What is Construction Management Software?

Construction management software is used to organize, plan, and allocate resources. It facilitates teamwork and allows for the tracking of project progress while specifying tasks and responsibilities. It enables seamless stakeholder cooperation and allows project managers to monitor costs and time.

Teams must maintain organization to complete projects on time, especially when there are several projects in progress. Cloud construction management software keeps everyone in the loop, helps prioritize activities, and gives a general picture of all the projects. Construction management software comes with a wide range of tools that are useful to different users for various tasks.

 

Essential Construction Management Functions

• Project Planning – Be able to easily plan projects while taking previous track records into account.
• Tracking project evolution when it comes to completion, time, and costs – Warn the right people when things are veering off track.
• Scheduling and Time Management – Be able to easily register time on work items and take people’s work schedules into account.
• Resource management & allocation – Making sure that people are working on the right things at the right time.
• Project budgets, incl. costs of people – Keeping real-time check of not only time but also allotted budget.
• Communication and Collaboration – Easily post comments and concerns, and communicate with external stakeholders, all while keeping a full historical record of all actions.
• Documentation & Files – Easily document requirements, and specs, directly or via files.
• Easy to use – The construction management software should be an enabler and not get in the way of actual work.
• No need for a specific method – Support the company’s preferred method of breaking down any project, making schedules, allocating people, and managing project budgets.

 

Why do you Need Construction Management Software?

Knowing what must be done when, who on the team is working on what, and more is important for managers. Planning is essential to the success of your team’s project. Doing it manually, with spreadsheets, and via email is undoubtedly inefficient and presents a several difficulties. All your team members utilize their systems in a segregated system to keep track of the work that is notepad, sticky notes, and spreadsheets.

As a result, the tasks and papers are dispersed across the house. They waste a lot of time hunting for solutions since they are unsure of what to work on first. Meetings and emails are required to discuss priorities and get everyone on the same page, which again significantly reduces your team’s productivity.

Using construction management software makes it simple to assign work and set priorities because all communication takes place in one single location. It becomes simple to monitor your team’s progress and make sure that projects are going according to schedule.

 

Key Benefits of Having Construction Management Software

The characteristics you require for effective project planning, resource management, problem-solving, and involvement of all project stakeholders are included in project management systems. No matter what kind of services your company provides, having the greatest construction management software can have a big influence.

 

1. Improved Planning and Scheduling

Regardless of the methodology used, project planning and scheduling are crucial aspects of project management. The benefit of construction management software is to make it simple to access the team’s prior work that is pertinent to the current project.

Additionally, for the success of the project, project managers may easily develop a consistent management plan and prioritize tasks. Construction management software makes it simple and quick to execute activities like allocating resources, determining dependencies, setting deadlines, and preparing project deliverables.

All efficient construction management software have features that aid in expediting the project planning and project scheduling process since a strong beginning creates the groundwork for a successful project.

 

2. Better Collaboration

Sometimes people from various departments make up project teams. It is challenging for all other stakeholders to frequently attend meetings and stay updated because they must manage their daily obligations as well. The challenges and delays caused by this communication breakdown might squander a lot of valuable resources.

The ease with which a project team can collaborate effectively is a major benefit of the construction management software. It keeps all communication in one location. With just one click, it’s simple to obtain information like project timelines and status updates, and vital warnings may be sent to the appropriate people instantly.

 

3. Remote Working

Modern initiatives are not bound by their geographical location or department. Managing today’s dispersed workforces can be quite challenging. distant construction management software makes it simple to manage distant projects by assisting managers in efficiently leading their teams.

 

4. Effective Task Delegation

It can be challenging for managers to appropriately assign responsibilities to team members, which may have an impact on the effectiveness of the entire group. Managers can quickly assign project assignments to team members and discover who is currently accessible with the aid of construction management software.

Team members will find this to be a simpler alternative as well because with construction management software, all they need to do is check the program and begin working on their assignments in accordance with their priorities. To maintain seamless and effective operations, these programs typically also send out automated reminders prior to the deadlines.

 

5. Easier File Access and Sharing

It’s crucial to share and access sensitive documents safely. Although professionals have traditionally used shared drives, employing construction management software is a more practical choice. Solutions for project management include storage that allows users to readily annotate, make changes, and leave feedback. To guarantee project openness among the team, these programs also maintain a change log.

 

6. Easier Integration of New Members

Due to the dynamic nature of projects, it occasionally becomes necessary to add new team members. However, it might be difficult to quickly get new team members up to speed with project integration. Any good construction management software may be used to solve this problem with ease. They can automatically keep a project record and provide a straightforward visualization of the entire project.

 

7. Effective Risk Mitigation

The characteristics of an excellent manager include spotting possible obstacles and implementing workable remedies. With the use of construction management software, managers may improve their risk mitigation techniques and utilize all available tools to implement efficient defenses. This increases the team’s overall effectiveness and enables managers to spend their resources wisely to minimize project risks.

 

8. Budget Management

As previously mentioned, one of the main advantages of adopting construction management software is that it enables users to efficiently manage all available resources. The likelihood of scope creep and projects deviating from the intended direction increases over the life of every project.

Managers may avoid it by using construction management software, which enables them to monitor everything with the aid of a real-time project reporting tool and stop project costs from ballooning.

 

9. Enhanced Productivity

The fact that the construction management software optimizes your decision-making process and boosts productivity at work is another significant benefit. You can always make well-informed judgements quickly since all the necessary information is available in one location.

How to Choose Construction Management Software?

There are several things to take into consideration while selecting construction management software for your team. Teams and businesses frequently concentrate on elements including usability, scalability, reporting, security, and price. The remaining factors rely on your specific team’s demands, and you might need to test out a few different methods before settling on one that your team adores.

Paying attention to the following metrics can help decide on the best functioning construction management software:

• Range of project management features
• Reporting capabilities
• Quality of support
• Security
• Price

10 Top Construction Management Software for 2024

Considering construction management abilities, reporting, support, security, and cost, these programs came out on top:

 

1. monday.com, Best for Building Custom Workflows Across Teams

• 14-day free trial + free plan available
• From $8/user/month (billed annually, min 3 seats)

The award-winning construction management software Monday.com can assist you in creating unique workflows for your projects.

It allows you practically endless customization. In addition to offering a variety of task views, configurable fields, and collaboration tools, Monday.com excels at assisting you in developing automated workflows. You can choose from pre-defined templates in the automation center and then just click to choose the information from dropdown menus that is most pertinent to you.

Additionally, you can find bespoke cards that you may create from scratch as well as template actions designed for connections like Slack. If you choose this option, a drag-and-drop builder will be displayed.

Features such as resource workload and allocation will notify you of the activities and level of activity of your team. The collaborative docs, which enable users to co-author documentation and link to other software files, are another noteworthy feature. Finally, you can create views that display the data that is pertinent to your operation using its configurable dashboards.

Integrations include pre-built connections to apps like Slack, Google Drive, DocuSign, Gmail, Google Calendar, Jira, GitHub, Trello, Dropbox, Typeform, and many more. Zapier allows you to connect to tens of thousands of apps.

PROS

• Huge focus on collaboration
• A long list of supported integrations
• Easy to customize a workflow or board
• Helpful visual/color coding customization

CONS

• Complex pricing rubric
• Gantt charts locked to mid-level plan
• May be too robust for small teams

 

2. Wrike, Best Construction Management Software for Scaling Organizations

• Free plan available
• From $9.80/user/month

Wrike is a well-regarded construction management software that makes it a good partner for any business wanting to expand. Starting with a free plan that is ideal for managing tasks in small teams, the application offers configurable plans that may handle any team size. Additionally, Wrike functions range from approvals, proofreading, resource management, and budgeting to lists and basic status fields.

For teams that require more protection and precise permissions, Wrike also includes strong Enterprise features. Even for complex enterprises with particular needs, they have a separate tier.

Features include visual proofing that will help your team receive multi-tier approvals from the client and workflow automations to make those repetitive tasks go away. Additionally, you have access to project portfolio management tools, such as cross-tagging for projects that need input from other business efforts, which will show you how your project initiatives fit into the company’s strategy and goals.

Integrations in Wrike include 400+ pre-built native integrations that include Asana, Airtable, BambooHR, Chargify, Clearbit, HubSpot, Jenkins, Mailchimp, Replicon, Salesforce, and Slack. Additionally, you may use its API to create unique automations.

PROS

• Different ways to view the same data
• Holistic, comprehensive task modeling
• Many options and opportunities to customize

CONS

• No subtasks in the freemium plan
• No offline access
• The commenting system is pretty basic

 

3. ClickUp, Best for Remote Work Teams

• Freemium plan available
• From $9/user/month

Without regard to your geographical location, you may plan projects, organize activities, and manage resources with the strong capabilities of the construction management software ClickUp.

This construction management software’s characteristics are suitable for remote teams because they primarily promote collaboration. You won’t need to leave this platform unless it’s to bill the customer, thanks to features like the ability to tag people in conversations, collaborative documents, and whiteboards that encourage user co-creation.

Features include the whiteboards that let you brainstorm with your team to come up with a bulletproof plan and the collaborative docs that work as a Wiki where everyone can join and add to the conversation. Additionally, you have access to services like in-app chat and proof that can speed up customer approvals for marketing assets.

Integrations include native ones with Slack, HubSpot, TogglTrack, Figma, Loom, Sentry, G Suite, Dropbox, Clockify, and Calendly. Additionally, a subscription membership with Zapier enables you to connect to more than 1,000 additional apps. Finally, there is a public API you can utilize for bespoke integrations if you are capable of doing so.

PROS

• The free forever plan allows unlimited members
• Unlimited file storage on all paid account tiers
• Can email (set up) a task directly from Outlook

CONS

• Read-only guest permissions are limited to a paid account
• The reporting suite is limited to paid plans only
• Granular customization options result in a time-consuming setup

 

4. Kintone, Best PM Software to Build Business Apps for Any Process

• 30-day free trial
• From $24/user/month

Kintone is a customizable construction management software used by teams at Volvo Trucks North America, Japan Airlines, Shiseido, and over 23,000 organizations worldwide.

You can create a wide range of configurable “apps” utilizing their innovative approach to project and task management, either from scratch, using templates, or using your current spreadsheets. Project management, sales CRM, customer databases, expenditure reports, shared to-do lists, equipment management, product feedback, and many other uses may all be customized using Kintone apps.

Drag and drop the page elements you wish to see, such as rich text fields, date fields, drop-down menus, number fields with built-in calculations, and more, to create your no-code project monitoring apps.

You and your team can use the app you create to track whatever data and tasks you need once it has been built. Finally, personalized alerts and reminders will keep you informed.

The capabilities of this construction management software to automate reminders and handoffs between team members for multi-step workflows, as well as the flexibility to filter and prioritize tasks by data field or team member to generate custom reports or dashboard views, make it particularly excellent for project monitoring.

Teams can also discuss projects directly in the app as well as in topic- or project-based threads thanks to Kintone’s built-in communication tools. Task-tracking applications and searchable communication threads are organized in designated “spaces” for your team’s project.

Features include a pre-built application library, improved process management, private messaging, real-time custom graphs and charts, and specific permission controls.

Integrations. You can extend the functionality of Kintone with both free native plugins created by the Kintone team and paid Zapier integrations or API integrations with other tools like Slack, Gmail, Google Calendar, Outlook, Tableau, Dropbox, Salesforce, HubSpot, Eventbrite, WordPress, QuickBooks, MailChimp, and many more.

PROS

• Flexible pricing that includes special deals for schools and NPOs
• Admin accounts have access to tons of customization tools
• Data is easy to pull and manipulate into good-looking reports

CONS

• No single-user plan available (minimum 5 users)
• Limited to 5GB/user storage on every pricing tier
• No native templates for common project types or documents

 

5. Height, Best for Startups that Need to Build Products Faster

• 30-day free trial
• From $8.50/user/month

Height is an all-in-one construction management software that incorporates visualizations like Spreadsheet (table), Kanban, Calendar, and Gantt and can be tailored to meet processes on a team-by-team basis. The platform, which is excellent for startups and small organizations, allows unlimited members, guests, and tasks in addition to multiple perspectives.

However, as you switch to the other options, Height gets even better. Its extensive offering consists of macOS and Windows apps, SOC 2 Type II compliance for data protection, and a command center where you can personalize keyboard shortcuts for practically anything you can imagine.

Features include a time-tracking feature they recently released where your team can track their time per task and it automatically syncs to third-party software, like Harvest. Additionally, you’ll discover automation tools that make it easier to create workflows in a drag-and-drop environment, create tasks in Height automatically from code editors, and access shortcuts with a single keyboard.

Integrations include Notion, Slack, Discord, Harvest, GitHub, GitLab, Sentry, Zendesk, Figma, Slab, and Fivetran. Through Zapier, you may also access thousands of more apps (premium account required).

PROS

• Request collection through forms
• macOS and Windows apps
• Guest account permissions

CONS

• Automations are in Beta testing
• Relatively new in the market

 

6. Hive, Best for Collaborative Project Management

• 14-day free trial
• From $12/user/month

The teams at Starbucks, Uber, Electronic Arts, and Toyota are all powered by the construction management software called Hive. The product roadmap for Hive, the first community-built software ever, is entirely based on consumer requests.

With its powerful task management, adaptable project views, dependencies, and intake forms, Hive centralizes all of your work in one location. This construction management software’s goal-tracking, time-resourcing, and analytics tools provide transparent team workload and delivery visibility as well as strategic planning.

Hive is unique in that it enables native email connection, making it simple to convert emails into tasks without switching between apps. If you’re looking for a well-designed, all-inclusive construction management software that can be scaled up or down depending on team needs, pick Hive.

Features include automation, reporting and analytics, portfolio management, intake forms, and proofing & approvals capabilities.

Integrations include Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Jira, QuickBooks and Slack. Thousands of integrations are available using the no-code Hive Automate app.

PROS

• Excellent built-in communication features
• Great all-in-one option for SMBs
• Intuitive & pleasant UI
• Easy to integrate with other tools

CONS

• Reporting functions could be expanded
• Vastness of capabilities means steep learning curve
• The mobile version limited in functionality

7. Nifty, Best for Remote Teams & Ease of Use

• 14-day free trial
• From $9 /user/month

Nifty is a construction management software that shortens project development cycles, increases team productivity, and makes sure organizational goals are met on time by tracking progress through milestones.

It offers capabilities for file and document sharing, a built-in calendar that can be connected to Google, and the ability to organize tasks using Kanban or list views. Additionally, Nifty includes some fantastic collaboration tools, such individual, project-specific discussion threads.

The cross-organizational project overview tab of Nifty offers insights into high-level deadlines as well as task-level deep-dive assessments for projects. Nifty is adaptable to your team’s project process. The support section of Nifty helps to ensure that teamwork on the platform is maximized.

Features include discussions, task management, time tracking, collaborative docs that can be centrally stored, and reporting.

Integrations include importing data from Asana, Basecamp, ClickUp, and Trello, and has native integrations with Slack, Zoom, GitHub, Dropbox, Google Drive, and Google Calendar, while its Zapier integration connects Nifty with over 1000 additional apps.

PROS

• Good chat feature within the system
• Multitude of integrations
• Easy document storage, creation, and management

CONS

• Guests & clients can only be invited on paid plans
• Time tracking & reporting is available with paid account only
• No native integrations with financial planning tools

 

8. Visor, Best for Real-Time Collaboration with Unlimited Viewer-Only Accounts

• Free plan available
• From $9/user/month

Visor provides customizable construction management software with collaboration capabilities, project roadmaps, and workflows. You can use the tool to make Gantt charts and spreadsheets that connect to SaaS applications like Jira for free and in vibrant colors.

For busy project teams, Visor offers several collaboration capabilities, such as the ability to assign tasks and responsibilities to team members, allowing them to concentrate on particular project components while keeping others updated on their progress.

Task lists can be readily adjusted, due dates can be established, and notes or comments can be added for more context with Visor’s drag-and-drop interface. Users can share files, send messages, and leave comments within the project workspace.

This construction management software offers a unique collaboration function by providing a thorough overview of the status of the project. Team members can rapidly identify areas requiring attention and take necessary action by seeing completed work, impending deadlines, and potential bottlenecks. The possibility of missed deadlines or delays is reduced thanks to this tool, which helps teams stay on schedule.

Features include Visor’s two-way syncing to SaaS apps ensures that your charts and reports stay accurate without manual work. Its 2-way sync also allows you to build workbooks that can combine information from multiple tools in one place and create multi-app workflows.

Integrations include Jira Software, Salesforce, and Hubspot. You can also import data from Google Sheets and Excel.

PROS

• Free plan for 2 workbooks & 5 views each
• Free unlimited viewer-only accounts
• Live support via phone & video call

CONS

• Unlimited audit trail locked to highest plan
• May cost extra for monthly integration sync credits

 

9. Smartsheet, Best for Low-Code Project Management Automation

• Freemium version available
• From $7/user/month

Smartsheet is a construction management software that resembles a spreadsheet. As Smartsheet conducts all the calculations for you across numerous sheets, it’s a convenient platform if you’re used to working with Excel but want a break from complex formulas.

You may easily construct work applications and automate workflows using the platform. On the one hand, you have access to all of the workflow automation features that are offered to users as a whole. You may virtually automate any task you can think of with this construction management software module’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Alerts for status changes, automated approval requests, and reacting to update requests from your email or Slack are a few examples.

The job applications are the other option. You may create these user-friendly online and mobile applications to integrate with Smartsheet’s WorkApps. WorkApps is a no-code platform where you can create apps using pre-made templates or from scratch using external materials such as sheets, forms, reports, and even spreadsheets. These are so strong that you can even set up team-specific role permissions using them.

Features include Bridge – a business process automation builder that can help you build workflows in a no-code interface and dashboards that can give you a real-time view of your KPIs, critical trends, and summary reports. Additionally, the document builder has a direct integration with DocuSign, enabling you to send documents for electronic signatures while keeping track of their progress.

Integrations include Microsoft and Google apps, as well as development essentials like Jira, and useful business apps like Salesforce, ServiceNow, Slack, Box, and Tableau. The platform is extensible through a REST API and webhooks.

PROS

• Sheet-to-sheet linking
• Many project templates & resources
• Ease of sharing
• Easily customizable dashboards

CONS

• Jira, Salesforce, Dynamics connector limited to Premier plan
• Changes don’t update in real-time
• Can’t customize chart colors

 

10. Hub Planner, Best with Resource Management Built-in

• 30-day free trial
• From $7/user/month (billed annually)

You may manage both the projects and the time of your team with Hub Planner, a project management and resource scheduling tool. When it comes to resource planning and tracking staff time, this construction management software excels. The budgeting system, which accounts for project spend as well as internal and external billing rates, can be used to organize your projects. You can link projects together using dependencies and track resource use overlap.

The platform’s core functionality, and the area in which it truly excels, is resource planning. To ensure sure each project has enough resources, you can plan capacity and develop employee schedules. The system allows employees to keep track of their time, both billable and non-billable hours as well as the amount of time needed for certain tasks.

Features include the software’s skills-matching capabilities. You can find resources based on the specific skills needed for projects and tasks, and then assign staff to projects based on their workloads and capacity. The drag-and-drop scheduler is also quite handy and easy to use.

Integrations include DIY options via the Hub Planner API and webhooks. Additionally, you can access thousands of apps using a Zapier account.

PROS

• Project budgeting included
• Well-suited to professional service companies
• Resource management included

CONS

• Project management is not the primary functionality
• Somewhat rudimentary task management

 

Trends That Will Impact the Future of Construction Management Software

In the past 64 years, project management has undergone a paradigm shift. Today, effective project management involves much more than merely allocating tasks and resources and completing projects on schedule.

The globalization of the field, and the expansion of methods, techniques, and project management practices are just a few of the important trends that the Project Management Institute (PMI) recognizes as having impacted the profession over the past 50 years. Many of the emerging trends have already had a significant impact on how project managers approach their work. The following are some such trends:

 

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Project management procedures have been significantly altered by automation and artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a necessary tool for modern enterprises to gain insights into project performance and to automate manual project duties.

The digital transformation that businesses and institutions implemented during the start of the COVID-19 epidemic is now the standard, according to PMI’s research and results. To obtain a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving market, most new-age enterprises and even established ones are currently redesigning their fundamental business models.

Businesses now frequently leverage technology like cloud computing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and AI to improve project outcomes, staff productivity, and customer experience. To deliver information and insights that assist decision-makers in making quick, better, and accurate decisions, project management software incorporates AI for complicated scheduling, data visualization, and interactive dashboards.

According to PMI, businesses will continue to invest in AI for a variety of functions, including risk management, decision-making, knowledge management, and data analysis. Global brands have already begun implementing well-developed digital transformation strategies, and they will maintain reskilling and upskilling the workforce while also training IT and data specialists to support the appropriate and useful deployment of AI.

 

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Suggested article to read: Sensors in Construction | IoT in Construction

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2. Data and Analytics

Modern project management depends heavily on data, its administration, and its analytics. Managers must make quick, informed decisions that support corporate success by utilizing data insights. A rapidly advancing trend in project management is big data analytics. It is used in many different domains, including client management, quality control, risk assessment, and project scheduling.

It has a significant impact on the project team’s understanding of team composition, size, people to include, and skill sets needed for effective project management. Project managers would need to predict project success and be better guided throughout the project life cycle to meet the need for enhanced project results.

 

3. More Collaborative Workspaces

Global project management is now possible because of technology. Project management software has improved with quicker and better project outcomes with the intended quality thanks to greater participation and collaboration of talents beyond a nation’s boundary.

For project managers to effectively create, execute, measure, and control project outcomes and goals, it is now essential to comprehend the impact of remote work and distributed workforces. A project manager should also understand how to organize projects and communicate with a diverse team of remote team members.

Project managers are benefiting from the newest project management tools like Slack and other cutting-edge features since they make efficient communication possible and more accessible than ever.

Project management and team communication have already begun to become quicker, simpler, and more affordable thanks to the newest Internet 5G technology, which enables video streaming without using much bandwidth or delaying the network.

 

4. Blended Approach to Project Management

Project management that incorporates elements of two (or more) separate project management approaches is known as blended project management or hybrid project management. They have been combined to produce a completely new approach that would satisfy all project objectives. Project managers who feel constrained by a particular technique frequently like it.

This transition from a just one project management paradigm to a hybrid model is one of the most current project management trends. In a poll, 60% of participants stated utilizing either a hybrid of waterfall and agile project management techniques or another project methodology (Project Manager, 2021).

With such a hybrid model, it is possible to formulate one’s formula for project success. A project manager blends and mixes things to fit the project; no set formula must be followed. The mixing method is entirely up to the project manager’s discretion.

 

5. Demand for Soft Skills

It was one of the year’s soft trends since education and experience alone are not enough to give you a competitive edge in the job market. Businesses are prioritizing soft skills, asking that project managers develop soft skills to keep themselves attractive to organizations as routine portions of the work are taken over by AI tools. Businesses are giving the following talent pool skills priority to support successful projects:

• Technical Skills (68percent)
• Leadership Skills (65percent)
• Business Skills (58percent)

 

Conclusion

The profession of project management is expanding into businesses that were previously less project-oriented as the global economy becomes more project-oriented, which is positive for the future of project management. Future project management trends, for instance, are being influenced by industries like law, publishing, and professional services.

According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), there is a growing gap between the demand for trained project management personnel by firms and the supply of qualified individuals to fill such roles.

It’s difficult to manage a team, especially if you’re new to small business. Construction management software streamlines your team’s productivity and provides an effective means of communication. The following are a few advantages of using project management software.

Systems for managing tasks enable you to monitor productivity and progress in addition to keeping you and your team up to date on assignments. Some systems even feature statistics that show a breakdown of the precise amount of time it takes staff to do tasks. With this information, you can identify the weak points in your company and take steps to fix them so that production increases.

You can save time by using construction management software. You won’t have to be concerned, for instance, that an update or proposal would get lost in a barrage of Monday morning emails. Instead, reporting tools quickly ping users. Similar to how communication takes place in one location, you won’t need to look for files or contact teammates separately, clearing up uncertainty and advancing tasks.

Construction management software can significantly outperform hand-written to-do lists on a suitable platform. Your team can all use the program you’ve chosen to share progress updates and see who is in charge of what tasks. Additionally, the collaboration-enhancing communication features and the speedy billing-improving invoicing features are both available. If you adopt construction management software, it can end up being the default system for business activities in your organization.