When it comes to managing the financial needs of a construction business, few tools offer the flexibility and power of QuickBooks. With various solutions tailored to businesses of different sizes and complexity, the Intuit ecosystem has something for everyone. However, choosing the right version of QuickBooks can be a daunting task, especially for construction businesses with unique requirements like job costing, progress invoicing, and work-in-process (WIP) reporting.

In this article, we’ll guide you through the QuickBooks options for construction businesses, scaling from the most basic to the most advanced. Let’s break it down:

1. QuickBooks Online Plus: $99/month

QuickBooks Online Plus is an entry-level option for construction businesses that need to:

• Track basic job costs.
• Generate Profit and Loss by Project reports.
• Create progress invoices for clients.
• Monitor project profitability at a summary level.

This cloud-based solution is ideal for small contractors or businesses just getting started with job costing. While it includes fundamental tools like tracking income and expenses by project, it lacks advanced features like committed cost reporting and detailed job profitability analysis.

Best for: Small contractors or construction businesses with simple accounting needs.

2. QuickBooks Online Advanced: $235/month

QuickBooks Online Advanced is the next step up, offering enhanced tools for growing construction businesses. In addition to the features of QuickBooks Online Plus, it provides:

• Work-in-Process (WIP) reports.
• Estimates vs. Actuals reporting to track how projects perform against budgets.
• Expanded user roles and permissions to improve team collaboration.
• Basic workflow approvals for invoices and other transactions.
• Both class and location tracking for deeper reporting insights.
• Dropdown custom fields at the transaction level for additional data input.

While still a cloud-based solution, QuickBooks Online Advanced is better suited for medium-sized businesses that need slightly more robust reporting and customization. However, it still falls short in areas like committed cost reporting, detailed construction dashboards, and extensive workflow approvals for budgets and projects.

Note: With QuickBooks Online Advanced, payroll is an add-on starting at $135/month to enable full project costing capabilities.

Best for: Mid-sized construction businesses seeking a more feature-rich cloud solution.

Here is a video that showcases QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced for Construction:

3. Intuit Enterprise Suite: Estimated $700–$1,500/month

The Intuit Enterprise Suite takes cloud-based construction accounting to the next level, offering features that rival traditional desktop ERP systems. With Intuit Enterprise Suite, you gain:

• Advanced job costing, including cost-to-complete tracking and committed costs reporting.
• Special construction dashboards for project KPIs like unbilled time, project progress, and profitability.
• Change order tracking with approval workflows.
• AI-generated forecasting to predict future project outcomes.
• Extensive workflow approvals for budgets, projects, and transactions, offering a higher level of control and automation compared to QuickBooks Online Advanced.
• Both class and location tracking for flexible financial reporting.
• Dropdown custom fields at the transaction level, similar to QuickBooks Online Advanced, but also featuring Dimensions, which act like additional classes at the line-item level, providing powerful reporting capabilities.

Intuit is deeply developing its AI-enabled features, and you are likely to only see the projects, budgets, and forecast-related AI features in the Intuit Enterprise Suite.

This solution bridges the gap between robust construction management and the convenience of a cloud-based platform. However, its cost reflects the extensive capabilities, making it a significant investment for businesses needing enterprise-grade features without the complexity of managing desktop software.

Note: Like QuickBooks Online, payroll for full project costing is an add-on starting at $135/month.

Best for: Construction businesses ready for advanced tools but preferring cloud-based systems.

4. QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise: $200–$1,000/month (Plus IT Costs)

For businesses requiring the ultimate in-depth construction accounting, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise remains the gold standard. With unparalleled customization and advanced features, it offers:

• Certified payroll reports.
• Detailed job profitability reports, including phases and cost codes.
• Comprehensive WIP reporting and committed cost tracking.
• Industry-specific tools for construction, including granular tracking of job types, statuses, and change orders.
• The ability to fully customize the look and feel of printable forms such as estimates, invoices, and purchase orders. Unlike QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite, which offer limited customization, Desktop Enterprise allows deep tailoring to match your business’s branding and needs.
• Class tracking for financial reporting, but lacks location tracking, which is available in the cloud-based solutions.
• Dropdown custom fields available at the line-item level, offering more granular control over transaction details compared to the transaction-level fields in cloud-based solutions.
• The ability to create an unlimited number of company databases for the same subscription price, unlike QuickBooks Online and Intuit Enterprise Suite, which charge per company.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise Gold and Platinum editions include payroll at no additional cost, making it a more inclusive solution for businesses requiring robust project costing without separate payroll subscriptions.

However, there’s a tradeoff: Desktop Enterprise is a locally installed ERP system. This means additional costs for IT infrastructure, backups, and updates that aren’t necessary with cloud-based solutions. While it delivers unmatched depth and detail, it also requires careful consideration of the long-term operational costs.

Best for: Large, established construction businesses with complex needs and the resources to manage IT infrastructure.

Here is an old video (but very relevant) on how QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise works for Construction/Contractors:

Additional Notes

There are many other nuances and differences between these QuickBooks solutions that are hard to enumerate in this article, as we are focused 100% on construction and project-related features. For a more comprehensive comparison, you can explore my monthly-updated spreadsheet here: Comprehensive QuickBooks Comparison Spreadsheet.

If you need help choosing the best option for your business or assistance in purchasing QuickBooks, feel free to email me. As a QuickBooks reseller, I may have access to better pricing than what is publicly available.

This article is written by me, Hector Garcia, CPA, a QuickBooks consultant. It is geared towards business owners trying to decide whether to upgrade or downgrade from their current QuickBooks system to find the best fit for their construction business.

What Should You Choose?

The right QuickBooks version for your construction business depends on your:

• Budget: Can you afford the additional costs of IT for Desktop Enterprise, or do you prefer the predictability of cloud-based subscriptions?
• Needs: Do you require advanced features like committed cost tracking and AI forecasting?
• Growth: Are you a small contractor or a large, established company managing multiple large-scale projects?

Here’s a quick recap:

• Start small: QuickBooks Online Plus is great for small contractors ($99/month).
• Upgrade when ready: QuickBooks Online Advanced offers enhanced project tracking ($235/month).
• Step into enterprise-grade: Intuit Enterprise Suite provides advanced features in the cloud ($700–$1,500/month).
• Go all-in: QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is the ultimate solution but comes with higher costs and IT responsibilities ($200–$1,000/month + IT costs).

Conclusion

QuickBooks offers a robust range of solutions to fit any construction business, whether you’re just starting or managing multi-million-dollar projects. By considering your current needs, growth trajectory, and available resources, you can find the perfect QuickBooks version to power your construction business to success. For more guidance or to explore these options, email me [email protected]