While Buildertrend receives substantial praise on G2 and other user review sites, their customers highlight certain drawbacks: steep pricing for smaller contractors, limited CRM features for sales and marketing, and challenges with subcontractor collaboration tools, among others.
This post compares various Buildertrend alternatives for businesses that have found it doesn’t meet their needs.
We’ll provide overviews of seven brands of construction management software, starting with our own, ServiceTitan.
Best Buildertrend Alternatives
Schedule a call to get a free, live, one-on-one walk-through of how ServiceTitan helps contractors streamline project management and other processes.
1. ServiceTitan
Why Choose ServiceTitan Over Buildertrend?
ServiceTitan specializes in supporting subcontractors in various trades (Mechanical/HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing). All of our workflows are tailored for specialty contractors who work with general contractors, not the other way around.
ServiceTitan combines construction management and field service management into a single platform. We offer robust capabilities to support your construction and service divisions, whereas Buildertrend is strictly construction software.
ServiceTitan offers best-in-class customer support, community, and training resources that help our users develop greater industry expertise, get maximum use out of our product, and reduce the learning curve to implement best practices that grow their businesses and revenue. For example, here are some testimonials from people in the ServiceTitan Community: “ServiceTitan Community has had a massive impact on our growth as a company. We have created connections, gleaned ideas/strategies, and grown exponentially. That may have never happened without the network that Community provides.” “The ServiceTitan Community provides a wonderful opportunity for networking. It’s a great place to have questions quickly answered. You can search by keywords to pull up resources and if these can’t answer your question, you can post your question as a discussion and have other users help. Having the community helps all ServiceTitan users to feel connected to one another! I love the ideas page where we can post our ideas about the direction we would like to see the software go. This helps us feel like valued customers when we can influence the future of the software!”
ServiceTitan is at the forefront of bringing AI to the trades. With Titan Intelligence (TI), our AI engine, you get insights to help automate repetitive and simple tasks, predict outcomes, lower costs, and stay competitive in a world run by data.
The Value We Offer
Increased Profit Margins: ServiceTitan provides real-time visibility into project financials, enabling subcontractors to identify issues, control costs, and make informed decisions to maintain profitability throughout the job lifecycle.
Faster and Easier Payments: Our platform automates the process of maintaining continuation sheets and creating payment applications, allowing subcontractors to execute AIA-style progress billing with less time and effort. This leads to quicker payments and reduced overhead costs for both large and small businesses.
Streamlined Operations: ServiceTitan consolidates various business functions into a single platform, reducing the number of software solutions needed to run a construction firm and improving workflow efficiency.
Company Performance Tracking: Our customizable construction business dashboards offer 360-degree visibility into the most important KPIs across your business.
Advanced Features to Support the Construction Business Workflow
Project Management: Manage individual projects within a streamlined workflow, including real-time project financial tracking, estimating and purchase order management, AIA-style progress billing, document management, and more.
Mobile App: Our crews feature provides lead technicians with the ability to control field techs and view any necessary job info, such as costs, with just a few clicks.
Timesheet Tracking: Leverage our flexible, role-specific time tracking with access to task-level data for enhanced reporting and streamlined payroll.
Accounting: ServiceTitan integrates with QuickBooks and other accounting platforms, instantly capturing transactions and exporting them to accounting software to keep financials up to date.
Construction Scheduling: Manage your crew’s jobs and schedules from one place.
Invoicing: Utilize invoicing tools like payment applications, progress billing that follows industry billing standards, and more to make getting paid simpler.
Inventory Management: Automated inventory updates with every purchase order, providing real-time knowledge of what's coming in and going out.
Reporting: Track your construction company's performance through work-in-progress reports, KPIs, and much more using ServiceTitan’s automated reports and powerful dashboards.
Overview of Our Construction Project Management Features
Manage Projects From the Project Overview Dashboard
When a new project is created in ServiceTitan, a project overview page is automatically generated. From this dashboard, contractors and project managers can:
View high-level project information (project description, contract dates and timelines, job site details).
View open tasks and log and assign new tasks to office or construction team members.
Initiate key project actions such as generating estimates, purchase orders, applications for payment, invoices, and more.
In addition, users can access detailed project financials (discussed below) and an audit trail, including events, notes, and project documents relevant to the job (RFIs, submittals, etc.).
Build Estimates with Accurate Pricing
Project estimates allow you to build detailed construction estimates by adding all of the specific tasks, equipment, and materials needed to do the work. Users have the option to draw from pre-built job estimate templates or build estimates from scratch.
Tasks, materials, and equipment can all be tagged with color-coded project labels to organize the project details and make everything easy to visualize. In addition, pricing and markups for each line item are automatically calculated based on the most up-to-date prices in your pricebook.
Once an estimate is complete, it can be printed, emailed, or exported in PDF format and sent to the client. Additional estimates can be created as needed throughout the project.
Initiate Requisition and Purchase Orders
When an estimate is sold, all of the details you’ve set up in the estimate are automatically integrated into the rest of the project management workflow. For example, you can initiate a requisition of equipment and materials right from within your sold estimate.
For example, let’s say at the beginning of a project, you want to start the process of ordering your permits and materials for the job — you can select those items right from your estimate, which will lead you through a workflow to create the purchase orders you’ll need.
In the purchase order workflow, the line items are automatically populated from your estimate. You can simply select your vendors and shipping locations for each material to complete your order details.
Then, you can save that order to create a transaction and send those purchase orders to your vendors — without ever leaving ServiceTitan.
Automate Project Financials and Job Costing
As you progress through a job — creating purchase orders, logging labor hours, processing change orders, receiving progress payments, and so on — ServiceTitan leverages automation to provide up-to-date project financials and job costing.
Instead of constantly updating a series of spreadsheets every time labor costs and material costs are incurred, this is done automatically for you in real-time, based on work that’s completed and entered into the system.
If we continue with our example from above, and you’ve made your initial purchase order of permits and materials, your project summary table is updated to reflect those expenses:
Furthermore, you can view a more detailed breakdown of your actual and budgeted project costs.
This will automatically update as you accumulate expenses from materials, equipment, and labor hours. It will display your margins in dollar and percent form to help you track job costs and profitability throughout your project.
You can also access a table breaking down your expenses in further detail:
You can click on any line item and see the exact source of that expense ( which technician logged those hours or which purchase orders and vendors a given set of materials came from). This allows you to easily check your numbers and feel confident in your data sources.
When it comes time to send applications for payment and invoices, this can also be easily accomplished from the project overview dashboard.
Automate Progress Billing and Invoicing
The initial estimate you created also informs and populates your continuation sheet in your application for payment:
No more reinventing the wheel for every asset that needs to be created throughout your project. When sending a payment application, you can easily generate one by selecting the billing period and the percentage of each line item you want to bill for.
Then, you can generate a PDF payment application with the details automatically filled out and send it off to your client for review. The detail of the continuation sheet makes for a bill that’s much easier to defend in the event of pushback from construction firms or general contractors. As a result, subcontractors can get paid faster and avoid cash flow issues.
When applications are accepted, it’s just as easy to generate an invoice for that progress payment. And when payments come in, you can update your accounts receivable through our Viewpoint, Sage, QuickBooks, and CSV accounting integrations.
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Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
A true all-in-one platform (combining field service and construction industry software)
Significant customizability and scalability
Powerful reporting features that drive long-term ROI
Cons
High price point (particularly for smaller businesses)
Initial learning curve
Limited takeoff functionality
Get a Personalized Demo of ServiceTitan Construction Software
What we’ve covered above is just a sampling of the project management tools available with ServiceTitan. We also offer extensive business reporting tools to promote informed decision-making, inventory management, daily report tools, a mobile app with a user-friendly interface, and more.
If you’re interested in learning more about how ServiceTitan’s cloud-based platform can help you manage and grow profitability in your contracting business, schedule a call with us for a live, one-on-one walk-through of the features and functionality we’ve discussed throughout this post.
2. Fieldwire
Fieldwire is construction management software designed to streamline communication and project coordination on the job site. Built for contractors, project managers, architects, and designers, Fieldwire's platform is designed to facilitate most aspects of onsite project management.
Key features include task management, punch list and inspection tools, blueprint viewing and versioning, scheduling and reports, and the ability to annotate and share plans and documents. Fieldwire also offers a mobile app, allowing users to access information, communicate, and view blueprints even when offline.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
Excellent drawing and plan management features
Robust team collaboration tools
Simplified task management and documentation
Cons
Lacks certain functionality and customization options
Occasional technical and performance issues
Cumbersome project setup and navigation
3. Procore
Procore is a construction management software solution designed to serve a wide range of customers, including civil and infrastructure, general contractors, owners, public agencies, and specialty contractors. Procore offers comprehensive tools for preconstruction, project management, quality and safety, cost management, and more.
The platform also includes expansive integration capabilities with other software and provides extensive training resources and customer support, ensuring that users can maximize the software's potential.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
Comprehensive feature set that centralizes construction project management
Enhanced efficiency and collaboration, ensuring all stakeholders are aligned with the latest project information
Easy to use and navigate
Cons
Steep learning curve and overwhelming to some users
High price for smaller businesses
Certain features aren’t as intuitive (e.g. downloading plans)
4. Contractor Foreman
Contractor Foreman is another comprehensive construction management software designed primarily for small to mid-sized contractors and construction firms. This platform offers a wide range of features, including project scheduling, estimates, time tracking, document and financial management, crew management, and more.
Contractor Foreman emphasizes its affordability and user-friendly interface, as well as free training and support.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
Comprehensive feature set at a competitive price
Ease of use
Positive impact on business management and growth
Cons
Occasional glitches, bugs, and performance issues
Limitations in specific features and customization (e.g. limitations in reporting capabilities)
Difficult learning curve for some
5. BuildBook by Housecall Pro
Housecall Pro's construction management software (BuildBook) provides a comprehensive suite of tools designed for custom home builders. At its core, the platform offers project management capabilities, including project scheduling and real-time collaboration. The software streamlines estimating and quoting processes with a visual pricebook and professional proposal options while also enabling job costing to track project profitability.
The platform facilitates efficient business operations through integrated invoicing and payment processing, allowing for on-site card payments and online payment options with automatic reminders for outstanding balances. Additional features include QuickBooks integration for automated financial syncing, CRM tools for client communication, and marketing automation for generating repeat business and referrals.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
Ease of use
Effective team collaboration
Responsive customer support
Cons
Missing features and functionality
Cost concerns for the pro version
Occasional technical issues and limitations
6. FieldPulse
FieldPulse provides comprehensive contractor software that centralizes project management, scheduling, and financial operations for general contractors. The platform features robust scheduling and dispatching tools to coordinate multiple jobs and teams alongside detailed estimating capabilities for creating professional quotes. Its project management system enables contractors to break down large-scale project planning into trackable tasks, assists in resource management and allocation, and monitors project timelines to ensure the timely completion of milestones.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
User-friendly design and interface
Responsive customer support
Wide range of features and customization
Cons
Occasional technical issues and bugs
Limitations in specific functionality
Offline mode limitations and connectivity dependence
7. Simpro
Simpro delivers comprehensive construction project management software that integrates estimating, scheduling, and financial management. The platform’s preconstruction features include advanced estimating capabilities with takeoff templates, pre-built assemblies, and supplier quote comparison tools, while its project management system provides Gantt chart views for tracking task status and dependencies. The software also includes robust inventory management features to track materials throughout project stages and facilitate procurement from wholesalers.
On the financial side, Simpro offers sophisticated progress billing and invoicing features, seamless accounting software integration, and comprehensive reporting tools that provide real-time insights into workforce productivity, inventory tracking, and project financials.
Software Reviews
According to Software Advice reviews, some pros and cons to consider include:
Pros
Comprehensive features for field service management
End-to-end solution
Easy integration with other tools
Cons
Customer support issues
Difficulties with ease of use and implementation
Reporting and customization limitations
If you’re interested in learning more about how ServiceTitan’s cloud-based platform can help you manage and grow profitability in your contracting business, schedule a call with us for a live, one-on-one walk-through of the features and functionality we’ve discussed throughout this post.
ServiceTitan Software
ServiceTitan is a comprehensive software solution built specifically to help service companies streamline their operations, boost revenue, and substantially elevate the trajectory of their business. Our comprehensive, cloud-based platform is used by thousands of electrical, HVAC, plumbing, garage door, and chimney sweep shops across the country—and has increased their revenue by an average of 25% in just their first year with us.
