Harper, who had been trained to use Estimating at a previous job, set about showing his new co-workers how they could do everything they needed to do using Sage Timberline Office.

Thinking Outside the Spreadsheet
“When I started, I was given 101 reasons why Sage Timberline Office doesn’t work,” he says. “It was just a matter of people not understanding how to fully use the software.”

Harper says he showed them that using Sage Timberline Office is more accurate than using a simple spreadsheet.

“I’ve seen a lot of mistakes in spreadsheets that I don’t see in Sage Timberline Office,” Harper says. “With this software I don’t have to worry about formulas being corrupted. I’m getting ten times what I want.”

C.F. Jordan’s four residential estimators, most of whom had used Sage Timberline Office in previous jobs, began using Estimating regularly, Harper says.

All-in-One Support and Software
In the past, Harper had undergone Sage Timberline Office training classes, which taught him all the ins and outs of the software. When he forgets how to do a rarely used technique, he calls technical support.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had a problem that tech support couldn’t solve,” Harper says. Most times, they can answer his questions on the spot, but they’re always prompt when they have to get back to customers, he says.

Harper often uses Sage Timberline Office to create multiple estimates for the same project, allowing him to compare different alternatives. “It lets me look at them side-by-side and price them out. When I decide which one I want, I just drag-and-drop it into my main estimate and pull out the detail I’m replacing. If they change their minds, all I have to do is drag it back,” he says.

Flexible Reporting Makes a Difference
He says the flexibility and reporting capabilities Sage Timberline Office offers are especially useful. “With the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) codes, I can pretty much pull the information I want out of the estimate and sort it how I need it to be sorted to suit my clients. We have some people who build for U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and I’m able to fill out a special HUD form by breaking down my costs according to what items go into the lines on the HUD form.”

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