CoConstruct Review: Pros and Cons, Features & Alternatives 2023

CoConstruct, a part of the Buildertrend family, is a cloud-based construction management software built to automate various aspects of project management—from proposal and bidding to invoicing and accepting online payments. It integrates with QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop, allowing you to sync important data, including invoices, estimates, budget actuals, and time entries. Our CoConstruct review aims to help your construction business decide if it’s the right platform based on key features, pricing, pros and cons, and more.

• Pros/Cons
• Deciding Factors
• Best For
• Not Ideal For

Overall Score: 4.63 / 5

RATING CRITERIA	QuickBooks Integration		5.00 out of 5
	Ease of Implementation		4.50 out of 5
	Pricing		4.00 out of 5
	Construction Features		4.23 out of 5
	Construction Reporting		4.75 out of 5
	Mobile App		5.00 out of 5
	User Reviews		4.70 out of 5

Pros

• Lets you create project groups—such as by phase, project manager, and location—for more detailed tracking
• Integrates with QuickBooks Online and Desktop
• Can create invoices from scratch, estimates, or bids
• Has a more flexible pricing structure compared to most other construction software
• Includes a document management tool for storing and managing photos and files
• Has several useful reports, such as profit reports based on original estimates vs updated projections

Cons

• Lacks equipment management features
• Not a full-fledged bookkeeping software
• Can retrieve budget actuals and create bills from purchase orders (POs) only with QuickBooks Plus integration
• Has no inventory management features
• Doesn’t offer a free trial

Supported Users	Midsize and large construction companies that use QuickBooks and seek a full-featured construction integration with monthly subscription options
Pricing	Essential: $399 per month (billed monthly) or $339 per month (billed annually) Advanced: $699 per month (billed monthly) or $599 per month (billed annually) Complete: $999 per month (billed monthly) or $829 per month (billed annually)
Free Trial	None, but has a free demo
Standout Features	Allows you to create projects, tasks, and schedules using preloaded templates Lets you store and manage files, photos, and videos and annotate on any file Enables you to create and send POs and capture payments instantly online Has a mobile app that allows team members to clock in and out from their smartphone Offers other useful features, such as email marketing, a customer portal, and lead proposals
Ease of Use	Moderate; advanced features require time to master, but there are several preloaded templates to start with
Customer Support	Phone and email support, online support requests, and an online help center with plenty of resources like blogs and feature tutorials

• Medium and large-scale contractors seeking a full-featured project management solution with built-in invoicing and bill management tools
• QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop users who want integrated construction-specific features
• Contractors with remote team members who need mobile time tracking features

• Contractors needing an all-in-one standalone construction accounting software: If your construction business requires a full-fledged accounting software that doesn’t require integration, consider Jonas Premier. It supports double-entry accounting and includes built-in accounting features, including accounts payable (A/P) and accounts receivable (A/R) management and financial reporting. For other similar options, check out our top-recommended construction accounting solutions.
• Construction companies seeking material and inventory management features: If inventory management is important to your construction business, then we recommend Acctivate. We discuss its specialized inventory features in our detailed review of Acctivate.
• Small-scale contractors who want an affordable and simple estimating tool: Some contractors may need only an estimating tool rather than an all-in-one software. In this case, we recommend ContractorTools, which costs as low as $9.99 monthly for one user. Head to our ContractorTools review to see if it fits your business needs.

Visit CoConstruct

CoConstruct Alternatives

Visit Jonas Premier	Visit Acctivate	Visit ContractorTools
Best for: Construction companies that need equipment management features	Best for: Companies that want material and inventory management tools	Best for: Contractors seeking a simple and inexpensive estimating solution
Cost: From $15,000 (one-time) plus $299 monthly	Cost: From $9,995 (one-time) or $833 monthly	Cost: From $9.99 monthly for one user
Read our Jonas Premier review	Read our Acctivate review	Read our ContractorTools review

The CoConstruct pricing structure received an above-average score in our evaluation because the provider offers flexible monthly plans, as opposed to other similar software that charges a hefty one-time fee. However, I couldn’t give it perfect marks because the monthly costs can be potentially expensive for small-scale contractors.

The table below sums up CoConstruct’s subscription options, including some notable features included in each plan.

I awarded CoConstruct a perfect score in this category because you can push different types of project-related data from CoConstruct to QuickBooks. When integrated with QuickBooks, you can transfer data, including customers, job costs, POs, invoices, and payments.

Job costs are transferred to QuickBooks Online as budgets while POs are pushed into QuickBooks as bills. CoConstruct syncs POs as bills and not as POs to avoid creating duplicate POs in QuickBooks, since you’ve already tracked and communicated them in CoConstruct.

When you create a PO in CoConstruct, a corresponding bill is generated in QuickBooks to represent the pending payment to the vendor. When the bill is completely paid in QuickBooks, CoConstruct automatically updates the payment status within its system.

Additionally, committed costs, which are costs associated with POs, are created and tracked in CoConstruct. These costs will be reflected as budget actuals in QuickBooks Online, whether the bills associated with the POs have been paid or not yet.

Meanwhile, if you wish to sync invoices between the two platforms, you must create the invoice in CoConstruct and push it to QuickBooks either automatically or manually. As invoices are paid and recorded in QuickBooks Online, the payment status of the invoice will also automatically be updated in CoConstruct.

QuickBooks Desktop Integration

CoConstruct integrates with all versions of QuickBooks Desktop, and you can set up the integration using a QuickBooks tool called the Web Connector. The connector allows you to sync data, including estimates, invoices, client payments, and time clock entries.

However, the QuickBooks Desktop integration may not be as easy to set up as QuickBooks Online because you have to do some heavy lifting. For instance, you must first download and install the QuickBooks Web Connector to your computer to set up the integration.

CoConstruct provides easy integration with QuickBooks either through the QuickBooks Online App Store or the built-in connector in CoConstruct. The slight drop in its score is due to the manual configuration steps that you have to complete on the Accounting Integration page in CoConstruct.

For instance, you must specify whether change orders will automatically convert to customer invoices once they are approved in CoConstruct. Also, you must indicate whether your projects will be tied to a “customer” or “customer: job.” Connecting it to a “customer” will set each project up as an individual customer, while “customer: job” allows you to have multiple sub-customers or projects tied to a specific customer.

Additionally, if you need to sync invoices, you must specify which accounts receivable account you use for customer invoices and sync your codes with the corresponding codes or categories in QuickBooks Online. You can link your codes with QuickBooks Online in the Accounting Codes tab in CoConstruct.

Accounting Codes tab under the Accounting Settings in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

CoConstruct earned a near-excellent score in our rubric because it’s more feature-packed than most other construction software we’ve reviewed. I docked a few points primarily due to the lack of equipment and inventory management, but I consider it one of the most comprehensive construction management solutions on the market.

Here’s a list of some of the most notable CoConstruct features:

Project Management & Tracking

CoConstruct’s strongest feature is project management—it provides a wide range of tools that help you plan, manage, and track your construction projects. The system allows you to create new projects either from scratch or preloaded schedule templates and assign them to specific team members. You can add punch list items to make sure all important aspects of the job are addressed as the project is completed.

You and your team can easily document daily activities and events using the job site tracking feature. For instance, you can record and monitor weather conditions on the site, log issues and delays using the mobile app, take and attach photos directly to projects, and share photos and notes with your clients.

To help managers and supervisors track the progress of each project, CoConstruct has a built-in task manager that displays a list of all the open activities on a single screen. The task manager lets you create reports for specific projects, tasks, dates, and assignees, and even use color codes to filter outputs by projects or trade partners.

Task manager in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

Another feature we like about CoConstruct’s project management tool is the ability to create project groups for more effective tracking. For instance, you can create project groups by phase, whether they are prospect, active, or warranty. The prospect phase is used when you are still in discussion with a potential client while the active phase is applied when the project is in progress. After the work is completed, it moves into the warranty phase.

In addition to project phase, you can create other project groups, such as project manager, location or development, project type or division, and financial structure, such as whether they are fixed fee or cost-plus. Once the project report is created, you can view it in different ways, including list view, calendar view, and Gantt view.

Invoicing

You can create invoices either from scratch, budget actuals, estimates, or change orders. When creating an invoice from scratch, you only need at least to provide the invoice number and a line item with a description or accounting code.

For fixed-price projects, you have the option to bill a percentage of your original estimate at specific points in your project’s timeline. You only need to enter the percentage of completion for each accounting code on your budget, and CoConstruct calculates the correct amount for the current billing period automatically. To enter a new progress invoice, simply click on Select Invoice from Estimate dropdown under the +New button in the Invoices screen.

Creating a progress invoice in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

If you manage cost-plus or open-book projects, you can create progress invoices based on the actual costs that have been incurred during the project. When you create an invoice, CoConstruct automatically retrieves the essential data from your budget—meaning you can easily convert the actual costs into a detailed, itemized invoice.

Once a new invoice is created, you can send it to your client as an email attachment. Once the invoice is paid, it will be updated automatically in CoConstruct and will also sync with QuickBooks Online.

Sample invoice in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

Bill & PO Management

CoConstruct allows you to create POs from scratch or directly from bids. When generating a PO from a bid, the line item details associated with that bid are automatically copied into the PO document. You can then make any necessary additions or changes to the PO document before sending it to your vendor.

Alternatively, you can generate POs from your estimates. CoConstruct will copy the data in your estimate, including project specifications and scope of work details associated with the line items, directly to the PO document. Just like with POs created from estimates, you can also edit PO documents from estimates before sending them to your vendor.

Creating purchase orders from estimates in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

Once the work has been delivered or you’ve received a bill for the work, you can update the PO where you can enter a bill number and date and specify line items you’re being billed for. After you verify that all the services have been delivered based on your requirements, you can mark the bills on the PO as “Ready to Pay.” Once the full amount of the PO has been paid, CoConstruct will change its status automatically to “Paid.”

Document Management

The document management tool in CoConstruct allows you to upload construction files and photos and share them with clients or trade partners. One of the best features we like is the ability to assign a label to each file that you upload into the system. This will make it easy for you to locate the file using the label as a filter.

Document management feature in CoConstruct (Source: CoConstruct)

You can upload a file from the CoConstruct website or from your smartphone using the mobile app. The app lets you upload multiple photos from your library, or you can even snap a new photo on your mobile device and upload it directly.

Further, we found the document management feature useful for managing trade partners. For instance, you can track key documents related to your subcontractors, so you can identify easily who among them has missing documentation and whose certificates are about to expire.

Timesheet Management

I couldn’t award the platform perfect marks in my evaluation because it doesn’t provide reports on equipment and material and inventory management. However, I believe its reporting tool is powerful enough for contractors.

In addition to the detailed project tracking features discussed above, CoConstruct provides other built-in reports on various aspects of your projects, including tasks, POs, variance POs, invoices, project schedules, to-dos, and warranties. You can access all the reports from the Reports menu in your CoConstruct dashboard.

For even more enhanced reporting, you can purchase the Performance View add-on. This reporting tool displays key components of your ongoing projects, including projects in flight, financials, operations, process compliance, and customer engagement.

One of the most helpful financial reports is the Estimated vs. Projected profit report, which displays the estimated and projected profit totals generated from your active project budgets. This can help you identify the difference between what you thought you would earn at the beginning and what you are likely to earn based on all the changes and actual cost.

The CoConstruct app notched a perfect score in our evaluation because you can do a lot with it, including updating scheduled tasks, creating POs, accessing files and photos, and submitting job log entries. Additionally, the CoConstruct task manager can also be accessed from the app, and crew members can clock in and out to record their time spent on projects.

You can download the CoConstruct app from Google Play or the App Store.

We found a lot of positive comments about CoConstruct. One user who posted a positive CoConstruct review likes that the platform has almost all the tools they need to manage their projects and that they can share data with all team members. Other reviewers commended the user-friendly and functional scheduling tool, while some praised CoConstruct’s responsive customer support. Meanwhile, one user who shared negative feedback complained that the software sometimes freezes and that their team members sometimes couldn’t clock in or out.

As of this writing, here are the CoConstruct ratings from popular review websites:

• Software Advice^[1]: 4.7 out of 5 based on close to 900 reviews
• G2 ^[2]: 4.0 out of 5 based on 20 reviews

CoConstruct Ease of Use & Customer Service

CoConstruct offers many features, which are grouped neatly in the top menu bar. For instance, the main Projects page contains all the tools you need to manage your projects, such as the project entry form and the task list. If you need a specific report, click on the main Reports page, and you’ll see some drop-down options, like all tasks, invoices, to-dos, and job logs.

Also, the entry forms are easy to understand even for beginners. The fields are nicely positioned, and the platform utilizes user-friendly language that can easily be understood by contractors.

If you encounter any problem, you can contact CoConstruct’s support team by phone or email. You can also submit a support ticket and one of their experts will get back to you. For minor issues and questions about its features, you can browse through its extensive online help center loaded with many useful resources like blogs and video tutorials.

How We Evaluated CoConstruct

We rated and evaluated CoConstruct using the following scoring rubric.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is CoConstruct?

Can I access CoConstruct on my smartphone?

Does CoConstruct offer financial management features?

Bottom Line

CoConstruct is an excellent choice for medium-sized and large contractors seeking an all-inclusive QuickBooks construction integration with scalable monthly subscription options. It offers almost all the features you may need, such as project management, estimating, invoicing, and bill management. You can also integrate it with a QuickBooks Desktop account if needed.

However, if you require specialized construction software built for a specific purpose, you should look elsewhere, and we recommend checking out the alternatives we list above.

User review references:
¹Software Advice
²G2