Many construction businesses rely on spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes for project management, leading to double data handling errors, miscommunication, delays and increased administrative burden.
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Many construction businesses rely on spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes for project management, leading to double data handling errors, miscommunication, delays and increased administrative burden.
Construction software helps estimate project costs, tracks project progress, assigns resources, and allows for collaboration with different stakeholders.
This guide will help you evaluate different construction management software by listing out key features, benefits, and different types of buyer requirements.
Here's what we'll cover:
Construction software helps builders and contractors manage business documents, estimate costs and raw materials needed, track project progress, and manage customer requests.
Most construction software also offers either browser-based access or a dedicated mobile app to ensure that you can access your data anywhere.
Procore offers iOS and Android mobile apps to to track status of building projects
The main features of construction software include:
| Features | Description |
| Bid management | Stores subcontractor information, bid documents, and purchase orders to help you with procurement and contract management processes. |
| Construction takeoff and estimating | Estimates the materials and labor required for completing each project by analyzing project blueprints and design documents. |
| Project management | Enables you to track project progress, create task schedules, identify missed deadlines, assign resources, update project scope, and collaborate with your team. |
| Job costing & accounting | Helps set standard rates for specific company services and allows construction managers to track and plan expenses, budgets, invoices, and cash flows. |
| Reporting | Provides data and analytics reports, summarizing items such as budgetary costs, subcontractor services, project progress, risk areas, and resource usage. |
| Equipment tracking | Helps allocate equipment across different projects, notifies if equipment requires maintenance and ensures overall efficiency of equipment use. |
You could be a home builder, general contractor, architect, remodeler or specialized contractor. We have looked at what type of construction software best suits you based on your business size and type.
Architect/individual contractor: You'll need a solution with basic features such as estimating, project management, and scheduling. You can look at freemium versions of popular construction software.
Small construction businesses: As a small business owner managing two or more construction projects, you will have to assign resources and track multiple projects. Choose construction software that is affordable and offers core features such as project management, estimating, and costing. Ensure that it integrates with your existing tools such as accounting or CRM solutions.
Manager at a large construction business: You have to track multiple projects at different locations. You need features to estimate project costs in different currencies and reports to analyze projects' progress and resource use. You should opt for the enterprise versions of construction software or use highly rated solutions that integrate with your existing systems.
Specialty construction business owner: If you offer specialized services such as electrical works or piping, you need software that caters to your specific needs. For example, an electrical contractor will require electrical estimating systems to estimate the number of conduit boxes needed.
Here are four popular software solutions targeted at construction businesses:
Get a side-by-side comparison of these products here → Procore vs. CoConstruct vs. ClockShark vs. Buildertrend
Construction management software saves you a lot of effort. Some of the key benefits include:
