The EDGE Estimator

I am in my late twenty's and nowhere near a computer genius but also not computer illiterate and my experience with this system was it is super confusing to set up and learn but once the program is set up to how you usually take off projects it works nicely.

This is not an out of the box system at all. If you are making a complete change from paper take off's and excel sheets like my company was it will take weeks and months to get this to work how you want. We have taken two trips, 1 week each, to their headquarters to have our database's set up along with countless hours and minutes of phone calls to their tech department. The owner who bought the program said that we should be able to figure out most of the database setup in house. I can tell you after going to in house training twice there is absolutely no way I would have known how to set this up. After 1 1/2 years of using the system I still find it confusing at times when you aren't doing simple jobs.

We mainly use EDGE for Acoustical Ceiling take off's. That also seemed like the easiest to get set up. 99% of the time this works perfectly but there are some jobs that just doesn't seem to calculate right, in particular long hall ways and curves.

We most recently had our databases set up for Fireproofing, EIFS, and DEFS. I have to say once the fireproofing is set up it is a complete life saver. The way the old estimator here would do fireproofing take off's was very mistake filled because the hundreds of factors to take into account i.e UL Codes, thicknesses, member sizes, etc.

DEFS also works quite nicely but that is a fairly simple take off, square footage with your materials and labor associated with that square footage.

We are still working a few bugs out of our EIFS take off's. They aren't quite where we want them on the labor side so I am constantly checking them with our existing excel formulas we have used for years.

The people that work for the EDGE, in particular the training and tech support, are always more than willing to help out and are always friendly. My biggest gripe with the system is the difficulty of getting set up initially and also when you come across something unique getting it to work in the program. Once the leg work is done to get the system set up like you like the program really does run smooth. In the long run it is a giant time saver. For example a 50k sqft ACT job that used to take a whole day to take off on paper literally takes minutes.

Puntos a favor

The time saving aspects of the quantity take off's

Puntos en contra

The initial set up time

I've been using the Edge Estimating Software program since 2005 and have been happier as a commercial roofing and waterproofing estimator ever since. The ease of use ing the Edge estimating software program is very easy to use - a 10 as a perfect score; however, you do need to go to Florida for a week of training, which I highly recommend so you can learn all the features and how to use them correctly. The features and functionality of their estimating software program allow you to bid much quicker and efficiently - a score of 10. What used to take me 10 hours to perform a complete take-off, with labor and material totals, now only takes 30 to 45 minutes. This allows me more time to bid more projects and help make the company more money in the process. The value of the estimating system pays off for itself with the first job you sell! Plus, knowing the Edge system has all the templates for almost any type of commercial roofing system and manufacturer helps to make sure there are no mistakes and nothing is left out on your bid. The days of having to look at 36" x 42" blue lines is over. You simply download a pdf on your screen, set the scale correctly, and you are ready to perform your entire take-off. I use the Edge reports to give our foreman and superintendent the labor and material take-off's which shows them if they are going over the budget and helps them to get back on track if necessary. I sometimes make colored prints of the roof plan showing the complete take-off with the associated legend to help the client better understand what is involved in their re-roof project or new roof project. I can continue to go and on about the benefits of using the Edge system, but just know that the value of the Edge will give you peace of mind and help save the company thousands of dollars in preventing material shortages, due to estimator errors(the old fashion way) as well as how much labor dollars you will spend in manhours and crewdays you will need for each job....I cannot put a dollar amount for this value because it is priceless and worth every penny spent on the Edge Estimating software program. The customer support has been very beneficial over the years and continues to be so. If I ever have a problem or need to ask a question, I simply call the Edge and talk to a technical representative and in less than 5 minutes, I'm a happy customer all over again. The overall quality rating of the Edge system is a 10!

Puntos a favor

How nothing is missed on a typical take-off. All the labor and materials are completely figured for you while performing each command.

Puntos en contra

N.A.....everything is great!

Consejos útiles

Just continue to update us with new changes perhaps in e-mail form to each member.