Dunbar Civil Solutions Scales Up with SharpeSoft

The Story

Located in British Columbia, Canada, Dunbar Civil Solutions is a fresh face to the world of the Canadian heavy civil estimating industry. Serving small to mid-sized civil contractors, Dunbar Civil Solutions also offers takeoff options, as well as general project management services, in addition to cost estimating. Helmed by Ben Dunbar, Dunbar Civil Solutions has already established itself as a trusted industry provider. We sat down with Ben to discuss business and life.

The Challenge

“I'm currently the only estimator as well as the only employee,” Ben began.

This is not an uncommon occurrence to hear from fledgling businesses, but Ben’s hard work and experience in the field have left him with a different sort of problem: he’s already looking to expand.

“I'm in the processing of hiring a couple people more on the project management side of business. I would love to grow and expand my business and scale it. It's not the easiest thing to do. So, I'm trying to scale myself more on the project management side of my business. That way you can work for everybody if you're doing that kind of work. But I'd like to tap into a bigger market, like the lower mainland or even down in the States somewhere.”

Previous Solutions

“Originally when I went out on my own, I contacted HeavyBid, because I used HCSS at the company I was at before, so that was the first one I went to. Then when I got the quote from them I decided I couldn't float that cost. So, I said there's got to be other software out there that does similar things. Then I went to Bid2Win, and kind of ran into the same issue. After that I got into a little bit of a rabbit hole of these smaller companies. I tried a couple, and then I saw you guys.”

Industry standard estimating solutions may have larger financial backing, but oftentimes such a large scope results in many small businesses being unable to justify the expense. SharpeSoft is proud to serve the entire construction industry by offering comparative software solutions at competitive pricing.

Getting in Contact

Like most savvy Internet users these days, Ben took to Google in order to find an appropriate system for his needs. Taking a chance with new software, Ben reached out to SharpeSoft, and the results speak for themselves.

Interaction with SharpeSoft

“The implementation process was pretty quick. I think it was Simeon that I first got into contact with, and then it was Johnathan. But the whole aspect of the interaction with SharpeSoft was great. It was fast, it was too the point, any questions I had were answered. Even doing the payment was quick.”

We know that time spent on implementing a new software is time that could have been spent on the job site or completing that final bid. That’s why SharpeSoft is committed to onboarding new users with its 15 day guarantee.

How Has SharpeSoft Helped

“What I talked about before with the workload aspect of it, but also just being able to organize the bids. I've got two main companies that I bid for, so I can create the two separate companies in the software. When I organize my bids, I can organize them alphanumerically to keep them separate, so I know what bid I'm on for each person. I can go back and forth, I can change the rates from either company, and then if I'm bidding for my own stuff I have another company that I can keep separate. So that's really what helps me. I don't really know if you can do that with any other software, having essentially two different companies like that. But that's helped me out immensely.”

“Another thing I like is that it's cloud-based, because I work a lot on the road, or I'm not necessarily at home in my office, so the cloud aspect was what really got me interested. Then once I did the demo I said, 'yeah, this is totally it.'”

Would You Recommend SharpeSoft?

“I definitely would, especially to the smaller guys where the price point might be an issue for them getting a piece of software. I would recommend it on that front, and just the user-friendly interface that it has. I'm a younger, techier guy, and I find that other programs are a bit more robust, in that they're a bit harder to change and move. Estimator is a lot better on that front.”

“Have I recommended it? Yes I have, I've been spreading the word of SharpeSoft up in B.C. here at least. People are always looking for solutions, like guys who are doing estimating for their own companies. The cost of entry for SharpeSoft is pretty reasonable for an owner/operator.”