#1 most frequent
United States of America
86.6%206 installations of 238
What is SmartBid?
SmartBid is a construction bid management software for general contractors. SmartBid provides a web-based and mobile platform to streamline their bid project data, documents, and subcontractor communications. It also supports user permissions control for data security.
Categories & Use Cases
Media
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Top Performing Features
Mobile app
Users can easily access the system from the field on mobile devices such as phones and tablets.
Category average: 7.3
Document sharing
Users can share/attach other documents related to construction projects, such as specifications, contracts, drawings, etc.
Category average: 8.4
Plan distribution & viewing
Users can compare different versions of plans, and view live updates/revisions to plans (usually from a mobile device in the field).
Category average: 8.5
Areas for Improvement
Collaboration & approvals
Users can comment, send messages, and/or approve documents.
Category average: 8.1
RFI tools
Users can create, send, receive, and archive Requests for Information (RFIs), to record exchanges with subcontractors, vendors, and other suppliers.
Category average: 8.3
Who Buys & Uses SmartBid
#2 most frequent
Canada
5.5%13 installations of 238
#3 most frequent
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
1.7%4 installations of 238
SmartBid: speeding up and increasing the efficiency of projects
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We use SmartBid both for educational purposes in Management engineering courses at the University where I work and in managing complex restoration works for historic buildings. In particular, SmartBid is very useful in managing complex construction sites in all the different phases of intervention (from diagnostics to conservation). We use the free version of the software with our students. SmartBid helps us to save precious time. It is also handy software to store working documents and share them with all workers.
Pros
- SmartBid is awesome in storing documents.
- Managing the different intervention phases.
- It allows you to easily control the exchange of all the documentation with all customers and sub-contractors.
Cons
- The graphical interface needs improvements to make it easier to use.
- Some operations are not fully automated.
- Currently, it is impossible to track what all users modify. User monitoring is the key, considering that we work with complex historic buildings.
Return on Investment
- It has incredibly increased our efficiency. SmartBid allows you to speed up complex operations through significant simplification.
- SmartBid allows you to work even remotely (smart working). This made us possible to follow various construction sites from a distance.
- It helps manage and monitor different projects together. The documentation is always accessible, and this incredibly increases the speed of execution of the interventions in construction sites.
Other Software Used
Adobe Analytics, Revit, Autodesk Civil 3D
SmartBid is a smart choice
Pros
- Email alerts for invites, withdraws, addendum and special notes.
- Quickly respond bidding/unsure/not bidding.
Cons
- Ability to download all without having to be a zip file.
- Provide a submittal board for questions and answers.
Return on Investment
- SmartBid helps eliminate jumping all over the place, all your invites are on one system.
- It allows us to see who and how many general contractors are bidding, let’s us know if it’s a job worth spending time on.
Alternatives Considered
BuildingConnected
Other Software Used
Bluebeam Revu, BuildingConnected, Microsoft 365 Business, Microsoft Project, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Flow, WeTransfer, Microsoft Publisher
SmartBid is True to the Name!
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
SmartBid is used by our estimators, project managers, and general superintendents. As an estimator, I use SmartBid to view new opportunities and track my current open bids. Our project managers and superintendents use the software to view change orders, punch lists, and other tasks after we've been awarded a project from the general contractor.
Pros
- Extremely User-Friendly
- Constant Reminders
Cons
- New Opportunities
- GC Correspondence
Return on Investment
- Peak Organization
- More Bids Awarded
Alternatives Considered
Procore, BuildingConnected and iSqFt
Other Software Used
Procore, iSqFt, BuildingConnected
SmartBid is the best tool (and only one I've used) for bid distribution
Pros
- It stores the bid documents all in one place.
- Easy way to effectively communicate with a large number of people at once.
- The emails are pretty instantaneous when they get sent out.
Cons
- The interface seems dated.
- Most subcontractors can figure out how to get the documents, but very few actually respond to the emails as to whether or not they will be bidding.
Return on Investment
- It is a big time saver compared to sending out individual emails.
- It saves time in having multiple individual databases for company contact info.
- It ensures that everyone is getting the same information.
Other Software Used
Procore, Box, Microsoft Office 2016, Microsoft Project
SmartBid is Smart
Pros
- It's very easy to set up a job and manage who receives solicitations. You can also keep detailed notes on who've you contacted and see if they're actually downloading and reviewing the documents.
- You can add a confidentiality agreement clause which they must accept before accessing the documents. It then stores this information if it ever needs to be accessed. This is much cleaner and easier then sending out a NDA form and having the subcontractor return it before actually sending drawings/docs.
- You can send Invitations to Bid and set it up to continue sending these ITB's until the subcontractor responds. However, this can also be a negative point because once you set up a delayed ITB, it doesn't update as the subcontractors view and respond to the ITB's. So if a sub is "Not Responded" and you set up a delayed ITB to fire off every day for 5 days, and the sub responds after day 2, that sub will continue to receive ITB's for all 5 days.
- Uploading drawings is quick and easy. It's especially convenient if you link to one of your cloud services such as Egnyte, Google Drive, etc.
- The search tools are quick and easy and often very accessible from any page.
Cons
- REPORTING REPORTING REPORTING!!! The reporting functions in SmartBidNet are its weakest link. I just had a co-worker ask how to get a certain report (I get this question often) and I simply laughed as I've been trying to resolve this issue with SmartBidNet for years. After numerous requests for a feature enhancement regarding reporting (and I'm very detailed in what needs to change), I have seen ZERO progress. I finally just created my own Excel workbook which creates a usable report after extracting info from worthless report put out by the current system.
- Once you set up a delayed ITB, it doesn't update as the subcontractors view and respond to the ITBs. So if a sub is "Not Responded" and you set up a delayed ITB to fire off every day for 5 days, and the sub responds after day 2, that sub will continue to receive ITBs for all 5 days.
- The file size limit to upload is about 350 MB. If I ever want to upload a model, they are often larger than 350 MB and it requires that I contact the SmartBidNet support staff and SOMETIMES they will make an exception to upload these larger files. With SmartBidNet being all about technology, it seems strange that they wouldn't cater to 3D models being uploaded as this is the future of the construction industry.
Return on Investment
- It has reduced the amount of time that an estimator must spend with document control. With the ease of uploading documents and managing who sees these documents, it takes a big load off of the every day estimator.
- With the ability to reach your audience by sending several notifications and making sure that these notifications are acknowledged, it reduces the amount of time an estimator must spend on the phone to simply find out if a subcontractor is bidding or not.
- It has also had a positive impact because it makes it easy for the subcontractors to get the documents. The amount of time just helping a sub get the documents downloaded has decreased and I believe it's because of the ease of use which SmartBidNet has created from the subcontractor side.
Alternatives Considered
Bidmail
Other Software Used
On-Screen Takeoff, Microsoft Office
