CMiC is the best construction ERP for most contractors, because it puts accounting and project controls on a single database, so the job cost a project manager sees is the one the controller closes on. A custom construction ERP built by Black Badger ranks third, and it is the better choice when your job costing, billing or change order process is too specific for a product to follow without workarounds.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 CMiC
Best for contractors that want accounting and project controls together
CMiC ranks first because it solves the main problem of contractor back offices, which is that every job is recorded in two systems. It serves general contractors, subcontractors and heavy-highway firms with accounting and project controls on a single database, so cost, commitments and billing are not reconciled between systems. It lists Construction Financials, Project Management, Workflow and Analytics among its areas. Nothing about its price is public.
Watch for. CMiC lists its areas as separate items and the pages we read do not state whether the product is cloud or on-premise. Confirm both in the first call, along with what the quote covers.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- Main limit
- No price or deployment model is stated on its pages, so both need a sales call
2 Sage Intacct Construction
Best for multi-entity contractors that want cloud accounting
Sage Intacct Construction is second. It is cloud accounting with job costing and WIP across trades and subcontracts, and it suits a contractor with several entities. Sage prices it by business size, entity structure and the modules you need. It ranks behind CMiC because project management is not built in. Sage Construction Management is a separate platform that needs a Sage Intacct subscription as well.
Watch for. Sage also lists a cheaper Sage Construction Essentials package and a separate Specialty Contractor package. Check which one your quote is for.
- How it charges
- Quoted by business size, entities and modules
- Main limit
- Sage Construction Management needs a Sage Intacct subscription as well
3 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for contractors whose job costing no product models cleanly
We publish this guide and we build custom software, so read this entry knowing that. A custom build ranks third because it suits the contractor that pays for an ERP and still keeps the job cost report it trusts in a spreadsheet. A system built around your own cost codes, billing formats and change order approvals has no licenses and no per-seat fee, and you own the code and every account it runs on.
Watch for. A build starts with discovery and a written scope, so it is not a quick switch. It suits contractors of 50 or more employees with a process stable enough to write down.
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
4 Viewpoint Vista
Best for large contractors with several entities and in-house payroll
Viewpoint Vista ranks fourth on the general list. Trimble describes it as a customizable enterprise ERP built for large-scale contractors, with deep data configuration and multi-entity accounting. Trimble lists HR management, field management, field service and financial controls as parts of the same family. Vista ranks below the top three because that depth takes effort to set up, and a mid-size contractor should check the effort fits.
Watch for. Trimble publishes no Vista price. Ask which parts of the Vista family are in the quote, since they are listed as separate parts.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- Main limit
- Described as an enterprise ERP for large contractors, with no published price
5 FOUNDATION
Best for contractors that want accounting and payroll from one vendor
FOUNDATION ranks fifth. It comes from a vendor that serves only contractors, and Job Costing, Payroll and Accounts Receivable are built in, which covers the core of a contractor back office without assembling modules. It ranks here because pricing is modular beyond that core, with Mobile Time Tracking, Service Dispatch and Equipment Management sold as add-ons, and it is not a full project management suite.
Watch for. Foundation says it does not offer standard pricing. The pages we read do not say plainly whether the product is on-premise or hosted, so ask.
- How it charges
- Quoted, modular pricing with paid add-on modules
- Main limit
- Modular pricing, with Service Dispatch and Equipment Management as add-ons
6 Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate
Best for contractors and developers that want deep accounting they host
Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate ranks sixth. Formerly Timberline Office, it suits contractors and developers who want deep construction accounting and are comfortable with hosted or self-managed software. Sage lists perpetual and subscription licensing. It ranks lower because it is not a cloud product run by one vendor. Deployment is on your servers, with a third-party host or on AWS, and project management and service work may be bought as related products.
Watch for. Each deployment option has different costs. Price the hosting as well as the license, and the modules and user count that set the fee.
- How it charges
- Quoted by modules and users, perpetual or subscription
- Main limit
- Runs on your servers or a third-party host or AWS, not as one vendor cloud
7 Acumatica Cloud ERP
Best for contractors that want a general cloud ERP with many users
Acumatica Cloud ERP ranks seventh as the general ERP on this list. It prices by the applications you deploy, expected usage and deployment option and not by user seats, which suits a contractor that wants project managers and field supervisors in the system without a license for each. It ranks last here because it is sold through resellers, so its fit for a contractor depends on a reseller that knows construction.
Watch for. Acumatica publishes no price and has no direct sales team. Ask the reseller for contractor customers you can speak with.
- How it charges
- Quoted by applications and usage, not by user seats
- Main limit
- Quote only, sold through resellers, priced by resources and not by users
How this list was ranked
This list is ranked for a contractor of 50 or more employees with a controller or CFO, several active jobs, crews on payroll and an owner or surety that expects a reliable WIP report. We weighed how closely job cost and accounting are held together, what each vendor states about deployment and price, and how many separate products a contractor has to assemble.
Almost no construction ERP vendor publishes a price. Where that is the case the entry says so and does not estimate one. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software, which is why the custom route is on the list and why it is not ranked first here.
Questions buyers ask
What makes an ERP a construction ERP?
A construction ERP is an ERP built around job costing. Every cost, commitment, change order and invoice belongs to a job and a cost code, billing follows contract terms, and payroll hours land on the jobs they were worked on. A general ERP can be configured to work that way, and a construction ERP is designed that way from the start.
Is Procore a construction ERP?
No, Procore is a project management platform and not a construction ERP. The Procore pages we read describe connecting financials through accounting integrations and syncing job costs to your accounting software. A contractor that runs Procore still needs an accounting system, such as one of the systems on this list.
Why do construction ERP vendors not publish prices?
Construction ERP vendors do not publish prices because the quote depends on modules, users, entities and deployment, and vendors prefer to price after a conversation. Every product on this list is quoted per customer. We report what each vendor says about how it prices and never estimate a figure.
Why does Best Construction ERP list a custom build among the products?
We list a custom build among the products because a contractor of the size these lists cover can choose one in place of a product. Black Badger, which publishes this guide, builds custom software, and we would rather say that plainly and rank the route where it fits than leave it off. On this list the custom build is third. On the list about replacing an on-premise system it is first.