Construction estimating software
Estimate it once. Bill it every month.
BuiltSum is estimating and billing software for contractors and trade subs: pre-loaded trade assemblies price the bid, the winning estimate becomes your schedule of values, and AIA-style G702/G703-style pay applications roll forward every month — penny-exact, with retainage tracked line by line.
Flat pricing from $49/mo · Unlimited projects on every plan · Field users free
The same numbers, entered once
Most contractors retype the same figures four times — walkthrough notes, estimate, contract, pay app, job cost. Every retype is an evening lost and a chance for the math to drift. BuiltSum is one chain:
1. Estimate
Build from trade assemblies — board counts, production rates, formwork — priced from your own history, not a stale cost book. Type math in any field: 1250*2 just works.
2. Proposal
A branded PDF and a link the client accepts by name and date. You are told the moment they do.
3. Schedule of values
The accepted estimate becomes a CSI-coded SOV that sums to the contract to the cent.
4. Pay application
AIA-style G702/G703-style applications roll forward monthly: retainage per line, stored materials, change orders in — and a link the architect certifies.
5. Job costing
Actual labor, material and subs against the estimate's cost while the job runs, so an overrun is a decision, not a discovery.
6. Your price book
Every job you win rewrites your unit rates, so the next estimate starts from what the work actually cost you.
The combination nobody sells under $199
Under $150/month you’ve had to choose: estimating tools that can’t bill, or billing tools that start from an empty price book. The full chain lived at $199+ with per-user fees.
| Capability | BuiltSum | Estimating-only tools | Billing-only tools |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-loaded trade assemblies | ✓ Included | Some (generic DBs) | ✗ Empty price book |
| Proposal + accept link | ✓ Included | PDF only, rarely e-sign | ✓ Varies |
| AIA-style pay applications | ✓ Every plan | ✗ | ✓ (often gated to top tiers) |
| Retainage release tracking | ✓ Included | ✗ | ✗ Accrual only |
| Lien waiver linked to pay app | ✓ Included | ✗ | ✗ |
| Unlimited projects | ✓ Every plan | ✓ Usually | ✗ Project caps on entry tiers |
| Per-user fees for field crew | ✗ None | $9–20/user | $6–29/user |
Start with the free tools
No signup, no email gate — the same billing engine as the paid product.
Pay application generator
G702/G703-style, saves your SOV and rolls it forward monthly.
Retainage calculator
With the 50-state statutory cap table.
SOV builder
CSI presets, validates to the contract value to the cent.
Change order generator
Signature-ready PDF with the pay-app impact computed.
Estimate builder
Six trade packs loaded, proposal PDF out the other end.
Labor burden calculator
Your state's SUTA and comp class — cost per billable hour.
Markup calculator
Markup is not margin, and the gap is your profit.
RFI form & log
PDF with a response block; overdue answers flagged.
Frequently asked questions
What is construction estimating software?
Construction estimating software turns quantities into a priced bid: you build the estimate from assemblies (line items with material, labor, and markup baked in), produce a proposal the customer can sign, and track whether the job hits the number. BuiltSum adds what most estimating tools stop short of — the estimate becomes your schedule of values and monthly AIA-style pay applications, so the numbers are entered once.
How is BuiltSum different from Clear Estimates, Werx, or Contractor Foreman?
Clear Estimates stops at the estimate — no pay applications, no job costing, no QuickBooks path. Werx bills beautifully but starts you from an empty price book with no assemblies. Contractor Foreman now includes AIA-style invoicing on every tier, including its $49 Basic plan, but that plan is one user and its tiers price by seat — $105 for three, $166 for eight. BuiltSum ships trade assembly packs AND AIA-style billing on every plan, with unlimited projects and field users free, from $49/month.
Do the numbers really flow from estimate to pay application?
Yes — that's the core of the product. The estimate you win with becomes the schedule of values you bill with. Each month you update percent complete, and the G702/G703-style application, retainage, and change orders roll forward automatically, penny-exact.
Is there a free version?
Two, really: the free tools — pay application generator, retainage calculator, SOV builder, change order generator, estimate builder, labor burden and markup calculators, submittal log and RFI forms, none of which need a signup — and a free account tier with one active project including full pay-application functionality.
What trades is BuiltSum built for?
Six packs ship today — painting, drywall, concrete, masonry, excavation and landscaping — with 139 assemblies between them. General contractors and remodelers use those plus their own price history. If your trade prices work by the unit and bills a GC monthly, BuiltSum is built for you.
Estimate it once. Bill it every month.
Unlimited projects on every plan. Free field users. 14-day trial, no card.
Start free