User Reviews Overview
About CoConstruct
CoConstruct is a construction project management software that provides custom home builders and remodelers with tools for managing projects, financials and clients. It allows users to sync data from estimates, specifications,...
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- Industry: Civil Engineering
- Company size: 201–500 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Agrxis Review on CoConstruct
CoConstruct has proven to be a fantastic management tool for my building projects, in my opinion. My productivity has been substantially eased by the feature-rich package, which has also improved communication with my staff and clients. Efficiency and productivity have considerably increased because to the ability to handle project finances, schedules, and communications in a single location. The interactive client site has also impressed me since it enables easy contact and keeps all parties informed about the status of the project. The ability to manage estimates, invoicing, and financial reporting has been made easier by the interaction with financial tools. The mobile app also guarantees that I may handle tasks while on the road and stay connected. CoConstruct has helped my construction company overall by streamlining project administration and producing good results.
Pros
I adore CoConstruct, and it is now a necessary tool for all of my building projects. The extensive project management tools of CoConstruct are one of my favorite aspects of the software. CoConstruct covers every stage of the building process, from early planning and budgeting through scheduling and communication. Real-time collaboration with my staff and clients has greatly increased productivity and decreased misunderstandings. The platform's simple navigation and clear user interface make it simple to organize projects, keep track of deadlines, and monitor progress. My project's financial administration has been simplified by the integrated financial tools, which include cost monitoring and invoicing. Additionally, the CoConstruct team's customer service has been outstanding, always helpful and responsive whenever I have a query.
Cons
Despite having a mostly pleasant experience with CoConstruct, there are a few features that I didn't particularly enjoy. First off, especially for smaller construction companies or independent contractors, the price structure might be a little on the expensive side. For some people seeking for a more cost-effective alternative, the price may be a deterrent.
Response from CoConstruct
Hi Joseph, thanks for taking the time to share your experience with Buildertrend! We appreciate your feedback and will be sure to share it with our team.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
CoConstruct makes it clean!
So amazing, so happy, honestly love working in this system and meeting with [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] every couple of weeks! I will be telling everyone in the industry to use your software!
Pros
I spent a couple of months trying out a multitude of project management software, hoping to find the best for the cheapest. Of course that is never the case ;). CoConstruct was immediately the one that stood out. It had most of the features of the high end systems, and way more than the more 'tech industry' focused packages. In the end, even though it was a big step up in the price I was willing to pay, I am SO glad I chose CoConstruct! They are an amazing company with amazing support and have held my hand through the whole setup process (which takes time for sure, but worth every second as it makes everything SOOO much quicker and cleaner once you have it setup!). I use ClickUp for my personal management, and CoConstruct for my business management. If you are like me and about to embark on the days long search for a project management system, and have somewhat of a budget, stop right here, CoConstruct is it!
Cons
It feels a bit outdated. The UI is pretty damn clean which I like, but could use a facelift. I notice it seems to be all written in .asp? I heaven't seen that in over a decade, might be a lot of why it's running slower :/
Reasons for Choosing CoConstruct
ClickUp is a great software with an awesome interface. But it doesn't understand construction, and has no where near the feature set that CoConstruct does when it comes to this industry!Switched From
ClickUpReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
Tried them all out, no one understands construction like CoConstruct, period! Honestly, the others can give you some pretty great scheduling and note taking, but what about estimates, proposals, budget tracking, warranties, customer support? I know it's about $100-200 more per month, but honestly at $2400/year, that's nothing compared to the headache of book keeping you've got with 3-4 different packages all trying to manage these things with no connection together.. Or if so, another 3rd party integration software with added costs if you go over monthly limits.. As you can tell, I thought it all through, literally wrote out the prices of multiple other packages, and CoConstruct was the only one to use!- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
One of the best construction softwares out there!
Overall I believe Coconstruct is a well rounded software that can be learned easier than many of the other construction software out there. One of my businesses still uses it to date.
Pros
I loved creating and sending estimates with coconstruct. Once you put in the work to create your templates with your cost items you pretty much have a full system in place where any salesperson can easily use.
Cons
For many years the coconstruct team would occasionally update the software and add features. Until they stopped doing it after they were bought out by Builder Trend. Not sure if that is still the case today.
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
Easier setup. More affordable. Great customer service.Top CoConstruct Alternatives
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Disappointing
Initially, we thought it was ok. Every day we worked, however, we found more and more workarounds. they far outweighed the positives early on. Truth is, the salesperson had MORE than enough information to know that we wouldn't be a good fit, but they lied to us. As a service-based business, this is a joke of a program. It's made for companies with FEW customers and FEWER jobs. If you're trying to get by with not activating your customers - nothing works correctly. the system ABSOLUTELY does not "integrate" with Quickbooks. It only accepts SOME information - and what it allows leaves you having to duplicate entry more than 1/2 of your jobs data. Even moving from the "leads" module to a customer after they sign, only gives you the BARE minimum information on the customer. Most of the data doesn't even transfer. When you try to do more - like we hired a professional consultant for $600 to help us - we just found out more lies and more problems until we finally gave up.
Pros
The customer integration is nice. The system was stable even out in the field.
Cons
The customer service STUNK. The sales staff knew FULL WELL what we needed and why, and they lied to us to get the sale. 6 months in we found out the REAL answer of the Quickbooks integration - basically it sucks.
We were looking to eliminate places of duplicate entry - not create more. Document management is horrible. basically a DOS system where you can't even scroll in between photos. Lack of ability to have a customer, be a trades partner, be a subcontractor - which happens all the time.
Response from CoConstruct
Wendy, Thanks for sharing your experience with us. This isn't the typical feedback we receive + we always strive to provide top notch service to our customers. I want you to know that we've heard your feedback + will reiterate to our sales team the importance of ensuring a good fit. We're specifically designed for custom home builders and remodelers, but many other businesses, like yours, can find success with CoConstruct. In a review of your interactions with our team, we did do everything we could to accommodate your needs. All tickets submitted were addressed + when your 1st coach wasn't a fit, we assigned a new one + extra sessions to help with your success. We're are surprised to hear about your QuickBooks concerns, since our integration is widely considered the best on the market. If there are any other specifics that you'd like to share, we'd be happy to dive in more. We hope you are able to find another application that is better designed for your business.
BW, Marketing
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Very useful tool but complicated
Overall I am happy with the software. It takes a long time to populate everything and it takes a lot of time to learn how to use all of the tools, and it is REALLY expensive, . . . but, it can be a very good tool that saves a lot of money through more efficient RFP process and scheduling.
Pros
I like that, once all of your templates, specs, and trade partners are populated, it is very easy build professional looking proposals, quickly send out and manage RFPs, easily track jobs, and sync with quickbooks.
Cons
I wish there was a better tool in the estimate section for showing Cost to Complete. In quickbooks, there is a report that can show you how you are tracking cost wise against your construction schedule. It would be great to have something like that in CoConstruct. I wish there was a way to check a box on uploaded documents so they could be viewed in multiple places. Example, if I upload a PDF in the bids section, I wish I could also attach it automatically to the applicable section of the selections. As it is now, I have to duplicate that work by uploading it in both places. If the bid request is linked to a spec, it should give the option to attach the bid in both locations.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Great program. Incredible value.
I've truly been impressed with CoConstruct's customer service, webinar, and coaching availability. They have trained their staff well and it shows - they are also staffed accordingly. The system is robust and is able to meet you where you are at - if your current system is advanced - this is a good product for you. If your current system is under-developed and needs some shoring up - this is a good product for you.
My coach, [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] knows his stuff and has been extremely helpful through implementation and now operations and maintenance.
Pros
There are too many positive aspects to list - the way it has aided in our process management is priceless. From bidding to pre-construction and construction thru warranty, CoConstruct simplifies these processes and helps you ensure that each phase gets the attention it needs. Selections have been easier, sales have been smoother, and the communication aspect of the system is a game changer. It has helped maintain a consistent and detailed flow of communication with my customers, which is HUGE!
Cons
There are always features of a project management software that don't quite fit as precisely as you'd like into your current work-flow system. I treated this as an opportunity to reevaluate my process and if I could do things differently or better. There are few aspects of the software that I would say do not fit my company at this time. Implementation, as far as kicking it off to my suppliers and subcontractors, perhaps, has been the most challenging. However, it has not been a HUGE challenge - I've found that the majority of my subs and suppliers like the software and are looking forward to learning more about it.
Reasons for Switching to CoConstruct
Price. Customer service. Communication. Had a great introductory video online.[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] did a great job in staying in contact with me.- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
CoConstruct Remodeler
It’s like all software where you have to set it up to customize it for yourself but it’s not hard
Pros
Everything is great but AWAs getting approved is the number one. Remodeling always has changed CC makes it so easy to give customers options with price and once they select the one they want the $$ go right onto to their balance
Cons
It’s not that I don’t like the scheduling I just wish you could see all the project schedules could be seen on a master schedule
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
Easier set up and using and cost was consideredResponse from CoConstruct
Douglas -- I'm glad you're loving CoConstruct and that we're helping you get real approvals (and really getting paid for them!). I noticed your comment about wanting to see all schedules in one place. The good news is that we actually do that. From your main dashboard, click on the first menu bar item, called "Task Manager." That allows you to see a global view of all of your schedule, to-do, and warranty items in one place in a list, Gantt, or calendar view. Click the "Filter" button to get to even more advanced options for narrowing down exactly what you want to overlay or color code. We have a similar feature in the mobile app, too. If you have any questions, our support team is happy to help. Give us a call at 800-213-3392.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
CoConstruct
It was a little complicated, but so is running a business. CoConstruct goes above and beyond to help you learn how to use it. There are multiple ways to set up your system. Customer service knows the software and will answer your questions completely. You have to figure our exactly how to use it to best suit your needs.
Pros
After 2 years of use there is very little if any extra or useless features in the software. The more of it we use the better it becomes. I have no regrets in purchasing it even though it has not paid for itself yet.
Cons
It took a while to reach the level at which we use it. This isn't necessarily bad on the software but as much the nature of the construction business. Doing a few jobs per year doesn't give you a lot of opportunity to change your procedure when you find a better way. That has required patience but it has paid off. You will not implement this software perfectly quickly, more than likely.
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
CoConstruct was geographically closer and offered onsite training as part of their initial package.- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
A Must for Construction Project Management
Overall experience has been great. I have to say that every time I call into Tech Support, the tech who answers has always been able to solve my issue or answer my question without passing me to someone else. Rare in this software-driven world of foreign tech support/passing down the line.
Pros
Our clients, trades and entire team have ONE site, both computer and mobile, to visit to access all of the necessary information, specifications, budgets, jobs schedules, etc.
Cons
I need additional estimating integration with my estimating software and currently have to manually enter my estimates vs. pushing takeoff data real-time directly into my estimates. Hopefully that will come with time!
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
At the time, many years ago, Co-Construct was the only one with Schedules accessed via mobile devices.- Industry: Design
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Weekly for 1+ year
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Review Source
Changing Lanes
We were completely satisfied with CoConstruct! It is a really well thought out program with great support. If it made since for us to keep the software during our transition we would have!
Pros
We really loved creating templates for specifications and being able to incorporate these into a proposal. This software works seamlessly with quickbooks allowing us to keep track of financials alongside the project.
Cons
In the end the software became too expensive for our small firm, and honestly it was a little more than we needed (we transitioned from a design/build to strictly a design firm).
Alternatives Considered
IvyReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
At the time, we needed a more construction related software.Response from CoConstruct
Leslie -- Thanks for all of the great feedback. We're sorry to see you go from CoConstruct, but we understand. We are great for design/build firms, who can use an unlimited number of projects at no additional charge for managing their design projects, including with customer communication, for as little as $199/mo, and then have all of that job data flow directly into the construction management side of the company. But, we were designed for companies that have a construction component of their business, so if you're only doing design now, I see where it may not be a fit. Hopefully you can send your design clients to contractors in your area who use CoConstruct, so the clients still get the benefit of it and you can still utilize it as a partner user of the contractor.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 51–200 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Free Trial is a Scam!
Free Trial is a scam! They don't provide any real experience with use of the software. Sales Consultants tell you that the only way to see how the software works is to sign up to the so-called "Free" trial. Although we ask them to implement templates, spends tens of hours to trial the software. Once we decided not to use it due to its big flaws in scheduling, accounting and day to day operation, they confirmed its all good and the refund will be processed. Later on, when I went through our Credit Card statement, I realised they never refunded. When I contacted them, they said we had to go through three official implementation sessions. Why should we go through Online Implementation Sessions if after getting to the details, the sales consultants confirm that it won't do what we need it to do!? What a scam!
Pros
Some general functionalities were okay but you can never try the actual software without purchasing the trial, so it looks good on the surface only.
Cons
Major flaws in accounting, scheduling and day to day job management such a submitting variations via phone.
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Choosing CoConstruct
Great software, great support team, honest sales consultants.Switched From
BuildertrendReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
Scheduling, Accounting, day to day Job Management.Response from CoConstruct
Sean This is Donny Wyatt, Founder and CEO at CoConstruct, and I wanted to personally respond since we'd never want one of our customers to have what sounds like a bait-and-switch situation. I am having our team confirm that your refund was processed. If it wasn't for some reason, we'll make sure it is. Secondly, I want to clarify about the "free trial," since we have never offered a free trial in our 15-year history, nor used that "trial" language on our website. Some of our competitors do use that term (even though they don't actually offer free trials, either). So, I wanted to dispel concerns about our offer. However, you did sign up at a time when we offered a money back guarantee, which we'll absolutely make sure we fulfill. Finally, I hope we can reach out to get your concerns about the product itself. We don't try to be all things to all companies, but we can't improve if we don't ask. Thanks for posting, and I hope this addresses at least the most pressing of your concerns.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Stay Away
Started out well, but got worse and worse as time went on. Could never get straight answers from customer service. Overall do not recommend it, especially to builders just starting out. And forget it if you want to every transfer your data out of it. They make it almost impossible, and will never refund your payments, even if they are at fault.
I wish someone would actually resolve my issues I have right now.
Pros
Keeps you organized, but any other management system achieves that. Clients like it. Can customize your branding pretty well.
Cons
For the price, the program is completely gutted. You pay an exorbitant amount per project, and still get less features than other programs like Builder Trend. It’s clunky, poorly laid out, and the customer service is terrible. I’ve had to wait on the phone over an hour on multiple occasions and I know they don’t have that many clients. Can’t chat for tech support. No account managers. Again, save your money. So basic for how expensive it is, especially now that Builder Trend has a $99 option for unlimited projects.
Response from CoConstruct
Hey Daniel,
Thank you for your feedback. We want to apologize for the experience you've had, it seems like a lot of back and forth.
After you wrote a similar review on another platform we reached out to you to better understand your frustrations and the situation at hand, but got no reply.
After looking over your account and talking to our Customer Success team it appears as though your data requests and support tickets were answered and satisfied, even though your account was two months overdue for payment with us. It seems like you still had concerns you wanted to address, but in place of giving us the chance to further assist you, you instead wrote another poor review on a different platform.
We'd like to make this right and want the opportunity to fix things we may have missed. However, to do so, we do need to know what grievances you still have. We will be reaching out to you after the holiday to ensure we get this taken care of.
Thanks,
Britany
Marketing Team
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Co Construct Revultionizing Business Management For Remodeling and Custom Home Builders
Co Construct has improved operations efficiency in several of the companies I have worked with. Co Construct is able to take a project from the first contact all the way through completion and provides an accountability for the client and the contractor which has been a big support gap in the past decade. Co Construct improves the builder and sub contractor experience as well with features that provide a daily log of comments and photos from the subs to the contractor in one place that is stored for record. Co Construct has also made keeping track of financials much easier and creating and facilitating change orders from the field. All of the features of Co Construct are streamlined in the mobile app for easy to train functionality with employees, subs and vendors. Overall I just cant express enough how Co Construct continues to improve the Remodel and Custom home sector of Residential construction.
Pros
Co Construct is so much more than a project management software system. Co Construct integrates your entire business operation into one easy to use cloud base platform. The support team dedicated to Co Construct users is a feature that no other company in this field can match. Co Construct continues to innovate their product daily through their client based interactions and feedback. Co Construct has gone above and beyond through their development of a "Community" discussion board within the existing software that enables all of their clients to interact with each other and the Co Construct ambassadors.
Co Construct offers Co Camp training as well as Co Con (annual conference based on builders engaging with other builders) this is a unique approach to not only improve clients knowledge of the software but will assist them with overall productivity in their respective businesses.
The Software itself is very easy to learn and very adaptable to any size business model. Co Construct has a library of videos to assist with the onboarding process. Co Construct has made a huge investment in securing their clients information as well.
Cons
It would be very difficult for me to identify anything that I do not like about this software. Co Construct has done a phenomenal job of identifying and improving any areas that were lacking in the offered software package and continues to develop more efficient improvements. I look forward to the future as they continue to grow the Leads feature as well as integration into the mainstream calendar support.
- Company size: Self Employed
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Handyman evolution
I can’t say enough about the customer service - specifically the “how do I do this...” type of support. They really don’t want you to fail just because you don’t understand HOW to use the app.
Pros
Good/bad? Good is not an adequate description of the customer service I receive from CoConstruct. The team over there is amazing. It’s the best customer service I’ve ever had anywhere online. I honestly feel like they work for me in my IT department (I’m a one-man “wanna-be remodeler” handyman operation).
Whenever I have a question I get a fully thought out, complete response that answers my question completely - most of the time with a video of rep solving the issue on his screen as if it were my own. I especially like that I seem to be assigned to one team member.
Also, the training calls during the learning phase were invaluable. I don’t think I would have been able to learn the full process without them (thanks again rep) - and I would have cancelled shortly after signing up without the video training calls.
Thanks so much CoConstruct.
I started out as a handyman 2 years ago and found CoConstruct before I was ready for it. The sales guy listened to my situation and freely admitted that it was probably more than I needed and it wouldn’t be a great benefit to me at that point - so I waited with the website bookmarked in my favorites bar. Since then, I’ve expanded into some smaller remodel projects and small custom residential jobs (small, like demo a bathroom, replace Front Door, install a door inside where one didn’t exist). Even with my tiny scope of work CoConstruct has been the deciding factor for 3 of my last 5 clients. I asked them why they chose me over the others and they said specifically, “I like your app”. Paraphrasing them, they said something to the effect of, “it’s transparent and I like that you show me everything you’re committing to instead of a one or two line sentence fragment on an estimate explaining a $3,000 scope of work”. I literally charge more for everything I do because CoConstruct makes me look so good up front that the customers are happy to pay more. Maybe because it makes my business look more professional or competent, or maybe because using CoConstruct actuallly makes me feel more confident. Either way, using CoConstruct, I charge more for the same work and I’m winning clients that I wouldn’t have before. It’s literally paying for itself.
Y’all are the best and I can’t wait to grow my business with your help.
Cons
It can take a while to set up a project - specifically a list of generally unrelated items. I estimate a lot of home inspection reports so it’s hard to create a template that I can import for each job.
The client view of some stuff is a little less transparent than I’d like (although i can type anything and everything I want into each item description). When I build out that cost lines for each item I’d like to be able to display the description of each cost line to the client (with or without the cost).
It’s also tough (or maybe I just haven’t figured it out yet) to go through the list of items to be completed while you’re on site since they’re grouped into larger categories instead of a single list showing all the items. However, you can add whatever you want to the schedule and track progress through the schedule. It’d be great if I could import the specs & selections items into the schedule.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Wouldn't run a construction company without it
CoConstruct has allowed us to integrate all project related information in one, web based platform that can be accessed from anywhere, including a fantastic mobile application for use in the field. Not only are we providing our clients with greater communication and visibility to the progress of their investment, but internally everyone has access to all the information relevant to a job, in one location. As a result, we have become more efficient and more profitable.
Pros
You can tell right from the start that this software was built by a builder, for builders. It completely integrates all aspects, from initial lead intake, estimating, specs, bid management, proposals, financial integration, project scheduling, task tracking, employee time management, and the list goes on and on. It links the builder with all their trade partners, and all their clients, providing a seamless platform that all information feeds in and out from, keeping track of it all in an extremely organized fashion. The level of support the CoConstruct team provides is top notch, with responses to support tickets often within the hour, the value of which is often overlooked when considering a software package.
Cons
From an overall perspective, the software has more available in it than we have been able to use currently, which gives us runway for future continual improvement. When we have had concerns, the CoConstruct help team has been able to quickly assist with answers, and they have even implemented some ideas for improvement we have suggested.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
CoConstruct is Dedicated Professionals
Pros
The customer service and dashboard resource articles and videos are extremely helpful. CoConstruct spent a lot of time and effort making sure customers had what they needed to use and understand how to use the software. We just left CoCamp and wow...... CoCamp was very helpful and needed because switching over to new software is a big deal, especially when you got systems in place that took awhile to setup. CoConstruct has most of the features we expect and they are always listening to what is needed.
Cons
We would like little more customization on trade partner naming/grouping, minor terminology customization, po options etc. However, we are really just beginning to use this feature loaded software so its a journey we are excited about.
Alternatives Considered
BuildertrendReasons for Choosing CoConstruct
Contractors Cloud is more geared for roofing, insurance and exterior projects. CoConstruct is geared for both with a emphasis on more complex projects, which is what we need to minimize human error and make sure our objectives are on track effectively.-
Review Source
With the ultra-competitive environment as a custom home builder in Chicago, we have continually focused on improving our construction management procedures. They evolved over time for the better and our abilities and capabilities grew with that evolution. We had spreadsheets, schedules, email, calendar, budgets and a high desire to achieve best practices through our experiences along the way. We had good, but not great systems. We felt that we hit our ceiling as far as how we used technology, so we set out to find a better solution. In our quest we found many well thought out programs and tried a few. They looked good but lacked the training required to reap what they advertised. Frustrated but not defeated, we came across Co-construct.
Co-Construct was everything we were looking for under one roof, but we had been here before with other products. What was and is different with Co-Construct is the support and training needed to get up and running quickly. Donny and his team behind Co-Construct do an amazing job here. Their program offers a library of instructional videos, one-on-one support or weekly webinars to educate the user (builder, client and sub-contractor) and give them the confidence to jump right in. The software has a modern intuitive user interface and, with being web-based, can be accessed anywhere.
In addition to excellent training the project management software is efficient and thorough. Covering all aspects of construction management, the customizable software can be utilized from initial client design all the way through the warranty phase. Co-construct provides the user the framework needed to successfully manage the very task intense processes of construction. Communication is at the core of this framework and nothing falls through the cracks.
The hidden gem we weren’t anticipating with Co-construct, though, is the success we have with the clients using the software. They love it. With our ability to dial up or down the amount of project transparency to the client, we can manage the client’s involvement in the process. Whether the client wants to be hands on, hands off or somewhere in-between, we can offer just what they desire. As a result, they feel that their finger is on the pulse of the project at all times giving them comfort and confidence in the process and us.
Co-construct has been a great partner and paramount in getting us to the next level as a builder. At the end of the day, Co-construct allows us to more efficiently and professionally deliver to our clients the home of their dreams on time and on budget. And a satisfied client always equates to a potential referral.
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Review Source
We are family run business that does all types of home remodeling, from kitchens and baths to whole house remodels. In this day and age, there are a lot of good remodelers out there who can do the same level of work as we can, but they may not have a lot of business sense. We have come to realize that homeowners are looking for home remodeling companies to come in and get out as quickly as possible.
Since we know this, we needed an edge on our competition and we looked at how we could improve our business. This meant reviewing the processes of the company and looking at where we could improve. The two main areas we needed to improve upon were scheduling and change orders. Both were done on pad and paper - very time consuming. We spoke to other remodelers in our peer group at Remodelers Advantage and searched online for software that could help us with those two areas. We purchased Microsoft Project and that worked well for us, but didn't help us with change orders. So we kept looking for a software product that would help us with change orders and finally found Co-construct.
I scheduled a demo with Donny and we went through everything. We couldn't believe the functionality that was included then, and so much has been added since we started in April 2011.
We were up and running on Co-construct in hours. Since it is all cloud based, we don't have to worry about installing software on our office computers and keep up with the upgrades.
Donny and his team have always been there when I have had questions, and their response is quick. Every month, open conference calls are available to members where you can dial in and ask questions or get assistance with using the program from Donny.
The software has made it so easy for us to get signed change orders. When the homeowner gets an email letting them know change order needs to be approved, he/she will log into Co-construct and click the button to accept the change order - that's it. It couldn't be any more simple. It saves my company hours every month and allows us to collect on change orders much more quickly.
The calendar/scheduling feature is really nice because I can make the schedule available to the homeowner and our trade contractors. Instead of giving the trade contractors a piece of paper, they can go on-line and see the schedule. The program also emails them when they are added to a project schedule and when their task is coming up.
The Co-construct team is always looking for software improvements which means they are always thinking ahead for the next great thing to add.
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Review Source
Jadah homes is a custom home builder in central Canada. We build ready-to-move homes in southern Manitoba and ship them throughout the province of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Our office is completely mobile, and we can build for any area without the increased cost of production in those areas. What makes Jadah truly unique is our homes are not modular, but rather custom with as high and wide as the customer specifies. The mover takes over the highway when move date happens.
Last year was our second year back in the business after I took a vacation from the industry to build our network-marketing business for five years. We built seven custom homes last year and wanted to focus on 10-15 for 2013. Because of Co-construct, we have exceeded these goals with less staff and a new division. Our goal has now shifted to 10 ready-to-move homes with forty multifamily units. I have just begun with Co-construct and feel so blessed that I was directed to your program. I can't even begin to describe what this has done for my business.
My rule is it has to be mobile, has to have this, has to have that, etc. I have some pretty high standards and thus far you have hit all my must-haves and more. I actually went to Apple and gave them a list of what I wanted in a program. They researched my needs and said it would cost me $100,000 to build. While i was in the process of starting to build with Apple, they suggested i should look for existing program that were already built and tested. Well, when I showed them your program and had them take a peek it was lights out. I dropped my Apple build with full confidence and bought into your program without hesitation. I knew it would deliver!!
I thought I would be able to enter all my data into the program when I enrolled but business got busy. Jadah is off to some really big things. In my opinion, largely because of Co-construct putting the issue of managing several projects simultaneously to rest. We were going to hire another project manager but now with your program our new job position has changed. Again you saved me years of training a staff member for a position that isnt really needed.
The problem with this program is that it is so good, I am struggling with telling others about it. My office staffing is really efficient, and when we do ten times the amount of units this year than last year with the same amount of staff, higher profit margins, and a more relaxed ME, people will think I sold my company's interest. Seriously, you guys are a God-send!
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 11–50 Employees
- Used Daily for 6-12 months
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Review Source
Connections with CoConstruct
Overall pretty solid program. The Customer Service experience has assisted greatly in adapting to the program.
Pros
The estimating software is pretty great. The Bidding software is great, as long as people understand the basics of technology. Unfortunately the Construction field does not focus on technology.
Cons
1.) When printing off the budget page There is no real way to get an overview in a quick manner. We have to minimize each individual item.
2.) There is not a way to keep incoming invoices. We can send invoices, those invoices are tracked well.
3.) The Mobile app is severely lacking. The crew is primarily on the ground and trying to conduct a lot of business on-the-go. Proposals are not accessible on the mobile app.
4.) The template mark-ups are not transferred with the templates.
Alternatives Considered
QuickBooks Online AdvancedReasons for Switching to CoConstruct
We use a combination of the two programs.- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 2+ years
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Review Source
Game Changer for our business.
Pros
CoConstruct allows us to complete more projects, with less project managers. Put simply, these equals more money to our bottom line. Their support (on the rare occasion we need it) is super-prompt and top-notch. It's fairly easy to quantify the dollars it nets our business from savings on the project-management side - it's harder to know exactly how many additional projects we get as a result of also using it a sales-tool, but the effect is real. There is no way we could do our current volume without a system like this - unless we brought on multiple additional staff to coordinate project selections. It allows us to track everything in one place, meaning nothing falls through the cracks.
Cons
It's never fun to pay for subscriptions. But the value we get for what we pay is more than fair. Perhaps some provided templates could reduce initial project set-up time or help us make sure we're implementing the software using best-practices.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1+ year
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Review Source
Tremendous Help
The program has been a huge help to our business from estimating to the finished product. It does take some work and commitment to get it set up and we are still making some changes to some of that, but it is totally worth the effort. The customer service team is extremely helpful, they can almost always answer our questions in one phone call, if not on that call, they have always followed up so we are not left with unanswered questions.
Pros
Creating the estimate in Co-Construct and have that tie directly into the specs & selections section keeps all the information in one place, in a very organized manner. The customers can see exactly what we plan to build and the materials we will use, decreasing the chance of last-minute surprises for both us and the customer. We can easily show customer ways to save and give them options for upgrades.
Cons
It takes some work to get set up which seemed overwhelming at first, but the customer service team was able to assist during that time. The time investment into the set up was well worth it. And like most things, we are learning as we go - so we still, even after a year, are making some tweaks to our template, making it better and better each time.
- Industry: Construction
- Company size: 2–10 Employees
- Used Daily for 1-5 months
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Review Source
Expensive but good
As a very hands on in the field Contractor I have trouble finding enough time to write bids and estimates. The templates and spreadsheet style estimating really streamlines the process and can ultimately give you your life back.
Pros
Estimating is great. Spreadsheet style makes it very easy to adjust things on the fly whereas some software locks your estimate and makes it difficult to adapt to unforseen changes coconstruct does not have this limitations
Cons
I don't like the pricing model. They give you a cheap rate for two months during which you spend hours on boarding and integrating and then once your locked in they jack up the price.
Switched From
Contractor Foreman-
Review Source
In another life, I was a senior executive of a public home builder. We spent countless man-hours and untold amounts of money attempting to design a enterprise wide software that could do some of the functionality of Co-construct. We never did. It's my understanding that a number of public builders have to one degree or another done the same thing. Millions of dollars later, few, if any, accomplished what Co-construct has done in integrating the customer with the builder in a friendly, logical, affordable and immensely useful tool.
It marries the client to the builder in a way that removes most of the causes of misunderstanding. It enhances the overall relationship. Instead of a lost stream of email correspondence, each communique is documented in the system for posterity. Questions disappear. Changes get documented. Discussions get verified. Change order confusion evaporates. Scheduling "dropped balls" are reduced or eliminated. Selection deadlines get met to the satisfaction of both parties. Choices get documented without confusion. Pricing and cost adjustments go through a vetting process that virtually eliminates controversy.
Finally, after building an excellent house, we have a system that seals the client's relationship by providing a warranty follow up system that keeps the builder informed of critical issue regarding warranty that can sour the relationship if "forgotten" or inadvertently delayed because of misplaced priorities.
One of the underlying and essential components of Co-construct is its "notifications" protocol. This allows all the team members to remain informed and up to date. It makes the excuse of "I forgot" or "I didn't know" disappear. The program "badgers the life out of you" until you get it done and check it off in Co-construct as "completed". This function acts like a matronly personal assistant daily reminding you of outstanding items requiring you or a team members attention.
With the downsizing many of us have had to endure during this downturn, Co-construct offer a welcome productivity tool that fills in the gaps of lost personnel. Does it do everything we'd like it to do? No not yet, but with the excellence Co-construct has accomplished thus far, enhance modules we be enthusiastically received. We'll never build another house without Co-construct.
- Industry: Design
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Review Source
Good For Clients
Pros
I like that clients can see what they need to see and that it can be used as a tool for selections. It would be a good tool for our trades if they used it more. Some refuse to do so, so we're still having to communicate w/ them outside this program.
Cons
I don't like that the accounting function doesn't work with Quick Books as indicated. But, I also don't think it should be. I also think it's not as user friendly as it could be. For me, it's pretty easy, but for some of our Project Managers, it's a foreign language and there are too many places to go to write something. It's also hard to find things once you've written them. The scheduling part of it is really difficult for the guys in the field to use. The links with days and such is somewhat confusing for them, also.
Response from CoConstruct
Hi Jenny – Thanks for the feedback, but I’d love to have our support team get in touch to answer your concerns about the QuickBooks and scheduling features. We have lots of points of integration with QuickBooks, including our unique ability to pull budget actuals and give up-to-the-day revised projected totals. Our team is happy to do a screenshare to make sure all of the QuickBooks settings are correct. We can also help with answering your team’s questions on schedule. As you noted, we do have lots of powerful features for creating dependencies, lag/lead times, and more. Not all users need to take advantage of that, and users who are new to those concepts often learn them best by using our simple drag-and-drop grant view, which works on both Windows and Macs. Our support is free, so we’ll be in touch to provide whatever your team needs.