Best Construction Accounting Software of 2024

And Wave uses both physical and digital protection to keep your money safe. Gain an accurate understanding of your income, expenses, and cash flow data with easy-to-understand visual graphs and charts. If you want to dig deeper, you can export reports into spreadsheets to take a closer look at where your income is coming from, and which expenses are affecting your bottom line. This construction bookkeeping post covers the certified payroll requirements for contractors working on federal construction projects.

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• It’s easiest to meet nearly every need on your list when you consider several potential accounting platforms instead of only one.
• Hybrid architecture is a combination of both, though the setup may vary depending on the solution.
• When you upload project information to share with your team or clients, you’re all on the same digital page.
• It can tell you what the real costs are versus the actual costs, the percentage of each job completed, cash flow and profitability.
• Vista makes tracking expenses, profitability, and other metrics at the company, department, and work order levels easy.
• Touted as America’s #1 construction accounting software, Foundation is another popular option for contractors and small or medium-sized construction businesses.

NerdWallet’s construction accounting software roundup favors products that have industry-specific features or integrations and prioritize job costing tools. Job costing, in particular, is one of the main factors that sets construction companies apart from other types of businesses. Their books revolve around service-based projects as opposed to the sale of particular items. For more information about our star ratings process, see how we rate small-business accounting software in general.

Can accounting software handle the complexities of subcontractor payments?

• Features include easy-to-use invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting, making it simple for your team to manage core accounting tasks.
• It was easy for us to automate recurring invoices and payment reminders, customize our invoices to include company branding and request deposits.
• ComputerEase covers functions like AP, AR, bid day management, equipment costing, and estimating.
• General accounting software is usually developed to be used by multiple industry types and, therefore, doesn’t offer features unique to any one industry.
• The dashboard is customizable, making it suitable for a variety of construction jobs, including electrical, HVAC, home builders, land developers, and plumbing.
• Today’s leading construction accounting platforms offer standard security features including data encryption, secure credential tokenization and more.

Aimed at smaller construction teams, Sage 100 Contractor provides many of the same benefits and tools included in its larger offerings. Not every organization needs multi-company and inter-company features, but nearly every contractor needs a more effective way to price jobs, track expenses and measure profitability over time. Sage 100 does just that for contractors running a more close-knit operation. Take a look at the customer support offerings when browsing construction accounting software. You’ll be able to get into the weeds with budget management tools that allow you to go from budget to change order requests instantly. We dug into 14 of the top construction accounting software platforms on the market and found these 10 to be the best.

How To Choose Construction Accounting Software

Choosing the right accounting software for contractors can be tough with so many options out there. You need to manage your finances, track expenses, and handle invoicing efficiently, but figuring out which tool is best can be overwhelming. Look for an accounting solution that will support all the other aspects of your contractor business. This includes details such as bids and proposals, payroll management, or expense tracking—all of which directly impact the overall profitability of your business. Contractor Foreman has all these solutions, as well as customizable reports for project evaluations. The Quick Books integration makes Contractor Foreman a top choice as the right construction management software for your contractor business.

• Features include project cost tracking, automated billing, and real-time financial reporting, helping your team manage project budgets and performance.
• Features include automated invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, and project management.
• There are a LOT of working points and a lot of tiny steps that are required to make certain workflows function properly.
• Buildertrend provides real-time financial reporting so that you can monitor profitability as your projects progress.
• If you are on a budget and comparing actual to estimated costs is important to you, consider QuickBooks Enterprise.
• We were impressed with how much Zoho Books streamlines invoicing, even for users paying the least possible amount for the platform.

Its feature-rich platform starts by allowing you to manage multiple companies where you differentiate projects. You can create reports instantly, helping you with planning and forecasting. The whole system has bank integration so that you don’t have to waste time with time-consuming reconciliations. Accounting software isn’t just meant to track expenses and manage ongoing project costs. It’s also designed to help fortify your bidding strategy so that you can earn the jobs you want to do at rates that are feasible for both you and your clients. Your construction accounting software will help you solidify winning bids and control your budgets to boost profitability.

• Accounting software makes this task easy, as it does with all other expense capture and organizing needs.
• Our third Sage offering on the list, Sage Intacct Construction, is its enterprise-grade solution tailored to the construction industry.
• With a range of packages and services to choose from, this flexible, cloud-based program helps take the stress and hassle out of accounting for your construction business.
• When it comes to financials, the software offers bid management, change orders and purchase orders (POs).
• Overbilling occurs when a contractor bills for contracted labor and materials prior to that work actually being completed.
• Most importantly, you’ll increase your profit margins thanks to meticulous records of all time and money spent on a project.
• A construction management software may sometimes lack a traditional accounting setup of accounts payable, accounts receivable, and a general ledger.

Sage 100 Contractor

Although home construction projects and small business contractors are often exempt if the size of the project and the size of the contractor are within their defined limits. They define small contracts as any project to be completed within two years and define a small contractor as having $25 million in gross receipts (over a three-year period). Revenue is recognized when cash is collected and expensed when cash is spent. The difference between cash in and cash out will determine your income or losses.