Most field service software is built for HVAC and plumbing shops: a dispatch board, a tech on a call, an invoice by lunch. A general contractor's week looks nothing like that. You're juggling a six-week schedule, five subs, a budget by cost code and a client who just asked for a bigger window. This page compares the tools that handle project schedules, change orders and job costing for 1 to 25 person GCs. It's part of our larger guide to software for construction management, with prices as of October 2026.
What general contractors need from project and cost management software
A GC makes money in the gap between the estimate and the final cost, and loses it in a dozen small leaks: an unsigned change order, a sub billed twice, a crew that ran 30 hours over on framing. The software's job is to make those leaks visible while the job is still open.
That comes down to a short list:
- A budget by cost code built from the accepted estimate, not typed in again.
- Committed costs. Subcontracts and purchase orders count against the budget the day you sign them, not the day the bill arrives.
- Change orders that move money. An approved change order should raise the contract value and the budget line together, with the client's signature attached.
- A schedule subs actually see, with notifications when the drywall start slides a week.
- Daily logs, punch lists and photos tied to the job, so the record exists when someone disputes it.
- Lien waiver tracking before you release payment to a sub.
- Progress billing. Draws for residential lenders and AIA G702/G703 pay applications with retainage for commercial work.
Dispatch boards, route optimization and flat-rate pricebooks don't help a GC much. If your business is mostly service calls rather than projects, the dispatch-first tools in our guide to field service management software are a better match.
How the picks compare
Buildertrend and Contractor Foreman are the two all-in-one choices. Buildertrend has the deeper client side: selections, a polished homeowner portal, and a schedule that keeps subs informed. Contractor Foreman has nearly as many modules for a third of the price or less, but it looks busier and takes more setup. A custom builder doing $1.5 million a year in contracts can justify Buildertrend's $499 starting price. A remodeler doing $600,000 across 30 smaller jobs probably shouldn't.
Knowify is the pick for GCs whose pain is billing, not clients. If you send pay applications with retainage to commercial owners every month, its contract-based progress billing and QuickBooks link save hours that a residential tool won't.
CompanyCam and Joist are partial tools. CompanyCam is the field photo record that backs up every other system on this page, and plenty of GCs run it next to Buildertrend or Contractor Foreman. Joist covers estimates and invoices for small jobs and nothing about cost control.
What to look for before you sign
- Load one finished job from last year and check whether the job cost report matches what you know the job actually cost.
- Approve a change order end to end: client signature, contract value update, budget update, and the line on the next invoice.
- Ask how committed costs show up. If a $22,000 framing subcontract doesn't appear until the sub bills, the budget report is late by definition.
- Test the sub experience. Subs won't install another app, so check what they can do from a text or email link.
- Confirm the QuickBooks sync covers bills and invoices both ways, and who owns fixing sync errors.
- Get onboarding cost and contract length in writing. Buildertrend's price depends on the onboarding package, and Contractor Foreman's free setup applies only on Pro and Unlimited.
What it costs
Published prices as of October 2026, billed annually unless noted.
| Shop size |
Buildertrend |
Contractor Foreman |
Knowify |
CompanyCam (add-on) |
| 1 user |
From $499/mo |
$49/mo (Basic) |
$99/mo (Core) |
$63/mo (Core) |
| 5 users |
From $499/mo |
$166/mo (Plus, up to 8) |
$329/mo (Advanced, 10 users) |
$177/mo (Crew + 2 users at $29) |
| 15 users |
From $499/mo, quoted |
$221/mo (Pro, up to 15) |
About $474/mo (Advanced + 5 users) |
$467/mo (Crew + 12 users at $29) |
Buildertrend's unlimited users make it look better as you grow, and at 15 people the gap with Contractor Foreman's Pro plan is around $280 a month before onboarding. For most small GCs, the realistic budget is $166 to $500 a month for the core system, plus CompanyCam if the crew shoots a lot of photos, plus card fees on whatever you collect online.
