this software for the writing of quotes. After 1.5 years of use, the only shortfall I have is to be able to total out individual items throughout the quote such as labor, materials, equipment.

after setting up the recipes for regular used items I found it so easy to use

the software is a little slow, when you are trying to do things quickly, the program tells you to slow down. this is then you are using quick features like setting tasks in scheduling

Take offs and simple estimating is fine. Just use the simple template the rest are painful. Use it only for fixed price/lump some. If you have forman then there is no decesent app for them. So small simple builder only.

The cost plus accounting system is not practical or logical and considering most luxury or highly complicated residential builds are built with this type of contract in NSW, its useless. They are melbourne based and victoria doesn't have much cost plus contracting. Purchase orders have to be made in a 10 minute work around. That is a pain for xero integration so i ended up just putting lines into to account. We ended up using a spreadsheet to account for the project actuals. We had to manually enter the line items as they encrypt from their so called exported xls or csv files. so you can't copy the text you entered in the first place. So annoying and silly as it is your data in the first place.
The worst thing is the coding and server speed, since they have branched out into the states it is now half the speed it use to be in the evenings. A huge template we created over months that calculated materials quantities from our suppliers and our own formulas was corrupted and we were told we would have to rebuild it.

The response time for customers on critical matters is shocking too. You have to deal with an annoying bot that comes up everytime. We spent many months rebuilding a spreadsheet from the formulas as well has juggling the running projects and the normal pressures of covid and material prices. Not one phone call for a 3 + years customer, who created 3-5 customers for them over the years. A total nightmare I’ll never forgive, only learn from.

I love the estimating, the take off tool within the estimating section. Its easy to convert a quote to a project.
It links to my suppliers pricing which means i should always have the most up to date pricing avaialble

Dont like that you pay per user, not just per account. Or have a residential package to suit up to 5 users say.
The timeline scheduling, unless I'm not using correctly is difficult to edit and frustrating so i dont use it like i probably should.
Love that it links to xero and Deputy

Buildxact is a simple but powerful estimating and job management tool. It has basic CRM functionality that enables the management of leads within the program.
The ease take off tool is simple and when combined with the recipes makes the complex quite easy. Building recipes is easy to do and the supplied videos quide you through the process.
The other huge time saver is the integration of the software with supplier catalogues. I don't spend anywhere near as much time manually entering items and prices and they are now always up to date.

There is nothing really diffcult withe the program. If they could improve one thing it is the ability to truly customise the quote cover in a simple manner. The advanced editing feature is a little too complex and even with the help of one of the trainers we couldn't get it to jump through the hoops we wanted. The cover still looks a million bucks - I would just like to tweak it a little more than the system allows.

Keeping up with all our take offs, sending invoices/quotes etc

No iPhone app, so we can access all costings and other areas that you can from a PC, I have bookmarked the site so I have easy access to some areas of Builxact from my iPhone, that’s the only improvement I can see what will make this software

Keeping my jobs costed and follow profit to each job

Nothing to mention, everything works as I need

Makes quoting easy and fast and at the end its all done and laid out for you .

Just getting my head around it at first.

the estimating program is easy to use and save time with how it works

there are a few items that are automated and the user isnt able to change how these details work with ease

Easy to setup and start using from day one regardless of your skill level. Intuitive setup and all the features one needs to professionally quote and manage a construction project. Lots of built in tools to help those just starting and tons of customization options to mold the platform to work with your specific business.

Time card application and RFI/submittal tracking would elevate this product beyond all others in the market.

It has systemised our quoting process, which speeds up our quote time, which leaves more time for project management and sales.
We can produce extremely professional quotes now which include all the products we have allowed for so the clients and my team know exactly what they are getting

Integration with building suppliers in NZ isn't available yet but I believe this will come in due time.
The client portal is quite cumbersome and I don't like the fact that we don't have control over this once it's set up.
Manual inputting of supplier invoices can take some time
The scheduling tool can be a bit of a pain to use and doesn't look very nice, an upgrade to this would be great

I find the estimating features to be easy to use and effective in generating accurate project estimates / quotations.
Leading on to 'Job' stage the historical data and cost plan is essential for reviewing and maintaining project cost controls.
The Variation portal is also very beneficial with submitting and tracking any changes as the project progresses

I dont find the Accounting Software integration to be beneficial as the communication between Xero and Build Xact is not 2-way.

The digital take-off is by far the best part of this software in my opinion. When linked to Recipes I can complete a full estimate far quicker then I ever have using other systems. Very easy to use and set up.

It woud be great if you could have a report while still in estimating stage of all Cost Centres with Recipes allocated, not being able to add more than one item at a time is a pain.

Cloud based system, modern system with a lot of potential to improve functionality. Really easy to measure and take off from plans

Communication regarding feedback on features to improve the system is lacking. It appears the easy features may be addressed while the harder ones are ignored. Cutting lists are not a current feature. Cannot put in future prices rises effective on a certain date

Being able to upload all types of plans and the ease of measuring up complex projects.

The Variation forms would be much better if you could list/add 'Actual Cost' items after the variation has been made up. (if something was accidentally missed)

Being unable to export screen shots to show trades certain areas of what we have allowed etc.

Estimating ease of use, graphical takeoff, template creation

actual calculation functions to assist with cutting lists

From tracking quotes, to take offs and organizing your quote in a professional way, to sending purchase orders and tracking your project to the cent, BuildXact is by far the best value for money estimating/project management software on the market.

The scheduling is a bit clunky in comparison to MS Project

I love that i never have to worry "did i send that order or book that tradie?" It is so easy to issue price requests, purchase orders, work orders and program my jobs/subbies and if i ever need to check that a task has been done i have the reassurance that the systems are in place to control all that communication.

The invoicing when completing cost plus projects could have more options and be more customisable.

All the features are useful and relevent

Clearer tracking of progress invoices from contractors and suppliers for part claims

Buildxact has all the features we need to run and manage multiple building projects.

Take off function takes a while to get used to

Software - easy and useful.
Service - 5 star services, solves all the issues we have ever.

Sometimes bugs still come out, most them have been resolved, but some we still have to pay attention too.

The product was easy to use. Uploading your company logo for branding was easy. This program is backed up by fantastic support which I accessed .

Could have smoother transition between estimate and invoice. Should be in same drop down box. Ex convert current estimate to invoice.

Great software and they are continually improving their service offering. Easy to do take offs and manipulate the software to your individual requirements. The support teams are great, always ready to help you and assist you in getting the most out of the software. They continually run sessions on their updates to ensure you are across them. All of their support are based in Melbourne and Australian owned company which is great for local business.

Their quoting system wasn't ideal at the start however they have just released a newer version and it's great.

how easy it is to use, provide digital take off, purchase orders

not a great fan of the schedule, im sure its easy to use as well but never got around to it.