Settings in Quote Folders
If you are new to quote folders there are a few settings that you should consider setting up. These are user specific so everyone on the team would have to do this individually. Go to Quote Folders and enter on an existing quote folder for…
Total Shifts for an Estimate
In training of new users, I often get the question “where are my total shifts?” Now the question is framed where total shifts will be the duration of the project. If the project is small and there is only one crew on the project then…
Attached Documents
The subject of where do the attached documents reside was discussed among the HeavyBid trainers the other day. A preview of the attachments or links is not printed out with the cost report however if you want to see where they are located it is…
Part II – G&A Expenses in HeavyBid
In Part I, I outlined the reasons to separate markup from your general overhead expenses (all costs that are not allocated to an individual job). There are two areas in HeavyBid where I recommend putting this cost. The first option is to put the G&A…
Part I – Allocating G&A Expense in HeavyBid
One subject I always introduce in my HeavyBid training is separating markup and G&A (general and administrative expenses). Every company should know what their total overhead expenses as a percentage of total sales or some other measurable cost like yearly total labor. If you don’t…
Cross Estimate Analysis Report
I find that a lot of estimators don’t know about this report. I think HCSS could put this in a better location so that it is more easily found. The same report can be found in SETUP>SYSTEM WIDE MORE and it is called “Estimate Management”…
Replace Crew Feature V2019
This is one of the new features of Version 2019.0 that you might have missed. The replace crew feature has been around for a long time allowing the estimator to swap out one crew for another. But the issue was it would also replace modified…
Review Fuel Price Setup
Judging from current events overseas the price of fuel is going to go up. Many HCSS customers work on projects that are equipment-intensive and if that is the case then fuel usage is high and certainly a significant cost to the construction budget. Even a…
DOT Biditem Descriptions
If you import in biditems into HeavyBid from the Expedite/Aashtoware many state DOT’s will have biditem descriptions greater than 50 characters. Issue is the information truncated beyond HeavyBid’s 50 character limit can be the most valuable information of the entire description! HeavyBid has many options…
Cost Estimating Definitions
I found this in Wikipedia and highly recommend this for review for all estimators, project managers and even people who are in accounting that work with budgets and day to day construction operations. This is actually better than what I find in most construction estimating…
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.
