BuiltSum for contractors
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
Ten 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.
Material and business calculators
Order quantities with waste, then send them to the estimator to price the labor.
Frequently asked questions
What is construction estimating software?
Construction estimating software (also called construction estimation software or contractor 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.
Is it cloud-based, and does it work offline?
It runs in the browser, so estimates and the price book live in the company account instead of on one laptop, and two people can work a bid without emailing versions. The free tools keep work in the browser itself, so a dropped signal does not lose it, but this is a connected product: if you need full offline takeoff with no service, a desktop package fits that better.
What trades is BuiltSum built for?
Ten packs ship today — painting, drywall, concrete, masonry, excavation, landscaping, siding, framing, tile and insulation — with 214 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