Construction software: how to cut the bill without slowing down sites
Quotes, invoices, site tracking, scheduling: what construction companies (BTP) pay for software, and where open source can bring the bill down.
A 20-person construction company (BTP in France) often stacks several pieces of software: a quote and invoice tool, site tracking, scheduling, a photo reporting app, accounting, payroll. Each is reasonable on its own. Together they weigh heavily, and they talk to each other poorly.
What a construction company pays for
The most common items:
- quotes, invoices and progress payment statements (situations de travaux): Batappli, Obat, Tolteck, EBP Bâtiment, Sage Batigest;
- site tracking and reports: Fieldwire, Finalcad, Archireport, Kizeo Forms;
- team scheduling: Alobees, Organilog;
- accounting and payroll, often handled by the chartered accountant.
Pricing is per user, and often per module. A site manager who needs quotes, scheduling and photo reports costs three licences.
What can be replaced, and what is better kept
Quotes, invoices and sales tracking
Dolibarr, a French open source management software, covers quotes, invoices, deposits, payment tracking and the catalogue of works items. It adapts through modules and connects to accounting. For more structured companies, Odoo goes further: purchasing, stock, projects.
Site reports and forms
A mobile form (photos, signature, snag lists) can be built with Formbricks or directly in the management tool. Site files are shared in Nextcloud, accessible on a phone, with permissions per project.
What to keep
Payroll (the construction industry collective agreement, paid-leave funds) stays with specialist software or the accountant: it is too heavily regulated to improvise. Quantity surveying and CAD software (AutoCAD, Revit) meets precise technical needs and is handled case by case.
The method that works in the field
- Start with the office, not the site: quotes and invoices first.
- Import your data: customers, works items, prices, ongoing sites.
- Test on a pilot site before switching all teams over.
- Train in half a day: field teams want a simple tool on their phone, not a full ERP.
How much it changes
For a company of 20 people where 8 use the management tools, construction licences commonly amount to several thousand euros a year. A hosted open source tool replaces this cost with a fixed fee that does not change as the team grows.
Do the calculation with your own tools in the simulator, or request a free audit.
