RSMeans Data Online Reviews

Huge range of trades to choose from, updated cost lists by quarter, ease of use.

The only thing we don't like is that the table doesn't display properly when the browser window is collapsed to half screen.

It makes my estimating easier and faster. It would be impossible to estimate a project without RS Means. Its also gives me an advantage to check subcontractors quotes. In addition, I can bid projects in different areas around the country, which has open vast business opportunities in the construction industry that I would not be able to accomplish before I had the program.

I wish program had virtual "Cortana" like Microsoft. Sometimes I need to find an item and I don't know how to ask RS Means what the item is and all I get for a response is that there is no line item. Also, I wish they had more items to chose from and good example is ceramic tile such as: 12" x 24", 18" x 18", 24" x 24". These items are becoming more prevelent. RSMeans needs to keep up with HGTV as items are changing with the times.

Unfortunately it is hard to like much about the software. Many of the assemblies are inaccurate. I am still waiting for a response from the technical service department for a "ticket" that the sales rep put in 5 months ago about inaccurate calculations.

The customer service is almost non existent. Emails and the website advertise that their is customer service available until 10 PM. After speaking with a very unpleasant gentlemen, named Kireee, that responded to me by saying "oh my god, reeeally", I discovered he didn't know how to do anything more than sign on to the program. He was the same individual that promised I would get a call back from the training department 8 hours earlier, because he doesn't know anything about construction, only how to log on to the program. He had no idea how to even start an estimate. When he offered to sign on to my computer screen, the software program he used was too outdated for my computer which gets updated regularly. Needless to say, no one from the company ever contacted me. When I called back to speak to a different customer service rep, another "at home" person, named Athena, answered with a hostile attitude. Her only response was to also have someone call back.

The access to all the trades and the ability to match items to specifications has been a great help. also being able to retrieve old proposals and have them update quickly

I also have the JOC software from RS Means which no one at RS Means seams to understand and they have tied my passwords to the same account but if I am locked out of one I can not get in the other one.
Then all the tech know how to fix this is delete all your cookies. these are place markers for other programs and be cause of the failed IT side of this it makes it hard to accept it as a leader.

Ability to line item choose from all RS Means disciplines we subscribe to. Ability to customize our output reports. RS Means have the majority of the systems that we need to provide accurate budgetary estimates.

I administer our RS Means account, but I very, very seldom use it myself. As the account admin, I am forced to be one of the user accounts; therefore, I have to allow staff to log on with my e-mail and password to use the online cost estimating. We have determined that we do not need more than two simultaneous accounts and our preference would be to assign the licenses to who needs them, when they need them. I can do that with the non-admin license, but not with the one assigned to me. I’d prefer not to have staff logging on as me (administrator).

I liked the ease of picking up the software functionality for gathering reasonable quotes for new and renovations to buildings, streets and treatment plants.

At times I found that the software was lacking in overall speed when loading requested search items. I was able to minimize this issue by refining my search request as best I could but for new users attempting to compare all items of a requested search it will slow down RS Means, and you would have to wait until the system loads the various items. This was mainly an issue when I had over 700 results for a single search.

RS Means is extremely helpful in creating conceptual Budgets. It offers me an array of building models to start with and a comprehensive library of assemblies to add, subtract, or change the model to fit the particular building that I am estimating. The end result is a quick and accurate conceptual budget, with a detailed summary of the estimates assumptions.

My set sum estimating on projects is also enhanced by allowing me to search RS Means data to compliment our in-house historical data. This virtually eliminates planning bias when pricing items within a project that we do not have historical data for.

I had a little trouble getting knowledgeable feed back from the rep that called for the renewal. I probably should have contacted customer support with my question but I received the renewal call before I had a chance to. The rep was very nice on the phone.

The data is updated regularly and is relevant to the local area

One has to consider the estimate given by the software for reasonableness. Sometimes their numbers are obviously not correct. For the work done most often this is not the case. For some less common work efforts, their data is questionable.
The way they name the tasks is sometimes arcane. it seems like people are organizing the data that have not done the work before. Maybe they could use pointers to give something multiple entry points for different ways of saying it. They seem to have "maintenance" relatively often on the weekends, making it hard to use at that time.

Easy to navigate and understand. Software contemplates so many different scenarios that it can be easy to obtain the information you are looking for. I really like the factoring for various city indices.

Provides general information. Need to use the software with caution. Understanding the factors of the various line items is key in developing accurate and reasonable estimates.

The outline style breakdown helps with finding what you are looking for in a timely manner

The search function is tough to get the wording just right to find what you are looking for

Its accuracy across the US, both current and historic data.

Wish it was easier to search for specific data. Occassionally requires rewording topic multiple times.

Wide selection of items ... recognizing that it is impossible to have every item included, the software developer tries to have a broad range of common sense construction items covered

Not much to dislike. For some of my needs for taking data from the software and putting it into the client required format, the cut-and-paste attempts are blocked or do not function.

ability to find items, ability to find items

The Purchased Means Database does not work with our PROEST SOFTWARE:
- Does not update Quarterly
- Inconsistent cost results
- Does not allow for Union vs Non-Union pricing
- Assemblies are not easily modified, and Units are almost never Industry Standard Units for Assembly

One of my favorite features with this software is the locator. Having the costs customized to your location is so handy and much more accurate than applying a general multiplier to each item.

My least favorite feature about RSMeans is the subcategories. I love having all of my HVAC costs in one category but I find the subcategories hard to navigate and find exactly what I'm looking for.

We really like the square foot estimator. It allows us to quickly talk over conceptual projects with clients and make our project kickoff meeting really meaningful and efficient.

The web interface doesn't always format correctly on my screen. Often times the chart titles don't line up with the data chart making it difficult to read.

It is so much easier than the books! You can search but need to narrow it down for speed.

I can't search as fast as I would like and can't customize the export into Excel to match my contract spreadsheet. Also exports into Excel that have certain symbols, do not work

As a smaller general contractor with few employees, being able to turn around estimates quickly is critical. I have utilized RSMeans square foot estimator to help understand project costs and help owners initially develop budgets. This is helpful in the current economy because trade contractors are so busy getting bids timely is sometimes difficult.

Also, I like having updated costs at my fingertips to understand where the market is.

The square foot estimator needs more models. Our firm is located in California and a lot of our projects are type V wood construction. The models that come up are steel, masonry, or brick with skins that are slightly different than what we are bidding/building. If I could get some models similar to what we are currently working on in our market that would be great!

Ease of use - I mean we can get $/UOM regarding any construction work based on any location in US/CANADA.

Price of packages - It seems bit high. Also, you must consider that teams will be using this - so please consider increasing the number of users for an account

I like the ease of searching for a "needle in a haystack". I can drill down quite far to get detailed item pricing

Not enough parameters for square foot estimates. I would like to see the ability to put more info in when I start the square foot estimate

How I can break down my estimates into individual lines items

The process of changing the city/state locations

Current and up to date information with the online version.

Sometimes difficult to find the correct line item and you have to refer back to the book to find exactly what you are looking for.

The ability to create valuations of a variety of different buildings

I'm a fiscal manager not a civil engineer so it is difficult to look at those huge lists of interchangeable components to what goes into a building

Useful line items, and ability to price out how much it installation is.

- Limited in terms of what items you can find and price out. We use this software to price out energy conservation measures and some technologies are just not listed which is a limits how useful it can be on a project to project basis.
- Sometimes pricing is not realistic for metropolitan areas. Worked on a project in San Francisco and spoke to someone local that said that the prices were nowhere near what RS Means was saying, they were much higher.
- need to create every time i want to put together and export pricing for something small. Sometimes I get small requests for pricing and instead of being able to put a couple of items together, export it and send it out, i have to create a project and then put it together to export.

I like the tools RSMEANS gives for guidance if you are unfamiliar with a particular trade.

The auto logout is annoying. It would be better if you got a log out on your own.

the 2019 on line service brings up 2nd, 3rd, 4th level data a lot quicker than in the past. I use the production info and modify for projects and the materials costs are extremely helpful. searching from the search bar is quick.

upon opening the divisions are open. when working on a laptop it is harder to close the section. it would be good to have a setup button to determine whether we want that open or not.