After taking pandemic-related hits, the construction industry is set on the road to recovery. If you aim to equip yourself for the new challenges of a post-pandemic world, both Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct are leading solutions that are worth considering. After all, a good business recovery strategy is better paired with the right construction management software to ensure that you deliver projects on time and within budget to meet client demands.
In this article, read up on a comparison between Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct. Learn how both tools measure up when their features are put side by side. In this way, you have an idea of which software fits your needs better and will hopefully steer you to make an informed buying decision.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Comparison Table of Contents
Like in other fields, the construction industry took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment was at a record high in 2020. However, the industry is slowly getting back to its feet. New construction projects in 2024 are valued at $1.23 trillion. Residential construction projects are predicted to reach $483 billion, non-residential construction is about $473 billion, and non-building construction spending is expected to reach $273 billion.
The lessons of the pandemic are most likely to influence the strategies that firms make as they head into 2025 and beyond. For instance, the pandemic was an eye-opener for companies on the vulnerabilities of global supply chains. Thus in a survey, 61% of engineering and construction respondents said that strategic sourcing and category management is an area where they are likely to invest.
The only question now is which software they should choose. Below, we tackle two of the most popular tools in the industry to help sort this concern out.
Overview of Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct
Contractor Foreman
Contractor Foreman is a comprehensive construction management suite that helps contractors manage their projects with an easy-to-use, affordable tool that is accessible from any device. With Contractor Foreman, you can take on an unlimited number of projects without having to worry about price increases. Remodelers, sub-contractors, field service personnel, and general construction/builders make up the user base of the app. Built by contractors for contractors, Contractor Foreman can be used by small and medium-sized residential and commercial trade and general contractors. The software has more than 35 powerful features that revolve around financials, documentation, project management, and people management.
Contractor Foreman
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CoConstruct
CoConstruct is an all-in-one construction management software that helps construction businesses track projects, manage clients, and take control of their financials. With Co-Construct, they can win more jobs, stay on top of their projects, and elevate their business to greater heights. Ideal users of the software are home builders, remodeling companies, design-builders, spec builders, and other residential construction businesses. Its feature set consists of four main components: pre-construction, project management, operations, and financials. Core features include lead management, website contact forms, standard estimating, scheduling, task manager, custom client portal, trade partner portal, bills management, and bid management.
Comparison of Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct
Core Features
Project Management
Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct have similar project management features. For one, both tools have job logs that allow them to record what happens at the job site. Both also have task management features so team members are aware of deliverables and can check them off when they complete them. They also feature the ability to keep a punch list, so you can keep track of important project milestones and hold team members accountable for their responsibilities. With this, you eliminate the need to purchase standalone project management software for your construction projects.
One of the unique features of Contractor Foreman is that it lets you tie building inspections and permits to create a seamless package or for internal quality checks. As part of its project management capabilities, CoConstruct has time clock management features that give users a web and mobile time clock for payroll purposes. In contrast, Contractor Foreman also has time cards but this is not part of its project management features, but rather under its people component.
Contractor Foreman lets you manage project milestones with a punch list.
Schedule Management
Comparing Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct in terms of schedule management, one will see that they have similarities. Both feature the ability to start your construction schedule with a template so you don’t have to recreate the wheel every time you have a new project. They can send task notices to team members whenever there are updates to the project. Both also feature Gannt charts as well as baselines and critical paths.
One difference between Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct is that Contractor Foreman has percentage complete tracking as part of its project management features. CoConstruct has no such feature, however, it does have a Projects in Flight widget which gives users a high-level perspective of how their projects are doing compared to the baseline schedule. On the other hand, CoConstruct is unique in that it has a Show Client Payments feature, which gives them data about the construction schedule. In fact, its scheduling and activity planning tools, among all other features, are one of the reasons why CoConstruct is one of the top three construction management software.
Finance Management
Both Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct allow you to manage bids, pay bills, process change orders, generate invoices, and accept payments. Using either software, you can push bids to potential vendors and easily track bid responses. You can also easily manage and track bills from both tools and sync your billing data with QuickBooks so you avoid double entry. This also eliminates the need to procure separate budgeting software for your construction business. If the scope of the project has changed, the change order features present in both tools keep a record of the request and the specifications of the changes. Collecting payments is easier with customizable invoices and online payments.
But unlike CoConstruct, Contractor Foreman allows you to sort bills using Kanban views and filters. It also allows you to import from purchase orders and subcontractors. It’s also worth noting that the invoicing module of Contractor Foreman provides greater flexibility with options to set tax rates, local currency, and other custom fields. You also have the option to implement progress or percentage or unit billing and AIA-style invoicing.
CoConstruct gives a running tally of the project cost as part of its change order feature.
Inventory Management
Both tools do not have features that are directly marketed as inventory management. However, both come with a cost catalog or cost database where information about construction equipment can be found.
Contractor Foreman has a cost items database that allows you to store data about your materials, labor, equipment, subcontractors, and other items for later use. You can link items to a vendor, and associate an item with an SKU and a photo. The system allows you to make internal notes and pre-written item descriptions. In addition, the Equipment Items feature helps you properly document all the equipment you have. You can check equipment maintenance and the cost of having a piece of equipment sit on-site. Similarly, CoConstruct has a cost catalog that has a description, unit price, unit type, cost type, and accounting code of an item.
Equipment Management
As part of its project management component, Contractor Foreman has daily logs where users can input material and equipment used and equipment and materials delivered. This allows you to know if your inventory is actually being used and when it is used. It also lets you track equipment delivery such as the date, quantity, and name of the person making the delivery.
On the other hand, CoConstruct does not contain a feature specifically billed or worded as equipment management. However, it does have a punch list feature where you can input punch list items and their status. For example, you can take note of cabinets and doors that are not working, damaged floors, and the like. Like Contractor Foreman, this feature falls under the project management component of the solution.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Core Features Key Takeaways:
- For the most part, both Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct have similar project management, schedule management, and finance management features.
- Both do not have features that are directly marketed as inventory and equipment management but both have comparable features listed under different components of the solution.
Integrations
Contractor Foreman can be integrated with leading systems so you can continue to use the products that work best for you. Contractor Foreman can be integrated with QuickBooks, Google Calendar, Zapier, Gusto, WePay, Outlook 365, MS Project, and Angi Leads. For clients working on residential projects in the US, they offer client financing with SweetPay to help you close jobs faster.
On the other hand, CoConstruct can be integrated with QuickBooks, which allows you to sync estimates to specifications, selections, and budgets to avoid double entries. The integration also allows you to pull information from line items in QuickBooks for that data to be included in the costs to be completed in a project. Meanwhile, integration with iCal gives you access to CoConstruct information from Outlook, Google Calendar, Outlook 365, Yahoo, macOS/iOS calendars, and more.
Contractor Foreman offers integrations with popular tools like QuickBooks and Google Calendar.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Integrations Key Takeaways:
- Contractor Foreman can be integrated with a wide range of apps.
- CoConstruct has integrations for accounting and construction scheduling, but these are limited in variety.
Pricing
One of the predictions for the industry as per the latest construction industry statistics is increased investment in technology in the next five years. As such, it is proper to discuss the pricing schemes of Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct to discern which plan is worth your money.
Contractor Foreman has four kinds of plans under an annual payment method. These are the Standard ($49 per month), Plus ($87 per month), Pro ($123 per month), and Unlimited ($148 per month) plans. For the quarterly mode of payment, available plans are: Plus ($133 per month), Pro ($189 per month), and Unlimited ($228 per month). All plans include a free 30-day trial, training and support, and a price lock guarantee.
In contrast, CoConstruct has two plans under two payment models. Under monthly pricing, Standard Plan costs $99 per month, priced at $349 after two months; and Plus plan at $399, priced at $599 after two months. Under the yearly plan, the Standard plan costs $2,899 per year while the Plus plan is $4,999 per year. Both Standard and Plus plans support unlimited users, unlimited projects, one-on-one coaching, and technical support.
Any of Contractor Foreman’s Standard, Plus, or Pro plan is ideal for small and medium businesses as it can accommodate at least three to 15 users. For large enterprises, they may opt for the Unlimited plan so they don’t have to worry about the number of users. For CoConstruct, features like website contact form, advanced estimating, custom client portal, trade partner portal, and bills management are exclusive features of the Plus plan. Thus, choosing the right CoConstruct plan depends on the specific needs of your business. When you put the Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct annual pricing, you will find that Contractor Foreman has more affordable and varied plans.
CoConstruct offers two simple, fuss-free pricing schemes.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Pricing Key Takeaways:
- Both Contractor Foreman and CoConstruct offer annual plans. However, Contractor Foreman also offers quarterly plans while CoConstruct offers monthly plans.
- In deciding which plan to get, consider the number of users and the features that are included in your pricing package.
Ease of Use
Navigating the interface of Contractor Foreman is quick and intuitive. The main dashboard is separated into different panels, lending to the clean overall look of the tool. Clicking on the menu, you will see all features laid out and grouped according to their respective modules. This lessens the number of clicks you need to do just to get to the feature you need to use. The software comes with more than 800 preloaded safety meetings in English and Spanish. You can get instant help with the live chat or watch self-guided training videos available for each module.
Similarly, the user interface of CoConstruct is grouped into tabs that correspond to the various modules: overview, financials, schedules, change orders, files and photos, to-dos, messages, and job logs. You will be working within cells similar to that in an Excel spreadsheet when you enter information about your construction project. One of the competitive advantages of CoConstruct is that it is a single entry estimating system, hence if you have entered information about your project before, there is no need to retype the information when you need it during another time. There are also templates so you don’t have to copy information from one place to another.
The Contractor Foreman dashboard gives you an overview of your important business data.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Ease of Use Key Takeaways:
- Contractor Foreman features an easy-to-navigate user interface, which lessens clicks for the user to access features.
- CoConstruct features an Excel-like workspace that eliminates the effort of typing in information if it is located somewhere else in the system.
Getting Started
Getting started with Contractor Foreman is quick and easy. When you sign up for an account, all you have to do is fill out the required fields for your name, preferred username, email address, and contact information. As a new user, one of the main onboarding tasks that you must accomplish is adding new users. Again, all you have to do in Contractor Foreman is fill out the required fields to provide them with a username and password. Accomplishing this task is faster with prebuilt security roles. After adding new users, you should be able to see them in the list view. If you need more support setting up your account, the vendor offers free online training and 24/7 support.
On the other hand, CoConstruct provides several suggestions to make the onboarding process easier. First, users can create a custom onboarding folder to make the process easier for users, staff, and their trade partners. For example, an employee onboarding folder can include an employee handbook. Meanwhile, onboarding files for trade partners can include company policy and subcontractor agreements. You can set expiration dates for the files so you know when you need to update them. Within the software, there is a messaging feature that allows employees and new traders to communicate with you should they have questions about the onboarding process. CoConstruct offers one-on-one implementation for group training and coaching. Users can also access numerous resources about the software, including more than 300 articles and blogs and over 40 webinars.
New users can get support for onboarding via the chat feature in CoConstruct.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Getting Started Key Takeaways:
- Setting up your account with Contractor Foreman is as easy as filling out required fields.
- Onboarding with CoConstruct not only involves employees but also clients and onboarding partners.
Use Cases
Whether you have a construction company with one or over 100 employees, Contractor Foreman gives you the tools you need to make your business grow. Both small companies and those with more than 300 employees use Contractor Foreman today. It is also used both by subcontractors and general contractors as well as remodelers and field service personnel. On the other hand, CoConstruct can be used by a wide range of users. It can be used by home builders to realize their clients’ dream homes to life. Remodelers can use it to address the usual residential construction challenges they encounter. Meanwhile, design-build companies can leverage the software throughout their entire construction process, from initial idea generation to putting finishing touches on their work. Lastly, spec builders can use CoConstruct to ensure they have a profitable business while growing to scale.
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Use Cases Key Takeaways:
- Contractor Foreman can be used by subcontractors, general contractors, remodelers, and field service personnel
- CoConstruct can be used by remodelers, home builders, spec builders, and design-build companies
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct Comparison Table
| Contractor Foreman | CoConstruct | |
| Ideal for |
|
|
| Use cases |
|
|
| Core Features | ||
| Project Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Schedule Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Finance Management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Inventory Management | ||
| Equipment Management | ✓ | |
| Key Integrations | ||
| QuickBooks | ✓ | ✓ |
| iCal | ✓ | |
| Google Calendar | ✓ | |
| Zapier | ✓ | |
| Pricing | ||
| Starts from | $49 per month, paid annually | $2,899 per year |
| No. of plans | 4 | 2 |
Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct — Which is better?
When you do a Contractor Foreman vs. CoConstruct comparison, one way to go about it is by looking at their features. Both tools have features for project management, schedule management, and finance management, though there are slight variations on how these work in each product. Though they do not have features that are specifically marketed or described as inventory management features, they have tools that more or less function the same way.
Aside from features, pricing and integration are also key considerations. On this score, Contractor Foreman offers more integration options and more affordable annual pricing than CoConstruct. CoConstruct makes up for this by having more streamlined and easy-to-understand pricing schemes, making it one of the 20 best construction management software solutions in the market today. Ultimately, however, making the right choice all boils down to your business needs and requirements.
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