No matter your type of work, Bolster is the all-in-one solution for contractors in the construction industry. Overhaul your sales & estimating process to save time, win more jobs, increaase profit, and get paid faster.
"Bolster proposals are professional, had everything lined out, and the terms were great. It sets us apart from the slacks that are out there handwriting their proposals."
Save time, win more jobs, increase profit, and get paid faster with Bolster.
Get startedGeneral contractors juggle countless tasks across multiple construction projects. From coordinating with field and office teams to managing subcontractors and clients, the workload can be overwhelming. Without the right tools, minor miscommunications or missing documents can snowball into costly delays and rework. In fact, studies show U.S. construction professionals spend 35% of their time on non-optimal activities (like chasing paperwork or fixing mistakes).
Additionally, nearly 48% of all rework in construction is caused by poor communication and bad data. This means general contractors often waste time and money on avoidable issues. Clearly, traditional manual processes and scattered software can hold back your business and project success in the construction industry.
General contractor software is designed to solve these challenges. By bringing everything into one platform, it helps contractors keep everyone on the same page, track project progress, and reduce costly mistakes by integrating construction scheduling software and construction estimating software. Whether you run a small family construction company or a large firm, modern contractor management software can transform how you operate, saving you time, money, and sanity.
General contractor software (a type of all-in-one construction management platform) is a digital solution that helps general contractors manage every aspect of their projects from start to finish. Think of it as a virtual project command center: it combines project management, scheduling, document management, budgeting, construction scheduling software, construction estimating software, and more into a single, easy-to-use platform. Instead of juggling spreadsheets, email chains, and standalone apps, everything is integrated. Both the field and office teams access the same project information in real time, which dramatically reduces miscommunication and keeps the entire project on track.
This kind of construction software goes beyond simple task tracking. It often includes features for financial management (like budgeting, cost tracking, and accounting integration), client communications (client portals and change order approvals), and team collaboration (messaging, file sharing, and real-time updates). For construction companies still relying on paper or disconnected tools, adopting contractor software can be a game-changer. It provides a single source of truth for all project data so project teams and stakeholders — from specialty contractors to commercial contractors — can collaborate securely and efficiently.
Construction management software is a digital solution designed to streamline and optimize the construction process, from planning and budgeting to execution and completion, within the construction industry. Its primary purpose is to provide a centralized platform for general contractors, project managers, and field and office teams to collaborate, manage, and track construction projects efficiently. By integrating various aspects of project management into one cohesive system, this software ensures that all team members have access to the same up-to-date information, reducing miscommunication and enhancing overall project coordination.
For general contractors, construction management software offers a comprehensive suite of tools that cover every phase of a construction project. From initial project planning and scheduling to real-time progress tracking and financial management, this software simplifies complex tasks and automates routine processes. Field and office teams can seamlessly share updates, documents, and schedules, ensuring that everyone is aligned and working towards the same goals. Ultimately, construction management software empowers contractors to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
When evaluating general contractor software, look for a comprehensive construction management platform that covers your workflow end to end. Key features to expect in construction scheduling software and construction estimating software include:
Project Management & Scheduling: Plan projects, assign tasks, and manage schedules in a centralized calendar. Track deadlines and milestones to ensure quick timelines and complete projects on time. Everyone can track jobs and see task status, which keeps the team focused and projects on schedule.
Document Management: Store all plans, blueprints, permits, and contracts in one secure location. Version control ensures the team always accesses the latest drawings and documents, helping to reduce rework caused by outdated info. With robust document management, you can collaborate on plans with your crew and clients without email chaos.
Estimating & Budgeting: Create accurate estimates and detailed budgets with ease. The software should help you create professional proposals and perform takeoffs. Built-in cost databases and calculators make bidding user-friendly. Many platforms integrate with accounting software (for example, QuickBooks Online) for seamless cost control and accounting. This links your project finances to your books, so your budget tracking and cash flow are always aligned.
Client & Subcontractor Portals: Many contractor platforms include portals or apps for customers and subcontractors. This allows you to share progress photos, send updates, and gather feedback or approvals on selections. Clients appreciate being kept in the loop on project progress and selections. You can even allow them to make choices or payments online. Subcontractors can access plans and submit their updates, all in one place. Some solutions let you add almost unlimited users in these portals, so every stakeholder can log in without extra cost.
Integration & Customization: A good construction management solution plays nicely with your other tools. Integration with email, calendars, or other specialty apps (like design software or safety compliance tools) can streamline processes. Also, look for customization options — you should be able to tailor forms, reports, and workflows to fit your company’s needs. A flexible, user-friendly interface that matches your process will ensure your team actually uses the software.
By having these features in a unified contractor software package, general contractors can replace a tangle of disparate tools with one coherent system. The result is less duplication, fewer errors, and a more proactive way to manage projects.
Effective financial management is crucial in construction projects, and construction management software plays a vital role in this aspect within the construction industry. It helps general contractors and project managers to maintain control over project finances, ensuring that budgets are adhered to and costs are monitored closely. By providing real-time financial insights and automating key processes, construction management software enables contractors to make informed decisions that enhance project profitability and financial stability.
Construction management software offers robust cost control and budgeting tools that allow contractors to manage their finances effectively within the construction industry:
Create and manage budgets: Develop detailed project budgets, track expenses, and monitor costs in real-time to ensure financial targets are met.
Set up cost codes and categorize expenses: Organize expenses into specific categories and cost codes for better financial analysis and reporting.
Generate financial reports: Produce comprehensive reports that provide insights into project finances, helping to identify potential cost overruns and areas for improvement.
Automate cost tracking and alerts: Receive automated alerts for budget deviations, enabling proactive management of project finances and preventing cost overruns.
Seamless integration with accounting systems, such as QuickBooks or Xero, is another key feature of construction management software within the construction industry. This integration allows contractors to:
Streamline financial data exchange: Automatically sync financial data between the construction management software and accounting systems, reducing manual data entry and errors.
Automate invoicing and payment tracking: Generate invoices, track payments, and manage expenses efficiently, ensuring timely and accurate financial transactions.
Generate comprehensive financial reports: Access detailed financial reports, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements, to gain a holistic view of project finances and overall financial health.
Construction projects involve a vast amount of documentation, including contracts, RFIs, change orders, and punch lists, which are critical to project success within the construction industry. Managing these documents efficiently is critical to project success, and construction management software provides the tools needed to:
Centralize and organize project documents: Store all project-related documents in a secure, cloud-based repository, ensuring easy access and retrieval for all team members.
Automate document workflows: Streamline document approvals, revisions, and notifications, reducing manual processes and minimizing the risk of errors.
Provide a client portal: Offer stakeholders access to project documents through a client portal, enhancing transparency and reducing communication errors. Clients can review and approve documents, track project progress, and stay informed throughout the project lifecycle.
By incorporating these features, construction management software enables general contractors and project managers to streamline financial management, document control, and collaboration, ultimately leading to improved project outcomes, increased efficiency, and reduced costs.
Effective construction management software should provide secure collaboration and sharing tools to facilitate communication and information exchange between field and office teams, as well as with external stakeholders. These tools are essential for ensuring that everyone involved in a project has access to the most up-to-date information, reducing the risk of errors and miscommunication.
Version control and audit trails are essential features in construction management software, as they enable project teams to track changes and updates to documents and drawings. These features ensure that all team members are working with the most current information, reducing the risk of errors and miscommunication.
Investing in a modern construction management platform, including construction scheduling software and construction estimating software, yields concrete benefits for general contractors within the construction industry. Let’s break down how an all-in-one solution translates into improvements in your day-to-day operations and overall business results:
One of the biggest wins in the construction industry is time savings. Contractors often lose hours to administrative work—updating spreadsheets, filing paperwork, or manually entering data multiple times. General contractor software automates and streamlines these repetitive tasks. For example, when an estimate is approved, the system can automatically generate the project schedule, material list, and budget, eliminating duplicate data entry. Bolster’s platform even auto-creates budgets and schedules from your estimate, saving you from up-front repetitive work.
Additionally, using construction scheduling software and construction estimating software can further enhance these efficiencies by providing specialized tools for precise scheduling and accurate cost estimation.
By cutting down on busywork, you reclaim hours each week. Instead of pushing paper, you and your team can spend that time building and solving real project issues. The software can send automated reminders for deadlines or RFIs, so nothing falls through the cracks even without constant manual tracking. Ultimately, less time on admin means more time focusing on the field, clients, and quality workmanship. Spend less time in the weeds and more time building.
By simplifying your work life with automation, contractor software lets you focus on what you do best—delivering great projects.
Miscommunication is the enemy of efficient construction in the construction industry. When the field crew and office staff aren’t aligned, or when subcontractors and project owners misunderstand each other, mistakes happen. Work might get built incorrectly due to outdated plans or verbal instructions that weren’t clear. The result? Costly rework and schedule delays.
A core benefit of using an integrated construction management platform, including construction scheduling software and construction estimating software, is drastically improved communication. All project data—from schedules to change orders—lives in one place, so people can collaborate securely and see updates instantly. Mobile apps and cloud access ensure that even on-site teams have the latest information at their fingertips. This level of transparency keeps everyone on the same page. When a change is made or an issue arises, the project teams are notified immediately through the software, and documents are updated in real time. No more version confusion or waiting until the next meeting to discover a problem.
By having a single source of truth, you greatly reduce rework. Industry research has found that redoing work can consume up to 5–9% of a project’s budget, and in some cases, 30% of all work is actually rework. Much of this rework is due to poor info or coordination. With robust document controls and instant communication, general contractor software helps ensure that the right instructions get to the right people. Fewer errors mean less tearing out and redoing tasks that were done wrong the first time. The platform also creates an audit trail of decisions and approvals (who approved that change and when), which holds everyone accountable and prevents finger-pointing. Overall, better communication through the software leads directly to better quality and first-time-right work.
Staying on top of a construction project’s many moving parts is hard with manual methods in the construction industry. Important details can slip through the cracks when you’re managing via paperwork or even basic apps. Contractor management software gives you powerful tools to track every aspect of your jobs in one dashboard. You get a real-time view of project progress, budget vs. actual costs, pending tasks, and more.
For example, you can track labor hours, deliveries, and percent complete for each phase of the project. If anything is trending behind schedule or over budget, you’ll see it early and can take action. This proactive project management leads to fewer surprises. Many platforms also offer analytics or summary reports, so you can identify bottlenecks or recurring issues across projects.
Financially, the software provides much tighter cost control. Integrated job costing means every expense (material orders, labor logs, subcontractor invoices) ties back to your budget in the system. You can see in real time if a project is about to exceed the budget in a category, rather than finding out after a cost overrun has happened. Since the software can connect with your accounting system (like QuickBooks Online) or have built-in accounting modules, your financial processes become smoother. Invoices can be generated from the platform and even paid online, updating your books automatically. This reduces manual data entry errors and ensures nothing is missed financially.
Using construction scheduling software, you can manage timelines more effectively, ensuring that each phase of the project is completed on time. Additionally, construction estimating software helps you create accurate bids and forecasts, aligning your budget with actual project costs.
Overall, having a digital handle on schedules and costs helps you deliver projects on budget and on time. It also builds trust with customers when you can confidently provide updates and avoid budget surprises. Better tracking equals fewer crises, which is a big win for project profitability and client satisfaction.
When your operations run efficiently, it frees up capacity to grow your company within the construction industry. General contractor software, including construction scheduling software and construction estimating software, has a direct impact on productivity—both for you and your whole team. Crews spend less time waiting around for information or materials thanks to streamlined communication. Office staff spend less time compiling reports or updating logs because much of it is automated. In short, your team gets more done in the same amount of time. One study noted that with efficient processes enabled by modern tools, some construction companies handled 48% more work volume per person than before. Imagine being able to nearly double your output without adding headcount, just by eliminating waste and idle time.
Increased productivity also means you can take on more work and jobs without sacrificing quality. With faster estimating and proposal generation, for instance, you can bid on more projects and respond to clients quicker. Many contractors report that using professional software to generate proposals helps them win more jobs because the polished presentations impress potential customers. Instead of a generic spreadsheet bid, you deliver a detailed, transparent proposal with options that set you apart. Speed is an advantage too—being the first to deliver a bid or a change order response can win deals.
Contractor software often includes CRM (customer relationship management) tools to track leads and client communication, helping you stay on top of follow-ups and sales pipeline. By converting more leads into projects, you directly increase revenue. Existing clients also benefit: with great communication and on-time delivery, they’re more likely to become repeat customers or give referrals, fueling your business growth. In short, streamlining your operation not only saves money internally but also acts as a sales advantage. You can handle a larger project load and demonstrate professionalism, leading to tangible business growth and success.
A smooth-running project benefits everyone involved in the construction industry. When you use an all-in-one contractor software platform, your customers will notice the difference. Homeowners and project owners appreciate being kept in the loop. Through client portals, they can log in to see progress photos, approve selections or change orders, and even make payments. This level of transparency builds trust. Clients feel involved and have peace of mind that the project is under control. Satisfied clients mean fewer frantic phone calls to you, and they’re more likely to give positive reviews or referrals. Modern software, including construction scheduling software and construction estimating software, allows you to gather feedback from clients as the project proceeds so you can address concerns in real time rather than finding out at the end that they were unhappy about something. All of this leads to a better client experience and reputation for your company.
On the flip side, your internal team will have higher morale when equipped with the right tools. Field crews can access what they need without driving to the office, and they can submit their daily reports or issues easily with their phone. Your office staff isn’t constantly pestering the site for updates because they can see the data in the system. This reduces frustration and burnout. When people aren’t stuck doing mind-numbing admin or fighting fires caused by miscommunication, they can focus on their real trade skills and take pride in their work. Additionally, having a support team (from the software provider) available for training and troubleshooting gives your employees confidence during the transition to new tech. The result is a happier team that collaborates well, which, of course, translates into better project outcomes.
Choosing the right construction management software is critical for general contractors and construction companies. The right software can streamline workflows, reduce errors, and improve collaboration and communication. Here are some factors to consider when selecting software:
Ease of Use and User Interface: The software should be intuitive and easy to use, with a user-friendly interface that allows team members to quickly learn and navigate the system. A complex or cumbersome interface can hinder adoption and reduce the software’s effectiveness.
Features and Functionality: Look for software that offers a comprehensive set of features tailored to the needs of general contractors and construction companies. Key features to consider include project management, scheduling, document management, financial management, and collaboration tools.
Scalability and Flexibility: The software should be scalable to accommodate the growth of your business and flexible enough to adapt to different types of projects. This ensures that the software can continue to meet your needs as your company expands and takes on more complex projects.
Integration with Other Construction Tools and Software: Integration with other tools and software, such as accounting systems, design software, and safety compliance tools, can streamline processes and improve efficiency. Look for software that offers seamless integration with the tools you already use.
Cost and Affordability: Consider the cost of the software and whether it fits within your budget. Look for affordable construction management software that offers a good balance of features and value. Keep in mind that investing in the right software can lead to significant cost savings in the long run.
Customer Support and Training: Strong customer support and training resources are essential for ensuring that your team can effectively use the software. Look for a provider that offers comprehensive onboarding, training materials, and responsive support to help you get the most out of the software.
Security and Data Protection: Ensure that the software provides robust security features to protect sensitive project data. This includes data encryption, secure access controls, and regular security updates to safeguard against potential threats.
By considering these factors, general contractors and construction companies can select a construction management software that meets their needs and helps them streamline their workflows, reduce errors, and improve collaboration and communication.
While there are many software options out there, Bolster stands out as a platform designed specifically for residential builders and general contractors. Bolster is an all-in-one construction management solution that streamlines the entire project lifecycle—from the initial bid to the final invoice. It combines project management, sales, estimating, scheduling, and financial tools into one user-friendly package. This includes robust construction scheduling software and construction estimating software. No matter your specialty or the size of your jobs, Bolster aims to be “the all-in-one solution for contractors in the construction industry.”
How does Bolster help general contractors? For starters, it tackles estimating and proposals with impressive speed. Contractors using Bolster can generate accurate estimates in minutes using pre-built templates and an integrated cost database. According to Bolster, users are able to complete hours of estimating work in a fraction of the time, freeing them up to bid on more projects. These professional proposals help you compete on quality and detail, not just price. In fact, Bolster reports that general contractors on its platform are winning 15% bigger jobs, 20% more often on average. That’s a huge boost to revenue, attributed to the platform’s ability to create polished presentations and optional upgrades that upsell clients. Essentially, Bolster helps you win jobs and grow your pipeline by making your sales process more efficient and persuasive.
Once a job is won, Bolster’s project management features kick in automatically. The estimated data flows directly into scheduling and budgeting tools (one platform, no re-entering information). Bolster automatically generates a detailed project schedule and budget from your accepted estimate. This means you start the project with a solid plan without additional administrative effort. As work progresses, any changes in scope (change orders) update the schedule and budget in real time, keeping everything in sync. Your team can log in to see updated task lists, and you can adjust assignments on the fly. The field crew can chat with the office through integrated messaging, and everyone sees the latest documents and plans. By having field and office teams working in the same system, Bolster helps eliminate miscommunications. The platform even includes a client portal, so your customers can review selections and track progress themselves—enhancing transparency.
Bolster also addresses the financial side thoroughly. It has built-in invoicing and payment tracking, and it integrates with QuickBooks for accounting, so your project financials align with your overall books. You can request client payments through the Bolster client portal upon task or milestone completion, speeding up cash flow. There’s nothing like finishing a big phase of a project and being able to invoice immediately with a few clicks, rather than assembling paperwork and mailing invoices later. Faster payments improve your cash management significantly.
Another standout aspect of Bolster is its focus on reducing rework and errors. Because the platform ties everything together (estimating, procurement, scheduling, etc.), it minimizes the chances of something slipping through. For example, Bolster’s automated material lists ensure your crews and subcontractors show up with the right materials, preventing delays. And since clients approve changes in the system, you have a clear record of who decided what—no more he-said, she-said. All these little efficiencies reduce rework and keep projects moving forward on quick timelines.
Lastly, Bolster prides itself on being user-friendly and offering strong support. They provide onboarding, training resources, and a responsive support team to help contractors get the most out of the software. This is crucial because even the best software delivers value only if your team actually uses it. With Bolster’s hands-on approach, even folks who aren’t tech-savvy can quickly learn to create estimates, manage schedules, and collaborate in the app. The payoff is a smoother operation that makes both your employees and your customers happier.
In the construction industry, the companies that thrive are the ones that continuously improve their processes. Adopting a comprehensive general contractor software solution is no longer just an IT upgrade — it’s a strategic move that can elevate your entire business. By centralizing project data, bridging communication gaps between the field and the office, and automating tedious tasks, you unlock new levels of efficiency. The result is projects completed on time and on budget, less stress day-to-day, and more capacity to take on additional projects.
For residential builders and general contractors in North America, now is the time to leverage these tools and stay competitive. An all-in-one construction management platform like Bolster can be the backbone of this transformation. It helps you manage everything in one place so you can bid, build, and deliver with confidence. No more scattered information or costly guesswork—just a streamlined operation where everyone works together toward the same goal. By investing in the right contractor software, including construction scheduling software and construction estimating software, you set your company up to reduce rework, increase productivity, and delight your clients. In short, you set yourself up for success, project after project.
