Equipment Setup – Fuel Usage Component
For contractors setting a price for estimating purposes for equipment is a daunting process at best. With the price of diesel dropping in the last few months consider if you have not done so developing your EOE based on a fuel usage per hour. Then…
Accounting Software – Visual ContrAcct
I am not endorsing this but I did a training in Chicago and the contractor recommended this accounting software. They said the support was excellent which is something of a rarity among accounting software companies. Quickbooks is great for a startup but it has a…
Quote Folder Adjustments and Bid Quantity/Takeoff Quantity Differences
This is an advanced topic but one that estimators doing large at risk estimates should be aware of especially if there are significant bid quantity/takeoff quantity differences. First there is a setting in Tools>Preferences where you can set if bid quantities are desired to come…
Bond Routine – It Does Work Correctly
In the Summary routine the bond routine calculates the bond on the balanced bid price. It is not basing the bond on the bid price in the pricing screen but instead it is on the balanced price in the Summary. So you might question why it does…
Quick Parent Child Relationship
If you setup Biditem Parent-Child relationships you should try the “Quick Parent-Child Relationship Setup”. It brings up a dialog box where you can simply drag and drop child items into Parent Biditems without even setting the biditem as a Parent (dragging it to a biditem…
Computer Hardware Options – Small Form Factor
A year ago I built my own computer using good components that are difficult to get in the typical preassembled computers. This computer has a solid state drive and is much faster than just about any laptop out there. I wanted a unit that I…
Estimating Reference Resource
I came across this estimating manual when doing a Google search. While it applies specifically to building estimating (CSI Masterformat) it has a lot of good general information that pertains to any type of estimate. I find some users of HeavyBid have not received any formal…
Prepare HeavyBid for the New Year
With the Christmas break drawing near now is a good time to prepare HeavyBid for the new year. Here are some suggested tasks. 1. Create a new master estimate by copying the former one. This will be your Master Estimate for 2015. 2. In the…
Two Sessions of HeavyBid Open on the Same Computer
I find it valuable occasionally to have two sessions of HeavyBid open at the same time. For example you might have to compare current bid items to a older revision of the same estimate. Assuming you have a multi-user system (will not work for the…
Delete Multiple Resources in Crews and Tree View
Sometimes I forget about useful shortcuts in HeavyBid. Yesterday in a training for a company already using HeavyBid one estimator reminded the group that you can right click in Modify Crew Screen and then click the boxes of the labor/equipment to quickly delete multiple resources….
HeavyBid – Basics and Beyond is devoted to everything HCSS HeavyBid and estimating. Updated regularly with helpful insights and tools of the trade, this blog is designed to make your estimating easier and more successful.
