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…
Your boss says “Go learn HeavyBid”
It does sound pretty humorous, but I have met so many HeavyBid users that we were just told to learn HeavyBid with no real direction. Maybe on another blog, I will discuss the downfalls of learning HeavyBid on your own but today, let’s say your…
New Support Phone Number
HCSS just announced that tech support for HeavyBid will have a dedicated phone number. It is unclear to me yet if this means there will be dedicated HeavyBid Tech Support people but at least when the tech Support person picks up the phone when you…
A Good Investment
I am always talking up and bragging about HCSS Tech Support. If you want to be a power user of any HCSS software product you have to be calling Tech Support with your questions. But sometimes, the question crosses the line from a technical question…
Night Pay Adjustment to Labor
Sometimes, an estimator knows that the crew will be working at night and the pay rate will be increased. A simple way of doing it is to create a labor code like “NWORK” which will be the pay rate differential. Then add it to the…
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…
Hand Sketches – A Podcast
One skill that, at a minimum, estimators and field personnel should have, is the ability to do hand sketches whether it be on paper or a tablet. Scott Jennings recently did a podcast on this subject where he covered good practices for hand sketches. Gone…
A Better Path for Implementation
Most companies that implement HeavyBid go with the model of gathering the data necessary to set up HeavyBid and then just wait until the trainer arrives at the office before even opening up the program. There are more proactive ways that will accelerate the process…
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.
