Using HeavyBid to Calculate Project’s Cost to Complete
HeavyBid is a good tool for calculating a project’s cost to complete and it gives you a snapshot of each succeeding month’s remaining work. Start with the conformed estimate and at the end of each month for each bid item (or you can do it at the…
Spreadsheet Gear – HeavyBid Internal Spreadsheet
The internal spreadsheet is probably the most under utilized feature in HeavyBid. It is actually a third party software called SpreadsheetGear. It is very “Excel” like and in HeavyBid Version 2015 the version of SpreadsheetGear has been updated to the latest version (2012). Here is…
Tool Preferences V2015-Unreviewed Activity Check Box
Tools>Preferences is an area that many HeavyBid users don’t customize or at least review regularly. If your company has updated Version 2015 now is the time to review all the preferences and at the same time customize options to take advantage of HeavyBid extensive feature…
Customize Columns Change Activity Data – New Feature V2015
I am finding in Version 2015 improvements that HCSS don’t call out in their list of new features. Some are just tweaks in screens but others are revisions that you should be aware of. One is in the EDIT>CHANGE ACTIVITY DATA. In previous versions you could…
Version 2015 What’s New
Attached is the PDF file of what is new in Version 2015. LINK
Version 2015 – New Color Settings
If you just upgraded to Version 2015 set your resource colors so they show up in the Tree View. A new way to get to this user setting is through the Tree View itself. Go to Display Options and then bottom left “User Color Preferences”….
Equipment Mechanic Hours
How can you calculate a total number of mechanic hours in HeavyBid? The EOE has to be setup with the “Calculate” setting (not hourly) so along with the mechanic hours the fuel use and other EOE costs will be inputted. I see companies set this…
Modify Bid Pricing Indicators-Bid Price Screen
In the lower right hand corner of the Bid Price Screen are the Indicators. Many companies don’t use Takeoff/Bid quantities differences so they don’t need Markup and Profit shown for both. Also to most users “Markup% on Sales” description is at best confusing. This would…
Why You Need a Test Estimate
What is a Test estimate? It is an estimate that you setup as one of your master estimates to create estimates in order to test HCSS routines and see how they work. I always admonish users not to treat HeavyBid as a Black Box where they…
Master Estimates – How Many Do You Need? Part 2
You need multiple labor setups but multiple master estimates can be difficult to keep synchronized. A better solution is to create one master with the labor, equipment, crews and default settings and then copy in labor rates from a Labor Master for each estimate that…
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.
