Construction Project Management Software for Small Business: Pro Guide

Every week, construction company owners ask me the same question: "What is the best project management software for my team?"

Maybe you’ve cycled through a handful of solutions - testing out Buildertrend, Trello, dabbling with Monday.com, or even exploring CoConstruct, Contractor Foreman, and even things like Notion - only to find that none of them quite fit the bill for your unique needs.

Between juggling complex quoting processes, tracking profitability on every job, and keeping tabs on multiple contractors, you simply can’t afford to lose time with a tool that doesn’t work for you.

If you’re here, you’re likely no stranger to the headache of switching software, the lost productivity while onboarding a new tool, or even just the overwhelming number of options available in the market.

That’s why I’ve put together this guide—to help you pick the best project management software tailored for construction companies, stick with it, and finally optimize your workflow from the job site to the office.

We’re going to take a deep dive on 2 types of software in this guide: construction-specific project management tools, as well as general project management software that you’ve probably heard of, and discuss if they can be effectively customized to meet the needs of a construction workflow.

We’ll consider the features you need to manage projects throughout their lifecycle, pricing, automation, forecasting, managing project documents and more, so you can pick the best software for your business needs.

In This Guide, We’ll Cover:

• Mental Models for Choosing the Best Project Management Tools for Construction

• The Pros & Cons of Procore for Construction Project Management

• Buildertrend as Your Construction Project Management Software

• CoConstruct: No Longer the Best Option for Construction

• Should You Trust Contractor Foreman With Your Workflows?

• Buildr: The Underdog in Construction Project Management?

• Why Trello Falls Short for Construction Project Management

• Monday.com: A Cautionary Tale for Construction Teams

• Is ClickUp the Best Project Management Software for Construction Companies?

• Why Notion Isn’t Designed for Construction Project Management

• Asana’s Limitations in a Construction Environment

• Conclusion: The Best Project Management Software for Construction Businesses Today

Everything you need is on this page - you can even download the full report to share with your team or refer back to later.

Mental Models for Choosing the Best Project Management Tools for Construction

Before we dive into the specifics, let me share a few truths about finding the best software to manage construction projects:

No software is perfect.

If there were a flawless tool that handled every aspect of quoting, project scheduling, resource management, and profitability tracking, every construction company would be using it. The fact that there isn’t one is exactly why this guide exists.

Every tool has its strengths and its "why the heck isn’t this a feature?!" moments.

Step-By-Step: How to find & Implement the Best Construction Company Project Management Software:

1) List Out Your Critical Features

In construction, you need to manage a lot more than just tasks. Your system should handle:

• Complex quoting and bid management

• Real-time profitability tracking per project

• Project scheduling and resource allocation

• Tracking project progress and timesheets

• Mobile accessibility for those always on the go (from job sites to client meetings)

• Robust general contractor and subcontractor tracking

• Financial management, including integrations with software such as Quickbooks
  We’ll delve into each of these later.

2) Review The Market Options Against These Criteria

Don’t just settle for what seems popular - ensure the tool you choose meets your specific needs.

3) Pick One and Commit to It Long-Term

This means you’re committed to finding workarounds when the tool doesn’t 100% meet your needs, such as by using Zapier, Make or other software to complement it.

A good project management tool should simplify & streamline your workflows, not make them more complicated.

So if you’re struggling, you may need to:

4) Consider Expert Help

This is a key step that a lot of companies skip & it’s a big reason why they end up wanting to move to a new project management software - because they didn’t know how to get the most out of it.

At the end of the day, there are 2 ways to have success at something:

1) Put in the time to learn & implement it yourself, or:

2) Hire an expert who’s already put in the time to implement it for you, & teach you their knowledge.

The truth is, you can’t expect to run your company, become an expert in project management, automation and operational thinking, design this system to be best suited to your company, then build and maintain it.

And unless you want to run a company that helps people implement project management solutions, it isn’t the best use of your time either - your time should be spend growing your company doing the tasks that only you can do.

5) Continuously Optimize Your System

As your business grows and you take on more complex projects, your project management system will need to evolve.

A long-term partnership with an operations or tech expert can help ensure your software grows with you.

Why Finding The Best Software for Construction Project Management is Essential:

Now I’m going to teach you how to think about selecting a project management system for small construction businesses so you will actually know what to look for without watching a bunch of YouTube videos or reading more articles to help you decide.

So first off, why do we even care about having a great project management system?

Imagine this:

A tool that not only streamlines your quoting and bidding process, providing efficient construction estimating, but also allows you to track progress, manage specialty contractors, project profitability in real-time, and is readily available on your mobile device.

The right software can save you hours every week, reduce costly errors, and free up your time to focus on building quality projects instead of wrestling with spreadsheets and disconnected systems.

Sounds good right?

Well you’re probably already sold on the idea of using a project management software, or you wouldn’t be here.

The catch is when you don’t use it well, it can feel worse than what you had before, making you think they don’t work & you don’t need it.

Unfortunately, this is a fallacy.

Drop your ego and commit to getting the most out of your project management software, and I promise you, there will be brighter days ahead.

How to Determine Key Features for Construction Project Management Software:

When evaluating project management software for your construction business, consider the following aspects:

1) Your Unique Construction Workflow

Every construction company operates differently. You might need to:

• Generate detailed quotes and bids

• Track job costs, material usage, and labor

• Manage scheduling across multiple job sites & track daily logs

• Coordinate with small contractors, stakeholders, suppliers & more

• Create a client portal to share specific metrics

• Manage customer support inquiries and RFIs

• Quickly & efficiently manage change orders

• Have access for unlimited users

2) Field Accessibility and Mobile Support

Unlike office-bound teams, construction crews are on the move. Ensure your software solutions are cloud-based so they offer a robust mobile app, offline capabilities, and real-time updates that keep everyone in the loop—even when they’re out on the job site.

It must also be highly user-friendly to ensure it can be easily adopted by all the construction professionals on your team.

3) Contractor and Subcontractor Management

If you work with various contractors, your tool must provide:

• Different access levels for internal teams and external partners

• The ability to share project updates, schedules, and documents securely

• A consolidated view of each contractor’s contributions and progress

4) Quoting, Budgeting, and Profitability Tracking

Your tool should allow you to:

• Create and manage complex quotes and bids

• Track project costs in real time

• Analyze profitability and make data-driven decisions on where to allocate resources

5) Automation, Dashboards, and Analytics

A good project management tool will allow you to automate the time-consuming, low-value, repetitive tasks, so you can focus on higher-leverage activities.

Consider the following aspects when selecting your tool:

• Template features to streamline project planning

• Dashboard metrics to get a birds eye view of projects, on site & off-site

• Project timelines & milestones

• Budgets versus actual costs

• Contractor performance and job site updates

6) Integration and Custom Fields

Ensure your software can integrate with your accounting systems, CRM, and any other tools you rely on. Custom fields are crucial for storing construction-specific data like bid numbers, cost codes, and project phases.

7) Views and Reporting

Whether you prefer Gantt charts for scheduling, calendar views for project deadlines, or Kanban boards for task management, the tool should offer flexible viewing options and robust reporting features to keep your projects on track.

Especially keep in mind useful workload views for project planning & managing the capacity of your team members.

8) Documentation and File Sharing

From blueprints to permits, document management is critical for construction companies.

Your software should act as a central hub for all essential documents, ensuring they’re easily accessible to both your in-house team and external contractors.

Once you’ve reviewed all these features & made your shortlist, it’s time to do a comprehensive analysis so you don’t get stuck in a project management tool that doesn’t work for you.

We’re going to start the tool review with the construction-specific software:

The Pros & Cons of Procore for Construction Project Management

Procore was one of the first cloud-based construction softwares to gain popularity, and it is certainly here to stay.

Its long tenure means it has the budget & expertise to roll out new features faster than its competitors, and stay ahead of the curve.

Let’s take a look if Procore is right for you:

Pros:

Comprehensive Suite: Offers an all-in-one solution with modules for preconstruction planning, project management, financials, quality, and safety, which reduces the need for multiple software.

Mobile Capabilities: Strong mobile app for field teams to update tasks and upload documents on-site.

Integration: ProCore has an an open API, which means you can integrate it with pretty much other software, such as construction-specific tools like BIM software, accounting systems like Quickbooks, and more. It also boasts 64 actions & triggers in Zapier, offering simple & seamless no & low-code automation solutions for less tech-savvy teams.

Scalability: Suitable for businesses from small to enterprise-level, with tiered pricing plans.

Collaboration: Facilitates collaboration between office and field teams with real-time data sharing.

Document Management: Robust document control with version tracking and access controls.

Reporting: Advanced reporting tools provide insights into project performance, costs, and timelines.

Cons:

Cost: Can be expensive, especially for small companies needing multiple user licenses. You can’t get pricing without asking for a quote either.

Learning Curve: Extensive features mean a steeper learning curve for new users. Even young, tech-savvy users have reported being stumped on how to use their features, often leading to long conversations with Procore support.

Hard to Keep Up: Users have reported Procore is always rolling out new updates, which sounds like a good thing, but they often spend hours trying to figure out these new features and barely getting up to speed with them before a new one comes along. This takes time away from actually running your business.

Complexity: It usually offers more than what most small businesses need, leading to underutilization of features and therefore overpaying for what you do use.

Customization: While customizable, setting up can require significant time and expertise in Procore.

Dependence on Internet: Heavy reliance on internet connectivity which might be an issue in remote locations.

If you’re a growing team with big ambitions and can dedicate the resources to building out Procore to meet your needs, while staying up to date with update, Procore could be a great asset for you.

However, if you want to be agile & use a software that can be easily & quickly customized to your needs, while keeping costs down, Procore is probably not the choice for you.

Procore is the better choice for larger & enterprise-level construction teams.

Buildertrend as Your Construction Project Management Software

If your focus is residential construction, Buildertrend could be a great asset for you.

While it does offer some features for commercial, it isn’t dedicated to this. So if your bread & butter is commercial, feel free to skip this one.

Pros:

Construction Focused: Tailored specifically for home builders, remodelers, making it highly relevant for residential construction.

Client Management: Excellent tools for managing client interactions, including selection processes and change requests.

Scheduling: Effective scheduling tools that integrate well with project management.

CRM Features: Integrated CRM for managing leads from start to project completion.

Mobile Access: Good mobile app for field updates.

Cost Management: Detailed budgeting and cost tracking capabilities.

Cons:

Pricing: Can be costly for small businesses or those with limited projects, and like Procore, Buildertrend is pretty secretive with their pricing, only revealing it through a custom quote

Complexity: Some users might find the interface or the range of features complex to navigate initially.

Customer Support: Users have reported mixed reviews on the responsiveness of customer support in some cases, which could easily leave you in a stitch if you need to resolve something to progress a project

Scalability: While scalable, might lack some features needed for very large or diverse commercial projects without additional integrations.

Learning Curve: Users need time to fully leverage all features.

Integration: Buildertrend has no native integration with Zapier, meaning you need to work with the API in order to integrate it with the rest of your tech stack. This can prove time-consuming & costly, and you usually have to keep someone on retainer to manage this

Buildertrend has some nice features for residential, especially client portals and other client-facing features, so if this is very important to you, it may be worth considering.

CoConstruct: No Longer the Best Option for Construction

CoConstruct was bought by Buildertrend back in 2021 & since then, the feature improvements have been few & far between.

It seems like the software has been de-prioritized by its acquirers and they plan to promote Buildertrend for the long-term.

So while I could post a long list of pros & cons for it, it’s better you save yourself the hassle of using a software that doesn’t seem to care about adapting & growing along with the industry.

Should You Trust Contractor Foreman With Your Workflows?

Contractor Foreman is the more simple, yet effective construction project management solution.

But is it right for you?

Pros:

Cost-Effective: Offers a flat rate pricing model, with an affordable entry point, which scales well

Ease of Use: Designed to be intuitive, reducing the learning curve for new users.

Mobile-Friendly: Strong mobile app with good functionality for field teams.

Essential Features: Covers the basics needed for construction project management like scheduling, time tracking, and document management. It also covers bases such as bid management, change orders, sub-contracts & client portals.

Integration: It has a huge range of triggers & actions in Zapier which allow for simple no-code integration with the rest of your tech stack, and allow you to harness the full power of automation

Cons:

Feature Depth: May not have the depth of features required for very complex or large-scale projects.

Customization: Limited in terms of customization compared to higher-end software.

Scalability: Might not scale as well for companies looking to grow significantly or manage many concurrent large projects.

Glitching: Many have reported the software to glitch and duplicate P.O. numbers & sometimes the program can lag & crash, which can ruin your experience

If your team is less tech-savvy, doesn’t need much customization, & can effectiveness utilize the simple features of contractor foreman, it could be a good fit.

If you want flexibility in your software, need it to scale with your company and price is less of a factor for you, we’d suggest other tools.

Buildr: The Underdog in Construction Project Management?

Buildr is the new kid on the block for construction project management. Its sleek interface can easily entice users, but is it the right choice for you?

Pros:

Preconstruction Excellence: Specifically designed to streamline the preconstruction phase, including bidding, estimating, and project setup, which can lead to more accurate project planning and cost control from the outset.

CRM Integration: Combines customer relationship management with project management, offering tools for better lead management, client interaction, and business development, all tailored for the construction industry.

User-Friendly Interface: Buildr is often praised for its clean, intuitive design, which makes it easier for teams to adopt and use effectively, potentially speeding up the transition to digital project management.

AI Insights: Leverages artificial intelligence to provide data-driven insights, helping with forecasting project outcomes, risk assessment, and decision-making based on historical data. This is something almost none of its competitors do.

Real-Time Collaboration: Facilitates real-time updates and communication among all project stakeholders, enhancing coordination, reducing misunderstandings, and speeding up decision-making processes.

Cons:

Niche Focus: While excellent for preconstruction, its capabilities might be less comprehensive when managing the entire lifecycle of construction projects, potentially requiring additional software for later stages, which further increases costs.

Pricing Opacity: Like most construction-specific software, the lack of transparent pricing can make it difficult for businesses to budget effectively without direct sales contact, which is not only annoying, but can a hurdle for smaller companies or those with tight financial planning.

Limited Customization: There are constraints in customizing the software to fit unique or non-standard construction workflows, limiting its adaptability for companies with specialized processes.

Integration Concerns: While it integrates well within its ecosystem, connecting Buildr to non-construction-specific tools or third-party applications require additional setup. There are no native integrations via Zapier, so you will have to rely on the API & hire an expert to setup those integrations for you.

Newer Player: Being a more recent addition to the construction management software market, Buildr might have a smaller user community, less historical data for case studies, and potentially less robust support or third-party resources compared to established competitors. This could impact the ease of troubleshooting or learning from peer experiences.

If preconstruction is your focus & you lean heavily in the commercial sector, Buildr could be a great solution with AI backing to fuel your growth.

If you’re looking for a more all-in-one & customizable solution, Buildr probably isn’t the way to go.

Now we’ve covered the construction-specific tools, let’s focus on the general project management solutions that can be customized for construction.

This section is going to be short, simple & focus on only the key information you need to make a decision.

Why Trello Falls Short for the Construction Industry

Trello might be tempting because of its simplicity and ease of use. However, its kanban-only view, and lack of customization mean it’s only designed for straightforward task management and lacks the depth needed for:

• Detailed quoting and bid management

• Robust profitability tracking and budgeting

• Advanced reporting and dashboard capabilities

• Comprehensive contractor management

If your projects are complex and you’re planning to scale your operations, Trello is likely to become a bottleneck rather than a solution.

Monday.com: A Cautionary Tale for Construction Teams

You may have seen Monday.com advertised everywhere - from billboards near construction supply stores to online ads. While it has an appealing interface, many construction companies find that Monday.com:

• Lacks an aggregated view of all project costs and profitability

• Requires tedious manual steps to integrate new job sites or contractor boards into a master dashboard

• Falls short on mobile optimization for teams constantly in the field

• Often incurs additional costs with plug-ins to handle the advanced functionalities you need (like complex quoting, contractor tracking, or managing a large number of projects at once)

For a business that relies on precise, real-time data across multiple job sites and contractors, these limitations can add up to lost time and missed opportunities.

So don’t fall prey to their omnipresent marketing, and skip this one.

Is ClickUp the Best Project Management Software for Construction Companies?

ClickUp positions itself as the “one app to replace them all,” and for construction companies, it does have a strong case. Here’s why:

Robust Customization

ClickUp is the most customizable project management software on the market.

This means you can build a solution for almost any workflow you have.

If you have a specialized quoting, scheduling or resource management process, ClickUp will be suitable for you.

Internal & External Automation

ClickUp has a huge variety of native automation features in the app, meaning you can automate a huge volume of repetitive tasks without using any other tools.

It also has vast integration capabilities it Zapier & Make, making no & low-code solutions a Breeze. It will easily integrate with your accounting software and the rest of your tech stack.

Mobile App
With a powerful mobile app, your team can update project statuses, upload photos, and manage tasks on the go, ensuring that no job site is ever out of sync with the office.

Comprehensive Contractor Management

Easily assign tasks, share project updates, and monitor progress across multiple contractors and subcontractors, all within one unified system.

Real-Time Dashboards and Analytics

Monitor budgets, track project milestones, and view profitability reports in real time, empowering you to make informed decisions quickly.

Again, the dashboards are highly customizable, so you can see a view of almost anything you want.

Document Management, Custom Fields & More

ClickUp allows you to create docs, as well as upload any file type to a job as an attachment.

The vast array of custom fields you can create will allow you to track any driver on a project & get great reporting on them.

AI-Forward

ClickUp is heavily adopting AI & rolling out many new features to help its user base.

One of the best features is the ClickUp brain - ask it anything such as: “Is Brian going to be overcapacity if we take on a new project?”, “Did Emily respond to my comment about the bid on the Steel City Job?” and ClickUp will give you the answer.

Hunting down the correct task & information becomes a thing of the past, so you can focus on what you do best.

Pricing

ClickUp is also extremely budget-friendly compared to construction-specific tools.

So what’s not to like about ClickUp?

Since it’s a general software, it does require customization to your workflow, whereas the other construction software are more “ready-to-go”.

It also can be a little overwhelming at first due to the amount of things you can do with it.

But if you value customization and you’re willing to work with an expert to tailor it to your workflows, it could be a great solution.

Why Notion Isn’t Designed for Construction Project Management

Don’t get me wrong—Notion is fantastic for note-taking, documentation, and organizing standard operating procedures. However, it’s not built to handle the rigorous demands of construction project management:

• Minimal automation capabilities mean manual workarounds for tasks like quoting or scheduling.

• Clunky time tracking and reporting make it tough to monitor project profitability.

• Lacks the robust dashboards and contractor management features critical for complex construction projects.

• The amount of building you’d have to do to make it a viable solution would be a waste of time for your company.

Stick to Notion for your blueprints, permits, and SOPs, and choose a dedicated project management tool for the heavy lifting.

Asana’s Limitations in a Construction Environment

At first glance, Asana might seem like a solid choice for managing tasks and projects. However, when it comes to the specialized needs of a construction business, Asana falls short:

• Cost Scalability: With higher-priced tiers that don’t always scale well for larger, complex projects.

• Limited Mobile Functionality: Not always ideal for teams out in the field.

• Insufficient Contractor Tracking: It’s tough to manage multiple subcontractors and integrate detailed quoting or profitability metrics.

• Fewer Customization Options: Lacking the deep level of automation and custom views (like Gantt charts or comprehensive dashboards) that a construction company needs to monitor project performance and budgets.

Conclusion: The Best Project Management Software for Construction Businesses Today

Best for large construction & enterprise: Procore

Best budget construction-specific for the less tech savvy: Contractor Foreman

Best for customization, integration & value: ClickUp

If you want to stick with a construction-specific option, Procore or Contractor Foreman would be the way to go.

But if customization & scalable pricing matters, ClickUp stands out as the best construction management software.

Want help setting up ClickUp for your construction business? Shoot us a message to see how we can support your team’s journey to better project management.