Effective Solution for All and Small Companies
One objective at Benchmark Estimating Software has always been to achieve universality: to develop an effective solution for all companies, from the very large to the very small. Now large multi-national groups such as Downer and Colas Group are growing using Benchmark, and at the same time small to medium organisations are realising significant time savings.
The benefits of the software to a smaller business are demonstrated by the experience of All Civils WA. Located in the Perth suburb of Northbridge, All Civils WA Pty Ltd is an Australian owned and operated company, providing dedicated service and trusted expertise to the government, local authority and private sectors.
Despite being self-described as a very small company, All Civils WA has developed a strong reputation as “the company of choice” for earthworks and civil construction, design and construct, road building, infrastructure, urban renewal and landscaping.
Because their sole estimator is also supervisor and project manager, time savings are a critical consideration for All Civils, and Benchmark Estimating Software is delivering these time savings “in spades”.
All Civils WA purchased their Benchmark Estimating Software licenses in 2016. However, their Estimator and Project Manager, PJ Pretorius, was first introduced to Benchmark Estimating Software in his role with a previous company.
PJ Pretorius said that, in addition to great functions and features, the user-friendliness of the software was a major deciding factor in selecting Benchmark.
“At first I thought it may be difficult to implement. However the training and implementation smoothed the path, and now I can’t imagine working without Benchmark,” PJ said.
Big Savings for Small Business
All Civils WA uses the software on a range of projects including the construction of footpaths, small roads, intersections, roundabouts, road widenings and carparks.
PJ said that, as a small business, Benchmark has had a huge impact on time and money.
In particular he notes the significant benefits he experienced by moving to Benchmark from their previous methods in MS Excel.
“As you can imagine with me doing several roles, most days there is almost not enough time to get everything done. Benchmark definitely enables me to quickly get quotes out and use the other functions like Progress Claims, etc. even when I’m out of the office,” PJ Pretorius said.
PJ commented that it is the combination of integrated features in Benchmark that makes it so user friendly and effective.
“In general, it’s just the way the whole program with all its functionalities works as one that makes it totally different from any other program out there which I know of,” PJ said. “I probably have not even touched the extent of this program, but it works for me. While difficult to pinpoint just one specific feature as the key benefit, I would say it’s a combination of:
- ease to duplicate from a similar job
- ability to Allocating Resources from Libraries and from previous Projects
- the Extras and the Spread functions make it so easy to move figures around for a quote to look more acceptable (price wise)
- the option to build Libraries
- many Reports
- the ease to add (subcontractor) quotes to estimates using the Subcontract Manager
- and the list goes on…..”
For small businesses, time measured in dollars is key to success; All Civils WA believes they have saved thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, by implementing Benchmark Estimating Software.
All Civils WA is just one of the many small operators across Australia who are enjoying the cost savings and productivity increases delivered by Benchmark Estimating Software.
No business is “too small” to implement our award-winning software. Regardless of your business size, we encourage you to discuss your specific requirements with our team.