RSMeans data, from Gordian (Costworks) vs. WorkflowMax

Again, CostWorks is very good at developing models of standard industry facilities/buildings, and it does this very accurately and efficiently. It is not a software that I would use to develop a very detailed line-item cost estimate that would possibly need several revisions to it over the course of the estimate deliverable cycle. And it would not be one I would use where the estimate needs to be broken down into phases or areas of construction. It just doesn't have these capabilities, and maybe it shouldn't. However, it is an excellent resource for running along side other estimating softwares in that its database of line-items is one of immense depth and as I stated before, I use it all the time in conjunction with my other client-specified softwares so that I can find line-items that those softwares just do not contain.

Incentivized

WorkflowMax is a good solution for the architecture and design profession in that it allows for multiple ways to track a project, apply time to a project, and invoice against a project. The ability to do staffing forecasting and future planning fills a need that most firms in this profession require.

Incentivized

• CostWorks is very good at generating quick and valid estimates for standardized facilities such as office buildings, schools, etc. It allows you to validate other cost estimates at the UniFormat level when doing an estimate validation.
• CostWorks' database of detailed line-items is a very resourceful asset when it comes to finding a very specific line-item. Sometimes, when using Success or MII, I will have CostWorks open on the other screen so I can find an item that the other softwares just don't have and build it into the other software from the CostWorks entry.
• CostWorks does a very good job of generating reports that are both well-developed and have enough detail at the summary level to be able to sit with a client or a project manager and have them follow along and understand without being overwhelmed with detail and numbers.

Incentivized

• Great for managing teams which are not in one spot. Awesome for small or growing businesses with employees who might work from home.
• Really good for teams to keep up with where a project is at against the time left to achieve the goal
• Great for keeping all the information for each project in one spot.

Incentivized

• small project costs where labor is a bigger portion than materials on cost
• markup factors on governmental projects

Incentivized

• Integration with inventory - there are a lot of companies out there which provide a service which includes selling items either purchased or held in stock or "kitted"
• User permission levels need to be more flexible and ideally closely tied to Xero
• Two way integration with Xero - ability to import invoices to specific jobs
• Ability to save pdfs to purchase orders, invoices (like Xero)

Incentivized

Because we can't imagine being without it!

Incentivized

It's easy to use and provides me with instant online access to the management of my business whether I am at my desk or overseas

Incentivized

I've never had the need to discuss CostWorks with a vendor.

Incentivized

We have had very few issues with Max

Incentivized

Decide how to breakdown your ongoing jobs - are they monthly recurring or annual broken into chunks? What are you going to give clients i.e. how will your proposals and invoices look?

Incentivized

CostWorks is much quicker than manually looking up costs and copying them to a spreadsheet.

Incentivized

I'm not sure if it was by Ascentis or not, and it may have been an old version, but we used a program called Timekeeper. It was very outdated, difficult to use, and didn't provide easily producible reports. WorkflowMax is infinitely better to use for our business.

Incentivized

• Good - it saves a lot of time on producing estimates

Incentivized

• The time the company saves by using employees efficiently on each project makes the purchase of this software worthwhile. You can clearly verify how much time the staff spends on each project, with each client, and you can compare whether it is profitable or not the hours invested, thus increasing your profits.

Incentivized