As we usher in 2023, many construction companies look at their goals and how they can be achieved as the year progresses. One of the main goals every company should strive towards is the improvement of processes. This means you have to look at how to improve efficiency, data visibility, ease of access, and collaboration between the different departments of your company. 

One of the best ways to do this is to look at software designed to replace outdated and inefficient tools like spreadsheets. The construction industry continues to technologize faster, and it’s getting harder to vet software as new tools crop up daily.

This article will list some of the best-in-class software used by our customers and the construction industry to help you improve your processes around project management, estimating, HR, workforce planning, sales, and marketing. 

Workforce planning 

Bridgit Bench

Bridgit Bench is built to handle the dynamic, complex nature of construction workforce planning. It’s designed to be flexible and highly customizable to your organization’s needs. 

Spreadsheets have been the standard method of workforce planning in construction, but their manual data entry and susceptibility to error have left operations managers spending more time maintaining their spreadsheets than managing their people. 

Bridgit’s effectiveness can be broken down into five pillars: 

• Real-time visibility.
  • Bridgit Bench clarifies where your people are, how long they’ll be there, and where they’re going next. You can see this information instantly with no manual data entry and no risk of human error. 

• No information gatekeeping
  • Collaborative workforce planning helps ensure people have access to the information they need to inform their work. 

• Forecasting
  • Forecasting helps you plan long-term with Utilization Rate charts, Pursuit Management, and Bench Cost Reports. You can run scenarios with specific pursuits to see the impact each would have on your workforce. 

• Breaking down data and communication silos between offices
  • Bridgit Bench can support multiple offices within the same account. One office can check for available resources in another office that is willing to travel. This helps maintain strong utilization across all your locations, reduce short-term hires, and expand your talent pool of skilled workers. 

• Integrations with the rest of your tech stack
  • You can streamline your workflows by pulling data at the right time from a wide selection of construction-specific and non-specific software. 

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Construction Estimating Software FAQ

What is digital construction estimating software?

Construction estimating software is used by estimating teams to calculate and predict costs for a construction project. These digital tools help streamline the estimation process from bid creation to cost analysis to ensure proposals are as precise as possible and help put forward successful bids. Getting estimates right up front is a key part of managing project scope creep in construction.

How does construction estimating software work?

Construction estimating software works by allowing users to input project details and then use built-in databases to forecast expenses. Advanced estimating software may use algorithms and machine learning to help forecast expenses. It’s important that when you evaluate your construction estimating software, you consider how it integrates with your process. You will want to pull in data from tools, like your CRM and workforce planning software, as well as information from project documents. 

What is estimating in construction?

Estimating in construction involves calculating the costs for a project including items like materials, wages, equipment, and real-estate costs. Forecasting line-by-line expenses accurately is key to creating successful bids that win contracts and also ensuring your project is profitable. Estimating is an important skill in construction, as it’s a balance act between what you think will happen and what will happen.

Project management

Procore

It’s not a surprise that the Procore platform is an integral piece of your tech stack. It’s become a behemoth tool helping you manage your construction projects, resources, and financials across the project lifecycle. 

Procore has four product lines designed to connect project stakeholders: 

• A Preconstruction product line consisting of tender management.

• A Project Management product line revolving around quality & safety, design coordination, and BIM. 

• A Resource Management product line that helps with field productivity tracking and analysis. 

• A Financial Management product line designed to take on project financials, invoice management, portfolio financials, capital planning, and accounting integrations. 

If Procore doesn’t build it, they can integrate and connect it to a solution that does. 

Estimating

ProEst

ProEst is generally considered the top construction estimating software program – for good reason. The company has been developing estimating software since 1976, making it one of the oldest players in the space.

This expertise is quite evident in the very intuitive design of ProEst’s software, which offers easy access to functionality such as:

• customer relationship management
• proposal creation
• cost estimating
• accounting

Crucially, ProEst also integrates with several other construction management software programs, including:

• Procore
• iSqft
• Viewpoint
• Jonas

ProEst’s flexibility and ease of use make it the top construction estimating software for general contractors and subcontractors alike.

Human Resources

BambooHR

Keeping with the theme of people management, you’ll need an effective HR system to help with compensation, hiring, onboarding, and performance management. BambooHR makes it easy to:

• Analyze your people’s data.
  • With BambooHR, all your employee information lives in a single database with reporting tools and editing capabilities at your fingertips. 

• Hire and onboard new employees.
  • You’ll have applicant tracking tools that improve every stage of the hiring process, making it faster than ever. Once you’ve hired the right person, it’s easy to make a great impression by removing compliance concerns and giving your new employees confidence that they’ve been effectively onboarded into your organization. 

• Handle compensation
  • BambooHR makes tracking time, benefits, PTO, and payroll for all your employees easy, removing all doubt for your finance teams. 

With BambooHR, you can create a company culture where people feel valued and supported. 

CRM System

Unanet CRM

Unanet CRM is a software solution providing AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) firms with the tools they need to manage customer relationships, business development, project lifecycles, and proposal development. 

With visibility into key revenue metrics, you’ll be able to add predictability to your business with accurate revenue projections across the lifespan of your opportunities. This visibility will also help you build best practices around project pursuits to ensure you’re winning the right business for your company. 

Unanet CRM is also useful for marketing teams to prepare targeted and accurate proposals, qualifications statements, project profiles, resumes, project lists, government forms, and any other collateral you’ll need. 

Of course, like all the other software on this list, it can integrate with the rest of your tech stack. 

Having easy-to-use and comprehensive software will help your organization access information easily, make adjustments on the fly, and lead to better business decisions in both the short and long term. To win in construction in 2023, you need the willingness to innovate and think about your processes holistically to gain a competitive advantage. 

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