Best Contractor Management Software of 2025

Here's what we'll cover:

What you need to know about general contractor software

What is general contractor software?

Essential features of general contractor software

Benefits and competitive advantages of general contractor software

How to choose the right general contractor software

What you need to know about general contractor software

General contractor software is a type of construction software that helps businesses track the contractors and freelancers they hire for various projects. The software tracks the project hours logged by contract workers and monitors their daily activities. It also allows you to assign tasks to an individual worker and communicate with them via built-in chat functionality.

Contractor management software helps create contracts and field service agreements as well as update or renew a contract with any existing independent contractor. You can also use it to set up workplace guidelines and ensure contractor compliance with workplace safety policies.

Most business owners (78%) that we speak to pay a flat monthly fee that costs, on average, $500, typically including unlimited users. Thirty-five percent pay per user, per month and pay on average $250 per user. [1]

Some general contractor software might cost more or less per month depending on how feature-rich they are. For instance, if all you need is scheduling and job costing, you might be able to find a solution that costs less, but if you need a full suite that includes estimating, project tracking, subcontractor scheduling, and/or compliance management, you might be looking at more money per month.

If you’re a first-time buyer, consider your budget, the number of users, use cases, and necessary integrations. Consult stakeholders to determine what questions you should ask vendors during an evaluation. Questions for vendors include:

• How often does your software pull in prices for estimation?

• Does the software have mobile functionality so our field agents can update in real time?

• Are there project management solutions to manage subcontractors?

Because there are so many different vendors, choosing the right option can be a complicated process. In this guide, you’ll learn about the essentials of general contractor software, and get step-by-step guidance on how to choose the right solution for your practice. Or, if you’d prefer to chat with one of our experienced construction software advisors such as Matthew Clifford and Niko Bernardone—who have been leading buyers to the right software for a combined five years—schedule a call or start a chat with us.

What is general contractor software?

General contractor software is designed to meet the demands of general contractors' unique workflow and business processes. These contractors have many roles and often oversee all phases of a building project, from pre-construction to ongoing maintenance and repairs after completion. They need a system to support them through the entire contracting process and help them manage their business.

We often hear from general contractors that they are looking for an all-in-one solution that includes estimating and accounting, but that isn’t usually an option.

Procore user interface dashboard (Source)

Clifford explains, “I often have to let contractors know that they might have to have accounting software separate or have an integrated solution instead of an all-in-one solution.” Bernardone also goes on to explain that “a lot of buyers are often looking for multiple solutions that are all integrated into one, but that becomes clunky and almost unusable, so it’s really important for us to help business owners figure out what their core needs are.” 

Once you understand that, you can get a software solution that is focused on what you really need.

Essential features of general contractor software

All general contractor software tools include project management, document management, and scheduling features. Most share a variety of common features such as mobile access, budget tracking, and the ability to track multiple projects at once.

Core general contractor software features

Each year, we speak to hundreds of general contractors and analyze their conversations to better understand which features are critical to them. Based on those discussions and analysis of our review data, here are the features we believe are core to general contractor software.

Common general contractor software features

Based on our research and conversations with general contractors, here are the features that are common, but not absolutely necessary.

Optional general contractor software features worth noting

There are a number of features that may not be found in every general contractor software system but that are worth mentioning. These include:

• Safety management: Adhere to occupational health and safety (OHS) requirements, including physical, chemical, and zoonotic hazards, to ensure workplace safety for contractors.

• Qualification tracking: Track and store documents related to experience levels, licenses, and certifications that your freelance workers and contractors submit.

• Reporting/analytics: Create reports highlighting contractor performance and project completion rates to learn more about your contractors' work performance, analyze overall business performance, and identify improvement areas.

• Contractor database: Maintain a centralized database that stores information about contractors, including their contact details and contract terms.

For more information on general contractor features and recommendations, feel free to schedule an appointment with Cliff or his colleagues.

Benefits and competitive advantages of general contractor software 

When talking to general contractors, Clifford says they’re often looking for better bidding solutions. In his words, “If they’re underbidding themselves, they’re shooting themselves in the foot.” Finding the balance between providing a competitive bid that makes your business attractive to potential clients and not undervaluing your time and work is hard, and using software to help with estimating and bidding is a great solution to help you find that balance. 

Another common issue he hears from general contractors is that communication can be difficult between job sites or the various subcontractors you work with. One feature that he often recommends is the ability to send pictures from job sites to get real-time updates. 

This reflects the over 1,200 conversations we have had during the last year. Alongside common reasons that companies are looking for software, such as becoming more efficient and finding better options for their budget, communication and functionality continue to be large pain points. Trouble communicating between job sites becomes overwhelming as companies grow.

In addition to better bidding and communication, you’ll also find several other benefits that come with utilizing general contractor software that will directly impact your bottom line:

• Mitigates safety and compliance risks: Contract management software centralizes independent contractor information, including certificates, licenses, and safety training, to ensure they meet necessary standards. With tools for auditing contractor activities and monitoring their performance, it helps businesses identify safety and compliance issues. The tool can also track safety training and orientation for contractors, ensuring they are aware of necessary safety protocols. It provides alerts for compliance deadlines, expiring licenses, and safety violations to ensure no important dates are missed. 

• Enhances administrative efficiency: A contractor management solution offers a centralized repository for all contractor-related information, making it easy to access and manage related data. It automates various administrative tasks, such as independent contractor onboarding, document collection, and approval processes, eliminating the need for manual intervention. Additionally, it automates payment processing for businesses, reducing the manual effort required to process invoices and ensuring timely payments to contractors. 

• Increases contract visibility: With the centralized document repository, project managers can ensure that their staff is working on the latest version of the contract templates and using the latest legal clauses. The software also offers automated alerts and notifications to keep stakeholders, including contractors, subcontractors, and project managers, informed about upcoming project deadlines, key contract dates, approval status, license expiration, and contract execution for better contract visibility.

• Qualifies contractors: Contractor project management software lets you digitally capture and verify documents related to work experience and certifications to help speed up the process of qualifying contractors.

• Manages multiple projects simultaneously: You can manage multiple projects and schedule jobs with general contractor management software to reduce downtime between projects and get more work done. The software also lets you adjust schedules or assign work orders to subcontractors on short notice in case of any changes in a project.

• Ensures accurate project tracking: General contractor software accurately tracks metrics such as project completion rates, project hours logged by a contractual worker, and equipment and material costs. Additionally, you can use the software to track backorders and stored materials to project costs for upcoming projects.

Contractors who use general construction management software will often see these benefits, but by utilizing software specifically designed for general contractors rather than a broader construction management suite, you might gain a competitive advantage over your competitors. 

Here are a few examples of how these tools can help you gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace:

• Scale your business: Mistakes happen when you’re trying to manage multiple jobs and coordinate paperwork across different job sites. General contractor software can help you avoid that by making managing projects easier. 

• Operate more efficiently: Software generally helps you standardize your processes, making them more efficient overall. When everything is in one place, you can easily track the entire life cycle of your projects by automating tedious functions. 

• Provide more value to clients: Better estimating, quoting, takeoff, and processes all lead to a better client experience. If things run smoothly, your clients will be more likely to recommend you to their friends and family, and word of mouth will always be the best marketing your business receives. 

How to choose the right general contractor software

When you start the process of checking out potential general contractor software solutions, you should detail all your requirements and categorize them based on their importance. Nice-to-have features, such as qualification tracking, can come at the very end. Therefore, the solutions you’re considering should address all your crucial needs first.

Step 1: Define your requirements

Before you start the general contractor software selection process, begin outlining the requirements that are unique to your business. Not only will these guide you to the platform that meets your current demands—you will end up with software that supports your long-term goals as well.

Ideal deployment model

The two common types of system architecture are on-premise and cloud-based. On-premise deployment involves installing the solutions on servers that are housed in your building. While this solution gives you more security because your licensing isn’t reliant on cloud-based services, it can be tiresome and expensive to maintain and upgrade the hardware over time. 

On the other hand, the cloud gives users the flexibility of anytime, anywhere access but the internet connection needs to be fast and steady all the time.

In general, contractors will want a cloud-based solution because it allows them to work more easily in the field with tablets or smartphones.

Common general contractor integrations

As mentioned earlier by Clifford, it can be hard to find an all-in-one solution that includes estimating, accounting, and all the general features you need without the system feeling clunky. Be on the lookout for software solutions that can integrate with your current accounting system in order to help streamline your processes.

In general, there are few integration considerations with general contractor software outside of the ones mentioned above; most will satisfy your needs by offering the features required to help you scale your business.

Step 2: Make a shortlist of general contractor software

With so many general contractor options to choose from, it can be hard to narrow down your list, but it doesn’t have to be. Start by making a list of must-have and nice-to-have features. Your must-have features should be your primary focus, and every vendor on your shortlist must include those features. Nice-to-have features are not necessary to the success of your business but might make certain aspects easier; these might be features that aren’t included in every piece of software and might cost extra.

Once you have your list of features settled, start looking at vendors. Find ones that have the right features you like and narrow your list of potential vendors to no more than five. 

For more help and information about how to select your software, check out these resources:

• Make Your Software Search More Seamless With a Software Advisor

• After Your Advisor Call: 4 Tips to Keep Your Software Purchase on Track

• The Ultimate Software Vendor Evaluation Guide

Get qualified help from an advisor

At Software Advice, our advisors have experience helping hundreds of general contractors identify solutions that match their needs and budgets.

If you need guidance, you can chat online now with an advisor or schedule a phone call. In just a few minutes, your advisor will help you identify a shortlist of options that align with your practice’s requirements.

Step 3: Pick your best option

You’ve compiled a list of your top choices, so now you need to start scheduling vendor demos. During your demos, you can explore features, understand pricing better, and ultimately make the right choice for your business. However, don’t go into these vendor demos without a plan, or you will be wasting your time.

How to prepare for vendor demos

Once you’ve compiled your shortlist of general contractor software systems, schedule demo sessions with each vendor in order to learn more about their product. Our advisors are often able to schedule these for you. This is your chance to ask questions about specific features they offer, pricing, technical support, training tools, and anything else that might be an important factor in choosing the right system.

Some questions you should consider asking vendors in each demo include:

• What kind of customer support do you offer during implementation?

• Do you have a contract template library that offers standard contract templates for different types of contractor agreements?

• Can the contract templates be customized?

• How can you migrate existing data to the tool?

• Does it offer subcontractor qualification tracking?

About our contributors

Author

Laura Burgess is a content analyst at Software Advice with more than a decade of journalism experience and particular knowledge of human resources-related topics. 

Laura’s research and analysis is informed by more than 350,000 authentic user reviews on Software Advice and over 60,000 interactions between Software Advice software advisors and software buyers. Laura also regularly analyzes market sentiment by conducting surveys of business leaders in the HR, sales, and construction tech spaces so she can provide the most up-to-date and helpful information to small and midsize businesses purchasing software or services. 

She has written for various industries on technology trends. Laura's research has been featured in Australian publications such as ABC News, HR Leader, Inside Retail, Dynamic Business, Retail Biz, and Technology Decisions. She has also appeared in various news segments on Ticker News, Channel 9 News, and SBS Mandarin, quoting her research. 

When Laura isn't helping small to midsize businesses with insight on tech trends, she enjoys traveling and seeing her favorite music artists live. 

Editor

Caroline Rousseau is a senior content editor at Software Advice. A former content analyst, Caroline has, for the past five years, built, written, and edited research reports about technological trends, opportunities, and challenges with an SMB audience in mind. Her content has been featured in French Tier 1 media including Le Monde, L’Express, and Le Figaro, among other publications. Her previous experience as a graphic designer, translator, and LQA specialist in various industries converged into a skill set that allows her to create compelling content about today’s business matters.

Caroline’s personal interests include literature and art and she has a passion for Albert Camus, graphic novels, and drawing.

Advisors

Niko Bernardone is an advisor manager. He joined Software Advice in 2020 as a software advisor, and now he manages a team of 8 software advisors. He is based in Fort Myers, FL. 

Niko and his team help small businesses find the right accounting, project management, manufacturing, and learning management software for their needs each year. They’re able to do this through one-to-one conversations designed to narrow down the list of potential tools to only those that are the best fit. 

His favorite part of being a Software Advice advisor team manager is the opportunity to help buyers navigate complex issues and help them find the solutions that drive the results they need.

Matthew Clifford is a software advisor. He joined Software Advice in 2023, and he is based in Fort Myers, FL.

Matthew works directly with small-business leaders to connect them with best fit software providers. He assesses the technology needs of small businesses seeking construction and field service software through one-to-one conversations and provides a short list of potential matches. 

For Matthew, the most enjoyable part of being a software advisor is getting to help buyers determine the best fit for them among the overwhelming amount of products on the market.

Sources

1. Software Advice advisor call notes: Findings are based on data from telephonic conversations that Software Advice’s advisor team had with small-to-midsize businesses seeking general contractor tools. For this report, we analyzed phone interactions up until the date of production. Read the complete methodology.

2. Software Advice reviews data: Software Advice reviews are collected from verified users for individual software products. For this buyer's guide, we analyzed reviews from the past year as of the production date. Read the complete methodology.