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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    HCSS

    Score9.5 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    HCSS is a construction software suite. It includes functionality for bidding, time card and project management, safety, planning, scheduling, equipment management, and data warehousing and reporting. Each module can be purchased separately. The suite can be hosted in the cloud.N/A

    Microsoft Excel

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Excel is a spreadsheet application available as part of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), or standalone, in cloud-based and on-premise editions.

    $6.99

    per month

    Pricing
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Excel with Microsoft 365
    $6.99
    per month
    Excel for 1 PC or Mac
    $139.99
    perpetual license
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Considered Both Products
    HCSS
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    99%
    Would buy again
    70 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    63 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    68 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    43 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    50 Answers
    Features
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Construction Project & Field Management
    Comparison of Construction Project & Field Management features of HCSS and Microsoft Excel
    Feature
    HCSS
    6.8
    33 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Microsoft Excel
    -
    Ratings
    Plan distribution & viewing6.99 Ratings00 Ratings
    Plan markups & sharing6.06 Ratings00 Ratings
    Issue tracking & punchlists9.913 Ratings00 Ratings
    Photo documentation10.025 Ratings00 Ratings
    Jobsite reports8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
    Document sharing7.117 Ratings00 Ratings
    RFI tools3.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Collaboration & approvals4.019 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile app6.128 Ratings00 Ratings
    User Ratings
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Likelihood to Recommend
    6.1
    (38 ratings)
    9.1
    (58 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    10.0
    (35 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.2
    (32 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    HCSSMicrosoft Excel
    Likelihood to Recommend
    HCSS
    Our operation uses several pieces of what we call specialty equipment (not used every day on every job). The foreman when finished will give a location of where this equipment is left, this many times can be very vague and lead to a lowboy driver trying to block around to find the piece or driving down a street he cannot get turned around in. With the GPS devices, the driver can pinpoint exactly where the unit is and if he has room to turn around at that location.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    I don't really know another program as powerful as Excel. I've used Google Doc programs but do not feel they come close. So far, anytime I've needed a table of some sort for data, whether it's budget oriented or information off a survey, the best system has been Excel. We do web audits on occasion and we create an Excel worksheet featuring every URL of the pages we're auditing, notes, data about the content, information about files attached to the page and other information to help us determine what pages need updating, deleting or otherwise. We also use Excel primarily to export our Google Analytics to in order for us to create reports for clients that need to see specific information about their traffic.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    HCSS
    • #1 is support! HCSS is by far the best software support of any product we have ever used. Unlike most software companies HCSS utilizes their support calls to help upgrade their software. When you here them tell you that they will write down a particular issue you come across during a support call if they can't help you then and there they will research and get an answer to you extremely fast. If the software will not do it, you can bet there is a good chance it will be on the list of enhancements you will see come out in the near future.
    • Estimating software is very extensive. Their software is capable of handling the smallest estimate all the way to the largest joint venture estimate. It has advanced features that make it extremely useful for analyzing job materials, subcontractors etc.
    • HeavyJob is an extremely useful tool for the field to keep the office up to date with job costs. Everything is at the Foreman's fingertips on Tablets to allow the information from the field to get uploaded to HeavyJob manager which then can export to accounting. We are also able to give our Foreman the ability to deal with the Daily and weekly safety needs (Tailgate Meetings, incident Investigation, observations etc.) right on the Tablets thru HeavyJob.
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    Microsoft
    • It is very good at embedded formulas and tying cells to one another
    • It allows me to compare deals terms on a side-by-side basis and talk my clients through it easily.
    • It is very helpful as well in terms of allowing me to filter/sort results in many different ways depending on what specific information I am most interested in prioritizing.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    HCSS
    • All their apps are on mobile devices. Although there is not a clear company policy on Android versus iPhone. Updates for features lag behind on Android. Some apps are exclusive to one platform making it hard to fully interconnect all programs.
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    Microsoft
    • Excel offers collaboration features that allow multiple users to work on the same spreadsheet, but managing changes made by different users can be challenging. Excel could improve its features by offering more granular control, better tracking of changes, and more robust conflict resolution tools.
    • Itcan be a barrier to productivity when importing and exporting data from other applications or file formats. To improve its features, it should offer better support for standard file formats and more robust error handling and reporting tools.
    • Excel can be challenging for finance students and working professionals, but it can be improved by offering more robust tutorials, better documentation, and more user communities and support forums.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    HCSS
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Excel remains the industry standard for spreadsheets and has maintained simple and straight-forward formula writing methods. Although there is a learning curve to do more complex calculations, there are countless help sites and videos on the Internet for almost any need.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    HCSS
    As mentioned, user interface appears messy and complicated at initial onset. Training is necessary but becomes easy to maneuver through after solid daily use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    I'm giving it a 7 because it is my go to. But the fact other prefer Google Sheets when working with a team does get irritating. I've used the online version of Microsoft Excel that other teams can get into and it still seems behind Google Sheets. It's a little clanky and slow? If that's even a term.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    HCSS
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    I have rarely, if ever, had issues with its availability.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    HCSS
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Excel load and performs calculations immediately. It integrate well with all Microsoft Office applications and does not slow them down.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    HCSS
    I have never had a bad experience or heard of one in 4 years of doing business with HCSS. That is unheard of even with the hurricanes and flooding in Houston area it feels like HCSS was always there and willing to help in every way.
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    Microsoft
    I have not had to use it often, but it is good.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    HCSS
    I was not employed with PPI upon implementation. I would prefer to reference my previous statement, that each company needs to evaluate its culture and address your implementation accordingly. The purchasing company should assign an employee as point person and really take charge of not just the technical side of the implementation (HCSS pretty much handles that), but focus on company culture and training.
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    HCSS
    Other estimating products I have used consist of ICE/MC2 and MS Excel. ICE was not a good fit for our company, as they have awful technical support and offer very poor training. MS Excel is great for simple estimates where there is not a lot of data being compiled. However neither hold a candle to the power of HCSS Heavybid
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Out of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Power BI, IBM SPSS, and Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel is by far the most common tool used for anything data-related across organizations. Accordingly, our organization has also implemented Microsoft Excel as a first-step tool. We recently adopted Microsoft Power BI (the free version), and use it occasionally (mostly for creating dashboards), but it is less commonly understood by stakeholders across our organization and by our clients. Accordingly, Microsoft Excel is more user-friendly and because of its popularity, we can easily look up how to do things in the program online. Google Sheets is a comparable alternative to Microsoft Excel, but because it's cloud-based and we have sensitive data that needs to be protected, we chose against using this software. Finally, a few users (including myself) have access to and utilize IBM's SPSS. For my role, it's a helpful tool to do more rigorous analyses. However, because of its cost and limited functionality as a simple spreadsheet, we only use it for more complex analyses.
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    HCSS
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    N/A I was not involved in this process.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    HCSS
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Each user can use it to whatever level of expertise they have. It remains the same so users can contribute to another's work regardless of whether they have more or less expertise
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    HCSS
    • The biggest ROI for us was the ease of adoption by field personnel.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Excel has positively impacted the business as it has increased our efficiency.
    • It also saves us the time that we would have spent on making the calculations that it does for us.
    • Since it works on all devices and is compatible with both Windows and Mac, we do not have to invest in any other alternative.
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    ScreenShots

    HCSS Screenshots

    Screenshot of HeavyBid - build the structure of an estimateScreenshot of HeavyBid - manage sub and material quotesScreenshot of HeavyBid - create professional bid proposalsScreenshot of HeavyJob - manage a job site from a mobile deviceScreenshot of HeavyJob - capture job site photos from any deviceScreenshot of HeavyJob - review, edit, and approve time cards from a mobile device