PlanSwift is a quantity takeoff software for construction estimating. It features a drag-and-drop interface and automatically calculates material and labor estimations in exportable formats.
PlanSwift was acquired by ConstructConnect in the middle of 2018.
I use PlanSwift for all my projects - it has just cut my time by a major percentage when it comes to quantifying a blueprint. At times there are funky areas, which are just hard to calculate on paper. It also has a great tool for scaling according to the dimensions, so if a drawing is missing a scale, you can always allot a scale by giving directions and then marking the points. I use this tool to check the scale as well - sometimes the drawings say something but the scale if off and you are left with an incorrect take-off. The dimension tool is a good way to check that. We don't use it much for pricing purposes though, we have found other software which are more robust when it comes to estimation, but we can see using PlanSwift for pricing sometime in the future.
For our client the product is very user friendly which makes it easier for the new comers to be trained and start using it. Interactive tools to for building and then sharing estimates with clients, suppliers and others is very well suited for our needs. Continues updates makes the platform better and better with each itereation
The program has a fairly antiquated user interface such that someone working in it may not feel like they are working with advanced software.
Sage Estimating has absolutely no remote access capability outside running it in a Citrix/RDP environment so users have to be using a fat/full client vs. any hopes of access on a mobile device.
I have called once needing support. I was asking about the "compare" tool to compare different versions. They told be about their desktop app and I downloaded. They answered quickly, you could understand them, and they took care of my question
Sage's support of Estimating is adequate though frankly we rarely need it. Outside of more complex operations such as upgrades and installation problems the program itself is so straightforward that we do not usually have any "issues" and questions that are more about usability can easily be answered in online forums. We trust Sage's capability to answer these questions if needed but rarely use it.
PlanSwift by far is the superior product. Procore is used more universally in our area, but the drawings features by far surpass Procore. We work offline usually with our tablets. This would be the only way to go when working offline. The submittal process in Procore is much better, but that would be the only thing we can see
We have been using Sage Estimating for close to two decades now. Changing from a base software is always hard as the incumbent package always has an advantage over any new comers. In this case we have considered both Procore Technologies and RedTeam software as an alternate to not only our estimating practices but the whole Project Management suite. In the case of Procore although its mobile capability is far superior the pricing point on it is so high that we had to move on from consideration of it. Our review of RedTeam suggested the software not mature enough for our needs. Sage Estimating's days are numbered if they do not develop better mobility in the application but for now it is the the go-to package for mature GC's.
