The Best Accounting Software Services for Contractors in 2024

Max Freedman is an authority on small business operations. In addition to helping run a business, Max has spent nearly a decade researching and writing about the tools and strategies entrepreneurs need to succeed. 

Construction firms have unique and dynamic accounting needs, managing the costs of materials and labor against the value of a project. That’s why contractors need the best accounting software with features tailor-made for the construction industry. These are features like inventory management, the ability to convert quotes and estimates to invoices and invoicing based on your team’s hours worked. We tested dozens of leading accounting platforms with an eye on these features and others that can help grow your construction business into a profitable success. Read on for our full analysis.

You’ll pay a set subscription fee per month, with add-on fees per user for some platforms, for your accounting software. These costs are typically quite low compared to those of other types of construction business software.

Nondiscounted pricing for the best accounting software for contractors starts at $15 per month. Additionally, the accounting software vendors on this list don’t charge extra for setup or implementation, although other services may impose these additional fees.

Accounting software’s low starting prices reflect service packages that may serve your construction firm well at first but prove limiting over time. As your business grows, you’ll likely need to upgrade to your vendor’s highest-end plans, which may cost hundreds of dollars per month. However, you may also be able to make do with midrange accounting software packages that add some, but not all, possible tools. In that case, you’re typically looking at slightly less than $100 per month.

With some accounting software, the cost of credit card processing may also be a factor. Namely, if your construction firm accepts client payments online, you may need to pay 1.5% to 3.5% of each transaction’s dollar value. A small additional flat fee may apply ― for example, credit card transactions commonly incur fees of 2.9% plus 30 cents. For a $1,000 transaction, that’s 0.029 * $1,000 plus 30 cents = $29.30. If you set up client payments solely within your accounting software, not other platforms, you can avoid additional subscription charges and thus offset these fees.

The below features that are typically part of accounting software are especially useful for contractors.

Bank Feeds and Reconciliation

All businesses, including construction firms, should regularly review their incoming and outgoing cash to assess their financial health. This process goes hand in hand with aligning your bank records with your internal documentation, such as invoices and vendor bills. Accounting software bank feeds and reconciliation tools automatically accomplish both these goals, so your platform of choice should include both technologies.

Bill Pay and Expense Tracking

Paying your suppliers on time and tracking the money your employees spend on your company’s behalf is key to managing your cash outflows. Accounting software platforms include bill pay and expense tracking tools to streamline ― and, in some cases, automate ― these needs.

In particular, look for platforms with mobile apps through which you can convert photos of receipts to expenses and bill them, when appropriate, to clients. This functionality ensures that you invoice accurately and get repaid for any costs you incur on your clients’ behalf.

Dashboard

When you log into a high-quality accounting software platform, you should see key financial data and clear links to key accounting tools. Don’t compromise on this when choosing accounting software.

Financial Reporting

Running reports such as profit and loss statements can help you assess your financial health and make key operational decisions. Look for accounting software that either auto-generates these reports or guides you through doing so in a few clicks. Analyze these reports’ trends to identify opportunities for operational changes that cut your costs and drive your revenue.

Integrations

Accounting software serves your business best when you connect it with other financial platforms, such as point-of-sale (POS) systems and credit card processing platforms. The best accounting software providers offer hundreds of these integrations with leading-name vendors.

Browse integration listings or app stores on the websites of any vendors you’re considering for your accounting software. Prioritize platforms that offer integrations with your key business software or access to an application programming interface for developing custom integrations.

Inventory and Stock Management

Though not the most common accounting software inclusion, inventory and stock management tools are especially important for construction firms. With these tools, you’ll always know which construction materials you have on hand and in what quantities. You’ll also get alerts when you’re running low and it’s time to reorder. This way, you can continue serving your clients without the tedious work of manually checking your stock counts.

Look for inventory management features among the most expensive pricing packages that accounting software vendors offer. You’re most likely to find these tools in these higher-end packages. For proper construction business management, these features are typically well worth the extra money you’ll spend to obtain them.

Invoicing, Quotes and Estimates

Interconnected tools for invoicing, quotes and estimates may well be the single most important aspect of high-quality contractor accounting software. Your goal should be to find a vendor through which you can easily generate quotes and invoices and just as easily convert them to invoices. These tools save you invaluable time and effort in collecting payment from your clients.

You should also look for platforms through which you can add your branding to all these documents. This way, you achieve visual consistency across all your invoices, quotes and estimates while continuing to convey your values and story to your clients.

Mileage Tracking

As your employees travel between sites, they’ll use fuel and eventually need to buy more. Since this fuel powers your business activities, the money your team pays for it is tax-deductible.

With accounting software mobile apps’ mileage tracking, your team can track their trips and calculate corresponding gas payment deductions automatically. Look for software that uploads these expenses to your account automatically and categorizes them as tax-deductible. This makes claiming your deductions much easier come tax time.

Mobile Apps

As a contractor, you need a robust mobile app for your accounting software. These apps are how you track mileage properly, and you can create invoices during site visits from these apps too.

Better yet, if you’re in the passenger seat as you go between sites, you can oversee all your finances right from your phone. Prioritize a powerful mobile app so you can power your operations anytime, anywhere.

Time Tracking and Billable Hours

You likely bill your clients per hour of work that your team performs on your projects. This makes time tracking tools within your accounting software especially important. You can use your software to track your team’s hours worked, assign hourly rates and add this information to your invoices. Streamlined calculations, payments and organization across your

Accounting software is one of the most important technologies for your construction firm to implement, so it’s worth taking time to find your ideal platform. Follow these steps to make the right choice for your business.

1. Decide what you need from accounting software.

You certainly need interconnected estimating and quoting tools, invoicing features and time tracking software. Do you also need a solution for improving and organizing your vendor payments and inventory management? Consider only accounting software platforms that check all your boxes.

2. Look at customer reviews and compare your possible platforms.

It’s easiest to meet nearly every need on your list when you consider several potential accounting platforms instead of only one. Review pricing pages to determine what features you get at which prices and how this compares across vendors. You’ll get a strong sense of how much value you get for each dollar you spend per vendor, empowering you to make smart spending decisions.

However, pricing tables only tell part of the story. Consider customer reviews too, especially those on Trustpilot (usually positive) and the Better Business Bureau website (sometimes negative). You’ll see the true pros and cons of each platform you’re considering from actual business owners who have used the software. Although one negative review shouldn’t sink the ship for any vendor you’re considering, all feedback is worth keeping in mind.

3. Sign up for the free trial.

All our picks for the best accounting software for contractors offer free trials of at least 14 days. Sign up for these trials to test your potential platforms for yourself before committing. This way, you get a hands-on sense of whether the platform is right for your business.

Occasionally, you may encounter accounting software vendors that offer a short period of discounted monthly subscription prices if you skip the free trial. This offer isn’t worth taking unless you’re deeply short on cash. After you’ve narrowed your search down to a few options, we always recommend free trials to determine which platforms truly serve your needs.

4. Go over the prices, features and user experience one last time.

Compare your notes, whether mental or physical. Ask yourself: Which platform offers the most balanced combination of reasonable costs, helpful features and hassle-free navigation and use? The platform you give as your answer is the one to choose.

Manually handling your accounting and related processes simply isn’t advisable. Here’s why using software is the better choice:

• Incomparably efficient quoting and invoicing: You can generate quotes in just a few clicks with accounting software, saving you time and minimizing tedious tasks. Similarly, you can convert quotes to invoices in a few clicks, tremendously streamlining your AR management.
• Little to no error: Manual quoting, invoicing and accounting are inherently error-prone processes subject to human error.  Accounting software can tally numbers faster and more accurately, and it can share that information with your other business software so you don’t have to enter it manually.
• Unparalleled tracking of labor hours: With accounting software, you can track your team’s labor hours from the very same platform for which you bill for them. You’ll know exactly how much to charge your clients and generate the corresponding invoices in one fell swoop. There’s simply no manual way to handle this as efficiently.
• Highly organized records: Especially as your construction firm grows and takes on more projects, your paper invoices, quotes and timesheets could start to get disorganized. Creating these documents digitally solves this problem. You can easily tag your digital documents to store them in a highly organized, easily navigable manner. Plus, with accounting platforms’ cloud-based storage, your records will always be accessible.