A good construction job costing software takes into account labor, materials, and overhead, as well as keeping change orders in mind since change orders are often the number one culprit when a project goes over budget. That’s why it’s important to get the best job costing software for construction.
What is Job Costing in Construction?
Construction job costing helps you keep track of your expenses and stick to a budget when working on a project. It breaks down the cost of materials, labor, and overhead of individual project tasks to help keep a project from going over budget.
Using the information collected with job costing software can help you figure out where to make adjustments to make your company more profitable. Using software helps eliminate errors in tracking expenses and is the most efficient way to do job cost.
Best Job Costing Software Tools for Construction
1. ClockShark 2. InEight 3. Workflow Max 4. eSub 5. Projul 6. Corecon 7. CoConstruct 8. Buildertrend 9. Knowify 10. Premier 11. PowerTools 12. A-Systems 13. PrioSoft 14. Tradify 15. Housecall Pro 16. Quoter
The Benefits of Implementing a Construction Job Cost Software
Job costing software makes job costing much easier and more accurate. There are many benefits to using a job costing software, even for not-so-tech-savvy people.
Track Progress on Job Details
When you have good job costing software, you can check in real-time to see where the job stands.
Accurate Client Billing
Construction accounting is difficult without accurate information. However, using job costing software ensures you’re providing accurate invoices for your clients with transparency, which improves your customer service.
Track Profit Margin on Every Job
Cash flow is a common problem in construction and makes accurate construction accounting even more important. With job costing software, you can track your profit margins on each job, to help avoid cash flow disruptions.
Better Future Bids
Referencing previous construction jobs you can get accurate amounts to include on future bids so you don’t risk over- or under-bidding a job.
What to Look for in a Job Costing Software for Construction
There are many options out there and while some of the best construction job costing software may be out of your budget, even the most expensive ones may not have everything you need. Here are some of the things to look for when establishing your job costing system.
Enables Crew to Capture Data From the Office or the Field
Your employees need to be able to track job costs wherever they are, and this is particularly important for construction firms that often have one or more job sites and/or projects. Having to keep track of daily expenses and report at the end of the day, makes job costing difficult and increases the risk of errors. Your job costing software should allow employees in the field to record expenses
Assigns Jobs or Tasks to Specific Employees
When your job costing software allows you to assign jobs or tasks to specific employees, you get a much better picture of how much time is spent doing which jobs and tasks for each employee.
Integrates With Payroll Software
A good job costing software will integrate with your payroll software to make it easier to run payroll and do accounting activities.
Tracks Expenses
Of course, you need it to track expenses whether it be travel time, labor, or administrative tasks.
Accurate reporting
Reports are necessary to keep track of how your business is doing. A good job costing software will allow you to run multiple types of reports based on the information you’re looking for.
What is the Best Construction Job Costing Software?
There are a lot of different types of job costing software available, but the best one for your company will depend on your needs, company size, and budget. Here are the 16 best ones we’ve found.
1. ClockShark
ClockShark is a job costing tracking app built with construction and field service businesses in mind. Its powerful job costing feature makes your job costing process simpler, yet more detailed than ever, in less than half the time.
ClockShark lets project managers and supervisors see what’s happening in real-time, so they know who’s working on what, when. Workers can share information and files so their managers can communicate more effectively.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
Starts at just $8/month per user+ $7/month base fee.
Free 14-day trial.
Save Time and Money with ClockShark
2. InEight
InEight is a cloud-based software created to help construction companies with job management. The program uses artificial intelligence to help create schedules and gauge risks and comes with project cost management tools to keep projects on budget.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, and Android
Cost
Subscription-based varies
3. Workflow Max
Workflow Max is a widely used cloud-based software that helps many businesses, construction included, job cost. Because it’s cloud-based, job costing data can be accessed from anywhere in the world. This makes it a great choice for a mobile workforce.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
Starts at $20/month for one user
4. eSub
Catering to contractors, eSub offers mobile and cloud-based construction management software that includes job costing features. Users can keep track of projects without the paper by accessing all documents and project management items in one central location, keeping all job costing tools right at your fingertips.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
Starts at $39 per user, per month
5. Projul
Projul is a cloud-based construction management solution that helps users with project management, job costing, and employee scheduling. It also helps prevent projects from going over the allotted time frame and over budget by sending notifications whenever a task is due. It keeps communication clear and open between management, employees, and clients.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, and Android
Cost
Starts at $166/mo for 3 users
6. Corecon
Corecon offers a wide range of cloud-based features designed for construction and engineering businesses. It allows mid-size firms the ability to track time, schedule employees, project management and job costing.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, and Android
Cost
Available upon inquiry
7. CoConstruct
Cloud-based CoConstruct is a construction management software built to tackle the needs of construction workers and the clients they work with. CoConstruct aims to simplify the workday while keeping business and project needs on track with in-depth job costing.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, and Android
Cost
Starts at $349.00 as a flat rate, per month.
8. Buildertrend
Buildertrend was designed to help construction businesses work more efficiently. Its features are geared towards completing more projects with fewer delays, maintaining accurate communication, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, and Android
Cost
Essential: $99/mo, $399 after 2 months
Advanced: $399/mo, $699 after 2 months
Complete: $899/mo, $1,299 after 2 months
9. Knowify
Small to medium contracting businesses utilized Knowify to streamline workflow and manage projects. Offering features that improve scheduling, contracts, job costing and more, Knowify is a great tool for tracking purchases, invoices, time, and expenses in real-time with mobile access.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
Starts at $99/month
10. Premier
Premier is a cloud-based job costing software designed for contractors, subcontractors, builders, and developers. It works to make estimating, job costing, project management, purchasing, and expense tracking easy. Its robust features make it a good solution for construction companies.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
Pricing starts at $199/month
11. PowerTools
Platform
Desktop
Cost
Subscription-based, price based on individual business needs.
12. A-Systems
A-Systems JobView is an accounting solution for construction companies. A-Systems allows you to track your expenses based on the jobs you set up.
Platform
PC, Mac, Tablet
Cost
Starts at $249, but price will vary depending on the features needed
13. PrioSoft
PrioSoft offers Contractor’s Office, a software designed for job estimating that helps you track job costs.
Platform
iOS, Windows
Cost
Different payment options:
- Starting at $795 one time payment
- Starting at 8 payments of $111/month
- Support: $150 / Year
14. Tradify
Tradify is a construction management software that integrates with Xero to track job costs and manage your construction teams and jobs.
Platform
Desktop, iOS, Android
Cost
$29 per month, per user (they offer annual team pricing)
15. Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro is a field service management software that helps field service companies manage their teams and fleets. It includes tools needed to perform accurate job costing.
Platform
PC, iOS, Android
Cost
Basic: $22 first month, $49 per month thereafter, 1 user
Essentials: $22 first month, $129 per month thereafter, 1-5 users
MAX: Available upon inquiry
Note: Additional features available for added costs.
16. Quoter
Quoter offers a simple job costing solution to help you track your profit margins on each job. Just enter the necessary information and you’ll have a picture of how much each job is making and/or losing.
Cost
Starts at $99.00/month billed annually, or $129/month billed monthly
Conclusion
Job costing is critical for profitability in any business, but with the many moving pieces involved in the construction industry, it’s even more important. Especially when you have multiple projects going on at once.
Choosing a construction job costing software that works best for your business is crucial for boosting your bottom line and ensuring the needs of both your business and your clients are met. That’s why it’s important to compare different job costing software to find the one that works best for your company size and needs.
Compare the Best Job Costing Software for Construction
| Pricing | Free Trial | |
 | Starts at just $8/month per user + $7/month base fee. |  |
 | Subscription-based varies |  |
 | Starts at $20/month for one user | |
 | Starts at $39/month per user | |
 | Starts at $166/mo for 3 users | |
 | Available upon inquiry | |
 | Starts at $349.00 as a flat rate, per month | |
 | Starts at $399/month | |
 | Starts at $99/month | |
 | Starts at $199/month | |
 | Available upon inquiry | |
 | Starts at $249, but price will vary depending on the features needed | |
 | Different payment options: Starting at $795 one time payment | |
 | $29 per month, per user (they offer annual team pricing) | |
 | Starts at $49/month for 1 user | |
 | Starts at $99.00/month billed annually, or $129/month billed monthly | |
FAQ for Construction Job Cost Software
What is Job Costing Software?
Job costing software is a type of software specifically created for a job costing system. It helps you track your exact costs on each job and pulls all the information together in one place, so you can review your actual (true) job costs, including labor, parts, equipment, etc.
Why Do I Need a Job Costing Software?
Small business accounting software does help you tackle many accounting processes but, job costing software goes further by showing you real-time numbers on your jobs. If you don’t know how much your jobs are truly costing, you could be undermining your profits and underbidding projects.
