ConstructionOnline

I am a new user of this kind of software. A few months ago I did not even know that something like this existed. It has opened a whole new world for me and I am blown away by what this software can do. We demo'ed a few competing products before making a choice and it was the wide range of features at the most competitive price that sold us on ConstructionOnline. I especially like the messaging feature which is basically an email system dedicated to one specific project.

There is nothing I really dislike about ConstructionOnline, there are just some features I do not use as they do not meet my needs as a commercial general contractor. For example, I do not use Estimating and Change Orders as they seem to be less robust than some of the other software products. These features seem to be geared more towards the residential market. However, I realize it is hard to be everything for everyone.

A feature, I think, that would be nice would be the ability to sign documents electronically. Maybe one can do it through Redline; if so, I have not been able to figure it out yet.

As a general contractor one has to collect submittal packages from vendors and subcontractors, review them, and then attach a separate sheet to the package, that contains your stamp of approval/comments/signature on it, before you forward the submittal package on to the architect/engineer for review. On this submittal sheet there is space for the different reviewers to add their stamps as well. It would be nice if ConstructionOnline could generate this submittal sheet that you can attach to submittal packages sent to you. Currently, I generate the submittal sheet in another project management program, print it, place my stamp on it, sign it, scan it back into my computer, upload it to a pdf editor, add it to the submittal package file, and then upload the combined file to ConstructionOnline. It would be nice if you could do it all in ConstructionOnline.

The selection picker is definitely something we use a lot and helps keep the myriad of selections in a home organized, such that they can be sliced and diced by trade/room etc. Redline plan room we've recently starting using. The ability to do our own takeoffs is super handy. More than any feature, the support you get is invaluable. The team is always ready and willing to help you figure out how to use the software to meet your goals. The ability to have a set of shared plans is super helpful, as you can make field modifications in real time and have them reflected on all your coworkers plans as well, and vice-versa.

Construction Online doesn't *look* as user-friendly as say, Trello or Monday.com, but it has all the features and more. It takes considerable training to take advantage of all the capabilities and that makes it hard to adopt across a team that's busy doing other things. Making a lot of the features more user-friendly interface like would help. Bite-sized training, like pre-recorded sessions that introduce users to functions in an organized way, building on previous lessons would be helpful. The support is very helpful and willing to help you get started, but you need to know what you want to accomplish for them to guide you there. Starting fresh, you don't even know what you want yet.

installation was as simple as clicking a link. Very user friendly and easy to install. Technical support is available but I never used it because I had no issues. I was able to do everything myself.

I have not identified any issues. I am able to manage my projects from beginning to end. This is exactly what I needed.