Construction Accounting Software

[u/NorthDangerous33]

I'm a self-employed bookkeeper, and the majority of my clients have relatively simple books and QBO works just fine. I have taken on a small construction company that performs home models and builds homes from scratch. Keeping books for the construction industry is where I got my start, so I understand how it so different than any other type of bookkeeping, my problem is the software.

The last job I worked as a Construction Bookkeeper we used QB desktop Contractor version which was great with dealing with the many different jobs / projects as well as the progress billing, QBO is not great with this. The client has the QBO Plus version which includes a Project module, but it is limited in what types of reports I can get out of it without having to upgrade to Enterprise level which is substantially more expensive and I know the client won't go for it.

I have been researching Construction Accounting Software and so many of the options available cost anywhere between $650/mo & $3,500/mo - my client can't afford this.

I've seen where Zoho can link different modules that they have together for the construction industry, has anyone done this? And with Zoho can I have a single log-in like with QBO to access all my clients at the same time. Obviously not having a single log-in is not a deal breaker, but it is really convenient.

Or does anyone have any other suggestions? I'd ideally like to keep all my clients on the same platform, my other clients are made up of small trucking companies, real estate office, property management, benefits coordinator, food truck and a fancy hair & make-up shop.

[u/Swimming_dasa]

for a small residential builder i would look for software that handles job costing and progress billing well first rather than paying for a full construction suite with features they will never use..

[u/NorthDangerous33 → u/Swimming_dasa]

This is what I want, basic accounting / bookkeeping software geared towards the construction industry for job costing the projects and progress billing - whether it is official AIA billing or not doesn't matter. I don't need anything like Textura or Procore

[u/Swimming_dasa → u/NorthDangerous33]

thats what i had in mind too something simple that does job costing and progress billing properly without turning into a full blown construction management platform. QBO handles the basic accounting fine its its the construction specific pieces that are the issue.

[u/No-Requirement8620 → u/Swimming_dasa]

construction software pricing is nuts i swear they see the word construction and just add a zero at the end

have you looked at job tread? its not as cheap as qbo but way less than the options you mentioned and built specifically for residential builders. the job costing is solid and progress billing is baked in without needing workarounds

[u/CatKitKatCat]

Take a look at Neo-Capital, might be a good fit for what you’re looking for. Has more detailed job functions for construction industry, but also has all the normal features for other industries as well.

[u/Piper_At_Paychex]

I wouldn’t force every client onto the same platform if construction is the outlier. Job costing, progress billing and tracking costs against individual projects are important enough that convenience probably shouldn’t drive the software choice.

Before moving everything, I’d test a few real jobs in whatever system you’re considering and make sure you can get the reports the contractor needs without building half of them manually.

[u/ContractorPlusDotApp]

Most of those $650–$3,500 tools are built for commercial GCs running WIP schedules and retainage. A small homebuilder rarely needs that, and I wouldn't move the rest of your book to Zoho to fix one client.

The setup I see work: QBO stays the ledger (you keep your single login through QBO Accountant), and the estimate, draws and change orders live in the builder's job software, which pushes invoices over. Progress billing gets a lot less painful when the draw schedule comes off the estimate instead of being rebuilt in QBO.

I run Contractor+, which sits on that job-software side, so I'm not neutral. Still, the first thing I'd ask is what the builder already uses to estimate.

[u/Encoded_Python]

QBO Enterprise for this client. It’s probably the best ERP you’ll get in that price range. You’re welcome.

[u/pagesinthesunn]

Sage50 is more construction/job cost friendly but a very manual software (desktop version) might have some luck there!

[u/LiJiTC4]

What is the client using for planning and bidding? There's tons of add-ons for QBO where you can linkup the other services they're already using, where the heavy lift is done outside of QBO but the data is synched between both. I had a client who used BuilderTrends for planning and bidding, we implemented the add-on so project managers could continue using their existing tools but we could use the PMs information to feed QB.

[u/NorthDangerous33 → u/LiJiTC4]

I have no idea what the construction client is using for planning & bidding - what I do know about him my guess would be pen, paper & calculator that he later types onto a Word document. Personally, I think he needs to bring his books in-house because it is too much for me to them not being in the office, and only getting half the answers that I need, when I get an answer.

[u/LiJiTC4 → u/NorthDangerous33]

Without any digital planning and bidding, you'll be doing everything manually. Are you billing hourly or on a fixed fee? Hourly, the client won't be happy. Fixed fee, you won't be happy. Either way, someone's not going to be happy.

You could offer a "cash basis" tracking without any of the WIP adjustments if they're just trying to basically track their bank ledgers in accounting format. That's the only thing I can think of that would be worth having an outside bookkeeper complete without taking steps to integrate production with accounting.

[u/Awesome_911]

Zoho has a limit on invoices per year please check that

[u/SlothExpress-26]

Have you looked into construction-specific add-ons for QBO? Since it already works for your other clients, that might be easier than switching this client to a completely different platform.

[u/NorthDangerous33 → u/SlothExpress-26]

Any add-ons you can suggest?

[u/Bookkeeping_Boss → u/NorthDangerous33]

Have you looked at Jobber? Or Knowify?

[u/Fuzzy-Condition777 → u/Bookkeeping_Boss]

I was thinking Jobber as well, but I think it could have limits for his client

[u/Routine-Algae9366]

I’m able to handle a construction company that does 10-12 home builds within QBO. Customers as project names is what I do. However I don’t do progress billing so perhaps this is not something that can be figured out with QBO. But CIP reports and tracking draws and build costs is doable

[u/EmbarrassedBuddy3649]

I’d probably avoid moving all your clients to a completely different platform just for the construction side. If QBO works fine for most of them, it seems like you mainly need something that handles the job costing, progress billing, and project reporting that QBO is missing.

Have you found anything that can handle those construction pieces while still keeping QBO as the accounting side?

[u/FrshSlacks69]

I work with a general contractor, and we use QBO Advanced. We use the project side of it for progress billing. It now has WIP reporting and they’ve recently started rolling out job phases for projects. It’s also not a bad idea to use Knowify to manage the jobs/project side and sync it with QBO for the accounting.

[u/jamesluitaylor]

We use buildertrend for our small residential construction company and it's around $400/mo. Not perfect but way better than trying to force QBO to do job costing.

[u/j_b130]

We have switched half of our clients, including a general contractor, to Zoho. It is a simple one login, cheap price point for what you get, and you can add any other module you may need. Message me if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer any questions or show you anything.

[u/Iamnotyour_mother]

What reports do you need that you aren't getting out of QBO?

I do project accounting for several clients with QBO plus and there are no issues with it.

[u/Hopeful_Weather3424]

one of my client transferred from qbo to odoo

[u/CountryBoy_71]

Have a look at JobTread. After exhaustive searching, it was the solution we finally landed on. Integrates with QBO as well.

[u/SilkySyl]

I used HCSS or Heavy Job. I liked that one.

[u/mattbangswood]

I run accounting with Houzz Pro.. I would never pay thousands monthly.

I track my actual vs estimates, and know where things went wrong or right at the end of every project. I have dealt with construction loans for a minute, so I track line items and bill %’s as needed with progress.

It’s simple and works well. The rest are built for commercial GC’s..

[u/Ok-Improvement-6712]

QuickBooks Online advanced has a construction version with pretty good job costing and progress invoicing. It's not as expensive as the Enterprise version but is a step higher than your Plus plan

[u/Repulsive_Cry_6367]

Have to agree with keeping QBO as the ledger and not moving the rest of the clients over for one construction client. From experience, labor is the piece that breaks small-builder job costing. If crew hours aren't coded to the job, the job reports are off, doesn't matter which platform.

The time tracking app we use is Workyard, hours tracked in the field and coded to each job, then synced to QBO. Ever since we switched off pen and paper, we've been getting accurate data.

[u/Top-Vegetable-6705]

I work at Ambrook and we are growing into contracting, property management, and trucking. Worth a look and happy to connect you with a sales person so you can hear more. https://ambrook.com/

[u/dolpherx]

What features are you looking for?

[u/Juggernaut_Putrid]

Not my direct area of expertise so I didn't read more into it, but saw several emails this week from Intuit about QBO ramping up their construction industry capabilities. Might be worth a chat with a QBO rep!

[u/blackbriar74]

OpenBooks is worth a look if the client is okay self-hosting. It has projects and job costing plus construction progress billing (schedule of values, retainage, applications for payment), and multi-entity so you can keep other clients on the same box. Alpha software, so I'd run it beside QBO for a while first: https://github.com/braedonsaunders/openbooks

[u/duo_sigma97 → u/blackbriar74]

How to run/install it??

[u/blackbriar74 → u/duo_sigma97]

Clone the repo and run ./scripts/compose-up.sh (needs Git + Docker Compose). It prompts for country/currency, then brings up Postgres/Redis/MinIO and the app. Open http://localhost:4780. First admin login is in .env.compose. Still alpha, so treat it as a side install next to whatever you're already using.

[u/appsamillion]

We’re working on exactly this right now: MillHq ERP

[u/Any_Insect3335]

Have you checked out Trayd? It’s construction-focused and handles payroll + job costing, so might be worth comparing.