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Sage Estimating

Score7.7 out of 10

20 Reviews and Ratings

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What is Sage Estimating?

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Reviews

What users are saying about Sage Estimating.
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Speed up your estimating process

Incentivized
Verified User
Technician in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Our client is using Sage Estimating and as their IT managed services provider we support them with their infrastucture and systems. Our client switched to SAGE Estimating as they were using SAGE X3 for their other ERP needs. The biggest issue Sage Estimating solved for them is that all the spreadsheets are in the same format without any errors and probability of users errors with the math formulas as the Estimator is performing it with its database engine.

Pros

  • Same format Spreadsheet
  • Ability to adjust by percentages
  • Ability to separate phases into categories

Cons

  • Complexity.
  • Is not cloud based
  • More customization would be appreciated

Return on Investment

  • Manupulation of existing data is very user friendly thanks to "Database Manager".
  • A bit pricey

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Azure Active Directory B2C, Azure App Service

Sage Estimating in a Nutshell

Incentivized
Ross KleypasView profile
Senior Estimator in Engineering at TransCanada (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Pros

  • Assemblies & Models are one of the strongest features of Sage Estimating. They take the software far beyond what simple templates can accomplish. The assemblies that the user creates are always up to date with the latest data in the database. They allow you to take off huge amounts of material & labor quickly, giving you the time to focus on analyzing the estimate.
  • The WBS (work breakdown structure) gives the user the ability to sort data in a large variety of ways. Using multiple WBS fields the user can view the estimate in a variety of different ways, allowing for a more complete review.
  • The Sage Helpdesk is always helpful and efficient. They are usually able to resolve any issues in a timely manner. And once the software is up and running properly, it requires very little maintenance.
  • The software works well with Crystal Reports. The user can attach multiple Crystal Reports to the Reports Menu for ease of access. Sage Estimating comes with its own Crystal Report application. The user can use this to create custom reports.
  • The latest SQL version of Sage Estimating represents a welcome step forward from Sage. It is more secure and stable than the older Pervasive version. It allows for the assigning of different roles to the estimators in the organizations, such as admin, Sr Estimator, Jr Estimator. The user can even define their own roles.

Cons

  • While the SQL version may represent a step forward from Sage, it is a recent release and still has a few bugs in it. (I’ve contacted Sage with the issues I’ve found and hopefully they are working to resolve them.) For instance, I've found a bug where the Notes column prints twice when I run a report. However there is a simple workaround for this.
  • Though the database contains lots of user fields, it lacks the ability to add custom fields to the database. For instance, a weight field added to the material portion of the database would be very useful.
  • The Sage Helpdesk is always helpful unless they have not encountered the error before. In which case, they struggle a bit.
  • The software works with Crystal Reports, but the Sage helpdesk doesn’t support Crystal Report. I have an issue with my reports latching onto data from old estimates and not letting go. I have developed a work around for this, but it is still a bug that needs to be addressed.
  • I would also like the menus to be customizable.

Return on Investment

  • Sage Estimating software is superior in almost every way to using spreadsheets. I have used both methods to estimate projects and much prefer estimating software. Using this software I can estimate an entire compressor station in under an hour. It literally takes seconds to generate the estimate; and then I spend the rest of the time adjusting and reviewing it. This saves hours of time and allows me to produce hundreds of estimates a year.
  • We maintain a high level of accuracy by using Sage Estimating. While there are always outliers, most of our estimates fall well within the accuracy range of the class of estimate we produce. (Our accuracy ranges are based on AACEI guidelines.) Overall, our projects generally fall within +/- 5% of the budget.
  • The accuracy and quality of the estimate is only as good as the time and energy invested in maintaining the database. The database requires quite a bit of maintenance in order to keep it accurate. I spend perhaps 10% of my time working with the data.

Other Software Used

Microsoft Access

Sage Estimating...the Granddaddy of General Contracting Estimation Creation Software. It can be trusted but getting long in the tooth.

Incentivized
Verified User
Manager in Information Technology (51-200 employees employees)

Pros

  • Sage Estimating is very good at providing the users (and eventually clients) with a clean, well broken down estimate of how we have come up with a specific bid amount. It allows consistency among our different precon managers in how they present the final numbers of a bid.
  • The way Sage Estimating presents itself to a precon manager/user allows ease of use from the very start such that someone can build a bid with very little training.

Cons

  • 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.

Return on Investment

  • The capabilities built into Sage Estimating allow our company to avoid the complexity of having random Excel bids floating around. All our bids are built into the Sage database and available to all users without searching.
  • The lack of mobile options require users of the software to always be on a full client vs. mobile device. This limiting factor makes our process a bit more expensive by not allowing estimators to easily work on the go.

Alternatives Considered

Procore and RedTeam

Other Software Used

Windows Server, Windows Server Failover Clustering, Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, Veeam Backup & Replication

SAGE Estimating is a Great solution

Incentivized
Robin PetersonView profile
Information Technology Manager - Business Systems in Information Technology at RJM Construction (51-200 employees employees)

Pros

  • Manage Assemblies
  • Easy sorts for quick references on different phases
  • GREAT WBS structure
  • Easy generation for new bids

Cons

  • Interface to other BIM applications
  • Reports are lacking

Return on Investment

  • Turnaround on Estimates are very quick and the ability to copy and existing estimate for similar projects is priceless
  • The tool is easy to learn and can be picked up quickly by new hires (many have at least used SAGE in college)

Other Software Used

Vista by Viewpoint