box- A GC's margin is a thin fee — it leaks through buyout, unsigned changes, general conditions and billing.
- Give every number one owning system: the PM platform for changes, the ERP for cost.
- Forecast every job's cost at completion weekly, including committed subcontracts.
- A five-week slip can consume over a third of the fee in general conditions alone.
Where general contractor jobs make and lose money
- Buyout. The difference between the estimate and the awarded subcontracts is the first place margin is won or given away.
- Unsigned change orders. Work in place without an approved change order is cost with no revenue behind it. See change order management.
- General conditions over time. Every week past the finish date costs supervision, trailers and equipment.
- Billing position. Under-billing finances the owner; over-billing hides a forecast that is too low. See the WIP schedule.
Key terms: Change order (CO) · Committed cost · Estimate at completion (EAC) · Work in progress (WIP) schedule · Fade
A worked example
A $4.8M building with a $240,000 fee and general conditions running at $18,000 a week. The schedule slips five weeks:
Nothing in cost to date shows this until the weeks are spent. A forecast tied to the schedule shows it the week the finish date moves.
The general contractor software stack
Most contractors in this trade run four or five systems. The names below are common examples, not a ranking.
ProcoreAutodesk FormaOracle AconexCMiCSharePointboxBoxthe PM platformThe numbers worth tracking weekly
- Forecast at completion and variance per job
- Buyout savings or loss against the estimate
- Unsigned change orders in place
- General conditions burn against the schedule
- Over/under billing and cash position
How to choose general contractor software
Five questions to ask any vendor before a trial — each is about whether the software fits how this trade actually makes money.
- Does the PM platform push change events to the ERP, or does someone retype them?
- Can subcontractors, the owner and the architect work in it without per-seat charges piling up?
- Does it show committed cost from subcontracts before the first invoice arrives?
- Can it produce a WIP your surety accepts without a spreadsheet in between?
- Can a superintendent use it from a phone on the first day?
Then trial it on a finished job where you already know the answer. The construction tech stack guide covers how the pieces connect.
Where Constructelligence fits
Constructelligence sits on top of the accounting system you already run — Sage 300 CRE and QuickBooks Desktop are connected today, with Viewpoint, Sage Intacct and others in build — and forecasts every job weekly by cost code, so a job's fee disappearing into buyout, unsigned changes or extended general conditions shows up in the week it starts. It reads read-only, installs on your own infrastructure and replaces none of the tools above. See it in the demo.
Software for other trades
A general contractor's weekly job review: contract and approved changes, forecast at completion, fee left in dollars and percent, buyout gain or loss, unsigned changes in place, general conditions against plan and the billing position — and the action agreed.
12 columns: 9 you fill in and 3 calculated by formula and filled down 200 rows, so nothing is worked out by hand. In the Excel version, 7 columns reject entries of the wrong type (a date column only takes dates, an amount column only numbers), the header row stays frozen with filters on it, and the workbook opens on an Instructions sheet that lists every column below.
Every column, and how it is captured
| Column | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Job | Text | Job number exactly as in your accounting system (e.g. J-1104), so rows join to job cost. |
| Contract | Amount ($) | Contract value including approved change orders. |
| Approved COs | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| Revised contract | Calculated | Calculated: [Contract] + [Approved COs] |
| Forecast at completion | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| Fee left | Calculated | Calculated: [Revised contract] − [Forecast at completion] |
| Fee left % | Calculated | Calculated — fee left as a percent of the revised contract (= IF([Revised contract]=0, blank, [Fee left] ÷ [Revised contract] × 100)) |
| Buyout gain (loss) | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| Unsigned COs in place | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| General conditions over (under) | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| Over (under) billed | Amount ($) | Enter the amount in dollars. |
| Action | Text | Free text. |
See it on real-looking numbers
Constructelligence is a construction intelligence platform: it reads your ERP, project and field systems read-only and does this arithmetic every week, for every job. The demo runs it on a sample eight-job portfolio.
Try the demoJoin the private betaFrequently asked questions
What software do general contractors use?
Most run a project management platform (such as Procore or Autodesk Forma), a construction accounting system or ERP (such as Sage 300 CRE, Sage Intacct Construction, Viewpoint or CMiC), a scheduling tool (Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project) and estimating software, plus a reporting or construction intelligence layer across them.
What is the best software for a small general contractor?
Construction-aware accounting with job costing first, then a project management tool the field will use. Add scheduling and forecasting as the number of concurrent jobs grows.
How do general contractors track job profitability?
By forecasting cost at completion for every job weekly — budget, cost to date and committed subcontracts, with percent complete from the schedule — and comparing it with the contract including approved change orders.
What should a GC track weekly?
Forecast at completion and variance per job, buyout against the estimate, unsigned change orders in place, general conditions against the schedule, and over- or under-billing on every job.
Is Procore an accounting system?
No. Procore is project management with project financials; the general ledger, payroll, AP and AR live in a construction accounting system or ERP, which Procore integrates with.
Related guides
More in Software by trade
- Construction software by trade
- Electrical contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Plumbing software: what plumbing contractors run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- HVAC and mechanical contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Concrete contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Roofing contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Excavation and sitework contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Drywall and interiors contractor software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Home builder software: what to run, what to track, and where jobs lose money
- Deck builder software: project management, pricing and where deck jobs lose money
Free tools for this topic: Construction markup vs margin calculator · Construction labor burden calculator · Contractor overhead recovery and break-even calculator
All software by trade resources →