7 Best Job Costing Software for Construction in 2023
Samson Kiarie
Last update on:
July 28, 2023 4:17 AM
Published on:
According to Deloitte's construction industry outlook report, the construction industry will experience an uptick in costs and reduced profit margins in 2023. Although using the best job costing software for construction doesn’t cushion you from inevitable inflation or rising material costs, it’s indispensable if you want to maintain healthy profit margins.
For construction firms, significant investment goes into materials and labor. When the costs of material and labor increase, profit margins dwindle. Job costing software helps determine where every penny goes so you can pinpoint jobs that are over budget and determine where cost overruns originate. This way, you can control the actual project costs to maximize profitability.
We’ll reveal the top seven job costing software for construction in 2023. Most job costing tools offer the same features, but some are better at certain aspects than others. We played around with each solution to reveal its strengths and weaknesses to help you make an informed decision.
Before we get to our list of job costing software, let’s get the basics out of our way:
Want to Manage Your Construction Workforce Better?
Track your employees’ location, task, and time with real-time data
Construction job costing is a comprehensive pricing method that looks at granular costs of labor, materials, equipment, and applied overhead for each project. The goal is to calculate overall project expenses to control the budget and minimize risks while maximizing profitability.
What is the Best Job Costing Software for Construction?
The best job costing software for construction provides real-time insights into the project’s progress and makes it easy to track the actual costs of construction. Some come with advanced tools that enable you to pinpoint profitable projects for effective bidding and quoting for future projects.
Here’s a lowdown of the best job costing software solutions for construction:
Timeero — Best time tracking software to track labor costs
Knowify — Best Job Costing Software for small businesses
Procore — Construction Management Software for large companies
JobTread — Best Construction Estimating Software
Corecon — Construction Management Software
BuilderTrend — Construction Software for Better Communication
Jonas Premier — Best Software for Construction Accounting
Top 7 Job Costing Software For Construction
In this section, we’ll delve into the nitty-gritty details of each job costing software for contractors, builders, and remodelers. We’ll shed light on how the job costing module works, spotlight the standout features and mention the drawbacks of each solution. Let’s start with the best job costing solution — Timeero.
1. Timeero — Best Job Costing Software for Labor Costs
Whether you run a small business with ten employees or a large construction business with hundreds of employees, Timeero will simplify time and attendance tracking for you
Timeero is the best job costing software for contractors, remodelers, and subcontractors who want to track employee time and attendance accurately. Its intuitive web interface and user-friendly mobile apps offer a frictionless learning curve for all employees, including the non-tech-savvy construction site workers.
Clocking in and out is as easy as selecting the right job and hitting the clock-in button on an Android or iOS smartphone, and Timeero will track time automatically. While it’s not mandatory, you can use the geo-fencing features to ensure each employee clocks in and out within the designated job site to mitigate off-site punching. Plus, with face recognition, your company will no longer bleed money through buddy punching.
Moreover, Timeero has features to save you the hours you spend traveling between job sites to check on your employees. The scheduling tool lets you create a detailed schedule, assigning each employee a shift in a specific job site.
And then, with GPS location tracking and the Who’s Working feature, it’s easy to monitor employee whereabouts from the comfort of your office. You’ll get real-time insights into where each employee is, the task they’re working on, and the time spent on each task. You can import these timesheets into your go-to accounting system for fair remuneration.
The file and photo attachment streamlines communication. Employees can capture photos of receipts to help you track expense, and managers can upload photos to help clients track project progress.
Lastly, not all construction jobs have the same wage and benefits rate. Timeero lets you create a list of tasks your employees do at the job site and stipulate the wage rate for each task. Employees can switch between tasks on the go, and Timeero attributes their hours to the tasks they’re working on to compute the actual labor costs accurately.
Timeero Pricing:
starts from $4 per user per month
Timeero Integrations:
QuickBooks Online/Desktop
Gusto
Rippling
Viventium
Xero
Paychex
ADP
Integrates with construction software through Zapier
2. Knowify — Best Job Costing Software for Material Costs
Knowify is a comprehensive software suite with job costing, estimating, and CRM modules
Knowify is a cloud-based job costing solution for electrical, plumbing, concrete, remodeling, and HVAC construction companies. Like Timeero, it boasts a reliable time tracking module with GPS tracking and geo-fencing capability.
However, it’s not as easy for employees to switch between tasks; hence it’s prone to work classification and wage determination errors. Additionally, it lacks facial recognition features, meaning that rogue employees could clock in on behalf of others.
The niggles aside, Knowify comes to its own when tracking material costs, thanks to a powerful purchase module. Besides material tracking costs for primary supplies, this job costing software lets you track easy-to-forget expenses such as adhesive or fasteners that employees must collect from the hardware without seeking your pre-approval.
What sets Knowify apart from the crowd is that employees only need to take pictures of receipts of things they buy on the go. Once they submit the receipts, Knowify automatically uploads them to the Knowify Cloud and assigns the costs to the job at hand for accurate material costs calculation.
Reporting is Knowify’s real forte. Knowify gives you detailed insights for accurate decision-making, whether in estimating, mid-project or post-project phase. For example, it integrates purchase orders, timekeeping, and other project costs to help you track project progress against the proposed budget.
Knowify Pricing:
$99 per month
Knowify Integrations:
QuickBooks Accounting
QuickBooks Time
Square Payments
PaySimple
Lendflow
Paychex
3. Procore — Construction Management Solution
Procore has the features you need to simplify construction job management from start to finish
Procore is a cloud-based enterprise resource management (ERP) software for general contractors, owners, and subcontractors. If all you need is a software to loop you in on construction project progress, Procore is worth a shot. Besides keeping you updated on where projects stand, the software enables you to create project estimates and convert them into workable budgets with a click without switching between multiple apps.
Procore’s job costing module gives Knowify a run for its money. Besides enabling you to compare job costs against budget, it lets you drill down into specific transactions to see when each penny goes. Plus, if a job is over the budget, you can use the forecasting tools to take cost control measures to compensate for overspending — a great way to maintain healthy profit margins.
Beyond the job costing module, Procore offers a reliable change order management functionality. It facilitates better communication and streamlines approvals to help your teams easily manage changes as they occur on the job site. Office teams have better visibility on changes and real-time financial data they need to prevent potential costs from slipping through the cracks.
Procore pricing:
Customizable pricing
Procore Integrations:
QuickBooks Time
Smart Building Tracker
Hypercast
GoToMeeting
DocuSign
4. JobTread — Best Construction Estimating Software
JobTread makes it easy to create construction estimates for your main contracts and subcontracts
JobTread is right up your alley if you need to improve construction estimating or streamline end-to-end construction project management. It’s a reliable software for pool builders, remodelers, home builders, general contractors, outdoor living creators, and specialty contractors who want to streamline processes, from estimating and costing to project management.
It’s possible to track labor costs with JobTread's time tracking feature . It also lets you monitor employee location from the comfort of your office and lets employees switch between tasks for effective work classification and wage determination. Sadly, it doesn’t support geofencing or comes with face recognition.
JobTread is on our list due to its stellar construction estimating capability. Regardless of how you calculate the final price, it supports cost-plus, fixed pricing, or time-and-material pricing. You can create the estimate from scratch or use pre-built templates to expedite estimating and ensure the estimate meet projected profit goals.
The inevitability of change in the construction industry is one of the reasons many companies struggle to finish projects on budget and on time. Thankfully, JobTread's construction change orders improve the probability of staying on budget and schedule even when unexpected issues or change happens.
JobTread pricing: $119 per month for one user; additional users cost $16 per month.
JobTread Integrations:
QuickBooks Accounting
Stripe
Slack
Acorn Finance
Zapier
5. Corecon — Construction Management Software
Corecon is a reliable field service management solution that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the construction lifecycle
Like Procore, Corecon is an all-in-one construction management software for custom home builders, subcontractors, heavy highway contractors, and engineering firms. The tool focuses on helping contractors win projects, connect teams to improve productivity, and maximize profits through proper job costing.
Time tracking is Corecon's major frailty because it relies on labor time cards. Since employees have to track time manually, it becomes difficult to accurately track time and attribute hours to the project an employee is working on. Manual time tracking complicates work classification and wage determination, leading to inaccurate labor cost calculation.
Corecon makes up for its lack of time tracking tool with powerful equipment cost tracking features. If you’re struggling to keep up with equipment expense tracking needs, Corecon should be a priority. It lets you track various rates for equipment idle time, down-time and run-time, and factor in the costs in your total job cost.
You even get equipment analysis dashboards to forecast cost overruns and spotlight future savings. In addition, you get more than 50 insightful dashboards to increase visibility into cash flow. You can compare active projects against their corresponding budgets to see potential profits. Other notable business intelligence reports include projected costs at completion and work-in-progress (WIP).
Corecon pricing:
Customizable pricing
Corecon Integrations:
QuickBooks Time
QuickBooks Online
Xero
ExakTime
Sage Accounting
6. BuilderTrend — Construction Software for Better Communication
BuilderTrend has many helpful features, but the lack of time tracking functionality puts a damper on its capability
BuilderTrend is a cloud-based construction management software for builders and remodelers looking to improve estimating, scheduling, and client communication. It’s similar to Procore in streamlining the construction process from bidding to post-construction analysis. However, BuilderTrend comes into its element during the actual project execution.
It tracks labor costs, change orders, and purchase orders in real time. This way, it provides real-time insights into project finances, allowing you to make adjustments on the go for timely and cost-effective project completion. You can also compare estimated project costs against actual costs and allocate accurate budgets to sidestep unexpected delays.
BuildTrend is one of the best tools for communication between construction teams, subcontractors, and project owners. It lets you provide project owners with progress photos and enable them to make changes and comments to project plans. Field teams receive instant notification when you make job-specific comments so that they can effect changes instantly for quality project delivery.
BuilderTrend pricing:
$339 per month
BuilderTrend Integrations:
QuickBooks Online
Xero
Gusto
ProEst
Square Takeoff
7. Jonas Premier — Best Software for Construction Accounting
Jonas Premier is an apt construction accounting software for firms that want to control accounts receivable and accounts payable
Jonas Premier is a full-service construction project management software for electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and Mechanical businesses. It streamlines the construction workflows, but it’s much more effective for teams that want to get construction accounting and compliance in order. Jonas Premier offers cloud-based and on-premise implementation, unlike other tools on our list.
It automates the construction accounting process, saving you time while improving accuracy. For example, it’s easy for accounting teams to update commitments and enter accounts payable invoices. What sets Jonas Premier is that it instantly notifies you in case an invoice exceeds the set budget. Moreover, the software simplifies inter-company transactions while eliminating costly manual data entry.
When it comes to job costing, Jonas Premier has unique features. The job dashboard is your central hub for details related to project costs, with complete billing information and contract details. The multi-level job cost breakdowns enable you to drill down into each item to understand the job cost, cost items, phase, cost type, CSI division code, and more.
Jonas Premier simplifies work classification and wage determination but still leaves room for time theft. It doesn’t support geofencing and face recognition; hence it could cause accountability issues such as buddy punching and off-site punching.
Jonas Premier pricing:
$199 per user per month, plus a $30,000 one-time implementation fee
Jonas Premier Integrations:
QuickBooks Online
ProEst
Teamline
FiledPlus
Pick The Best Job Costing For Construction
There’s job costing software to meet your most immediate construction needs. As we mentioned earlier, construction costs emanate from the material, labor, equipment, and overhead costs. The software you pick should help you solve the problem your company (big or small) is struggling with.
Procore is a safe bet for large companies that are managing multiple construction companies. It helps track all projects on a centralized dashboard, drill down on construction costs and implement budgetary controls to maximize profits. On the other hand, Knowify is ideal for small companies looking to control material and labor costs to improve profitability.
Lastly, if you're struggling to calculate labor costs accurately, Timeero will undoubtedly get you out of the quicksand. Construction firms such as Crest Contracting and Atterholt Construction are reaping the low-hanging fruits of accurate time tracking with Timeero. Your construction company can benefit, too.
You don’t have to take a plunge straight away; subscribe for a 14-day free trial and take Timeero for a spin. The trial is unfettered; you’ll test all of Timeero’s features to see how they suit your construction company’s needs.
The best job costing software for construction is Timeero. The software is as good as it gets when it comes to tracking labor costs for hourly, contract, and salaried construction workers.
How to calculate labor cost in construction?
The total labor cost is equal to material cost plus labor costs plus equipment cost plus the cost of applied overhead.
Which type of costing is used in the construction industry?
When it comes to costing in the construction industry, there are two unique accounting options: process costing and job costing. In job costing, you break down the project into specific tasks and compute the labor and material cost for each task. In process costing, you divide the project into stages and calculate the cost of each step.
Samson is a mathematician turned content marketer specializing in SaaS and Tech content. He focuses on the practical aspects of software systems while keeping abreast of the industry’s cutting-edge principles to create informative and engaging content. When he’s not writing, Samson spends time playing or watching soccer.
%202.svg)
%202.svg)
