ProEst Estimating & Takeoff Software

Pros

The software lets you link up with a payroll/scheduling software to give you an all-around control of your estimates directly on to your projects.

Cons

It is an activity database, you have to build your database first while you're doing your estimates, you'll reach full operational capability once you have a concise database of activities that will let you speed up the estimating process.

Pros

Ease of use
Reporting
Predefined database's to fit specific company needs
Onscreen takeoff and estimating software in one
Cloud or Desktop

Cons

No live tech support or chat support. Must submit a support ticket and wait for a call back.
No way to change database and have it reflect on templates without updating templates individually
Training is not free

Our suggestions for improvement are taken seriously.

Pros

It's easy to use and the customer support is really great. The Report Center was the draw to the software (and that it's cloud based).

Cons

The report center isn't quite what it's cracked up to be. I thought we could do more with the reports, but the capabilities are rather limited.

They are not truthful in their abilities and they sold us a server based version which when they started training they wouldn’t give us and wanted us on the cloud which has very little functionality. Had to fight with them for a month to get the server base and they said they wouldn’t support in the near future plus they never gave us the databases that they claim to have. They are a rip off artist so avoid at all cost.

Pros

There is absolutely nothing we liked about this product or company except the sales pitch and presentation.

Cons

If you are an mep contractor this is not the software for you. They say they have their on databases but after many request they could never provide them. They wanted us to build all databases from scratch which would require a full time person about 6 to 8 months due to the number of databases you would need. They don’t listen to the customer and we finally just uninstalled the software and broke off communication with them

Pros

Everything from start to finish can be done. A lot of different tools to use. The tech support is wonderful.

Cons

Was a little tough to learn. Pricing is a little expensive. Had to schedule training classes. I had to wait a few times for tech support to call me back.

Great product. It is very overwhelming at first. However, if you push through it will be rewarding on the other side. It took me a while. I would go home frustrated and felt like we made a mistake purchasing the product. However, it eventually sunk in and now we are excited to have produced our first bid and looking forward to others.

Pros

The endless possibilities to produce what is needed. As I explore the product I expose new ways to obtain helpful information.

Cons

The product is VERY complex and takes time to understand. However, once an understanding of the product is grasped, the product becomes very helpful and decreases the time needed for an accurate bid.

I've really enjoyed getting to know the software and putting it to use for my every day estimating operations.

Pros

They have thought of everything. Every line item you can think of is included, and they can all be altered to align perfectly with your business. Customer service has been excellent as well.

Cons

You must receive training before being able to utilize all of the functions of the software. It can be rather difficult to use unless someone shows you first hand.

Pros

The teacher remotely connects to the PC for one on one instruction. Great Product!

Cons

Actually finding time for the instructors to remotely connect was the hardest part. But is well worth it.

Pros

Ease of takeoffs and assemblies are plenty detailed
RS Means cost data embedded in the program makes pricing/budget very easy
Multiple ways to view information in reports
Customer service

Cons

Install was a little tricky
Missing a few assemblies I would like to have (minor issue)
learning curve at the very beginning, but became very proficient after a few trial and error moments

I was looking for a powerful software that we could use to build a system for our estimating process. ProEst was exactly what I was looking for. We are able to build a custom database that we can use to quickly and easily estimate projects with accuracy and consistency. I am very happy with my choice.

Pros

Ability to create a custom database and can be used to consistently produce quick estimates. I love the onscreen take off.

Cons

It takes a long time to set up the database, but this is to be expected with any software. It is a lot of work up front, but then makes things more efficient on the back end. I would like to see a year off free tech support included to answer question about how to use the product. Most of it is intuitive, but there are somethings I would like to do, but it takes me a while to figure out how to do them. It would have been nice to be able to pick up the phone and quickly get answers for the first year while I learned how to use all of the features.

I have been using ProEst for the last year and have for the most part been very happy. The customer support has been very good. I do have one complaint which may seem petty, but it is an annoyance. The program takes a while to load and is password protected. Occasionally when trying to switch between estimates or screens I inadvertently will hit the close window button which closes the program. On bad days this can really raise your blood pressure. A are you sure you would like to exit box would be very helpful.

We wanted an estimating software that would be for a general contractor and therefore not so detailed. We also needed it to function with our virtual server. the sales people said it could accomplish all of these goals only to find out once we purchased it and started training that it did not do any of these things. We canceled our order after 2 weeks and they would not refund any of our fees.

Proest is software that has a fairly steep learning curve but when mastered is pretty powerful. It requires the building of all of the assemblies that you, as a builder or subcontractor, actually need. If you buy the database of assemblies you'll at least have those to start with. Building the formulas behind the assemblies can make you want to cry. However, if you like you can use simple unit takeoffs and apply a cost to them later. Proest can be as complex or as simple as you'd like for it to be and for the money, it's a pretty good program. It takes quite a bit of time to get acclimated to it and in my opinion as a GC it makes a bit more sense as an estimating platform for a specialty building subcontractor who is self-performing all of their work...ie concrete, masonry, framing/drywall, etc. than it does for a GC but you can make it work.

Pros

Bid day function.

Cons

Steep, steep, steep learning curve.

My company has recently purchased the Enterprise Version of ProEst. We have only started learning the system but have so far been very impressed with the functionality, ease of use and product value. The ability to do digital takeoff straight from the program, as well as the flexibility to edit / modify just about every piece of information on the system gives it an advantage to other programs i have used.

Pros

This is by far the easiest estimating program i have used thus far. Other pros include - Flexibility to edit almost everything; the large cache of report templates; the large database and pre-built assemblies; the built in digital takeoff; the bid day summary to use for sub-contractor bid tabulation

Cons

The preset costs are very generic (i.e. labor costs) - for large projects with heavy labor, this could throw off the labor estimate. In addition, the digital takeoff module, albeit very handy, is somewhat limited. It would be nice to have more flexibility to manually manipulate takeoffs, even after associating it with a digital takeoff. It would also be nice to be able to switch between different forms of measurement, right now you are only limited to the unit of measure determined by the line item for which you are taking off.

Advice to Others

This is an ideal product for small and medium sized construction companies. If you want a flexible program with a small learning curve, ProEst is right for you. Be prepared, however, to need to update the labor costs - i would suggest not relying on the preset amounts.

Likes Best

The customer support is outstanding. Training was good.

Likes Least

It cannot share data bases. i.e. piping, electrical, and civil are separate files that must be added together outside the software. Add features to allow the exporting of database to other software, so it can be manipulated. Or add the tools to the software. I would like to add much of the existing excel files to the data base.

Recommendations

To test the software for a week is not enough time for software as complicated like this. Make a list of must haves and talk to the vendors.

Likes Best

Great support from the support team. They call you back right away and they seem to care and want to take care of any issues. They are good at explaining the program or any issues that you might have.The program is easy to use and I have never used an estimating program before this one so I know if I picked up easily anyone can. Training was top notch!

Likes Least

The assembly could use some reworking. There could be more assembly made as well.

Recommendations

Give it a trial run, it's really easy to use and understand.

Likes Best

What I like about ProEst the most is how user-friendly the software is. I also like that the software is integrated with onscreen digital take off, and that it integrates directly to your estimate take off sheet all in the same software program. They also have good customer support.

Likes Least

What I don't like is that you have to pay for training. You also have to pay for custom reports. In the long run the training pays off, and if the custom report saves you time and/or money than they pay off as well.

Recommendations

Watch there videos online. Do a demonstration with them. Have them do a demonstration with the database that it comes with. You'll see how user-friendly it is and how much you can customize the database to your needs.

Likes Best

ProEst is a pretty solid, and incredibly deep take off program with very helpful and responsive customer support. It makes drawing takeoffs simpler and allows multilayer markups on a single pdf, estimating and responding to RFPs is far less time consuming.

Likes Least

The user interface is cumbersome and has too many window pop ups. The system will occasionally lock out users which can be a pain.

Recommendations

Test drive as many programs as you can before finally pulling the trigger on just one, there's a wide variety out there.

Likes Best

I liked that this software is very simple and easy, and we had free training sessions which was very useful.
I also find the take off system and tools very powerful and the database is huge.

Likes Least

Some of the items have very detailed costs items which i don't need

Recommendations

Give free training to your costumers and simplify the software so it can be easy to use.

Likes Best

The software is easy to understand and it truly meets and exceeds all of our expectation when it came time to turn in a bid . We are a building and design firm, the range of the work we bid goes from electrical, plumbing, HVAC to complete turn key. We appreciate the fact ProEst is constantly improving its functionalities and overall performance.

Likes Least

The issues we had over the years are the same issues we get with other software in our systems, updates sometimes fix one program but conflicts with others. Happy to said the issues were not critical nor catastrophic in our daily use of the program nor cause major delays in our bidding process.

Recommendations

I believe software should conform to the way you do business and not the other way around, you should not have to change overnight everything it took years to learn, to have to conform to a format that doesn't reflect how we do our jobs, or made no sense from the industry point of view. Software should adapt to the approach and methods that have proven true time and time again for your organization, make the software learn from you. If your company is doing the transition from another system or "OLD SCHOOL" of ruler, pen, and pad. The program and its functionality should make sense to you, even if you never sat in from of a computer. It should follow the same approach you take in creating an estimate as if you were doing it with paper and pen.

Look for a program with a reasonable learning curve, justifiable price, good technical support as well as the ability to grow and adapt to the unique way you conduct your business with all its needs and constant demands that new technology brings. Before using Proest, we try other programs that were truly hard to learn.

This resulted in a new set of issues and challenges when it came time to hire a new person. It takes time to teach any system to a new employee. Proest solved all that for us by creating a database unique to our firm, a database that used the same approach and methodology that we can relate to, lowering the learning curve considerably.

Good software should be intuitable, it should follow the same order and path you take to resolved and complete your task and get the job done fast and accurate.