B2B Connection

If you want to try out some free animation software before splurging on paid plans, you’re in luck. Free animation software is a viable choice for professional animators, beginners, hobbyists, and indie studios who work on tighter budgets. Beloved animation studios like Studio Ghibli use free animation tools to produce their major works, so why can’t you?  Below, we’ll highlight 12 of the best free animation software. These tools are not just glorified video editors or gif-makers, but software that will actually allow you to create animations from the ground up. They can also be used completely for free, and not just as part of a limited-time free trial. #1 Animaker Animaker is a video-making platform that allows users to make both live-action videos and animated videos. Some of its key features include specialized tools for creating video infographics, 2D animations, and collaborative animated shorts.  This is a drag-and-drop video maker for personal, educational, and professional use. The character animation is extremely simple, but will be poorly suited to more advanced original creative projects. Users can use an impressive array of stock footage, pre-built characters, and a host of quality of life tools. The latter includes easy resizing for popular […]

Ironically, many construction company owners can’t afford to spend the time and money to create a functional budget. Yet despite most construction companies being small businesses with less than 50 employees, there are not very many free construction estimating tools that speak to that reality.   The following two tools, STACK Takeoff & Estimating and ESTIMATE, are the leading 100% free full-fledged construction estimating software tools on the market today. Below you’ll also find our recommendations for the most popular paid alternatives that, while not completely free, work well for small construction businesses and are cheaper than enterprise-focused construction outfits.  The Best Free Construction Estimating Software Tools on the Market STACK Takeoff & Estimating Estimating and takeoff often go hand in hand, so it’s great to have a piece of software that does both for free. With STACK Takeoff & Estimating, you can get more accurate project estimates by using takeoff tools that help you accurately budget for materials and components needed. It’s important to note that while STACK has a (completely) free offering, it also has Plus, Pro, and Enterprise tiers as well. As you can guess, the Enterprise tier is the most comprehensive for both estimating and takeoff. However, […]

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) software can be expensive for a small business, but it’s also essential for product design and technical illustrations. For businesses looking for an affordable alternative to popular CAD software options, free and open-source CAD software might be the ideal solution. Some of the best free CAD software includes: NanoCAD Sketchup Free FreeCAD OnShape LibreCAD ­ 3D or 2D OS Open Source Biggest Pro Biggest Con NanoCAD Both Windows No Ease of Use, Automation Resource-Intensive, Missing File Organization Sketchup Free Both Windows, MacOS No Quick, Easy Model Creation New Features Often Not Free FreeCAD 3D, Limited 2D Windows, MacOS, Linux Yes Active Community Complex UI, Limited 2D Functionality OnShape Both Browser-Based No No Installation Limited Dimensioning LibreCAD 2D, Limited 3D Windows, MacOS, Linux Yes Excellent 2D Design Limited 3D, Limited Support These products are a mix of 2D and 3D computer-aided design software, and all of them have a forever free to use option. Products were selected based on their popularity and feature completeness. #1 NanoCAD NanoCAD is a free-to-use CAD software with both 2D and 3D design functionality. NanoCAD has an easy-to-use interface combined with complex options that allow power users to get the most of the […]

GIS, or Geographical Information System, the software offers advanced mapping features in open-source or commercial programs. There are plenty of free GIS software options available to fit the specific needs of your business. This post will help you determine which free GIS software best fits your use. The four GIS software products covered in this post are: QGIS gvSIG OpenJump GRASS GIS GIS Software Programming Language Supported OS Ideal for Basic Map Production? Biggest Pro Biggest Con QGIS Python Windows, Linux, Mac No 3D imagery, plugins Crashes, learning curve gvSIG Java Windows, Linux, Mac No CAD tools, mobile apps Mobile app is only available for Android devices OpenJUMP Java Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac Yes User-friendly Only suited for basic cartography GRASS GIS Python Windows, Linux, Mac No Geoprocessing tools One map projection per folder location GIS Software Data Capabilities GIS software uses geographical information to create maps or visualizations. This software transforms vector and raster data into realistic images. Vector data, which relates to the relational database, deal with geometries and plots. These data points are used to create distinguishable landmarks. Raster data, which relates to the spatial database, improve the image quality of maps or visualizations.  Open-Source Free GIS […]

Investing in software specially created for the Education industry can take your school’s administration to the next level. With the reason of e-Learning, there are more tools than ever from which to choose. Additionally, given the uptick in use, buyers can now benefit from added competition in the market as Education software vendors work diligently to improve the quality of their product offerings for educators. If you’re curious about what the easiest-to-use products are, or which products have the most variety of features to help teachers and administrators alike, check out our list below which also celebrates Education software vendors with excellent customer support. Here are the Best Education Software winners for 2021: AssessmentRenaissance Accelerated Reader, Customer Support, 1st PlaceRenaissance Accelerated Reader, Feature Set, 1st place Learning Management Systems (LMS)Prezi, Feature Set, 1st PlaceGoogle Classroom, Feature Set, 2nd PlaceMoodle, Feature Set, 3rd Place Student Management SystemsBlackbaud Education Management Solutions, Customer Support, 1st Place Assessment Assessment software is mostly used in education fields but can have applications in a variety of industries. With that in mind,  these softwares are designed to help develop test materials to let educators and companies know where their participants are at and evaluate a variety of […]

The Industry Software category for the Best Of Awards includes software products that fill vertical-specific business needs across a host of professional trades. These software often integrate a variety of business processes into a single product. Best of Feature Set Winners in these industry-specific categories streamline business operations and provide tailored features that address their unique breadth of challenges. The Best Customer Service Award honors products that provide above-and-beyond industry expertise. Winners of the Best of Usability Award offer high ease of use for a wide range of users, from customer-facing retail staff and small business owners to non-profit executives, construction superintendents, and residential property managers. B This year, the Best Of Industry winners are: Best Feature Set – Club Management MINDBODY, 1st Place Best Customer Support – Construction CoConstruct, 1st Place Procore, 2nd Place Best Usability – Construction Procore, 1st Place Best Feature Set – Construction CoConstruct, 1st Place Best Customer Support – eCommerce Personalization Dynamic Yield, 1st Place Best Feature Set – eCommerce Personalization Dynamic Yield, 1st Place Best Customer Support – Hotel Management Cvent Passkey, 1st Place Best Feature Set – Hotel Management Cvent Passkey, 1st Place Best Customer Support – Non-Profit CRM Kindful, 1st Place DonorPerfect, […]

Audacity is a free to use sound editing software.  Though it was designed to be used to edit music, it’s also a strong tool for editing podcasts, sound for videos, and more. Because Audacity offers so many advanced features for music editing, it can be intimidating for users that just want to make some simple touch-ups or cuts to an audio file.  This video will cover the basics of how to edit with Audacity, to get you started and save you some trial and error. Hello, I’m Brian, a researcher at TrustRadius, and today I’m going to explain basic editing with Audacity.  I use audacity to edit sound for videos, but you can also use it for music, podcasts, and any other audio you need to record and edit.  If you are interested in more software tutorials, consider subscribing to TrustRadius to make sure you never miss a video. Setup I’m not going to go over every tool the program has to offer, but I will go over the essential tools you’ll need to record and edit audio. First you are going to want to set up your microphone and speaker.  You can do that from these two dropdowns.  This […]

Like most industries, the construction industry has benefited from the digitization of processes that used to be heavily reliant on physical blueprints, workflows, and proposals. However, as more tools emerge to help construction companies transition to digital processes, budgeting for these tools has become an increasingly difficult task.  Part of the challenge arises from the fact that “construction software” can refer to dramatically different tools. Broadly speaking, pricing for construction software can start as low as $40/month and scale up to $10,000 for one-time license purchases.  Despite the wide range of construction-specific tools available, there are some main software groupings to consider. Two of the most common types of software used include construction project management tools and estimating/takeoff software.  TrustRadius collected pricing for some of the most popular tools in both subcategories of construction software. Below, you’ll find breakdowns of pricing information for construction project management software and estimating/takeoff software, including differentiators and secondary pricing factors worth keeping in mind.  Pricing Considerations in Construction Software There are some common nuances that buyers should consider when looking at pricing for popular construction software tools. For instance, consider the scope of each product that’s attached to the price. While some tools can […]

For small businesses involved in landscaping, architecture, or civil engineering, popular design software may not be a viable option. Diagramming software can be very expensive, and often don’t include features specific to landscape design. In these cases, free landscaping design software may be the ideal solution. Some of the best free to use landscape design products include: Sketchup Free Kerkythea DreamPlan Home Design iScape Gardena Garden Planner These products are a mix of diagramming software and computer-aided design software, and all of them have a forever free to use option. Products were selected based on their popularity and feature completeness. Sketchup Free Sketchup is computer-aided design software built to create 3D designs and 2D documentation. Though Sketchup is a generalist design tool, it has complete design and rendering capabilities that make it usable for landscape design. Sketchup’s free version includes 3D modeling features for individual users, as well as cloud storage and model viewing. As businesses using Sketchup grow, they can upgrade to paid versions for features such as offline development. Pros Sketchup is straightforward and quick to use to create models and designs. It’s easy to share and download prebuilt models from the 3D Warehouse. Cons Adjusting layouts can […]

**This article has been updated on April 3, 2020 based on new research conducted by the TrustRadius team* These days, there are SaaS solutions for every business need. Whether it’s beautiful marketing campaigns, time tracking systems, or sales forecasting software, there’s a SaaS product that can help. Vertical software as a service offerings allow companies to grow and thrive, because they tend to be less expensive up front than traditional on-premise software or perpetual licenses, and they are constantly updated with new features in response to changing regulations and needs. “Horizontal” SaaS products serve the needs of particular departments or functions, but are not designed to be industry-specific. “Vertical” SaaS products, on the other hand, are built with the needs of a particular industry in mind.   Here we take a look at what vertical SaaS is, discuss why it’s a trend in B2B software, and highlight 7 of the best vertical SaaS companies with solutions listed on TrustRadius What is Vertical SaaS? Vertical SaaS solutions focus on one particular industry. This type of vertical software might feature similar tools that horizontal platforms offer, but tailored for a specific industry. They may combine functionality from different departments or functions into […]

If you’re trying to find the best free construction management software online, you will find tons of blog posts trying to pass free project management tools or free construction estimating tools off as construction management software. Using one of these tools may leave you out in the cold if you’re looking for something to help you with the construction phase of your projects. Free construction management software includes solutions that provide users with tools to effectively manage the construction phase of their projects from beginning to end. The two solutions we highlight in this blog post are LetsBuild and Fieldwire. Both are construction management software that are available completely for free (and not just as a trial), with the option of upgrading features with paid plans. LetsBuild LetsBuild takes a holistic approach to construction management, with tools designed specifically for each step in your projects’ construction phases. Its product offering can be broken into planning, communication, conformity, compliance, digitalization, and reporting foci. LetsBuild is a great option for those looking for more visibility into their projects across teams and roles. Potential users should note that LetsBuild is the culmination of APROPLAN and GenieBelt merging to become one product in 2019. […]

According to Deloitte’s 2020 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook, rising operating costs and labor shortages will require construction companies to devise new partnership models and project structures to remain competitive this year. Construction-focused project management software is the simplest solution for managing multiple, complex projects while maximizing efficiency and monitoring processes to prevent conflicts. Below we’ve compiled a list of the top 3 construction software platforms with the best project management capabilities. We’ve also got some suggestions for project management software that isn’t construction-specific, but known for integrating well with existing construction management software or being easily customized to suit construction companies’ needs.   Versatile Construction Project Management Software The three tools featured in this section (Procore, Bluebeam Revu, and PlanGrid) are all construction-specific tools with great project management features. They are all on the Construction software category TrustMap, which indicates that they are some of the highest-rated and most researched construction platforms on our site. They also have over 60 reviews each on TrustRadius. Procore  Procore is an all-in-one construction management platform. It allows multiple users, with varying permission levels, to collaborate on project dashboards at any time. Procore is mobile-friendly and allows users to manage projects on or off-site, […]

We are excited to announce the Top Rated Nonprofit Fundraising Software for 2019! Top Rated awards showcase today’s top-of-the-line products in Nonprofit Fundraising based solely on user feedback and satisfaction scores. These awards make the voice of the market the primary decider into the industry’s best products. Top Rated awards are the most trusted in the industry because they are never influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s size, popularity, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Here are the winners: Classy Classy provides a suite of fundraising tools for nonprofits. This includes the Classy Manager fundraising campaign management hub and the company’s Donation fundraising website building and hosting tool, as well as tools to provide a platform for specific kinds of fundraising. These tools include the Peer-to-Peer Fundraising workflow and collaboration tool, Classy Crowdfunding campaign builder, and the Classy Events app for launching event pages and guest management (e.g. ticketing, emailing). On TrustRadius, Classy has been reviewed primarily by users working in small nonprofits and organizations (82%). Classy’s reviewers favor its front-end design, describing it as attractive and highly customizable for providing a branded, seamless experience for donors, as well as Classy’s easy to understand dashboard and reporting which is helpful […]

We are excited to announce the Top Rated Student Management Systems for 2019! Top Rated awards showcase today’s top-of-the-line product in Student Management based solely on user feedback and satisfaction scores. These awards make the voice of the market the primary decider into the industry’s best products. Top Rated awards are the most trusted in the industry because they are never influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s size, popularity, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Here are the winners: Blackbaud Education Management Solutions (formerly Blackbaud K–12 ON Solutions) Blackbaud’s Education Management Solutions (formerly the “On” series of products for K-12) provide schools with a complete integrated suite for student and learning management. Blackbaud’s learning suite provides tools for managing student attendance, grades, registration and scheduling. Forms are easily built, customized, and shared in Blackbaud, using its form builders, checklists, and sharing tools. Blackbaud’s education suite includes an in-built learning management system (LMS) featuring automated grading and collaboration tools, and a content management system (CMS) for a school website. On TrustRadius, reviewers come from a mix of public schools, private schools, religious schools, and preparatory schools. Users of Blackbaud’s Education Management solutions appreciate saving time on grading and attendance taking with […]

The construction industry is a field with steep competition that demands attention to detail. Every single PVC pipe, piece of sheet metal, and light bulb needs to be accounted for. To win a contract, project managers need to know every cost that will make up the bid they offer investors. Once they begin work on a project, it’s in everyone’s best interest to have an estimate that’s as accurate as possible. Otherwise, project managers run the risk of leaving owners and subcontractors with unmet expectations, or increased costs. To help save time and make the most accurate bids, engineering and construction managers use takeoff and estimating software. These software solutions allow professionals to use digital designs to analyze which materials they need and how much their total costs will be. Takeoff and estimating software are valuable tools, and it’s important to take time fully understand what this vertical-specific software can do – and what users are saying about the different solutions they use. What is Construction Estimating Software? Construction estimating software is a collection of programs that enables construction professionals to estimate the total cost of a project. This includes every cost from the beginning stages to the final project […]

TrustRadius Top Rated Today, we awarded the 2019 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Construction Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are the most trusted in the industry because they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user feedback and satisfaction scores. Top Rated awards are the voice of the market and are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Construction Software Construction software manages the different steps of the construction process. Professionals use these products to plan, manage, and execute construction projects. One thing to note about construction software is that some products will focus on one area of the construction process, such as takeoff and estimating, bid management, project design, project management and scheduling, cost accounting, field services, or on the job safety and reporting. Other products may cover multiple steps in the construction process. Large construction software platforms are often capable of handling entire projects from start to finish. Common features of these platforms include plan distribution and viewing, document sharing, timecard systems, building information modeling (BIM), issue tracking, jobsite reporting, and job costing. Alternatively, point-solution products offer tools designed for specific phases in the construction […]

Eating out is a tradition as old as time–or at least as old as your grandparents. But technology in the modern restaurant is not. Adoption of new tech in the food and beverage industry has lagged behind other industries. Using software hasn’t traditionally been a part of the typical service industry skill set. F&B business owners may be worried about the cost of the system and training employees, or may not even be aware of what options are out there. There are many SaaS tools today that can help restaurateurs perfect their art, without being too expensive or complicated.  Online, subscription-based software has a lower upfront cost (it’s usually billed monthly). Software vendors understand that easy to learn, user-friendly interfaces and mobile accessibility are a requirement for the restaurant environment. Restaurant management tools are a great place to start when thinking about how to get those plates out of the kitchen fast. They are all-in-one systems that handle administrative tasks like scheduling, inventory, orders, payroll, and point-of-sale (POS) Outside of restaurant management tools, there are a host of tools that can help F&B businesses. Managers need to consider strategy when it comes to online marketing, loyalty programs, menus accounting, staff […]

Today, we awarded the 2018 TrustRadius Top Rated badges for Construction Software. The TrustRadius Top Rated awards are unique in that they are an unbiased reflection of customer sentiment, based solely on user satisfaction scores. They are not influenced by analyst opinion, the vendor’s company size, popularity, site traffic, or status as a TrustRadius customer. Construction software helps general contractors, subcontractors, and building companies manage different phases of the construction process, including bidding, estimating/takeoff, project management, building information management (BIM), job site data collection and reporting, document management and collaboration, accounting, and client management. Some vendors in the space offer a portfolio of different tools that cover most or all phases of construction, while other vendors offer a lighter weight product focused on a specific need, like safety or collaboration on building plans. Many businesses in the construction industry are just getting started with construction software, partly due to limited IT resources and expertise. Often construction employees aren’t as comfortable implementing or using new digital solutions when they’re used to pen and paper processes, so usability and ease of adoption should be among the top considerations when evaluating construction software. Here are the winners: Overall Top Rated Procore Procore is […]