Quickly Change Tag Values
I love tags, but updating them during the estimate lifecycle could be necessary. If it is just updating a tag value for a single estimate, the quickest method is to go to FILE>OPEN and then click on OPTIONS at the bottom of the screen. The…
Master Estimates-How Many Do You Need? Part 1.
HeavyBid allows as many Master estimates as you need but consider the downside of multiple master estimates: Each master estimate has to be maintained. For example, if an equipment price changes in one master you have to copy it to all the other masters since…
Youtube Video – Options for importing in Biditem Descriptions for the DOT Contractor
Frequently DOT’s have a longer character length of 50 characters for the biditem description. Anything over this length will get truncated in HeavyBid. The issue is critical information can be truncated as it falls at the end of the description. In Tools>Preferences>Estimate>DOT Import there are…
Outside Rent – Hidden Costs
I was setting up a new customer this week, and part of this process is setting up equipment. When a vendor invoices for equipment, sales tax is usually added but that is not all. Here are the additional charges that the customer added to the…
How to Handle DEF Fluid burn in Equip. Setup
In the equipment setup (Advanced and Comprehensive Versions) you can specify for EOE (Equipment Operating Expense) the fuel burn. Approximately 10 years ago diesel equipment manufacturers were required to install a tank for DEF fluid that injects into the fuel mixture to reduce the nitrous…
Setting up Key Performance Indicators
This Youtube video is Part 1 of setting up KPI’s. In the Advanced and Comprehensive versions you can customize these values and even send these up to Insights to compare across estimates. Highly recommended. Be looking for Part 2 in this Youtube series. Youtube Video
Youtube Video – Setting up Parent Child Biditems
I could not find this subject on the HCSS Academy, which is my first rule for my new effort of making Youtube videos. There are many reasons for setting up parent-child biditems; now you can even price the first child biditem. Some of the reasons…
Notes from 2014 UGM Class by Mike Rydin
As far as I know this was the last class topic taught at a UGM by the founder of HCSS, Mike Rydin. This was a popular class, and I just found the notes for it and thought it was worth publishing here. If there is…
Youtube Video – Coding Crews
My first Youtube video in quite a while. If you have a lot of crews to code here is my opinion on how to code them and the Excel spreadsheet that you can use. Youtube Link Download Spreadsheet Link
HeavyBid Documentation
I get a lot of requests for a HeavyBid Manual, and my reply is there is not one. But two documents, while somewhat dated, are still useful and worth reviewing by any estimator new to HeavyBid. The links are down below: LINK – HeavyBid 101…
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.
