InEight vs. Viewpoint Spectrum

Compared to other Estimating software I have used, InEight has superior capabilities and features. The ability to use a line item or an assembly to create an estimate is an outstanding feature of the program. The ability to create crew rates and use them in the estimate is a handy feature, especially when estimating construction projects.

Incentivized

Viewpoint Spectrum would be fine for small to medium-sized companies. It would be great for transitioning from an in-house paper-based process, especially since it's designed with small construction companies in mind. They're making it even easier for smaller companies by offering additional features that you'd normally have to find in other products. However, companies can easily outgrow this system. We have about 15 years of data in the system, over 300 active jobs, and nearly 1,500 employees. In the past 3 years we've noticed slower performance and frequent locks in the system that require intervention from a system administrator. We moved to the cloud about 2 years ago and this has made troubleshooting even more difficult as we don't have the same access that we did before to resolve performance issues.

Incentivized

• Tracking labor and equipment hours to specific estimated scope line items
• Creating detailed work breakdown structures within Estimate and using that same structure to apply cost to during the job
• Creating custom data blocks in control to track progress and create forecasts

Incentivized

• Dashboards make navigating to the crucial information quick and easy.
• The layout with what we affectionately call the job info bar helps our project teams to quickly get where they need to go in the system.
• Crystal reports are easily managed and integrated with Spectrum, giving us great flexibility in custom reports.
• With a little training, and I mean a little, Spectrum is user friendly. Easy to create favorites/shortcuts for ease of use.

Incentivized

• We do not use the search engine since it was last modified. It is no longer user friendly.
• We used to like the way we could change the position of line items. The function has been changed to where it is not user friendly anymore.
• The "Save" and "Delete" options are right next to each other. I have been after Ineight to change these for a long time but they have not.

Incentivized

• Subcontract Kiosk can be glitchy - allows subs to overbill on subcontract billing items
• Document Imaging can be glitchy - often says users do not have adequate security to view/add documents, but they do - if they sign out and back in, it works fine
• At times, support can be lacking - sometimes case responses are delayed or you get an incorrect answer

Incentivized

Some features with InEight's TeamBinder are worthy of single use, however the review feature and subsequent revision and version numbering could be improved. We will be aiming to roll out the package to encompass our internal documentation in the near future and will be in a better position to judge the usability after that point in time.

Incentivized

It checks all of our boxes at the moment.

Incentivized

I would give it an 8 out of 10 because the software can be a bit cumbersome to new users. It also takes a long time to set up the library and input all of your companies needs so that the software will provide the level of service required to estimate projects. However, once the software is set up it is a powerful tool. We only use a portion of what the software is capable of delivering

Incentivized

Some things in Spectrum are NOT that intuitive, but I think knowledge of the software just comes with time. There are still some things I need assistance with in Spectrum but I'm very comfortable with my day to day items now that I've been using it for years. However, if there is something I don't do often or haven't done before, I don't find the software to be that intuitive, I actually find the logic on some things to be a little weird but it's fine once I know how to do it.

Incentivized

Very little down time. They host our system.

Incentivized

For the most part the product is very reliable. Since we are hosted we sometimes have connectivity issues but I would say that is more our ISP than Spectrum.

Incentivized

Every time I have contacted support, they have gotten back to [me] quickly and with a few solutions. I like that they seem to be US-based, so there is no language barrier when I try to communicate my problem. For the few times, they did not have a solution ready, they told me they would respond later after further research, and they actually followed up! Better than most support I have used in the past with other software.

Incentivized

The support has recently changed. Last year, you could call in and get an immediate response. Now that doesn't seem possible unless you have an urgent situation with access to the software, payroll or payables. I have found that using chat or e-mail works nicely for the most part, but sometimes I feel it would be easier if someone from support would jump on our site and take a first-hand look rather than going back and forth

Incentivized

Our trainer was excellent and navigated the time zone differences expertly. She gave us test assignments to complete and was available for questions at any time.

Incentivized

Since the original inception, I have been required to overhaul the system so that it is more user friendly and combines both aspects of our business, documentation and drawings. Being able to control revision and version numbering has been a key struggle that only staff training has been able to mark this as complete.

Incentivized

It is important to have a strong implementation partner. It made the transition from our old system to the new system easier.

Incentivized

I've used SAP for more than 10 years before my current job in this company. The best thing in SAP, is exactly what I have commented before, it's a single one tool, that does all what InEight do. Here at CCC, we have COINS for cost management, and I don't know exactly if InEight would be able to do whatever that COINS does, but what I'm trying to say is that, for systems, as much less external communication, better. InEight is covering a great portion on planning, we will see schedule and estimate, it will definitely improve, so, waiting on that to see.

Incentivized

Spectrum, when compared to Simply accounting, is better. It has more options, and it is easy to navigate. Spectrum meets our needs better. Spectrum, when compared to Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, is better. Spectrum has better connectivity between its project management system compared to Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate. Spectrum, when compared to CMIC, I believe they are equal. CMiC has a better project management system, but Spectrum has an easier accounting system to navigate.

Incentivized

InEight is a good system that has scaled nicely as the company has grown. the tools are still readily available and applicable for our larger scope of work. It has kept up with the growth of the company very nicely

Incentivized

You can grant user specific access which is nice. Project managers do not need all the same modules as Accounting. But Accounting does need access to PM modules as well

• We have gone from an $6.5M per year company to over $10M per year since integrating InEight in 2018
• Job costing has really helped us to understand where the money is going and how to manage it better.
• Being able to compare different estimates has sped up the estimation process and allowed us to be more competitive.

Incentivized

• Viewpoint Spectrum has allowed us the opportunity to be proactive in analyzing the costs for a project in time to make a difference in the outcome of the project. It has allowed us defense in supporting our communications with the project owners.
• Viewpoint Spectrum has allowed us to become more productive with its accounting software and the cohesion between the modules. It has definitely streamlined the processing necessary to account for the business.

Incentivized