Did you know that the construction industry is one of the biggest in the world? It also ranks among the most profitable. If you’re a construction business owner, wouldn’t it be great to keep track of your finances on your Mac? If you’re in search of a good accounting software for your construction business, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our top best picks for this kind of job.
Here is a rundown of Top Construction Accounting Software. These software help contractors, small construction business or an individual to manage there books smoothly and efficiently with less time and cost.
Sage 100 Contractor. Best overall accounting software for construction.
Sage 100 Contractor established itself as a popular choice among contractors under its former name of Sage Master Builder. Contractors using the less feature-rich accounting package Sage 50 (formerly Peachtree Accounting) migrated to Sage 100 Contractor to take advantage of the enhanced estimate and job costing ability. Additionally, contractors find Sage 100 Contractor reasonably priced.
PENTA Construction Management Software. Best accounting software for large contractors or construction companies.
For construction companies performing large projects like industrial or utility construction, the most feature-rich option is PENTA Construction Management and ERP software. With a robust Oracle database backend, PENTA offers a unified alternative to oversee accounting and payroll and equipment and inspection management. However, this software’s price and management overhead mean investing in PENTA should not be entered into lightly by any company despite its size.
Knowify. Best cloud-based accounting software for small to midsize contractors or companies.
Knowify is an ideal cloud accounting solution for small to midsize construction businesses, especially those without the staff or infrastructure to run software on-premises. Since it’s a cloud-based option, it allows users to update and manage everything from timecards to invoices in real-time as long as they have access to a Wi-Fi or a cellular network. Knowify also offers a reasonable monthly rate, making it an ideal option for small contractors.
Jonas Enterprise
Jonas Construction Software has had a long history of success, with over 1000 contractors in a variety of construction trades including service management, project management mechanical, HVAC, electrical, among many others. Jonas’ greatest benefit is its full integration of accounting into other modules. With over 40 modules, Jonas helps construction companies by providing solutions that ensures accurate and reliable accounting, and can also be relied upon for other necessary functions including reporting, equipment management and job costing.
Jonas Premier
Premier is a true cloud, all-in-one accounting, job cost, project, document and drawing management solution, specifically designed to meet the needs of General Contractors, Land Developers, Design Builders, and Home Builders. Voted #1 by Gartner, Premier is trusted by thousands of forward thinking, progressive construction companies. Premier is a fully integrated solution for office and field staff, operating on Macs, PCs, and any mobile device. With a SAAS model and unlimited training, it is low risk and easy for any business to get started.
Jonas Premier is part of the Jonas Construction Software company, founded in Canada in 1990 as a way to build a better-integrated construction software solution and is now a division of Constellation Software, Inc. It’s used throughout North America by construction companies, land developers, home builders, and general contractors.
It’s cloud-based and the accounting software can be used by multiple companies and divisions to allocate revenue and expenses between jobs. It also includes a customizable management dashboard that can be used differently by various types of contractors such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and more.
Jonas Premier features include:
- Granular reporting
- Complete audit trails
- Multiple accounting periods open
- Multi division and multi-company accounting
- Accurate real-time reporting and tracking with general ledger accounts receivable and payable
- Automated workflow
- Job and dispatch scheduling
- Job costing
- Document, inventory, and equipment management
It also offers payroll and union reporting features including federal remittances and year-end reporting and can be integrated with apps including Plangrid, Contigo, Microsoft Project, and more.
No bookkeeping experience is required to use Jonas Premier and there is an unlimited free training, videos, webinars, and eBooks available to help you get set up.
Pricing for Jonas Premier is as follows:
- Implementation fee: Starts at $20,000 and includes one-on-one training sessions for six weeks, unlimited group training and unlimited support, designated account manager, and unlimited document storage
- Monthly: $199/concurrent user/month with month-to-month commitment
- Annually: $189/concurrent user/month with an annual commitment
- No hidden fees and everything is included
We chose Jonas Premier as our best overall construction accounting program because of its longevity in business, it specifically caters to the construction industry, and the accounting software is full of robust, easy-to-use features that are available on-the-go.
Vista by Viewpoint
This accounting software is targeted at project management and specializes in real-time reporting, showing you exactly how your business is doing. Features include powerful cost projections, W.I.P. reporting system, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and cash management.
CMiC
A computer software company founded in Ontario, Canada in 1974, CMiC provides enterprise software for construction companies, general and specialty contractors, heavy and highway contractors, and project owners. It’s used by family-owned businesses and national-scale enterprises and is specifically built for the construction industry. You do not need any accounting knowledge to use it.
It offers full payroll services including employee life cycle management, talent acquisition, human resource management, payroll, and employee self-services. It works well with other systems and can be used with pre-built integrations, API bundles, integration adapters, and project and financial data can be shared across systems. Revenue and expenses can be allocated to specific projects and individual companies. CMiC can also help with scaling your business and changing management teams.
Features of CMiC include:
- Budgeting
- Corporate and project forecasting
- General ledger
- Accounts receivable and accounts payable
- Monitor cash flow and optimize spending tools
- Automated financial controls
- Corporate risk management
- Asset management
- Enterprise planning
Pricing is available upon request and is dependent on features needed, type of company, construction business volume, and more.
CMiC is our choice for runner-up to the best overall construction accounting software program because of its long track record in the industry, robust feature offering, and because it is tailored specifically to the construction industry.
Buildertrend
Buildertrend was founded in 2006 in Omaha, Nebraska as a better way to manage construction projects. It’s used by builders, commercial and specialty contractors, construction companies, and remodelers around the world.
Buildertrend can be integrated with QuickBooks, Excel, Dropbox, Facebook, and more of your favorite apps. The software includes a pre-sales process, project management, accounting tools, and customer management including support and training.
Other features of Buildertrend include:
- Automatically generating line item invoices
- Lien processing
- ROI calculator
- Accept online payments
- Compare estimate vs actual
- Use the app to track finances on the go
- Purchase orders
- Time clocks
No accounting experience is necessary to use the software.
Buildertrend doesn’t have as many robust accounting features as some of the other options, so we recommend integrating it with QuickBooks, Xero, or your own accounting software. You also need to integrate it with a payroll company because it doesn’t include payroll features.
Pricing is as follows:
- No contracts, month-to-month pricing with a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited users and unlimited jobs with tiered pricing
- Core: $99 per month for the first two months and $299 per month thereafter; includes financial tools, streamline project management, budgeting, and communication with employees and clients
- Pro: $299 per month for the first two months and $499 per month thereafter; includes all of the Core accounting tools plus more than a dozen advanced features, such as advanced reporting, tracking bids, and QuickBooks integration
We chose Buildertrend as our best construction accounting software for beginners because it is easy to use for companies of all sizes and bookkeeping levels. It also offers onsite training, online webinars, and customer support.
COINS
In business since 1986, COINS (Construction Industry Solutions) provides software to the construction industry including home builders, specialty and general contractors, engineers, and designers. It includes accounting, project management, operations, and supply chain management. It includes a payroll and HR division which is for onboarding employees, building schedules, managing vacation time, and managing payroll information for employees and subcontractors. You can collaborate on projects with your team and allocate revenue and expenses on a per-project basis.
It can be integrated with a client’s in-house app as well as external web services, warehouse management, CRM, e-commerce, and payment systems. It was built to manage the full product life cycle on one platform.
Key features of COINS include:
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable
- Accrue finance charges
- Automated job cost updates with billings and cash receipts
- General ledger
- Reporting and business intelligence
- Sales order processing
- Determine job profitability
- Call management system
- Job management reports and 1099 forms
No accounting experience is needed to use COINS as it’s designed to be easy to use.
Because it offers so many features and covers multiple types of construction industries, it doesn’t offer tiered or upfront pricing. Instead, it offers custom pricing solutions based on your company’s needs so you’ll need to contact the company for a quote.
COINS is our top choice for construction accounting software with extra features because of the substantial amount of features important to the construction industry including human resources, operations management, asset management, and project management. Users can also share communication logs, drawing sets, daily reports, and more.
Conclusion
Here is a great list of the top construction accounting software. Every choice has its own pros and cons, but all of the options listed above would provide wonderful services for your small construction business.