Resource management software has become a staple of the construction industry, helping professionals coordinate personnel, equipment, and other resources. Keep reading to learn more about various construction resource management software applications and receive tips on choosing the right one for your company.

What is resource management software?

Resource management software facilitates the coordination of resources such as:

• workers (see: workforce management)
• equipment (see: equipment management)
• capital
• materials
• property

Good resource management software lets professionals not only schedule these items but also monitor their usage, forecast demand, and adjust to shifting needs (i.e. by hiring more personnel or acquiring new equipment to keep up with projected increases in demand).

Why is resource management software necessary?

Resource management software is purpose-built to help construction professionals handle the above tasks. This differentiates it from generic solutions such as Excel (read our comparison) that don’t perform the required functionality right out of the box, instead requiring hours of additional setup.

Dedicated resource management software is particularly important for the construction industry, which faces many unique logistical challenges that aren’t sufficiently addressed by generic solutions.

For example, construction companies must grapple with the logistics of spreading resources out across multiple job sites. Mistakes (i.e. scheduling workers and equipment improperly) can lead to hours of lost productivity and, consequently, large cost overruns.

Work in the construction industry is also governed by many regulations and union relationships that must be taken into account.

Generic resource management systems (i.e. those meant for managing resources in a traditional office environment) fail to address these challenges as efficiently as what can be achieved through applications built specifically for the construction industry.

Best resource management software for construction

1. Bridgit Bench

Bridgit Bench is a construction workforce intelligence solution. With it, general contractors and specialty contractors alike can:

• conduct pursuit tracking
• schedule labor
• hold remote resource planning sessions
• forecast demand for resources
• maintain human resources databases

Sign up for a demo of Bridgit Bench and learn more about how it can streamline your construction company’s resource management process.

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2. Procore

Procore is a full suite of construction management tools that integrates with many other applications (including Bridgit Bench).

Procore’s applications include:

• Tender Management
• Field Productivity
• Project Management
• Quality & Safety
• Design Coordination
• Building Information Modeling
• Project Financials
• Invoice Management

Given Procore’s ability to connect with a wide variety of popular project management tools, it serves as a great centerpiece for your resource management system.

Receive a demonstration of Procore.

3. Autodesk Construction Cloud

Autodesk has been a major player in the construction software industry for decades. Autodesk Construction Cloud is the company’s resource management system that features numerous applications (including ones developed by third parties, such as Bridgit Bench).

Autodesk Construction Cloud applications developed by the company itself include:

• Autodesk Build
• Autodesk Takeoff
• BIM Collaborate
• Docs

See the company’s full list of offerings. You can request demos of each solution on the same page.

4. Buildertrend

While the resource management systems we’ve discussed thus far are primarily geared toward general contractors, Buildertrend caters to residential specialty contractors. The application consists of tools meant to help with managing project financials as well as general project, pre-sales, and customer relationship management tasks.

Schedule a demonstration of Buildertrend.

5. AccuLynx

AccuLynx is an application built specifically for roofing contractors. Its features include:

• customer relationship management
• job photo management
• estimation management
• lead management
• permit tracking
• material inventory control

Learn more about AccuLynx and request a demo.

6. ServiceTitan

ServiceTitan is another resource management system geared towards specialty contractors. Its target industries include:

• HVAC
• plumbing
• electrical
• pool installation
• landscaping
• pest control
• garage door installation
• chimney sweeping

ServiceTitan’s features include:

• customer relationship management
• marketing
• contractor dispatching
• timesheet management
• job costing

You can sign up to receive a demonstration of ServiceTitan on the company’s website.

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How to choose the right resource management system for your construction company’s needs

Now that you’ve seen our roundup of the best resource management software applications, here are some tips for choosing the right one.

Don’t be afraid to combine multiple solutions

Cloud-based resource management application subscriptions are generally affordable enough that you can feasibly combine multiple programs to create the ideal solution for your company.

This is advantageous since many applications in this space handle one aspect of resource management very well (i.e. Bridgit Bench with workforce management) and are capable of deferring to other programs via application programming interfaces (APIs).

Look for an integration-friendly application

Having a resource management system that plays nicely with other applications is essential in the modern construction industry. That’s why you should choose an application that either comes with pre-built integrations or has an open (and well-documented) API you can use to build your own.

Try before you buy

All of the resource management systems we’ve proposed above offer free demos that will allow you to try them before buying. It’s important to get key stakeholders involved in these demos since choosing good software is only half the battle; you also need your key people to actually use the application. Keeping them involved in the decision making process is a great way to ensure that.

Choose a construction-specific application

As we’ve mentioned a few times throughout this article, resource management software built for general use often fails to meet the requirements of construction companies. Hence, it’s important that you choose a purpose-built resource management application.

Learn more about how Bridgit Bench benefits general contractors. If you’re a subcontractor wondering how our purpose-built application can help you.

Make use of the software’s documentation and support

Any software application will come with a bit of a learning curve. That’s why good resource management systems are backed by solid documentation and customer support. Make sure this is true of whatever software you’re interested in before you buy it.

We hope you’ve found this article helpful from the perspective of discovering useful construction resource management applications. For more articles on the topic of construction management, visit our blog.

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