If you pump concrete, then we’re willing to bet you’ve heard the name “RapidWorks." This legacy product used to be the only concrete management software on the market. After its debut, pumping companies swarmed the product, eager to ditch pen and paper. It served a vital role and the industry was better off for it. 

Despite how many pumping companies depend on this program, it has undeniable shortcomings. Updates have become infrequent over the years. Critical features, like invoicing, are not as dynamic as pumping companies need. They often must build their own workarounds and endure minimal automation. The price also went up after the company was acquired by a private equity fund. That alienated both loyal customers and those who don’t feel like RapidWorks is meeting their needs.

For years, this brand may have been the only software to serve concrete pumping companies. But that’s changed. Since Tough Commerce hit the market in 2021, pumping companies have far better options to choose from. Tough Commerce took stock of what pumping companies didn’t like about RapidWorks, and built a modern, adaptable software that fixed those problems. Here, we’ll explore the differences between Tough Commerce and RapidWorks, and why trading up to a newer platform could be the best thing you do for your concrete pumping business. 

Tough Commerce vs. RapidWorks Features

At first glance, a feature comparison between Tough Commerce and RapidWorks may look similar. Especially if we are just checking off features alone. But it’s not about “who offers invoicing” or “who offers scheduling,” it’s about how they offer it - how detailed is that invoicing process, is it automated, and how many different types of jobs will it actually work for? 

When you look under the hood, it's not even close. Tough Commerce outperforms RapidWorks in most categories.

• Review the chart below to get a quick idea of how Tough Commerce features compare to RapidWorks.

• To get a detailed understanding of which benefits hold the most weight, review the summary of our key differentiators below it.

Tough Commerce Key Differentiators 

No Double Entry: Why It Matters

Few things frustrate pumping companies more than having to re-enter what they already inputted. Tough Commerce is built to ensure you never have to deal with double entry. Information you input once will automatically populate wherever you need it next. In RapidWorks, double entry is common – this wastes time, leads to errors, and can put a job at risk.

Complete Order Entry: Why It Matters

Dispatchers are often in a rush, and when they take down order details, it’s easy to miss something. Tough Commerce’s Structured Order Entry system is designed to ensure the dispatcher collects all of the information necessary while opening an order. This helps you get a complete order every time.

RapidWorks, on the other hand, has a less-thorough order entry system, with forms that don’t help you gather all the information, leaving more room for human error. You’ll be clicking through more screens to get information and putting up with a less streamlined experience. 

Dynamic Invoice Building: Why It Matters

Invoicing is a particular pain point for pumping companies, especially the ones who run on RapidWorks. A lot can happen on a job that wasn’t initially scoped out, adding to the invoice and making it more complex. Pumping companies must account for that, and it’s much harder when their invoicing tool doesn’t support them.

With Tough Commerce, invoices are getting built from the moment the order is placed. As the operator touches the order and spends more time onsite, your invoice can adapt accordingly, aligning with everything that was done on the job. When the order is done, finance only has to look it over to independently verify. By contrast, RapidWorks’ invoicing process offers far less automation. Once a job ticket is ‘accepted,’ edits can be made, but there is much more manual reconciliation to be done, including manual fees, and more difficulty getting it into your accounting system. 

Comprehensive Scheduling: Why It Matters

Most RapidWorks’ users stay away from its scheduling tool, preferring their own manual build-outs. That’s how you know the functionality is lacking.

Tough Commerce, on the other hand, wants you to be able to use the features you pay for. That’s why they offer an intuitive timeline and list view, where you can view up to 30 jobs per page. This easily lets you see whether you need to cancel or move jobs. The ability to drag and drop an order onto a operator is another huge administrative advantage. Tough Commerce’s unique Planning Mode, within their scheduling tool, lets you organize tomorrow’s schedule today before sending out orders to all drivers. RapidWorks does not offer this. Plus, they only let you view 7 jobs per page, with less real-time visibility into where operators are. 

Intuitive User Experience: Why It Matters

As a newer product, Tough Commerces offers a more intuitive user interface. This enhances ease of use, workflow speed, and can improve the operational efficiency of both dispatch and finance. 

Pricing Structures

RapidWorks: Pay Per Seat

RW's pay-per-seat structure means you'll end up having to split the access of one account between two or more people. Without splitting, you simply may not get access for all those who need it. RapidWorks customers often pick and choose who gets this vital access because they want to save money. 

RapidWorks also locks customers into 1-3 year contracts.

Tough Commerce: Pay Per Ticket

Tough Commerce customers pay per ticket, meaning their bill will vary based on usage or consumption of the product. This incentivizes Tough Commerce to build a product that makes you want to use it on every project, not a system that forces you into Excel or pen and paper. This way, your bill only increases when you have the revenue to afford it. On the other hand, during lean seasons, your bill will decrease, waning with your project flow. Our adaptive pricing model is cash flow conscious, so that you only pay for what you need.

Tough Commerce offers more flexibility with 1 year contracts. 

Product Updates

RapidWorks: Up to 1 Year to Address Customer Requests

According to previous RapidWorks users who switched to Tough Commerce, RapidWorks can take up to a year or more to make a requested software change. Their product update cadence is largely based on how they can increase their bottom line. If you put in a feature request, they have a message board where users can vote on whether they want it, putting your request at the mercy of other people’s opinions. This creates the illusion of progress while leaving many customers dissatisfied. 

Tough Commerce: 2 Reliable Updates Per Month

Tough Commerce updates the product on a fixed cadence of twice per month, focusing on bug fixes and “customer delights,” in other words, things that customers said they want and that Tough Commerce is eager to build for them. 

Tough Commerce fields customer requests as simple as changing the font color on an invoice, to automating fees that aren't currently automated. For example, many customers have standby fees for workers waiting at job sites, and we can automate these fees for them. 

Customers also frequently request custom reports, and Tough Commerce accommodates them on a per-account basis. Sometimes, these customizations are so useful that we release them globally for all customers. This proactive approach hugely enhances customer satisfaction.

Customer Support & Onboarding

RapidWorks: Long Wait Times

RapidWorks lacks real-time support. You submit a ticket and wait around for days for a response. According to those who've switched, their onboarding is fairly quick, but with far less support. Customers are typically left to fend for themselves.

Tough Commerce: Immediate Support

Tough Commerce offers a direct line to customers by chat and phone, giving them immediate support with any issue they may have. We are also more diligent and intentional with onboarding. We’ll never toss you into the wild to figure out our product. Instead, we use a curriculum with guided training, and sit down with company stakeholders, from drivers to finance to dispatch, to get face time with as much of the team as we can. Tough Commerce is also about to release a learning management system with self-driven and gamified onboarding. 

Why You Don’t Need to Be Afraid of Switching

Switching software is an organizational change that is not taken lightly. And when most of your industry uses RapidWorks, it feels like taking a huge dive into the unknown. Tough Commerce is transparent: switching is a big undertaking, but it’s doable, because you’ll be fully supported the entire way.

If you move to Tough Commerce from RapidWorks, the process will unfold like this:

1. We ask you for a number of exports, then we take it from there. The switch is done-for-you, not done by you.
2. We train you on how to use the platform with our guided curriculum.
3. We load your information into our system in a way that you’re used to. We actively try to reduce the shock of things living in different places, working to keep everything where you’re used to it.
4. We go over invoicing in both RapidWorks and our platform, drawing a line between certain RapidWorks features and our equivalents. We also show you all the new things you can do with Tough Commerce that would’ve been impossible in RapidWorks.
5. Going forward, we provide ongoing, real-time support whenever you need it. And we listen to you, taking your favorite features and adding them to our software if you think any are missing.
6. Welcome to Tough Commerce!

Once pumping companies find their way into the Tough Commerce ecosystem, they’re genuinely wowed by the difference, and glad they made the switch.

Book a Demo with Tough Commerce to Switch

RapidWorks is where the industry has been. Tough Commerce is where it’s going. Your journey to better software starts when you book a demo with Tough Commerce. Here, you’ll see our product in action and get every question answered. 

At Tough Commerce, we truly want to have a positive impact on this industry. We understand that when a truck is on site, it represents someone's livelihood. Our team is comprised of people who have a deep understanding of construction and genuinely want to help your business. If you’re ready to be supported by your software, reach out to us today.