Viewpoint Vista is the best ERP for most larger general contractors, because Trimble describes it as a configurable enterprise system for large-scale contractors with multi-entity accounting. A custom ERP built by Black Badger ranks third, and it moves up when your pay application, subcontract and change order process is your own and a product would need heavy configuration to follow it.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Viewpoint Vista
Best for general contractors with several entities and regions
A general contractor carries subcontracts, owner billings and joint ventures across many jobs at once, often in more than one legal entity. Vista is first because Trimble describes it as a customizable enterprise ERP built for large-scale contractors, with deep data configuration and multi-entity accounting. Vista Financial Controls and Vista Field Management sit in the same family, and every Viewpoint subscription includes 24/7 technical support.
Watch for. Deep configuration means a long setup. A general contractor with close to 50 employees should ask Trimble how much of that configuration it will use.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- Main limit
- Described as an enterprise ERP for large contractors, with no published price
2 CMiC
Best for general contractors that want one database for cost and projects
CMiC is second for general contractors because of its single database. Accounting and project controls share one set of records, so a commitment entered by a project manager is the same commitment the accountant pays against. It names general contractors among the firms it serves. It trails Vista here only because the pages we read state less about the product, including whether it is cloud or on-premise.
Watch for. No prices or tiers are published. Confirm which of Construction Financials, Project Management, Workflow and Analytics your quote includes.
- 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
3 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for general contractors with their own pay application process
Black Badger publishes this guide and builds custom software, so read this entry knowing that. For a general contractor a custom ERP ranks third. Owners and lenders each want billing their own way, and the office may keep a workbook per job to produce it. We build the subcontract, change order and billing steps as your team runs them, with no licenses and no fee per user, and you own it.
Watch for. Decide early whether the general ledger moves into the new system or stays where it is and receives postings. The written scope has to say which.
- 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 Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate
Best for general contractors that also develop or hold property
Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate ranks fourth. It suits a contractor or developer that wants deep construction accounting, and Sage says it was formerly Timberline Office. Licensing can be perpetual or subscription. It sits below the top three for a general contractor because deployment is on your servers, a third-party host or AWS, and Sage Construction Management is a related product that may be bought separately.
Watch for. Cost varies with the modules you choose and the number of users. Get the module list in the quote line by line.
- 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
5 Sage Intacct Construction
Best for general contractors that want cloud books with job costing
Sage Intacct Construction is fifth for general contractors. It gives a contractor with several entities cloud accounting with job costing and WIP across trades and subcontracts. A general contractor usually wants project management tied closely to cost, and here that is a separate platform, Sage Construction Management, which requires the Sage Intacct subscription. That separation is why it ranks below the single-database options.
Watch for. Sage prices by business size, entity structure and modules. Ask for the accounting and the project management platform in one quote.
- How it charges
- Quoted by business size, entities and modules
- Main limit
- Sage Construction Management needs a Sage Intacct subscription as well
6 Procore
Best for general contractors pairing project management with an ERP
Procore ranks sixth because it is not an ERP, and many general contractors will ask about it anyway. It is a project management platform whose job costs sync to your accounting software. It belongs on the shortlist as the project side of a pair. Procore charges an annual fee by product based on Annual Construction Volume and says it will never charge for adding more users.
Watch for. The fee rises as your construction volume grows, even with the same staff. You still need an accounting system beside it.
- How it charges
- Annual fee by product, based on construction volume
- Main limit
- Priced on your annual construction volume, so cost rises as your work grows
7 Autodesk Construction Cloud (Autodesk Build, now Forma Build)
Best for general contractors that work from drawings and models
Autodesk Construction Cloud, now sold as Forma Build, ranks seventh for the same reason as Procore. It is a per-seat project platform and not an accounting system. Autodesk lists it per user, billed yearly or monthly, with a lower Essentials tier. A general contractor can start with a small team, then pair it with one of the ERPs above.
Watch for. Unlimited-user licensing is listed as Contact Sales. A contractor with many field users should price both the per-user and the unlimited route.
- How it charges
- Per user, yearly or monthly, unlimited users quoted
- Main limit
- Priced per user, and unlimited users needs a sales quote
How this list was ranked
We ranked for a general contractor of 50 or more employees that manages subcontracts, owner billing and several jobs at once, often across more than one entity. How tightly job cost is tied to the ledger counted first, then multi-entity accounting, then what the vendor states about price and deployment.
Two project management platforms are on the list because general contractors ask about them. Neither is an accounting system, and both rank below the options that are.
Questions buyers ask
What should a general contractor expect from an ERP?
A general contractor should expect an ERP to provide job cost by cost code, committed cost from subcontracts and purchase orders, and change orders that flow through to billing. The system should also handle retainage on both sides and produce a WIP report the surety accepts. If any of those is produced in a spreadsheet today, that is the gap to test each product against.
Do general contractors need both Procore and an ERP?
Many general contractors run both Procore and an ERP. Procore handles project management and syncs job costs to accounting software, according to the pages we read. The ERP or accounting system holds the ledger, payables, billing and payroll. The work is in keeping the two in agreement.
Which construction ERP vendors publish a price?
Autodesk is the only vendor on this list that publishes a price, and it lists Forma Build per user. CMiC, Trimble, Sage and Procore quote per customer. Procore does state how it charges, which is an annual fee by product based on Annual Construction Volume.