Countfire Software

So far, it is early days, I have found everything very straightforward. I spent time working through a lot of the help screens before I attempted my first take off, but still encountered a problem selecting some symbols. I couldn't find the answer myself so used the chat option. Within minutes I was chatting to someone who could help straight away with advice and even videos to show me how to deal with my problem. Looking forward to learning more as I progress.

Pros

Love the common sense feel to this software.
Very quick to do a take off.
Every problem I have encountered so far has had a solution.
Support and help screens are excellent.

Cons

I actually haven't found anything I don't like so far, but I have only been using it for a short time. I think it is just a case of getting your head around what the software needs from you to do its thing.

We have been using the system now for around 6 weeks, during this time the Countfire people were very helpful in getting us set up correctly, as we are now more used to the software were seeing benefits of time saving and having easy access to neat and tidy take offs as apposed to trawling through the estimators files looking at unclear scribbles, also we no longer have to print off large amounts of A0 / A1 paper at tender stage saving cost and the environment.

Pros

Speed, Accuracy, environmental benefits, and easy to follow hints and tips.

Cons

Sometimes the information we are provided with by our customers is not in the correct format for Countfire to work at its full potential, this is not a fault of Countfire but a problem with the information we are working with

Pros

Great software in counting fixtures and symbols in general. I was quite surprise at the speed and accuracy.

Cons

Simple counting wish it can do more like livecount

Pros

time saved for manual counting
links to excel easy

Cons

no curve or circle line measurements can be done but straight line measuring only

The time that I save now completing take off's using Countfire has freed me up to spend more time on other duties that are incorporated in my role. I'm also having more time to generate costs within the deadlines and increasing the amount of tenders completed.

Pros

Dramatic reduction in completing take off's
Add and omit exercise are painless and easy.
Time and saving on drawing production.

Cons

None...........................................

We are extremely happy with our overall experience using Countfire. The customer service has been amazing and we receive lots of support when needed. The time saved using this software has made a great impact on our company.

Pros

This software is very user friendly and time saving! With efficient ways of checking the marked up drawing, we have been able to reduce the amount of mistakes, and therefore costs to the company.
If any issues occur when using the software, you can use the help section on the software and request help from a member of the Countfire Team, who reply back extremely quickly!

Cons

Almost all of my experiences with this software is positive.
However, after the initial training, it does take a couple of times to fully familiarize yourself with all parts of the software.

It will save me shed loads in paying my estimator. Also allows me to get better understanding of job from the outset.

Pros

It does exactly as it says on the tin. I’m not a estimator yet I easily used the software and won a contract!!

Cons

Biggest pain was that I couldn’t download Drgs directly to software. Had to drag from computer.

Saves us a lot of time dealing with large take-offs.

Pros

Simple interface, easy to pick-up. Great friendly support team, always ready to give a hand. Excel sheet with count information created by the software saves a lot time.

Cons

Price is on the high side. App can start to struggle when dealing with massive PDFs with lots of symbols.

Saves me tons of time and for someone that works 80+ hours a week, my time is very valuable.

Pros

The ease of use. It is very easy to use once I learned the shortcuts and best practices from Countfire. Was up and running withing a few days 100% and it is saving me so much time. I did the a job the other day that was normally a 4 hour job and it took me 30 minutes by using Countfire and that 3.5 hours is very valuable to me.

Cons

The only thing I'd like and it is really only for hotels, but to be able to find a certain room and count them and multiply out already in the excel sheet, but I use the counts for the rooms and easily adjust the excel spreadsheet in less than a minute, so it really isn't an issue.

Reduction in time in the estimation process (magnitudes).

Pros

- clear cut user interface with everything hotkeyed, and the hotkeys labeled in plain sight
- PHENOMENAL customer service and support (I requested and had a feature built and deployed overnight, etc., etc., etc.)
- Documentation from another planet (over 25,000 words of concise walk through material
- Redundancy (the way projects are delivered after being processed eliminates worry and most potential for error)
- Data manipulation (the data spit-out from a project comes post-pivot table, saving us a step in formatting to get our numbers straight)
the list goes on and on - simply amazing!!

Will and the boys are a phenomenal team, awake at preposterous hours of the morning solving issues that could wait, etc. just amazing!

Please see previous page regards Pro's and Con's of Countfire.

Pros

Being able to carryout your Take Offs and easily being able to review your work with "Toggle On / Off", along with being presented with a well detailed and populated Excel Spreadsheet of said Take Offs on completion / Project processed.

Cons

The Management Side of the Projects requires a Folder Format, instead of just listing the Projects in Number / Alphabetical order.

Quicker takeoffs means more time can be spent doing deeper more profitable work.

Pros

Intuitive to use. Accurate. Excellent customer support. Works on Chrome so can be easily worked on from multiple locations, on the road, in the office.

Time Saving

Pros

Ease of use being able to breakdown the drawings into areas to suit the Tender Analysis Breakdown detailing disciplines & areas

It saves an amazing amount of time from manually completing Take offs from drawings mainly due to the fact that as your working on 1 drawing the package is actually completing the take offs of all other drawings you have submitted in the background.

Pros

For someone with what I describe as a limited Computer knowledge it was very easy to use and when i did have any problems the Customer Support Team were Fantastic.

Cons

I think it probably depends upon the standard of drawing you are Tendering from but we found you had to copy alot of the same symbol to pick them all up.

When everything is peachy it works great and is fast.

Pros

When a pdf is is drawn properly it works great. Automatic counting etc. No I'm just trying to reach 100 characters

Cons

When a pdf is not drawn properly, i may as well count manually. Which is mostly the case.
Simple things could be added to improve experience, such as a plan multiplier for drawings that cover multiple levels.

Already answered in previous questions

Pros

Reduces the time spent counting items when we have a job over 3 floors

Cons

Not able to read all types of PDF files, and we have to send off to have the files adapted. Some PDF files are not able to be counted at all.

Pros

Autocount feature across multiple drawings requires only the selection of items from one drawing then autocount is completed across all drawings on in the package.

Cons

Autocount is somewhat unreliable so have to check very closely for any missed items, this however does not take long.

Pros

How much faster it is to quantify items now than it was before. its accuracy in auto quantifying. the service is very responsive with any issues.

Cons

I would like if the software could bring in a option to compare revision drawing over existing therefore able to see the changes faster

Pros

Great software support at your fingertips.
Very easy to use, once you understand all functions etc.

Cons

Nothing to note at present, still early days using the software.
It genuinely covers all the aspect in which I require from take off software.

Increased speed and accuracy

Pros

We have found the software very easy to use, the support and backup is fantastic and the checking and reporting functions are great.

Cons

The main frustrating this is the time it takes to load drawings. Also as a large business we would like the option to purchase the software.