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Which construction software fits your trade? 5 questions, 1 pick.

QuickBooks Online for accounting. JobTread, Knowify, or Procore for project management + job costing. The right combination depends on your trade, crew size, and project complexity. This tool tells you in 60 seconds.

Disclosure: we earn a referral commission when you sign up via our links. Routing reflects fit, not payout.

1. What's your trade or company type?

Residential GC (custom homes, remodels, additions) Commercial GC ($1M+ projects, multi-trade) Specialty trade (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing, etc.) Solo handyman / sub / one-person shop

2. How big is your crew?

Just me / 1-3 people 4-10 employees + subs 11-50 employees 50+ employees

3. How many active projects at any one time?

1-3 projects 4-15 projects 16+ projects

4. What's your biggest pain right now?

Bookkeeping / sales tax / paying my CPA — can't tell job profit from total profit Job costing — estimates miss by 10-20% and I can't see why Change orders + client communication — I'm losing margin on scope creep Doc control + RFIs / submittals — everything is in email and PDFs

5. Mobile-first need (your team enters data from the field)?

Yes — field crew enters time, photos, daily logs from phones daily Some — foreman uploads photos / time sheets weekly No — data entry happens at the office

See plans

Why most contractors run two tools (not one)

Contractors lose 1–3% of margin on bad bookkeeping, and another 2–5% on bad job costing. Generic accounting software (QuickBooks, Xero) handles the books, but doesn't track projects well. Project management software (JobTread, Knowify, Procore) tracks projects, but is weak on tax-grade bookkeeping. Most successful contractors run one of each:

Books layer: QuickBooks Online (industry standard; your CPA already knows it).
Project layer: JobTread or Knowify (residential / specialty trades), or Procore (commercial GCs).

The two layers should integrate: QuickBooks Online has native sync with most modern PM tools, so cost data flows from the field into your books without re-entry. Avoid PM tools that don't integrate with QuickBooks — you'll spend 5+ hours a week double-entering.

Quick fit table

Profile	Books	Project mgmt	Why
Solo / 1-3 person crew	QuickBooks Online Simple Start	None (yet)	Time + materials in QBO is enough until you have multiple concurrent projects.
Residential GC, 4-15 projects	QuickBooks Online Plus	JobTread	Built for residential GC workflow; client-facing portal is the sales differentiator.
Specialty trade (HVAC, electrical, plumbing)	QuickBooks Online Plus	Knowify	Strong AIA billing + WIP reporting; better fit for service + project hybrid.
Commercial GC, $1M+ projects	QuickBooks Enterprise / Sage 100	Procore	Procore is the de facto standard for commercial; integrates with most ERP-class accounting.

See the full software comparison →

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