What are FastPIPE users saying about the software?

Great program and very customizable

It does 99% of what we want and need.

Pros

Takeoffs are saved, uses excel as a final output, which allows us to customize a great deal.

Cons

Don't move fitting buttons during software updates! Allow for more customization of fitting button locations. It would be nice to customize the job list(bidding) screen. Be able have maybe a checkbox to confirm a project has plans, or a takeoff has been completed.

Best Bang for the Buck

Pros

FastPipe is the most user friendly and flexible estimating program out there. I have used all of the different estimating software systems, over the past 25 years, and FastPipe is always my first choice. Mark and his team never forgot the KISS principal for estimating, keep it simple. I don't want or need the program to do everything for me, but I do need to know everything that is going into my takeoff. The onscreen takeoff and the ease of creating nested assemblies has taken FastPipe to the next level.

Cons

I would like a couple more reporting options, but over the years they have eliminated all the main issues I had with the program.

Fast Pipe Review

Pros

Easy to use. simple layout of the spread sheet.

Cons

Not enough different types of piping systems

Easy to use and worth the price

We use FastPipe to bid complex and simple piping and plumbing projects.

Pros

IT was very easy to start right out of the box. Their support staff quickly helps you get up and running with custom features.

Cons

Would be nice to have more localized costing, the parameters they have do allow for it, I just don't know how easy it is to implement.

FastPIPE Bolin Plumbing Review

Customer Service is great. Anytime I have a question their team is just a phone call away.

Pros

I like the ability to change almost everything. I like that it was able to be customized to our needs as a company even in the little things.

Cons

At times it can be cumbersome when switching materials from one spec to the other.

Simplified but Efficient and Accurate Takeoff Software

Overall experience with FP is excellent and I would highly recommend. I test drove other packages, including the Rolls Royce of mechanical estimating and ended up here!

Pros

FP is easy to use and the learning curve is minimal for a software package of this capability. I've estimated anything from a few thousand dollars to a $5M Chiller Plant upgrade project with 12,000 man-hours. Customer service is on point too. Best yet, a company can do a monthly rental, which is unheard of. FP is focused on customer needs and it really shows.

Cons

I wish the material pricing aspect was easier.

Estimating Software Made for the End User

Great group of people starting from the reception desk which are friendly and helpful to the tech desk which so far has been helpful & friendly also in every aspect answering questions such software, modifications, building your library, tips to do things easier, IT issues and the willingness to stay with you to get things worked-out when you have a problem or idea.

Pros

It's hard to say what I like best about this estimating software, it was described from FastEst that you can build and modify the software to fit your company and estimating style building you own personable library of Job Items, Assemblies, Specs, PFV coloring, end of job reporting mods and the take-off screen lay-out is very well thought out also. Very friendly to the end user setting up and the easiness of using every day. It is one estimating software I truly enjoy coming to work everyday opening up and using all day long.

Cons

With the progression of on screen take-off it has come a long way from previous other brand of estimating software I have used in the past. I wish I could share something that really stood out about some area of the FastPipe software & reporting but I really can't. This is my 3rd year using this software in our company.

FastPipe Ease of Use Review

My overall experience is pretty good. It has a lot of features and is very easy to use. We have new employees using it and they get up to speed fairly quickly.

Pros

Very intuitive product. Easy to use and set up. The program has a very extensive data base of products to use and there are updates to products and pricing available on a regular basis. I find it to be very accurate for our piping estimating requirements.

Cons

1. The options for printing out reports could be better. There really needs to be a way to to get the "Section", "Area", "System" and "Remarks" from the take off header on to the Chart report. This would be one of the most helpful things for me. 2. The print function needs some improvement. I find when printing the section or take off's the lines overlap and you can not read them. 3. Really need to update the user manuals and tutorials. They are way out of date.

Daily Fast Pipe Use Review

I use this program on a daily basis. I know I'm not using this program to it's full potential because I have not quite figured out how to make or use assemblies, job items, or how to create my own spec. I'd like to see a text book style book or manual to help figure some of these items out. I know they have educational seminars all over the country but they are always far away from me and the one time they came to Chicago last year, I was on vacation. I'd also like to learn how to customize this program a little more. But I really like this program and can't recommend it enough.

Pros

Easy to learn, easy to use. Great customer service when ever I have issues with software bugs. I really like the way the actual estimating interface is set up especially on the two screens.

Cons

Very minor complaints about the way some of the fittings are organized in specific material spec sections. There are also a lot of fittings that don't have pricing in some of the lesser used spec sections. And some times I get exceptions on certain pipes with errors about insulation specs or hangers and I can't quite figure out how to correct that.

Highly Efficient Estimating Software

Able to have more consistent estimates and able to make simple changes easier and faster. The overall speed of completing an estimate has increased and errors are easier to spot. The on screen takeoff features have solved many of the inefficiencies experienced with our last software solution.

Pros

Ease of use and customization. The recap sheets allow you to make the adjustments unique to you and your company or market as needed. The ability to quickly alter productions by adjusting rate per hour or overall hours from the summary screen. Incorporation of standard assemblies and ability to clone redundancies within plans. It seems that at nearly every opportunity, capturing efficiencies was of high value for this product. Easily sorting takeoffs across multiple categories has been a game changer for us.

Cons

Lack of advanced training and/or manuals for advanced usage. Having to recalculate and reload the excel workbook for every breakout. Significant data entry required to get productions and material pricing accurate.

Features That Match Our Needs

It has made our estimating process reproduceable by all who use it. All bids come onto a common spreadsheet that allows for easy review. Fast-Pipe was easy to get set up the way we like it and an easy takeoff function made for an easy transfer of systems when we purchased the Fast-Pipe system.

Pros

We are a mid size PHVAC contractor ($3-5M/Yr) and our prior system was more advanced than we required. Fast-Pipe has the features we need without a lot of features we would never use. It has an easy interface from Plan Loading to Spec Adjustments to takeoff ease. The other feature we like is a direct transfer of the outputted data onto a very user friendly bidding spreadsheet. Our former software required us to manually design a spreadsheet and transfer basic data by hand in order to bid the project.

Cons

It can be time consuming to track down specific items in the data base catalog if you aren't sure how they are originally placed.

FastEst is ALL you need.

Great product, great service. Non-complicated, in less than an hour, you will be building an estimate.

Pros

I have used several different "top brand" programs during my ongoing 30 yr career as an MP estimator and project manager. Programs that varies in the ranges, from digitizer to on screen take off. The pipe & duct programs are so easy to use, you almost wonder - can this be true. We're programmed to work harder, not smarter. FastEst changes all that. Estimating efficiency and accuracy is what FastEst provides for me, not to mention the affordable price and options you can select for your particular needs. The other very, very important selling point is that when I have an issue and call the help line.....the person who answers the phone helps you right then - your issue is resolved. NONE of the competition does that, you place your call, they take your info then hopefully someone calls you back timely. FastEst customer service is the best.

Cons

That my competitors may discover FastEst....... I'd like to push one button for the material price updates and be done. Currently we get our materials quoted anyway as most of our bids are sizable.

FastPIPE Review

MY OVERALL EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN VERY GOOD. THE SOFTWARE IS EASY TO LEARN AND THE SUPPORT IS FANTASTIC WHEN REQUIRED (INSTALLING ON NEW LAPTOP).

Pros

THE ABILITY TO IMPORT PLANS, PROCEED WITH TAKEOFF, AND OVERLAY REVISED PLANS TO SEE THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE. THE ABILITY TO INCREASE THE PLAN SIZE IN TAKEOFF IS A GREAT ASSET AS YOU CAN PRINT THE VISIBLE PORTION ONLY IF REQUIRED.

Cons

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A SEARCH BAR TO FIND PAST JOBS AND I WOULD LIKE THE JOB LIST TO BE AT THE TOP IN LIEU OF REFRESHING.

Feedback

Customer support is excellent. I was putting is extra time on the week-end bidding and take-off of a motel last year . I had an issue with the program not working properly (not sure what happened), but put a call in early Sunday morning and had a response with-in two hours. FastEst Rep had me back up and running with-in minutes.

Pros

User friendly and the maneuverability thru-out the program.

Cons

Not able to copy a second plan. Example. (I load up the plans needed, but sometimes, I would like to be able to have a second copy of a single sheet, but not been able to do that).

Fastpipe

Pros

Very easy to learn and navigate, Fast takeoffs

Cons

1. Can not update original drawings with addendum drawings. 2. Can not preform area square foot measurements on the drawing. 3. Its hard to quickly take off multiple items.

FastPipe is a lifesaver

Our company is involved in may multi-million dollar projects. Many that are not designed when we first receive the plans. FastPipe allows me to draw piping while creating an estimate and afterwards, I can print the plans with my layout to share with the owner/engineer team to indicate the extensiveness we went through to create an accurate budget. Additionally, we now don't have the need for so many people to complete the task of estimating which frees up resources for other departments

Pros

This software allows me to take on at a minimum twice the projects compared to taking PVF off by hand. I have used other estimating software in the past that really over complicated the process

Cons

Some of the takeoff button script is a little on the small side. Larger text would be helpful but its a give and take as I don't want to lose takeoff screen size for larger text

Best Estimating software on the market!

I have been estimating for almost 20 years and have used two other programs before Fastpipe and can say honestly that fastpipe is by far the best and easiest estimating program I have use. They listen to any changes we think would improve there product, I use it daily for over 7 years now.

Pros

Reliable, easy to uses, Fastpipe always keeps up on updating the data base and are always improving their product to keep up or stay ahead of the market. Great customer service, we have built up a relationship with the guys both professionally and personally.

Cons

The only thing I can think of if we could have (2) of the program open on one computer once we have (2) or more licences.

I am an Estimator with 35 years of practice, all types of programs

Pros

Ease of learning. Comprehensive materials price service provided. Availability to many industry standard labor data bases and accuracy of Fast Est Materials labor data. Assemblies, Reports available exportable to Excel. Ability to import data from other takeoff. Ability to copy plans from Fast pipe to Fast duct or vice versa, saving time for job setup, Customizable Bid workbook to fit company needs, Ability to feed into combined Pipe and Duct workbook from either Fast Pipe or Fast Duct program, Takeoff tools within program, ability to replicate visuals and paste for repeated patterns, Scaling options great Customer support is the best I have ever experienced Cost of programs and yearly support fees are very competitive. Absolute best bang for the buck. Ease of copying take for show and tell purposes Program is entirely flexible to be used in network configuration or stand alone.

Cons

Nothing to not like. The product is the best software I've used in my career.

FAST PIPE

I have been using Fast pipe for over 20 years and it allows me to estimate a job accurately and have it organized for installation. its just a very efficient way to estimate a job.

Pros

-The ease of use is awesome. you can down load a set of drawings set the scale and start taking a job off very quickly. -The assembly's you can create along with the standard ones already set up make take offs very fast. -The fact that you can print the colored take off drawings and have all the systems with a different color is great to hand to the field. - Great for doing design build job estimating as you can draw the pipe as you go and have job laid out. much more accurate way to price. - Printing material list by system and or material type or by area. gives you a lot of variations to get materials ordered for the job. - they are constantly updating the software and data base to keep it current.

Cons

- Really do not have any con's. As stated above they are constantly updating the software with improvements and data base.

FastWRAP

Pros

FastWRAP insulation software has doubled the amount of projects we can bid and increased our sales to match. It allows us to send electronic copies of project prints that show the highlighted systems to be insulated in color. Not only does it save time and money in the office, but in the field as well. The technical support is fast, personal and knowledgeable about the product. It makes figuring bulletins and change orders simple and easy to read for other contractors and building owners. The software is very flexible allowing for a range of pricing, labor and the ability to add in personal estimating "extras" that compete a bid. The training sessions are informative and paced to include everyone's ability's.

Cons

Over the last four years we have not experienced any issues with FastWRAP.

Efficient for use and cost

Many years ago we realized our old estimating software was not efficient with regards to assemblies and reports - we had too many estimators spending time making reports for operations, rather than helping cost new opportunities. After reviewing several softwares, we found that the support from FASTPIPE during the sales process was a good indication of how they would be after the sale - they were top-notch all the way. We immediately noticed the setup and training was easy and that we could send data to operations and let them run reports however they wanted, which saved us time. The cost was also much more competitive than several other options, which is a nice benefit.

Pros

FASTPIPE is easy to start, easy to use, provides all reports in native Excel format, and an excellent value for the money. Though it is rare that we need assistance, the customer support is second to none. We have always received immediate responses to our questions, and that matters in today's fast-paced world. I highly recommend this product whether you are doing $100k or $100M bids.

Cons

I would like a few more options in terms of custom reporting, but the EXPORT feature does a good job of handling most of those. Would also like some more options when setting up specifications for underground work.

When I first looked into FastEST products in 1997, there were plenty of other options out there. Over time, we have watched those competing companies get bought out, merge with others and some go out of business altogether. Accuracy is a big concern when it comes to estimating in general. With the high pressure to kick out large volumes of estimates, mistakes are easy to make and in some cases, cost people their businesses. FastEST provides a high level of transparency in their products, making it very easy for managers to review estimates before they are sent out. All of the data is exported to excel where it can be analyzed, cut and diced into manageable chunks and quickly compared to historical data. Many other programs claim to do this, but are not as seamless. We are fortunate to belong to several trade organizations and had the opportunity to ask our competitors what programs they were using. We were amazed to find out they had spent thousands of dollars on other programs and never made it to full implementation. After talking with these people the reason why became more and more apparent. If it is not intuitive and easy to understand, it will simply not get used. Many estimators are brought up through the ranks in the field, into the office and expected to understand computers. FastEST shines in the power of simplicity. While most other programs require a week training or more, we can have someone up and going in a matter of a few hours. The interface is very user-friendly. When its crunch time a call back or a response to an email is too long to wait! Although I would have to say emergencies have been quite rare with the program, when issues have arisen, a quick phone call and the support staff will get you back on your feet. Like anyone that knows what they are doing, they make it look easy and they are almost always done in a matter of minutes. Other programs we have used require an email to be sent before you are even placed in the queue. In 1997 when I first started using the program, we were doing strip malls and gas stations. We now use the program to estimate all manner of public and medical facilities well into the ten million dollar range. This is a product that can help you grow your business and grow with your business. We have been fortunate to have FastEST as a partner in our business and contribute much of our success to the power of the program.

FastPIPE Usage

It has been a huge asset for us in the estimating of our bids.

Pros

I like being able to create job items and assemblies that can be used on multiple jobs. i love being able to sort and filter the material worksheets to get information for different phases of work. I also want to praise the technical support staff at FastPIPE. They have been there whenever I have a question or a problem. They are outstanding!

Cons

I wish we were able to manipulate the fittings list on the takeoffs to place the most commonly used fittings together

Plumbing Contractor

Consistency. When I manually do a takeoff, the amounts can vary from one time to the next. When I use FASTPIPE, your numbers are the same.

Pros

When you are performing a takeoff, when you click on the next fitting, it automatically fills in the pipe size, length and hangers.

Cons

There are a few fitting I never use on the first sheet, and some I use all the time that are on sheet 3. If I could arrange the fitting list so the most popular items were all on one screen.

Fast and Intuitive, Beginning to End

I absolutely dig this program. I can't imagine that I would be able to get started estimating with nearly no direction, and that I would be able to be awarded project after project based on this estimating software. Incredible!

Pros

My knowledge of estimating software was minimal when I was placed in the estimating position just over a year ago. FastPIPE was super easy to learn and use because it is very intuitive.

Cons

It would be great if there were more images for the assemblies that I might choose to create. But then I would be asking for more, possibly obscure, assemblies and I realize that not every situation can be accounted for when setting up assemblies.