Unanet CRM by Cosential

As a sub-contractor a key feature that was needed in a CRM was to be able to quote different GC's for the same project and not have each quote for the same project show up in our pipeline. We need to have a Master Opportunity with multiple sub-opportunities. Cosential is able to handle this very well (unlike most other CRM packages). In addition, the ability to create individualized dashboards per individual was very beneficial for my business development team. These individualized dashboards allow my team to display their goals, quotes and activities on this dashboard.

Cosential needs to improve two areas: Handling documents better and working with Outlook Calendar
Cosential has document management, but you have to deal with one file at a time...both uploading and downloading. For large construction files (prints and specifications) it takes a while for these files to be uploaded or downloaded and does not effectively allow for other computer tasks to be done. As a CRM, they need to have an interface with Outlook calendar (or Google Calendar) that is seamless to effectively leverage their tasks and activities within Cosential

Cosential is a detailed and robust database and CRM system. The information organization is well-thought out and the information relationships function reasonably well. Integrations with other firm systems are generally useful. The application is also a good value for our size firm.

Photo management is just about useless--keyword search should be reductive, not expanding, and should really be a simple case of AND vs OR Boolean search. Customized fields aren't reflected in reports at all, which limits their usefulness in data analysis. Some data areas are designed more for construction firms than architecture firms, and the dissonance in data capture has required some workarounds and means we can't actually search on that data. Several areas are a little too narrowly focused--there are more sustainability measures than just LEED--and require more workarounds to capture the kind of data we're tracking on our projects. There's a certain level of flexibility promoted and the reality is a superficial flexibility.

I love that it's got so many fields and places to store all the information I need. It covers everything from project specifics, to team member experience, and everything in between. It's customizeable, so I can alter fields I don't use, and make them into something else more helpful to me. The Publishing tool, though it needs some updates/improvements, is still a huge timesaver, especially with resumes. This software is my one-stop-shop for all information I need!

It feels a little outdated, both in terms of appearance and capabilities. There are some things, like the ability to rearrange tabs, that seem like they should be obvious, yet are not yet implemented. Another feature I struggle with is building resumes---it would be really helpful if we could see how many hours a person spent on a project BEFORE selecting it for the resume. Too often, I end up selecting all the project, and then having to painstakingly remove each one that they only spent a couple hours on...and it's a slow process. If it weren't for this, I'd be able to get resumes done much more quickly.

Because Cosential was designed by marketers in our industry, they know what information is important to collect, track, and analyze. The organization of the information and ease of use of the system is unparalleled to other CRMs/databases. Cosential is constantly updating and enhancing the system, so there are new, and improved, features being released to its users constantly, and I always hear what's going on - I know it's the top of the line database for information junkies like me. The reporting and template publishing tools are also incredibly helpful. Tracking our proposals and showing our win/loss ratios to senior leadership has been crucial. Also, the ability to store less-than-popular data for possible future use is highly beneficial.

I wish the reporting module was a little more user friendly - it can be daunting to new and novice users causing it to go unused and frequently used incorrectly causing frustrations. I am now in the Commercial Real Estate industry (more so than what would be termed AEC), I would love LOVE to have more information/modules relating to development of projects, property and asset management - understanding the high-level of property and information turnover for these types of services.