Frequently Asked Questions

If you do not find the answers to your questions below, please contact us directly at support@cinx.com or 800.890.0820.

We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you and learn more about your needs and how HPH may be able to help.

Who is HPH?
HPH or Harrison Publishing House, founded in 1912, is a content provider and software developer servicing the construction sub-contracting industries. HPH has been providing price updates for industry estimating systems since they first appeared in the early 1980s.

What is CINX™?
Construction Information Network & Exchange™ (CINX™) is a cloud-based software platform for both contractors and their vendors. For contractors, CINX provides consistent content that can be used throughout the company and provides a web site that integrates project data and transactions throughout the execution of a job. It is also the new brand name for the Harrison price service and Product Information Management (PIM) service.

Why do I need a Pricing Service?
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How much does the service cost?
An annual subscription fee for the CINX price update service is $1100, per location. To learn more about additional services such as API access, contact HPH at support@cinx.com

Do I have to also pay for support?
No. HPH does not charge for Tier 1 support which is available from 8:00 – 4:30 EST.

What is included in my base corporate subscription?
1 year of price updates, 1 CINX log-in, and any support you may need.

Do all Estimators need CINX accounts?
Only a single CINX account is required to download the price updates for Estimating/CAD/etc Systems. If additional estimators would like accounts they are available for a minor charge.

What are the system requirements for CINX?
You just need a device with an internet connection. There is no software to install or maintain separate from your estimating software application. Depending on your estimating software, you can configure your estimating software to pull price updates on a scheduled basis from Harrison servers.

How often do you update the pricing and post updates for my estimating/cad/account etc database?
We update the CINX database nightly to ensure that you always have access to the most current pricing for the products you use with your software. So whenever you log into the CINX site, you can access (and export) the current pricing. The HPH provided price update files are done on an “as-needed” basis. There is no set schedule for the updates, it is market driven. In 2016, it has averaged to once every 3-4 weeks. If you have you create your own CINX catalog of items to use for the price updates you can schedule those daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly.

How does the update process work?
When HPH posts a new update, users will receive an email notification. Upon receipt of that email, users should process the updates. Depending on the partner system, some updates are triggered within that software while others you have to download the file from the CINX website and import it through the partner software.

How do I know what is in the update?
With each update, a bulletin file is posted. This is an excel file that details the changes by manufacturer and price sheet.

Do I have to process the updates in the order they were released?
Yes, price updates should be processed in the order they are released (earliest to most recent). If a large number of updates have been skipped, it would be better to process a Full or Initial Load file.

How can I update all the items in my database?
A Full file (found on the CINX downloads page) is a properly formatted file that contains all the items that HPH updates for the estimating system.

Does CINX allow me to custom updates?
Yes, custom updates containing one or more manufacturers can be requested on the CINX web site. Users can also create a bill-of-materials and export that as an update file.

Can CINX change an item in our database if the original is discontinued by the manufacturer?
No, CINX update files can only update prices. Only the end-user can make modifications to the contents of your database. If entire product lines are discontinued HPH will post a news item on your CINX dashboard and include it in the next email newsletter.

What is a list price?
HPH aggregates and maintains manufacturer supplied LIST prices.   Steel pipe is the exception, which is done regionally. The manufacturer list price is similar in concept to MSRP for a car.

Most contractors use the LIST price in their estimating system in concert with a multiplier supplied by distributors. HPH Does not supply multipliers. Note – By using CINX in conjunction and in collaboration with your suppliers, CINX can also help you establish for each product an estimate, sell, and buy price levels).

Is my pricing regional?
With the exception of steel pipe, the pricing is national list price provided by the manufacturers.

How is Steel Pipe priced?
We work with distributors in various regions of the country for a steel pipe list price. If you do not see you region, we will be happy to work with your suppliers.

Does CINX update my material multipliers?
Multipliers are contractor-vendor specific. There is no way for CINX to know the multiplier values that a vendor will offer for a specific customer.

What if I need to add items to my estimating/CAD/accounting database?
Easy! Find the items you need in CINX. Many partner systems have a “new item” export (TSI, Autobid, QuoteSoft), Viewpoint has a more automated way to add items as well.    Other systems may require manual entry of the item and corresponding HPH Code.

What manufacturers are included in the HPH Database?
HPH has approximately 500 manufacturers in the database. HPH will be happy to provide a manufacturer list – please email support@harrisonpub.com or ask your sales representative.

Does CINX update Labor Units?
CINX does have both MCAA and PHCC labor units that can be viewed within the web site for companies that have acquired the proper authorization from the respective labor unit publishers.   Depending on your estimating software, HPH can provide labor updates, similar to the price updates.

Can an estimate or model be loaded into CINX?
Yes, HPH has created an import process for our various partner systems.
Autobid - a Rapid Report file, an AutoBid takeoff can be imported into CINX.
Viewpoint – specific format
QuoteSoft – standard XML export
Highlands – standard export
Autodesk – specific format – OR use the CINX Autodesk add-in!

Why would I import an estimate into CINX?
An estimator can import the a takeoff and use CINX’s vendor integration facilities to obtain quotes for materials. After a project award, some users find it helpful to load the takeoff as the basis for the project’s materials.

Does an Estimate’s Drawing, Floor, Zone, System and other classifications elements get imported?
Yes, all classification elements are imported into CINX.

Does CINX have links to product documentation like Spec Sheets and SDS Sheets?
Yes, when available from the manufacturers, CINX will provide links to a wide range of technical and promotional documents for an item.

Can CINX automatically load Submittal documents, create transmittal packages, and track the approval status?
Yes, within a CINX project there is a robust submittal capability to include the ability to integrate with Bluebeam.

Does CINX support Cost Codes and other Job Costing fields?
Yes, CINX provides the ability to define all necessary job costing information with a firm’s accounting/erp system.

What else can CINX offer my company?
CINX – Construction Information Network and Exchange is a cloud based (website) product which offers a lot of functionality beyond estimating software updates.   A central tenet of CINX is to help companies reuse information; eliminating inefficient tasks such as manual entry and reentry of the same information in different software packages during the project lifecycle. In addition to estimating software, CINX can also tie-in with modeling and account packages, as well as ERPs.   Another cornerstone of CINX is to help connect contractors with their distributors.

What if my distributor is not on CINX?
HPH offers 2 levels of distributor accounts – FREE and PAID.
The Free version allows you, the contractor to benefit from the efficiencies of CINX, but doesn’t offer the distributor the same types of efficiency gains. Have your supplier contact us for details about implementing CINX to return your quotes faster and more accurately enter orders directly into their ERP software.    The distributor reasonably priced PAID version will offer the distributors time savings – eliminating their manual tasks!

Can I schedule a demo or training for the CINX site?
Yes – please contact HPH at support@cinx.com or call 800.890.0820 and we can schedule an online meeting at your convenience. HPH also offers a workshop series for customers to learn more about CINX.

Why does an item have a different price in CINX?
There are a few reasons why an item’s price in CINX may be different from what is in your partner software database.
1. New Manufacturer Change that has not been released in an update.
CINX is updated every night with changes and therefore will contain the most update item information. New changes from manufacturers will first be posted in CINX. They will be released later in an update for your partner system database.

Looking at the Effective Date column in CINX you will be able to determine when the price was made active by the manufacturer.
NOTE: When a manufacturer rescinds a price sheet, returning an item to an earlier effective date and price, HPH will notify you.
2. Missed Updates
If you miss an update for your database, items in your partner software database will not match with the CINX values.
3. Wrong HPH Code
Users have also reported price discrepancies caused by the wrong HPH Code for an item. Although uncommon, partner databases and items that a user hand enters will occasionally have the wrong HPH Code. This would obviously also cause a discrepancy in item pricing.
4. Wrong Update Directory
You have to ensure that the directory where CINX placed the update file is the same as the directory location used by your software during the update process. If they are not the same, then you will not be using the current update file when you execute the update in your software.

How often are new updates posted?
There is no set update schedule for partner databases. Pricing in the trade, especially for PVF items, is heavily influenced by raw material commodity markets. Therefore, manufacturers will change prices as needed, not adhering to a fixed schedule.

To ensure that you have the most recent information, HPH will issue as many updates as required to keep your database current. Historically, the number of updates has ranged from 12 to 18 per year.

Why, after running an update, does my report says that 0 items were matched/updated?

Some partner software systems produce an update summary report. Occasionally this report will state that 0 items were found, matched, and/or updated. This is caused by the fact that the HPH Partner database is so much larger than your standard default partner database provided by the software vendor. For example, HPH might issue an update with Weldbend fittings, but if your system has Hackney then no matches will occur.

What type of file is used to update the database?
CINX update files for your estimating system are flat text files. The file name, extension, and format are per the specifications of the software company.

How do I find the file format/layout for my updates?
If you need to know the layout for your update files, please contact HPH and request this information.

How do the updates work?
Each partner software provider has created a program feature, service, import, or utility to load a price update file.

The HPH Item Codes allows HPH files to be processed by matching a software database item with the appropriate update file item. When a match is made the appropriate information is transferred from the update file to the database.
If an item does not have an HPH Item Code it will NOT be updated.
NOTE: The HPH Item Code is not a UPC Number, but rather a proprietary coding system that allows HPH to guarantee accurate product identification and price updates.

What data does an HPH Update insert into our estimating database?
Each software partner defines what information is loaded into their database from a HPH update file. Please contact your software provider for a detailed list. However, most systems accept the following information:
Price – Manufacturer List Price
Date – Effective date as published on the manufacturer’s price sheet
Status – Manufacturer availability status (A – Active with a list price, P – Available but contact a vendor for pricing, D – Discontinued )

What HPH does NOT update?
Again, please contact your software provider for specific details. In general, HPH does not update:
Descriptions
Sizes
Classifications
Multipliers
Labor Units
UPC Numbers

Who puts the HPH Item Codes in our database?
HPH works closely with our software partners to ensure that you receive the best service possible. However, it is the responsibility of the software partner to determine the contents of the default database that is supplied to you. They enter the HPH Item Codes and create the product descriptions and classifications.
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