Subscription pricing options extend ownership flexibility; Integration, performance and real-time data enhancements added across applications for estimating and operations

 

B2W Software extended its record of aggressive, contractor-driven product development in 2023, introducing more than 30 major features and enhancements across six applications. B2W also expanded integration with the Trimble Construction One platform, including with Viewpoint systems, following acquisition of the company by Trimble in late 2022.

 

“Along with software capabilities and support, a big reason contractors choose B2W is confidence that our products are not static and that we constantly solicit and incorporate their ideas,” according to B2W engineering vice president and CTO Bihari Srinivasan. “Being part of Trimble expanded the scale, scope and integration focus of our product development resources in 2023.”

 

B2W introduced monthly subscription pricing for all applications in 2023. This SaaS model, along with license ownership options, provides purchasing flexibility for contractors deploying B2W applications in the Cloud or on on-premise servers.

 

2023 B2W developments also included immediate alert and notification capabilities across the platform. A new KPI dashboard and accounting integration features were added to the B2W Maintain application for equipment maintenance. New timestamping and clock-in/out capabilities as well as the ability to add equipment meter reading and photos to daily work logs enhanced the B2W Employee App launched in 2022 for individual time and performance tracking.

 

Three new releases of B2W Estimate in 2023 added extensive new functionality including enhanced change order management, new calculation options for indirect items and the ability to set materials to automatically round to user-specified quantity increments.

 

Significant B2W R&D resources were devoted to sustaining enterprise-class performance across applications and improving integrations with Trimble and third-party systems, including through new APIs, according to Srinivasan.

 

Capabilities of the B2W Operations API platform were extended to support programmatic integration with Viewpoint Spectrum in 2023. B2W continues to add more capabilities in a migration away from SOAP-based Web Services and to the RESTful Operations API, and upcoming integration using App Exchange will be through Operations API.

 

Contractors can now configure immediate alerts to be sent automatically via email or text message when a wide range of events happen within B2W operations applications. Alerts can be triggered by activity ranging from safety incidents to creation, approval and completion of field logs, maintenance requests and resource assignments.

 

The new B2W Maintain dashboard makes it easier to track and report on equipment maintenance operations in real time and according to new industry-standard key performance indicators (KPIs) established by the CFMA and AEMP organizations.

In the B2W Schedule application for resource scheduling and dispatching, users can now accept, reject and complete employee, crew and trucking assignments through a recipient portal. The new capability provides immediate confirmation and status for assigners.

 

Additional 2023 B2W development highlights

 

Platform-wide

• A unified licensing platform makes activating all B2W products simpler and easier
• New units of measure have been added, including: Module, Inverter Skid (Power Control Unit), Row, String, Pile, Block, Gates, Inverter, Load Break Disconnect, Junction Box, Circuit Foot and Trench Foot

 

Estimating

• The B2W Estimate API was enhanced with improved abilities to show “Create Properties” and “Modify Properties” and to read materials, labor, equipment and crews.
• Vendor and subcontractor quote management improvements include the ability to add notes on fillable PDFs, save RFQs as attachments and show or hide vendors and subcontractors in RFQ groups

 

Resource Scheduling and Dispatching

• The Location Overview Compare feature provides the option to apply filters to further drill into resources by location.
• Users can store and display job-related web links from multiple areas within the application.
• Access to the notification log has been expanded throughout the application, and users can customize how the table of notifications is displayed.

 

Performance Tracking and Analysis

• A new Work Log review panel in B2W Track reduces the time needed to review and approve individual  work logs submitted through the B2W Employee App.
• B2W Track crew Field Logs can be filtered more easily by job sites.
• Production Targets associated with job sites can be populated for production accounts on Field Logs when copying information from B2W Schedule.
• Factors can now be used on Field Logs to determine used material quantities by multiplying production quantities by specified factor values, which can be stored as resources or entered as custom values on a Field Log.

 

Equipment Maintenance

• A new Nested Assets section enables users to create a parent/child relationship between assets, a helpful feature for organizing maintenance across related pieces of equipment and their individual components.
• Enhancements make it easier to edit vendor and parts pricing information on purchase orders and export purchase orders to accounting systems for invoicing and accounts payable functions.
• Per-diem expenses can be added to time cards to cover mechanic costs or quantities.