Handling a construction project is complex, especially for project managers who have to juggle everything including materials, employees, client expectations and project deadlines. Construction project managers need an efficient way to manage their resources and coordinate all of the tasks associated with their projects. For many teams, the best way to consolidate all of their project plans and increase visibility into individual tasks is to invest in project management software.
Construction project management software helps contractors and subcontractors streamline the process of completing projects on time and within budget. It provides a centralized platform to keep track of tasks, communicate with project teams and stakeholders, store documents and files, and generate reports. The software also offers collaboration capabilities that keep stakeholders connected throughout the project life cycle.
In this product guide, we’ve evaluated seven of the best construction project management software solutions, taking a closer look at their features, costs, pros and cons, to help you determine the best option for your needs and budget.
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When choosing the best construction management software for your business, you need to consider pricing as well as features. This table shows which construction software includes which features to help you make your decision.
Fieldwire is purpose-built construction project management software that is designed for general contractors, specialty contractors, owners, architects and designers. It offers functionality to help them plan, manage and track construction-specific projects from start to finish, providing the necessary features for successful project delivery.
Fieldwire lets users connect with their teams in real time while managing project tasks, documents and photos. Fieldwire capabilities also include task management, checklists, punch lists, inspections and reports.
Fieldwire offers tiered pricing plans, priced depending on your needs and preferences:
Figure A
Jira is an issue-tracking and project management tool for teams of one to 20,000+ users that is based on agile project management methodology. Its versatile software with various features and customizable templates allows users to create their own workflows. With features such as project roadmaps, team collaboration, time tracking, budgeting, document management and analytics reports, Jira ensures teams remain on track throughout the project life cycle.
Although Jira is not specifically designed for construction teams, it offers many features that are helpful for this kind of work. For example, Jira’s hierarchical and Gantt chart elements are ideal for managing more granular and even unplanned administrative project tasks that may arise, such as filing change orders.
In addition, Jira’s Gantt charts come with smart resource risk management add-ons, which can be useful for managing and reallocating project resources when unexpected variables like weather impact project outcomes and schedules.
Figure B
For more information, read the full Jira review.
Confluence is team collaboration software that helps teams to organize and share information, collaborate, plan and track projects in one centralized location. It can be used for various project management needs, including task management, resource management, project timelines and project reporting. It is used by both small and large teams and can be customized to fit their differing needs.
Like Jira, Confluence isn’t specifically designed for construction projects, but it’s especially great for construction companies with offices and remote workforces that are spread out geographically. The platform allows administrators to create collaborative knowledge hubs for sharing the most up-to-date company and team news, not to mention the project spaces and searchable labels users can add to their accounts.
So, whether it’s a worker on a construction site or a back-office team member who manages payroll in another country, each team member can view the company’s feed and find answers to their questions on their own time.
Confluence offers one free plan and three paid plans:
Figure C
For more information, read the full Confluence review.
Buildertrend is a cloud-based construction project management software designed for home builders, specialty contractors, remodelers and commercial contractors. They can use this software to schedule tasks, track progress, manage budgets, keep documents organized and access job site information.
Buildertrend’s software integrates with many popular business apps, such as Quickbooks, Xero and Gusto for payroll and accounting services. It also integrates with the Home Depot Pro Xtra program for purchasing needs. Beyond its integrations and primary feature set, Buildertrend offers a customer portal that allows clients and subcontractors to collaborate on and discuss project progress in real time.
Buildertrend offers a special discounted rate for the first month on each of its three pricing plans, which then increases substantially afterwards.
Figure D
Contractor Foreman is an easy-to-use, cloud-based construction project management software that helps contractors and subcontractors manage their entire project life cycle, from estimating and bidding to project scheduling and job costing.
The tool is intuitive and user-friendly, allowing users to manage projects efficiently. Contractor Foreman offers a 30-day free trial and flat annual pricing options for a limited number of users. Although Contractor Foreman offers four pricing plans, the lower tier plans include the core features most teams will need to manage their projects.
Unlike other construction project management solutions, which charge on a per-user basis, Contractor Foreman offers a flat monthly rate for its packages:
Figure E
Procore is cloud-based construction project management software for general contractors, specialty contractors, subcontractors, owners and developers, and government agencies. Construction professionals can use the tool to manage projects from pre-construction through closeout, including document management, budgeting, scheduling, RFIs, submittals, quality and safety, field productivity management and collaboration.
Procore doesn’t advertise rates on its website. Potential buyers should contact the Procore sales team for pricing information.
Figure L: Procore dashboard
Houzz Pro is a business platform for industry professionals, including home remodelers, interior designers, architects, landscape professionals and other building professionals. It connects professionals with customers, provides marketing and networking tools, and offers insights into the home improvement industry. It also offers resources for business growth, including advertising, lead management and analytics.
Houzz Pro offers four pricing plans:
Figure N: Houzz Pro dashboard
Software for construction project management needs to combine general purpose project management features with construction-specific capabilities. Here are eight features that you should look out for when comparing software for construction management:
The best construction project management software should let you schedule workers for shifts and track billable hours worked, all within the tool itself. Some may also offer integrations with popular time tracking and scheduling software in case you already have a solution in place.
Your team will likely be submitting bids on multiple projects at once, as well as receiving estimates from subcontractors. These are sometimes called RFIs, a.k.a. requests for information. Construction project management software will allow you to track these bids and their associated costs to reduce the chance of miscalculations and ensure that you’re staying on top of deadlines.
Once the project actually gets going, you will also need to track inventory costs, invoice the client and make sure the project is staying within budget. The best construction management software will let you do all that and more with sophisticated accounting and financial management tools. It should also integrate with popular accounting software, such as Quickbooks.
Keeping track of all your workers across various job sites is one of the most important features in construction-specific software. This involves booking service appointments, coordinating dispatch and setting estimated completion dates. If you are considering a more general purpose project management software, make sure that it will provide the field management capabilities that you need for your construction projects.
On the topic of field management, most people aren’t logging into their laptops in the middle of a job site. That’s why you will want to seek out a software that offers well-developed mobile and tablet apps so your managers and employees can use them while on location.
At some point during the project, clients and/or contractors are going to need to access the software — but you might not want them to see every single nitty gritty detail. Being able to set permissions for different users is a helpful feature for construction project management software to have. Some platforms even offer a dedicated client portal, so they get their own login experience.
To keep everything streamlined in one tool, look for construction management software that integrates chat and communication tools directly within the interface. Ideally, it should also integrate with popular email clients like Outlook and Gmail so that your email communications will be centralized in the same place.
If your construction management software offers document management capabilities, you’ll never need to hunt down an updated contract or the latest certificates and licenses. All of these documents will be right in the tool’s database, easily accessible via search so you can find it in a snap.
When selecting a construction project management software solution, consider your needs, goals and budget. You want a tool that will meet your requirements and make the management process more efficient, all while staying within budget and providing visibility at all stages of the construction project life cycle.
Consider the following tips while evaluating prospective construction project management software options:
Determining your project scope means deciding how many people need to be involved, how many tasks need to be completed and how much of the work can be done in-house. Knowing these details will help you narrow down the type of construction project management software that best fits your needs.
Look for tools that offer the features you need for a reasonable price. Pay attention to whether the software has comprehensive task tracking and management capabilities as well as project cost estimation and time tracking functions.
How user-friendly is the software you’re evaluating? Does it have an intuitive design with a straightforward interface? Will team members require extensive training to be able to use the software? The easier it is to use, the more likely your team will be to adopt the tool and use it correctly to increase project productivity.
Ensure the software you choose integrates with other tools your business uses most often, such as accounting, payroll and scheduling systems. Finding these integration opportunities now will save you time and effort when transferring data between different applications.
To determine the best construction project management software for 2023, we evaluated over 20 solutions from leading providers. We compared the features, capabilities and pricing of each product and then narrowed down our list to the top seven solutions. Our evaluation criteria for construction project management included the following:
With these criteria in mind, we determined the seven best construction project management software solutions of 2023. Each tool has its own strengths and weaknesses, but all offer quality services for managing the ins and outs of construction projects.
