Copying from Other Estimates – A Discussion
This is not a blog on how to copy from other estimates but one that asks why are you copying from other estimates? I see many HeavyBid customers whose workflow is this. Create all the Activities (or Biditems) by going out to previous estimates and…
Search Biditems or Activities by Description in Tree View
This might not seem like a very useful feature until you have hundreds of biditems or activities. In the TreeView and on the biditems right-click and you will get a pop up screen that has two radio buttons. One is searching on Biditem description and…
Version 2018 HeavyBid – New Archive Estimate Feature
I love this new tool. Most of the users probably like me were probably not looking for the feature but once introduced it is like “where was this all my life?” But you have to determine how best to use it. Plan how you are…
Creating a Conformed Estimate
What is “conforming” an estimate? You might not be familiar with the term. A “conformed” estimate is just an estimate copied from the original and modified after the project has been awarded. Here is the workflow model. First you estimate the project. At the conclusion…
Estimating Mistakes Using HeavyBid that I See
I am usually in one or two contractors offices a week. I see some using HeavyBid very well and others not so much. The worst cases are the ones I just hear about because the company doesn’t train their estimators on best practices of HeavyBid. Here…
Small Projects Estimate
Sometimes creating an entire estimate for a one bid item project can be complete overkill. This suggestion comes from many years (back in the DOS days) that still is valid today. Consider for small estimates (one bid item) creating an estimate that will contain a…
HeavyBid Keyboard Shortcuts – 2018 UGM Course
Here is a course I taught at this year’s UGM. Keyboard shortcuts can really increase your productivity in HeavyBid, especially in Tree View LINK
Quick Biditem Spreadsheet On the Fly
I was working on an estimate and had this need for a spreadsheet for the biditem. I won’t need it again as it just a one-off spreadsheet. Now you can create a spreadsheet using the internal spreadsheet for an activity but I needed it for…
Bid Item Codebook – Why aren’t you using it?
If there is one underused or ignored feature in HeavyBid it is the Biditem Codebook. Of course if you are a DOT type contractor this is a huge time saver but it also is valuable for county, city and even private work. Typically if a…
Autofill Productivity and Productivity Factor
A feature I did not notice is how HeavyBid now fills in the crew productivity and productivity factor if the estimator fills in one of the productivity information fields. I see estimators who have not come up through any formal estimating training just fill in…
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.
