User Reviews
Smart Contractor by Smart Construction Software
USER REVIEWS - All reviews
Purchased Date: March 01, 2011
DBA, Hope CDA
September 01, 2011
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Pros
Tech support is great.
System is easy to use and works well for developing order schedules for materials.
Cons
Needs a way to compare schedules for all jobs (Master Schedule).
receiving and completing purchases seems to be somewhat cumberson.
Critical path scheduleing is difficult to understand and use.
Why do you have both a job phase name and then a job phase number. The job phase number does not show up on the Schedule Model?
Overall
It is still to early to give a recommendation.
Purchased Date: July 01, 2010
Owner, Trailblazer Builders LLC
August 26, 2011
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Pros
After trying and using other software, I new there had to be something better. I finally found it. Smart Contractor has all the features I need in my general contracting business. I almost enjoy estimating now. The program makes it easy to estimate and is extremely adaptable to any type of job. Once you enter an estimate, the program can automatically create purchase orders, proposals, contracts, integrate with quickbooks and more. The more I use it the more features I find I can use. The customer support is far better than I've experienced with any software company. I first downloaded the software on a Saturday. Within an hour Bill was on the phone and spent more than an hour to help me get up and running. When I've had some technical problems Dan has responded immediately. They have been very impressive.
Cons
None (except that it does not do the job for you)
Overall
I would recommend this software to any contractor. My company is very small, so the initial investment was not easy. But, it has paid for itself many times over because of the speed and accuracy I now have in preparing bids.
Purchased Date: September 01, 2010
owner/bookkeeper, Woodmark Construction
November 24, 2010
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Pros
This is by far the best construction software I have found. I tested at least 8 products ranging in price from $400 to $8,000 and Smart Contractor was the hands down winner. We run a general construction company with about 15 employees. I needed to track job costs and invoice customers as well as run reports for specific purposes like gathering workers comp information and vendor statement reconciliation. Although SC has the ability to be linked to Quickbooks, I am running it as a stand alone program and it is meeting all my needs. I did not want to use a double entry accounting software for job costing. I wanted the flexibility that SC allows by not requiring that everything flow through to general ledger accounts (although this is possible) SC is easy to use, intuitive, and has the absolute best customer service of any product I have ever used. It is simple to use yet provides all the information we need to evaluate job profitability and generate estimates and invoices.
Cons
Absolutely none. I only wish I had found it sooner as it has already helped us make management decisions from the information we have gathered using SC.
Overall
For a small to medium sized construcition company this is the absolute best choice of software available. The program is simple to use, flexible and has a wide range of comprehensive reports. But the thing that makes this product stand out from the rest is the unsurpassed customer service. I have had many situations where I have contacted the members of the Smart Contractor team with questions or requests for enhancements to the program to meet special needs of our business and they have been incredible. They help me find ways to use the program more effectively and have even made several additions to the program to fulfill my requirements, imagine getting that kind of service from one of the box software companies (not likely). The team at SC is curteous, easy to reach and responsive to their customers needs, rare qualities in a company today. The product is perfect for our needs and knowing there is a knowledgable and responsive team behind it makes it a perfect choice.
Purchased Date: December 01, 2009
Owner, Colonial Craftsmen Construction, Inc.
March 24, 2010
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Pros
Smart Contractor has simplified my life as a small business owner. I have been able to template projects that we bid often and copy as many or as few details from a previously bid project which allows me to create very detailed proposals in 1/4 the time.
From the estimate I create request for quotes, purchase orders, work orders, schedules, payment schedules, and all necessary contract documents. All with the click of a mouse button.
Also on the project management side you can create invoices, change orders, receive payments, enter labor hours, track actual costs and much more.
Any questions that I've had have been answered very promptly by their customer service staff.
Cons
I think a formal training (webinar or something similar) to show all that the product can do as well as show you how to do it would be useful.
Overall
Good software that simplifies life as an estimator/ project manager. I would recommend it to others.
Purchased Date: February 01, 2010
President, Custom Design and Construction
March 22, 2010
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Pros
I was in the market for a program that would create schedules for my projects. I found Smart Contractor surfing the web and it had everything I was looking for and more. The integration with Quickbooks was a snap thanks to a fantastic support group. Integration was done online via go to meeting with a tech to ensure everything was installed properly. My e-mails and phone calls were returned very quickly, Dan Fellman is very knowledgable and will make you installation a smooth process.
Cons
None really.... There is a bit of a learning curve, but nothing a bit of practice and use can't cure.
Overall
I would recommend Smart Contractor to any construction compant that would like to spend less time estimating and more time making money. SC has stream lined my company and will pay for it's self in very little time.
Purchased Date: March 01, 2009
Owner, Western Mountain Homes
March 22, 2010
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Pros
Extremely Flexible set up and organization
Powerful Integration of all related systems and has great coordination of each system
Super easy to make changes, updates, change orders, etc
Love how you can set up banking options and automatically produce a AIA draw request with one button
Everything is based off of the estimate. This is the BEST way to organize the information as it all relates to the bottom line!
Powerful reporting that gives a large number of options for printed forms which are very customer friendly. My clients think they look very professional and this makes me look better than the competition
Integration with quickbooks. Quick and easy using a program most people already use or know
Competitive Pricing
Cons
There are almost too many options in how you set up your estimate, all of which related to how to process and bill a job.
The learning curve on how to set up your estimates so it is easy to track and bill takes a couple of jobs to get it to the level of detail you realistically want to track
Overall
I have been really happy with my decision on purchasing Smart Contractor. I looked around and demoed (even bought) quite a few products and none had the power that SC does at even close to the price. Is more complexity better? no way. This program has all the flexibility and features my company needs while being pretty intuitive in using and operating. I won't outgrow it and have not even thought about even looking at another program because I got what I needed with SC.
Purchased Date: May 01, 2007
Owner, Aladdin Builders
March 22, 2010
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Pros
Smartcontractor has just what a contractor or sub-contractor needs for a project from start to finish. The Pros: simple to use, quick and easy to set up, emails out right from program, customizable to your business, 1/2 hour learning curve
Cons
Cons..........Non in my opinion
Overall
I would recommend this product to all contractors.
Purchased Date: January 01, 2007
President, Affordable Kitchens and Bathrooms
July 15, 2009
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Pros
Smart contractor allows you to do so much! It is a complete business management solution that allows you to efficiently manage your business. To name a few, you can create estimates, schedule jobs, create contracts, create change orders, invoice and track all the job costs through the many reports available. Another big feature is that the program is integrated with Quickbooks!
Cons
Although not a con, Smart Contractor has so much to offer I haven't been able to experience all the features and benefits.
Overall
We did a lot of research prior to purchasing this program and we couldn't be happier with the results. Our customers now compliment us on our detailed project management! Smart Contractor has allowed us to grow and I would recommend it to any company...unless you are the competition!
Purchased Date: February 01, 2007
Project Manager, Colvin Kitchen & Bath
July 13, 2009
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Pros
Smart Contractor is an awesome business management software. The features of Smart Contractor are endless. The program's ability to manage a project has increased our companies volume by 30%.
Smart Contractor has also limited my estimating mistakes by its ability to directly write the proposal from the job estimate. Smart Contractor also allows our company to monitor, adjust, and repetitively perform the same project time and again. It has allowed us the opportunity to break down jobs by phase and make appropriate adjustments price wise to control profits. Now we can see where we make money and more importantly, where we are not.
Smart Contractor's flexibility is great. Everything in the program can be adjusted to fit your companies set-up.
The support staff at Smart Contractor has been second to none!!! I've never had a problem go unsolved. Their willingness to take in feed back and better the program is amazing.
Cons
This program did not come with already established pricing catalogs -- that sounds like a disadvantage, but those catalogs are often not up to date.
Overall
Definitely I would recommend this software to other construction companies (just not in my area because I don't want the competition!)
