Most contractors don't have a shortage of software options. They have too many. There are tools for bidding, scheduling, accounting, safety, fleets and building information modeling, many of them overlap, and every vendor insists theirs is the one you can't work without. Before you commit budget, you need a clear sense of which functions your company actually needs and how to tell a good product from a frustrating one. The Ultimate Buyers Guide to Construction Software, published by PlanGrid, is a construction software buyers guide built for that moment.
It's written for general contractors, subcontractors, project managers and the people who approve technology spending. It starts where a sound purchase should start: with why you're buying in the first place. You might want easier scheduling, better visibility into field productivity, or simply a tighter grip on the budget. Each goal points toward a different kind of tool, and the guide helps you match the two before a sales rep does it for you.
What to look for in each type of construction software
The core of the guide covers ten categories of software used across the industry, from estimating at the start of a job to the systems that keep trucks running and models up to date. For each one, you get a plain explanation of what the software is meant to do and which features are worth asking about. After reading it, you'll be better able to:
- Judge what separates useful bidding and estimating software from tools that create more work later
- Weigh mobile access, integration and security when comparing construction scheduling software
- Understand where construction project management software fits alongside your accounting tools
- See what BIM software can do across a project's life cycle, from design through handover
- Know what to expect from construction safety software and fleet management software in the field
The guidance is practical rather than theoretical. It ties software features to the problems contractors deal with every week, such as budget overruns, schedule slips, equipment downtime and documents that never make it from the office to the jobsite. It also draws on outside research, including a McKinsey & Company report on why major construction projects run over time and budget.
Choosing a vendor: pilots, security and the construction software RFP
Knowing what you need is half the job. The other half is finding the vendor whose product fits. The guide covers the criteria that matter most when you start talking to suppliers, including how easy the software is for your crews to pick up and what happens to your proprietary bid data once it leaves your hands.
It also explains two ways to lower the risk of a large purchase. One is testing software on a limited basis before committing company-wide. The other is running a formal request for proposal, which puts the burden on vendors to show how their product will help you. You'll learn what a strong proposal should contain and why the process can surface strengths, weaknesses and even needs you hadn't considered.
Getting your team to actually use the new software
Plenty of software purchases fail after the contract is signed. If the people in the field find a new tool confusing or slower than the old way, the investment goes to waste. The guide closes with four steps for rolling out software so it sticks, covering how to win early support, how to set a realistic timeline, and how to train people so adoption spreads through the company instead of stalling.
That part alone is worth reading before you announce any new system. It's short, specific and focused on the human side of the decision, which is where many rollouts go wrong.
Download the full buyers guide
Get the complete guide to see the features to prioritize in all ten software categories, the questions to put to vendors on usability and security, how pilots and RFPs fit into your evaluation, and the four adoption steps that help a rollout succeed. Fill out the form to download your free copy and go into your next software decision with a clear plan.