There’s a lot of construction bidding software out there, but is it right for your company? Find out here.
When it comes to the question of whether or not your construction company must have construction bidding software, the answer is No. You can still complete your bids the old-fashioned way, using pencils and paper, scale rulers, and spreadsheets.
But just because you can do something does not mean it’s the most efficient or best way. So, even though you’ve always done it that way, let’s consider a few reasons you might want to change your approach.
Table of Contents
- What Is Construction Bidding Software?
- The Benefits of Construction Bidding Software
- Choosing the Right Construction Bidding Software
What Is Construction Bidding Software?
A lot of construction companies, and even construction estimators, have a comfortable set of Excel spreadsheets and templates they use to calculate prices for construction bids. They function, but there’s a lot of manual work involved.
Construction bidding software is a much more sophisticated upgrade from your spreadsheets that allows you to do the same thing, but faster, more accurately, and with greater data integrity.
Many construction bidding software packages take some time to set up with your labor costs, standard specifications, material databases, and so on, but once that is done, it’s possible to estimate simpler projects in a fraction of the time it used to take you.
Most modern construction bidding software packages also connect and integrate directly with project management and accounting software, so you can use the same data to populate schedule-task lists or generate your progress-billing templates.
The Benefits of Construction Bidding Software
When you’re used to the system you use for bidding, it does feel like a big deal to make the switch to something new, even when it promises to deliver better results.
But it’s still worth considering the many benefits that construction bidding software offers, such as:
1. Granular security permissions – you can decide who can view, edit, and delete various documents, so there’s no chance someone will accidentally delete or compromise your bid calculations
2. Easy collaboration – teams are more spread out than ever, and modern, cloud-based bidding software allows you to share data and estimates with key people for review and approval, no matter where they are in the world
3. Build a bidding library – you don’t actually have to reinvent the wheel every time you bid on a new project; you can use previous bids for similar work to speed up the process
4. Update pricing databases easily – many construction bidding software solutions allow you to import price lists as a CSV or SQL file, which means you don’t have to manually enter each price
5. Customizable – most modern construction bidding software tools can be customized to suit your company and how you do things
6. Integration and data transfer between company systems – when you can export and import data from one system to another, you eliminate costly rework and lower the chance of errors
7. Accuracy – this might be the most important benefit of construction bidding software – the guarantee that you won’t accidentally alter a formula, use the wrong version or set calculations to manual and make a costly mistake
Choosing the Right Construction Bidding Software
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to switching to construction bidding software from the patchwork of templates, worksheets, and notepads you’re currently using. But many construction companies still struggle to take the plunge, and very often, that’s because of analysis paralysis.
There are so many construction estimating and bidding tools out there it can be difficult to make a decision, so it’s easier just to avoid the issue.
However, there are steps you can take to make things a little easier.
First, focus on construction bidding software that matches your type of company. If you’re a subcontractor, software designed for general contractors probably won’t work, and vice versa, so find something that’s made for your type of business.
Next, look for a company that has been around for a while, and that offers fantastic tech support. You want to know that the software you’re investing in will be around for the long haul, and that when you need help using it or rolling it out, you’ll have that.
Consider options that are customizable or that have optional add-ons that might work for your business. You want to get as many of the features you need as possible, but none of the “bloat” that makes things too slow and complicated.
Finally, request a live demo. There’s no better way to see if a construction bidding tool will work for you than to jump right in and see it in action. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, either. Any good software company will be happy to answer them.
