Delivering construction projects on time and profiting from your efforts takes meticulous planning and execution. You must create project designs, manage construction workers, track project benchmarks, monitor supplies, and maintain site safety. With so much going on, you’ll require the best construction apps for every piece to fall into its perfect place.
Construction apps streamline operations, from project planning to analysis, making it possible to carve clients’ designs into the projects they envision without straying out of budget. They help you stay on top of things on the construction site, inducing transparency and accountability into your workforce.
Some tools on our list thwart time theft and enhance crew location tracking. Others streamline job site safety, equipment tracking, construction project management, invoicing, and subcontractor bidding. Read on to find an ideal tool to solve your most pressing needs.
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There’s no one-size-fits-all technology stack for construction companies; everyone’s problems are unique. For this reason, the software solutions you pick ought to remedy the issues that impede your success.
We have highlighted each software’s functions to help you choose a solution that propels your business toward success:
Timeero — Best Crew Time and Location Tracking App
AutoDesk Build — Best Construction Project Management Software
SmartBid — Best Construction Bidding Software
Safety Meeting App — Best Construction Safety Management App
MagicPlan — AR-Powered Floor Plan Drawing Software
ShareMyToolBox — Best Small Tools Tracking App
Joist — Best Construction Invoicing and Estimating Software
Ease of use should be a familiar theme, regardless of the construction app you choose. Bear in mind that not everyone in your construction crew is tech-savvy. For this reason, the software should offer a flat learning curve so that employees spend less time learning it and more on their jobs.
More importantly, the software should offer the necessary features to meet your needs. If you struggle with time theft, use a time-tracking tool with geofencing and facial recognition features. If you need help with subcontractor bid selection, pick software that streamlines bidding from bid invitation and prequalification to subcontractor management. And so on.
Lastly, bring the price to the picture. Ideally, the best construction app should offer all the features you need at the most affordable price. However, don’t fixate on the price-feature equation: think value for money. Sometimes, you may have to spend a little over the odds to get add-ons that bring the best out of construction teams and improve process efficiency.
Top 7 Construction Apps in 2024
Every construction site is a hive of activities: There’s so much going on that no software solution can claim to be an all-in-one solution. These tools solve a problem or two to keep your projects on course.
Timeero - Crew Time and Location Tracking
Timeero helps control labor budgets. Direct and indirect labor cost is the highest expense for contractors, subcontractors, and home builders. The Construction Labor Market Analyzer estimates that labor costs account for 20-40% of the total construction project expenses. If you overspend on labor, profits will remain elusive.
Here’s how Timeero can help your construction business become capital-efficient:
Easy-to-Use Mobile Apps
If your construction crew is made of less tech-savvy employees, fret not. Using Timeero is a cinch for all employees, thanks to the intuitive user interface (UI). Punching in or out is as easy as selecting assigned tasks and hitting the clock-in button.
Timeero mobile is easy to install and use on iPhone and Android devices.
In addition, Timeero — the best time clock for construction — works seamlessly on employee’s iOS or Android devices — you don’t need to invest in expensive gadgets. The apps are easy to install from Apple’s app store or Google Play store.
The story is the same for construction project managers, forepersons, and supervisors. Creating an employee profile is a walk in the park, and the time card approval process is straightforward. Managers can easily select an employee timecard on “pending” entries and review and approve it with a few clicks.
Timeero enables you to approve employee timesheets and mileage logs with a button click.
Location Tracking With Construction Site Geofencing
It’s not uncommon for construction workers to wander outside their designated job site during work hours. Worry no more if your crew spends time in the local pub or McDonalds instead of at the work site.
Timeero lets you create a virtual boundary around your construction sites and leverage geofencing automation to monitor construction employee location and movement. The “Who’s working” tab displays the real-time location of each crew member. You can see where each clocked-in employee is stationed and spot those outside the designated work site.
Timeero shows pins on a map representing each team member’s real-time location.
Accurate Time Tracking with Facial Recognition
A recent study found that employees steal 4.5 hours from their employers weekly via tactics like buddy punching and off-site punching. Left unaddressed, these vices can cost you an equivalent of 7% of the gross annual payroll.
Thankfully, Timeero automated time tracking thwarts the devious time theft tactics construction workers use. With geofencing, you can configure the app to prompt employees to clock in when they arrive at the worksite. This ensures that no one forgets to punch in or out, improving the accuracy of employee time cards.
Moreover, geofencing restricts employees from clocking in or outside the work site. This stops off-site punching, eliminating time card fudge, and ensuring each employee is compensated fairly.
Timeero also has a facial recognition feature on the Kiosk app to prevent buddy punching and proxy attendance. The app takes a photo of each employee and they clock in or out. It compares the image to the employee profile and notifies the manager instantly in case of a mismatch. Buddy punchers have nowhere to hide.
Streamline Task Management and Work Classification
You pay different rates for different projects and tasks on a construction site. Carpenters, masons, electricians, plumbers, forepersons, and supervisors earn different rates: some tasks attract better pay than others. Without proper work classification, rate differential can cause payroll woes.
Enters Timeero task management.
The app requires each crew member to select the assigned task to clock in. This way, it computes each employee’s earnings based on the task or project rate. Employees can easily switch between tasks on the go to simplify wage determination. This enables you to compensate each employee fairly without hurting your company’s finances.
Accurate Mileage Tracking
If you require site engineers and project managers to move from site to site, tracking their mileage can enhance operations, reimbursement, and compliance. Timeero logs miles accurately without the crew members lifting a finger. It tracks miles when a clocked-in employee exceeds a predefined speed threshold. Mileage tracking doesn’t get any easier.
Moreover, with advanced segmented tracking, you can tell the time an engineer or project manager spends on the road or at a work site. The feature tracks the crew’s movement in segments. This way, it provides crucial details such as employee clock-in/out times and location, mileage and time between job sites, and exact time spent on-site.
Timeero enables construction professionals to track their driving and on-site time.
Other Key Features:
California break tracker
Employee scheduling
Message blast
Route replay with breadcrumbs
Reporting and Analytics
Integrations: Quickbooks Desktop and Online, Rippling, Gusto, ADP, Xero, Paychex, Viventium, and Paylocity.
Timeero pricing: 14-day free trial. Paid subscriptions start at $4 per user per month.
AutoDesk Build - Best Construction Project Management Software
AutoDesk is one of the project management tools for general and specialty contractors looking to manage construction projects easily.
The success of any construction project boils down to how well it’s managed. Project management is a standard practice in today’s construction industry: get it right, and your projects will be profitable. AutoDesk Build helps nail this critical facet to complete projects on time and within budget — while meeting quality standards.
The solution streamlines the workflow between your office and jobsite. Team members can share and access project and blueprint documents anywhere, anytime, through the cloud server. It also provides higher collaboration functions like adding markups, measuring, and notifying all parties involved in a project.
Clear communication is indispensable to the success of any construction project. AutoDesk Build enables construction teams to pull in the same direction, thanks to an effective request for information (RFI) management. It allows you to seamlessly manage RFIs so that each crew and team understands their responsibilities and project requirements.
In addition, AutoDesk Build brings the stakeholders on board throughout the project. It enables you to manage and coordinate construction submittals on a centralized dashboard. You can get stakeholders’ input to ensure your vision marries theirs for smooth project progress.
Other Key AutoDesk Build Features:
Centralized meetings
Real-time access to Primavera P6, ASTA Powerproject, and Microsoft Project schedules
Project templates
Configuration migration
Cost management
Integrations: Airtable, Allied BIM, BIM SyncShare, Safesite, Freshbooks, and more
AutoDesk Build pricing: No free trial; pricing starts at $48 per user per month.
SmartBid - Best Construction Bidding Software
SmartBid customizable forms streamline the subcontractor bidding and selection process.
Playing the jack of all trades is a risky gamble regarding construction projects. To deliver projects that meet quality standards, you must subcontract certain aspects, whether site preparation, HVAC, or plumbing. Thanks to SmartBid, you don’t have to fumble around looking for the right subcontractors.
The software simplifies bid management for independent and general contractors. It helps you send invitations to bid and prequalify subs so you can send solicitations to the cherry-picked lot and not the entire group of bidders. Moreover, the ability to customize questionnaires helps sift through the list to pick the most qualified subcontractor.
In addition, SmartBid makes it easy to track subcontractor compliance. Collaborating with a non-compliant subcontractor can lead to legal liability and ultimately dent your reputation. To sidestep these foibles, SmartBid enables you to collect and manage subcontractor compliance documents for effective tracking.
Clear communication is vital during preconstruction, and SmartBid helps you achieve that. You can quickly email subcontractors from the database or ConstructConnect sub-network or publish customized forms and direct your subs there. Subcontractors get email notifications to act on their bid as it progresses.
Other Key SmartBid Features:
Manage subcontractor data
Share project documents
Reports and project metrics
Live user support
Integrations: Procore, AutoDesk BIM, Stack, ConstructConnect, ConsensusDocs, and more
SmartBid pricing: No free trial, quote-based pricing model
Safety Meeting App - Best Construction Safety Management App
The Safety Meeting App offers over 1,500 safety tips articles.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Act requires construction businesses to inform workers about hazards through training and other methods. The training should be in a language your crew understands.
The Safety Meeting App helps meet this OSHA requirement. It helps hold and document safety meetings with photos of attendees. It also offers an array of safety topics relevant to the construction industry in English and Spanish. This makes it easy for your construction crew to understand the safety tips.
Moreover, the Safety Meeting App has created a list of all potential hazards in a construction worksite. The list allows you to create a safety checklist for your construction crew at the click of a button. Just tick a box beside a hazard most relevant to your industry and click save to generate a shareable checklist or report.
Sadly, even with proper training, accidents are bound to occur in an industry where 65% of employees work on scaffolds. Worksite falls, and workers being struck by objects are synonymous with the construction industry. OSHA requires businesses with more than ten workers to keep accurate and complete records of work-related injuries and incidents.
This is where Safety Meeting incident reporting comes in handy. The app allows you to document incidents and add details such as data and time, the employee involved, and attach photos and notes — the way OSHA requires.
Other Key Safety Meeting App Features
Cloud storage
Effective communication
More than 1,500 safety topics
OSHA Compliance
Safety Meeting App integrations: Unfortunately, we couldn’t find information about Safety Meeting App Integrations.
Safety Meeting App pricing: 15-day free trial; pricing starts at $199 per user per year.
ShareMyToolBox - Best Small Tools Tracking App
ShareMyToolbox enables you to generate weekly or daily reports to track tool damage.
When discussing apps for construction workers, it’s impossible not to mention ShareMyToolbox — an equipment-tracking app. Equipment loss and theft is a serious problem in the construction industry. Stories of construction site theft are rampant, and the National Equipment Register (NER) claims that the average single loss of equipment costs our company $30,000.
ShareMyToolbox is in its element when used to track small tools that your crew can’t do without but are easy to lose or misplace. The software solution enables contractors and field-based teams to track equipment by vehicle, crew, location, etc.
It’s also designed for smoother workflows: the field crew updates tool movement, and the app stores the information in a centralized tool inventory. Team members can quickly look up a tool they need in the cloud-based inventory to determine where it is and confirm availability. It is easy to loan or return a tool for easy deployment.
Tools can be transferred from one crew member to another, but the superintendent and forepersons won’t lose track. They receive instant transfer notifications to stay in the know about who has which tool. Moreover, GPS and barcode tagging can help trace unused tools and move them where needed to keep operations ticking.
Other Key ShareMyToolbox Features:
Quick tool search
Request to borrow
Transfer tools
Built-in scanner
ShareMyToolbox integrations: Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.
ShareMyToolBbox pricing: 14-day free trial, paid subscription includes $65 base price plus $50 per block of five users.
MagicPlan - AR-Powered Floor Plan Drawing Software
MagicPlan lets you create floor plans and project estimates on the go to enhance your conversions.
MagicPlan comes in handy when a client requests a design change mid-project. For example, a client may request a kitchen or living room design change when the foundation has already been done. The app offers an easy solution to create and share sketches or new designs with the client.
It leverages AR scanning technology to transform built space into floor plans. You don’t have to be tech-savvy to use the app — scan the room with your phone camera and use auto-detect to capture doors, windows, and other elements. MagicPlan takes every aspect into account to create sketches in 2D or 3D.
One of the cool add-ons is computing material takeoff and estimate. If the plan gets the client’s approval, you can quickly create estimates with MagicPlan. You only need to add the sketches, measurements, markups, and photos to calculate the price of putting up the new design.
Other Key MagicPlan Features:
Object and assets library
Export projects
Photo reports
Notes and annotations
Price list manager
MagicPlan integrations: ServiceTrade, Trello, Asana, CompanyCam, Dropbox, and more.
MagicPlan pricing: Free for up to two projects, Sketches at $99.99 and Report at $399.99.
Joist - Best Construction Invoicing and Estimating Software
Besides invoices and project estimates, Joist helps you create construction project change orders.
Lastly, when you get projects done, you need to request payments. We can’t end our list without mentioning Joist — a reliable invoicing app for contractors. The user-friendly mobile invoicing tool lets you create estimates and invoices on a smartphone.
No more chasing down clients to pay their invoices. Joist allows you to create professional invoices that clients can pay online with eCheck or credit cards. You even get a notification when a client reads your invoice — you don’t have to ask them if they received it.
Joist also allows you to create project estimates with ease. It enables you to use cost markups, payment schedules, project photos, and deposit requests to estimate with ease. If you’re working on identical projects, simply duplicate estimate templates to quickly create new estimates.
Joist pricing: Free for up to five documents; Paid subscription starts from $14 per month.
8 Honorable Mentions
Worry not if you are addressing more problems and need more tools to your stack. We add honorable mentions to help you make an informed decision. These tools address more issues you encounter in construction management:
1. DroneDeploy — Best Construction App for Interior and Exterior Visual Data
DroneDeploy software integrates with select construction industry drones. It’s built to give accurate and clear images of your on-site projects quickly. And as a plus, this impressive app can map 200 acres in 15 minutes.
2. iAuditor — Best Construction App for Site Inspection
SafetyCulture’s iAuditor allows you to be proactive in preventing accidents and injuries. This app is built to help you identify potential hazards before they happen. It also helps in connecting field crews with everyone in the organization.
3. GasBuddy — Best Construction App for Finding Cheap Gas
Gas prices are hitting new heights, so finding the cheapest gas available wherever you are has become increasingly important. Crowdsource gas-price finder GasBuddy is unique among the apps for construction jobs as it’s designed to help you save on gas. App users can check gas prices and find out where to get the best prices.
4. Raken — Construction Management and Field Reporting App
Raken’s construction management software helps construction professionals collect accurate project data in real time. The mobile app enables field crews to input project data wherever they are. This way, Raken provides you with up-to-date insights on every project.
5. Fieldwire — Construction Management & Punch List Software
Fieldwire brings together the entire project team, allowing everyone from the foreman to the project manager to collaborate and share information in real-time. If you opt for this app, you can benefit from coordinating effectively, tracking performance, and reducing risks by capturing all relevant information and issues on the spot.
6. GoCanvas — An Excellent Reporting App
GoCanvas software is designed to help large and small business owners, and professionals save time and money by eliminating the need for paperwork and speeding up data collection. App users can customize reports or use a template to collect information, distribute the data, and sync to the app or their cloud.
7. Procore — Construction Project Management App
Procore is a construction project management software designed to help you complete projects safely, on time, and within budget. It aims to help construction firms increase project efficiency and accountability and streamline project documentation and communication.
8. All-in-One Calculator — Construction Calculator App
All-In-One Calculator Free is a free app that helps you do construction-related calculations. It includes over 75 calculators and unit converters in one. The app currently has a 4.7-star rating with numerous positive reviews praising it.
Build Your Stack With The Best Construction Apps
The best construction apps help businesses in the construction industry infuse efficiency into every process. They streamline employee monitoring and enable companies to implement cost-saving tactics that boost the bottom line.
However, it’s always prudent to maintain a lean software stack to reduce click overload. Ideally, your stack should solve your issues using the fewest software possible. In other words, find software solutions that address two or three of your needs.
For example, Timeero addresses accountability and wage determination issues. It wraps GPS location tracking, geofenced time tracking, mileage tracking, and cost optimization capabilities in an easy-to-use app.
Want to learn more about Timeero? Start a 14-day free trial today to access all the smart features for construction businesses. You can also schedule a consultation to learn how Crest Contracting, Atterholt Construction, and many other construction businesses use Timeero to grow their bottom line.
FAQs: Construction Apps
What Is the Best Construction App for Android?
Timeero is the best construction app for Android for businesses looking to streamline time, location, and mileage tracking.
What Are Some of the Best Construction Apps?
Timeero, AutoDesk Build, SmartBid, Safety Meeting App, and ShareMyToolbox are some of the best construction apps.
Get a first-hand feel for Timeero’s features for construction companies — no credit card required.
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.
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