Bookkeeping & admin tools for General contractors
Tools that help general contractors with bookkeeping & admin. Categorising expenses, capturing receipts and keeping the accounts current.
Where Bookkeeping & admin goes wrong for General contractors
Multiple concurrent projects with retention and subcontractor payments make GC bookkeeping complex. Job-level reporting is the only way to see which projects are funding which.
What General contractors jobs really involve
General contractors coordinate other trades, which means documentation, scheduling and compliance are constant rather than occasional. On larger projects the paper trail is often contractually required, not merely useful.
Bookkeeping & admin tools for General contractors, compared
| Tool | Best for | Pricing | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks | Businesses that need proper books and an accountant who already knows the software. | Paid (tiered) | Free trial |
| Xero | Businesses wanting cloud accounting with trade-specific add-ons. | Paid (tiered) | Free trial |
| Expensify | Businesses with staff buying materials on the go. | Free tier; paid for teams | Free tier |
QuickBooks
Accounting software most trade businesses end up on.
Xero
Cloud accounting with a large add-on marketplace.
Expensify
Expense reporting with automatic receipt scanning.
Frequently asked questions
Which bookkeeping & admin tools work best for general contractors?
The three that fit best here are QuickBooks (Businesses that need proper books and an accountant who already knows the software), Xero (Businesses wanting cloud accounting with trade-specific add-ons), Expensify (Businesses with staff buying materials on the go). Start with the one whose description matches your crew size, not the one with the longest feature list.
How much does bookkeeping & admin software cost for general contractors?
Across the 3 tools on this page, 1 have a free tier and the rest are paid, most of them billed per user per month. Prices change often, so treat the figures here as indicative and confirm on the vendor site.
Why does bookkeeping & admin cause problems for general contractors specifically?
Multiple concurrent projects with retention and subcontractor payments make GC bookkeeping complex. Job-level reporting is the only way to see which projects are funding which.
How many projects can a small GC manage without software?
Two or three concurrent projects are manageable with spreadsheets. Beyond that, subcontractor schedules, RFIs and progress claims start needing a system with one shared record.