Being a contractor doesn’t just involve building structures and sub-contracting other specialists to help you along the way. It also means running your day-to-day operations, marketing your business, and closing down new deals.
While all these tasks might seem overwhelming at times, special tools are available that can make your operations more seamless, reach prospective clients, and maintain current ones. The good news is that you can access these tools from your phone.
That’s right — some of the most powerful tools for your contracting business are apps that you access from your phone’s browser or download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
In this article, we’ll go over 10 apps for contractors that will make your life and work much easier.
What Tasks Do Apps for Contractors Execute?
Apps for your contracting business can aid in several key areas. Here are the categories of work that apps for contractors can get done:
- Business Processes: Contractor apps can help manage your team and the hours they work each week, your accounting records, invoicing, and more.
- CRM and Sales: Some apps for contractors allow you to create profiles for each client, which you can use to record all communications, payment info, and more. These apps also let you contact prospective clients through emails and direct messaging.
- Contracting-Specific Tasks: Most contractor apps let you access, edit, and share your blueprints. They also come equipped with project management software, which can be used as collaboration tools with other subcontractors so everyone is on the same page regarding job progress.
The Top 10 Apps for Contractors
#1 Adalo
What Is It?
Instead of purchasing a pre-made app for contractors, get Adalo and make your own contracting app. You won’t need to know any coding or technical skills — Adalo features a super simple drag-and-drop interface that you can start using right after you sign up.
If you can create an email or social media account, you can use Adalo. It’s really that easy.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
Adalo is full of integrations with popular business software that you can plug into your app. For instance, connect to your QuickBooks account and gather financial information to determine the profitability of projects, save invoices, and more.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Create customized profiles for everyone you work with: Subcontractors, clients, attorneys, and more. Save all your communication information, documents, and building plans on these profiles and access them with just a few clicks.
You can build a customized messaging feature to chat directly with your crew and clients. This makes communication more professional, as you won’t be using personal phone numbers for text messaging or other private messaging apps.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
When jobs get finished, inspections pass with flying colors, or any other urgent matters arise, notify your team, subcontractors, and clients on the fly using Adalo’s built-in push notifications. This feature can communicate crucial information fast.
Pricing
Start using Adalo at $36/month.
#2 Contractor Foreman
What Is It?
Contractor Foreman is construction management software with tools that streamline project management, CRM, and other operational tasks.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
Conveniently, Contract Foreman has an all-in-one platform for scheduling, invoicing, and tracking project expenses. It allows you to manage projects with ease, access all your documents in one place, and create reports for any job type.
It also comes with a built-in time card system, which allows you to effortlessly manage payroll. This feature is especially attractive if you’ve got teams that start the day directly on the job site without clocking in at the shop.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Contractor Foreman includes a built-in messaging system, which allows you to quickly send news to your clients. Its CRM system lets you keep a database of all your clients, making it super easy to access all your client’s info.
So when a client asks about the weatherstripping you used for their door frames, you’ll know where to find the answer.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
You’ll get a robust set of features designed to enhance your tasks, including:
- Detailed job costing tools that allow for precise budget management and financial tracking, ensuring projects remain profitable.
- Comprehensive time tracking for managing labor costs and scheduling.
- The ability to record daily logs and incident reports, and upload photos and notes directly from the field.
- Tools for creating and managing subcontractor agreements and tracking compliance documents.
Pricing
The $49/month (billed annually) version is great for small teams, allowing for 1 user. If you’ve got a bigger company, check out the $125/month (billed annually) version, as it allows for up to 8 users and provides a messaging feature.
#3 Joist
What Is It?
Joist is an app for contractors in all kinds of trades, which manages most aspects of any contracting business, from customer relationship management (CRM) to estimates and invoicing.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
Joist offers workflow-streamlining features like estimate creation, invoice management, and payment processing. Having all these tools in one platform makes accessing documents simple and quick.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Joist's has robust CRM and sales tools to maintain detailed client profiles, including contact information, job history, and client-specific reports. You can also email estimates and invoices from the app to clients, saving you the time to look up documents and attach them to an email.
It also provides capabilities for tracking jobs and sending follow-ups to help you stay on top of potential leads and ongoing projects. This feature helps ensure that no opportunity, change in plan, or specific detail slips through the cracks.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
Joist offers a range of features for contracting-specific tasks that simplify complex or annoying processes, such as:
- Allowing for customized estimates and invoices, with the ability to add detailed descriptions, attach images, and adjust pricing.
- Tools for project scheduling and tracking, making it easier to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Pricing
For only $14/month (billed monthly), Joist lets you manage an unlimited number of clients and show your logo on the app. If you need more features, like changing orders or tracking business reports, go with the $32/month (billed monthly) version.
#4 Job Tread
What Is It?
Aimed at small business owners and larger contracting firms, Job Tread streamlines the construction project management process by providing budgeting, scheduling, invoicing, and other tools.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
Job Tread automates routine tasks, such as:
- Tracking job progress
- Managing subcontractor assignments
- Scheduling and assigning workflows
- Monitoring expenses and how they affect your budget.
This feature saves time and increases accuracy by reducing human error.
Additionally, Job Tread comes with a handy dashboard or reporting features. These provide real-time insights into project performance, enabling you to quickly make informed decisions about increasing labor hours, ordering equipment, or hiring a new subcontractor.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
You’ll get features to maintain detailed customer records, including contact information, project history, and ongoing communications. It also lets you compile your records in a centralized database.
This database lets you quickly access information to manage customer relationships and follow up effectively. Job Tread also supports creating and sending proposals and bids, boosting the quoting process and improving bid accuracy.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
To meet your needs, Job Tread provides detailed job costing tools that help you accurately estimate and track project expenses. It also provides a scheduling and dispatching feature that simplifies task assignments and ensures each crew is properly staffed.
Prioritizing safety, Job Tread has templates and checklists to meet all safety standards during project execution.
Pricing
Job Tread has a streamlined, all-in-one plan starting at $199/month (billed monthly). It only allows for 1 user–if you want to add more, you’ll need to pay an additional $20 per user every month.
#5 My Craft
What Is It?
My Craft integrates multiple features to streamline operations, improve client relationship management, and streamline all contracting-related tasks.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
When you choose My Craft, you’ll get various tools to simplify business management for contractors. One feature is a handy analytics dashboard, which you can use to generate progress and budget reports about specific jobs.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
My Craft has a payment feature unique to contractors' needs. After clients sign the contract, they’ll send the funds to the MyCraft app. When you finish the job, and the client approves, My Craft will release the funds to your company bank account.
Additionally, My Craft has a messaging feature that allows you to communicate directly with clients from the app.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
My Craft has unique and detailed project management tools that allow you to plan, execute, and monitor projects from start to finish. You’ll be able to track labor and material costs while knowing about compliance and safety protocols. These features help you stay on budget and keep you aware of new regulations and laws.
Pricing
My Craft doesn’t provide pricing to the public. You’ll need to contact My Craft for more information.
#6 PlanGrid
What Is It?
PlanGrid is construction productivity software for sharing, updating, and viewing blueprints. It’s owned by Autodesk, a software company that allows architects, engineers, and contractors to create their own blueprints.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
PlanGrid streamlines and centralizes all project documentation. It allows for updates or changes to blueprints, documents, and more. So, if you need a client or subcontractor to sign off on a change, you can have them do so through PlanGrid.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
By improving project execution and client interaction, PlanGrid indirectly supports CRM and sales processes. PlanGrid does this by sending invoices and other sales documents to clients quickly so they can pay on time and your cash flow can stay positive.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
Use the PlanGrid to access up-to-date blueprints, track revisions, and manage other construction tasks. The tool lets you, subcontractors, and clients amend, comment on, and revise your construction blueprints and drawings. Changes are instantly viewable by all app users.
Additionally, PlanGrid includes features for tracking issues on-site, creating lists, and managing daily reports This will help you maintain control over work quality and your projects’ timelines.
Pricing
PlanGrid is a feature of Autodesk Build, blueprint drafting software. Autodesk Build costs $145/month (billed monthly).
#7 Buildertrend
What Is It?
Buildertrend is a cloud-based construction management app specifically targeted to residential contractors and remodelers.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
You’ll get several features that can really simplify your business processes. Buildertrend has specialty project management tools for workload scheduling, budgeting, and daily logs, allowing you to manage your team in one spot.
The app also stores and manages documents and photos. You’ll be able to keep all project-related files organized and ready for quick and easy access.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Buildertrend excels in marketing and CRM. It includes a lead management feature to track potential clients from the initial contact to the sale. You’ll be able to send bid requests and proposals to potential clients.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
Buildertrend allows contractors to easily create, send, track, and change purchase orders. This feature ensures that all parties are up-to-date with the latest project changes and costs.
It also has a time-tracking functionality that helps manage labor hours and costs. Helpfully, Buildertrend offers integrations with popular accounting software like QuickBooks, simplifying financial management and reducing errors.
Pricing
Get Buildertrend for $199/month (billed monthly), and you’ll get access to email marketing and more. If you need more features to manage your finances, check out the $499/month (billed monthly) version.
#8 Procore
What Is It?
Procore is a contractor app that streamlines project management, resource allocation, and communication among all stakeholders involved in a construction project.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
Procore will ease your business processes by offering tools that improve project visibility and collaboration. For instance, you’ll get real-time access to project data, so everyone involved can stay up-to-the-minute about each project’s progress.
If compliance issues arise and changes need to be made, using Procore ensures that everyone involved knows as soon as possible. Additionally, Procore integrates with other tools, such as QuickBooks and Docusign, providing clear information across all departments.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Procore offers functionalities that help maintain robust relationships with clients and subcontractors, allowing tracking of all interactions by saving emails, documents, and other data to the app.
Procore’s marketing tools can generate detailed industry reports and analytics. These will help you identify potential leads, analyze industry trends, and conceive new marketing efforts.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
Procore’s document management system helps you create, manage, and share important documents like contracts, change orders, RFIs (Request for Information), and submittals.
Create automated workflows to ensure that documents meet compliance standards so you don’t have to submit the same documents repeatedly. Procore will ensure you’re on top of your tasks by helping you track deadlines, manage subcontractor assignments, and keep you in the loop about the newest safety regulations.
Pricing
Procure doesn’t publish pricing, you’ll need to contact them directly.
#9 LetsBuild
What Is It?
LetsBuild is an all-in-one contractor management app with robust tools for project tracking, resource allocation, and budgeting.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
LetsBuild provides robust tools for project tracking, resource allocation, and budget management. You can access real-time updates on project progress to determine if your current pace is ahead or behind schedule.
You’ll also be able to manage your inventory, tracking your raw materials and equipment. If you’re running low on a certain construction material, you can order it and prevent delays.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
You’ll get a suite of features for maintaining and strengthening client relationships. The app stores and manages client data, including contact information, communication history, and past project details.
LetsBuild features tools for lead tracking and sales forecasting, which can help you price services and jobs more accurately for a better bottom line. Its marketing tools allow for identifying potential opportunities and planning future business strategies.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
LetsBuild provides specialized estimating, bidding, and contracting tools. You’ll get customizable templates for bids and proposals to make the bidding process easier.
The app supports compliance management by ensuring all contracts adhere to industry standards and legal requirements. It also offers mobile access for on-site tasks, allowing your crews to update project statuses on the go and access architectural plans and specifications.
Pricing
LetsBuild only offers customized pricing, and you’ll have to contact their sales team to learn more.
#10 Fieldwire
What Is It?
Fieldwire is a contractor app for boosting communication between your teams and managing all levels of tasks, from day-to-day operations to long-term projects.
How Can It Help My Business Processes?
The app allows you to create and assign tasks and update work statuses in real time. This ensures that all team members are on the same page, helping to avoid delays and mistakes.
Your team can track their progress while working on projects using Fieldwire’s reporting tools. These tools enable teams to generate progress reports quickly, providing insights about each project’s progress and where additional resources might be needed.
How Can It Assist With CRM and Sales?
Although Fieldwire is more focused on project management, it has a few features supporting CRM. You can share each project’s progress with your clients, which keeps communication clear and allows you to provide data-driven insights to answer client questions.
How Can It Assist With Contracting-Related Tasks?
Fieldwire offers robust features like scheduling, clock-in management, and automated workflows. The mobile app lets you view and change or edit construction plans on-site, track different project versions, and ensure all team members have the latest information.
Got crews that work way out in the middle of nowhere where spotty internet access is 10 miles down the road? Luckily, Fieldwire supports offline work, and a day’s worth of updates will be saved to your device, with or without an internet connection.
Pricing
You can manage unlimited projects for $54/month (billed monthly). If you need more features, like the ability to create custom forms and invoices, you can go with the $74/month (billed monthly) version.
What To Consider When Choosing a Contractor App
Each app on our list has a free version, a free trial, or, at the very least, a demo version that lets you try out a few features of the app.
So, before choosing an app for your contracting business, you can carefully review all its features and functionality. Doing this will give you a feel for which contracting app works best.
Remember to periodically check and run updates! Using an older version of a contracting app could cause problems like slow load times, which no one likes to deal with.
Supercharge Your Contracting Business With Adalo
One of the best ways to ensure your contracting app has all the features you need and aptly reflects your contracting business is by making your own app with Adalo. And you don’t need any coding, programming, or technical experience to do so.
Choose from over 35 different Adalo templates and hit the ground running for building your app. Each one comes pre-loaded with images, screens, and more. You can customize the colors and layout to your brand and preferences.
When you finish building your app, publish it to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. This feature makes it super easy for your clients and partners to get your app.
With Adalo, you can breathe life into any app idea for your contracting business. Sign up with Adalo today for free.
