5 Best Construction Accounting Software (2024)

If you think construction work is hard, you may be right. Carrying bricks here and there and instructing workers or even being a construction worker yourself can be tricky. But there’s a lot more that goes behind the brick-and-mortar part of a construction project.

In any construction project, the administrative staff must keep track of the processes and account for them as efficiently as possible. This can get way too tedious if done manually. Luckily, some fantastic accounting software for the construction business can make the job done in no time.

Job costing, complicated payroll processing, machinery management, subcontracting, and other financial management procedures are all easier with the best accounting software for construction. A work costing framework is usually built into systems, allowing accounting staff to assign job costs by job. This ability distinguishes construction accounting systems from the more common generic accounting systems used in other industries.

Construction companies and contractors can be more effective, remain organized, and increase productivity by using construction accounting software.

Upfront Conclusion

The best construction accounting software right now is CMiC and Jonas Premier.

Why you should Have Accounting Software For Construction

The latest advanced accounting systems can provide more information about the viability of job tasks as well as the business overall. This is due to more precise data collection, fewer mistakes, and improved reporting methods for analyzing the data in the system. When compared to generic accounting systems, job costing alone would provide a significant increase in reporting.

When contractors’ systems aren’t up to par, they also resort to using spreadsheets to monitor job costs and other data that isn’t handled by the accounting information system. As a consequence, data is double-entered, spreadsheets contain bugs, and errors occur. A good Accounting system will ensure this doesn’t happen and reduce errors.

The company would be better informed when making forecasts in the future after having a better understanding of job costs through projects. Employment cost reports from previous jobs can be used to spot patterns in material and labor costs and unexpected costs, and places where jobs appear to go beyond the budget. All of this adds up to more cost control. Estimators can use these factors to improve their offers in the future.

Characteristics of a Good Accounting Software For Construction

Job costing, general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, purchase orders, payroll management, and financial reporting are at the heart of every top-rated accounting system.

Construction accounting software can endorse the industry’s most popular billing formats, including time and materials, AIA, progress or percent completion, maintenance, and cost-plus. There are tons of features that you need to look out for in the best accounting software for construction.

The best accounting software for construction should allow fixed asset accounting, track equipment, depreciation, etc. They should allow for contract management and inventory management, keep track of time, and be able to give you easy-to-understand and accurate financial statements.

If you have one of the best accounting software for construction, then the whole office job becomes so much easier. Some of the add-on modules in accounting software may even allow time tracking, which can prove to be an asset for the whole job.

1. CMiC

CMiC offers business software for construction firms, general and specialist builders, heavy and highway contractors, and construction managers. It was established in 1974 in Ontario, Canada. It’s used for both small and large companies, and it’s designed especially for the construction sector. It can be used without any prior knowledge of accounting.

Uses

CMiC enables you to see a project’s entire life cycle, from initiation to completion. CMiC includes everything you need to get started, such as

General ledger
Accounts payable
Accounts receivables
Financial administration
Financial planning
Budgeting

Some project controls features are also offered, such as:

Change requests
Subcontractors
Offers
Procurement
Expense and budget management

Features

With CMiC, you’ll be able to handle the platform, emails, and documents with Managing Projects.

Business planning and human capital management (HCM), which deals with personnel issues such as recruiting, payroll, and so on, can also be handled with CMiC. Material acquisition, sourcing, and inventory management are also part of asset management. It also has a comprehensive collection of smartphone apps.

To Break it down, CMiC will give you the following conveniences:

It allows you to monitor the cash flows in your construction project and predict future cash flows.
It gives you the facility of making a general ledger and other statements.
You get information related to accounts receivables, accounts payable, and budgeting.
You get access to automated financial controls and allows IT risk management.
You can manage your assets and plan the enterprise, and much more.

2. Jonas Premier

Jonas Premier is very easy-to-use accounting software for construction projects. The interface is simple and offers a lot of convenience for people with no previous accounting experience. It is undoubtedly one of the best accounting software for construction.

Jonas Premier is a subsidiary of Constellation Software, Inc., and is part of the Jonas Construction Software Company, which was established in Canada. This company aimed to create an integrated construction software package. Jonas Premier is accounting software that is hosted in the cloud.

Adaptable interface

It can be used to allocate sales and control expenses. The interface is adaptable to a wide range of building projects, including electrical, HVAC, building contractors, land developers, etc.

Uses

Accounting for numerous departments or divisions, scheduling, process automation, planning, and dispatch are all functions that can be managed. Inventory control, work costing, and real-time monitoring of receivables and payables are some conveniences it gives you.

Features

Some of the features that Jonas Premier offers to its users are as follows:

Jonas Premier allows you to conduct complete audit trials.
You can create accounts based on multiple divisions and multiple companies.
Jonas Premier allows Job Costing and job and dispatch scheduling fluently.
You can conduct granular reporting.
With Jonas premier, you can manage your inventory, machinery, equipment, and documents.
Workflows can be automated and optimized easily.
You also get union reporting features and payroll features like federal remittances and end-of-the-year reporting.
If you have problems using Jonas Premier, there are numerous videos and tutorials available to help you set up your accounts.

3. COINS

COINS has been providing software to the construction sector for over 30 years. Its major clients include builders, specialty and general contractors, engineers, housebuilders, and creatives. Accounting, project management, logistics, and supply chain management services are also included.

Easy to Use

COINS is designed to be simple to use, so no prior accounting knowledge is necessary.

Pricing

It does not ask for multi-tiered pricing because it has so many functions and includes so many different forms of construction industries. Alternatively, it provides tailored pricing options based on the requirements and specifications. This means you get a package for only the services that your business or project needs.

Uses

It is a cloud-based framework that includes accounting, work costing, human resource management, and service management systems. It’s aimed at mid-to-large-sized businesses, and it can be used by virtually every building division or trade.

Onboarding workers, creating schedules, scheduling sick days, and managing payroll details for employees and subcontractors are all part of the payroll and HR division. You and your team will work on projects together and assign revenue and expenditures per project.

Some of the modules of COINS include:

Accounts payable.
General ledger.
Work expense.
Accounts receivable.
Service management.
Accounting.
HR.
CRM.
Equipment management.
Procurement.
BIM.
Project management.

Features

Some features offered by COINS are below:

You can get details of accounts payable, accounts receivables, a general ledger, etc.
You can easily determine the profitability of a task with COINS.
You can process sales orders.
You can automate job cost updates.
With COINS, you can have a call management system and job management reports as well and much more.
You can accrue your construction site’s finance charges through coins.
You can integrate COINS with web services, e-commerce platforms, warehouse management platforms, and even built-in apps.

In short, COINS gives you all you could possibly need to manage a project efficiently. You can handle the entire process quickly and conveniently. In light of the convenience and features, this accounting software offers, we place it on high ranks as the best accounting software for construction.

4. BuilderTrend

Builders, renovators, specialist contractors, housebuilders, remodelers, and general contractors may use Buildertrend’s construction management solution. As the name clearly suggests, BuilderTrend is just the perfect tool for construction workers and builders.

Keeping in mind the multitude of features it provides to users, it has undoubtedly earned a spot for itself as one of the Best Accounting Software for construction.

Uses

Their core functionality is to expedite every element of the construction process, including Estimating, Scheduling, communication management, management software, and much more. BuilderTrend, Their team, offers unmatched assistance at every turn. They believe in Buildertrend in providing an all-in-one approach to solve actual issues and change the way the world builds.

Customer Support

BuilderTrend assigns an account executive to each company that can provide support and training. Personalized branding, regular webinars, support talk, the BuilderTrend Learning Community, a 24/7 assistance section, and BuilderTrend University are all available to project teams and construction professionals.

Pricing

Buildertrend’s pricing is based on a month-to-month plan. Pricing that is tailored to your company’s needs is available. This framework can be accessed remotely via a computer or a mobile device since it is a cloud-based platform. For construction project preparation on the go, the Buildertrend app is available for iOS and Android devices.

Features

Some of the conveniences and features offered by BuilderTrend are:

Project scheduling.
Project management.
Financial planning.
Financial management.
Customer relationship management.
Service management.
A built-in customer relationship management (CRM) framework.
Bid requests.
Project proposals.
Various pre-sale tools.
Scheduling.
Budgeting.
Adjust order and selection management.
Warranty requests.
Payment processing tools and more.

5. Foundation

FOUNDATION has the resources builders want, with efficient job cost accounting and functionality tailored to the construction industry. Contractors can configure their devices with extended functionality to get exactly what they need.

Foundation is a construction accounting platform designed specifically for commercial businesses, industrial contractors, government agencies, and other businesses that operate outside of a fixed location.

Uses

The scheme recognizes that construction accounting differs significantly from that used in other sectors and companies, allowing contractors and employees to operate in a variety of different places, unions, occupations, and jurisdictions by only using a standard timesheet.

Foundation Software provides a truly integrated, automated, and flexible solution for automating the manufacturing and management of complex and critical financial data in the construction industry.

Pricing

Pricing details are not mentioned explicitly, so you will need to come in contact with the Foundation team so they can come up with a pricing plan according to your needs.

Some of the areas covered under this are:

Retainage.
Prevailing wage rates.
Certified payroll.
Purchase orders and subcontracts.
Equipment use.
AIAs.
Accounts payable.
Union fringes,
Lump-sum costs.
Per-unit costs.
Fiscal periods.
Tax spending.
Labor costs.
Telecommunications etc.

Features

As said before, Foundation gives construction projects a route to customization. It offers builders and construction workers precisely what they ask for. Some of the features include:

Project Management.
Scheduling.
Document imaging.
Service dispatch.
Document routing.
Fixed assets.
Unit price billing.
Consolidated general ledger.
CPA Audit/reviews.
Executive dashboard,
Inventory.
Print and certified payroll formats.
Labor burden management.
Job costing.
Report Builder and much more.

So construction workers can get access to hundreds of automated features with a single click.

Conclusion

So if you’re looking into the different kinds of accounting software for construction processes, then this list gives you your best options. Other software like QuickBooks may be helpful to you if you’re solely looking for ease of use. However, the top 5 are the best accounting software for construction explicitly designed for use in the construction sector.

These five accounting systems for construction are among the best for builders to plan, execute, budget, and monitor their projects. Each has its own set of benefits and drawbacks, so do your homework to comprehend what each has to say entirely.