IndustriesGeneral contractor
General contractor software
Business Genie is general contractor software for the estimate, the schedule and the books. Send proposals with deposits, schedule and dispatch crews, track what each job cost with job costing, and sync with QuickBooks Online.
Plans from $50 a month · One month free · No credit card
One super’s day, in booked order and as routed. A sample general contractor day, simulated, beside this.
A general contractor day, as booked
A general contractor’s day is set by other people. The framers start at 6:30, the city gives the inspection a two-hour window, the property manager can do 10, the subs can walk the casita at lunch, the homeowners are free at 1 and want their weekly meeting at 3. The one visit nobody timed, the punch list on a finished job, gets pencilled in where there seems to be room: after the last meeting, at the end of the day.
- 1Framers start on the additionCrew start on a job site · Pueblo Ave30 min6:30 am–7 am
- 2Framing on a garage conversionCity inspection · Sierra Vista Dr30 min8 am–10 am
- 3Dental suite build-outTenant improvement walk · Encanto Rd60 min10 am–10:30 am
- 4Subs price a backyard casitaSub walk for a bid · Hermosa Dr40 min11:30 am–1 pm
- 5Kitchen and family room additionEstimate walkthrough · Catalina Dr90 min1 pm–1:30 pm
- 6Weekly meeting, kitchen remodelOwner meeting on site · Cholla Ln45 min3 pm–4 pm
- 7Last items on a finished jobPunch list · Mariposa St100 min
As booked: 1 h 04 min of driving, the last job done at 5:37 pm.
The same day, routed
Business Genie puts the day’s stops in the order that drives least, and keeps the time windows you promised and the length of every job.
In this sample the same 7 jobs take 52 min of driving instead of 1 h 04 min, and the last one is finished at 3:45 pm instead of 5:37 pm.
10:40 am, rot under the shower
The tile crew on the bathroom remodel pulls out the old shower and finds the subfloor under it rotted through. Nothing gets set on it until the super has seen it and the homeowners have signed off on the extra work.
Add the job and Business Genie re-orders the rest of the day around it, keeping the time windows already promised. The super gets turn-by-turn directions to the next stop.
In this sample the call is fitted in at 12:18 pm and the day is done at 3:45 pm. Taken straight after the job in hand, with the rest driven as booked, the day runs to 5:37 pm.
At the estimate walkthrough
Stop 7 · Catalina Dr · 90 min
Kitchen and family room addition.
Estimate walkthrough: the homeowners walk the GC through what they want. Rooms are measured, the structure, the electrical panel and the plumbing are looked at, and photos are taken for the subs who will price their parts.
The measurements and photos from this walk go out to the subs. Their bids come back over the next week or two, trade by trade, and the GC builds the price from them: each trade’s bids levelled against the same scope, so a low number that leaves part of the job out is not the one carried, then what the GC buys direct, allowances for the finishes the owners have not chosen, and the cost of running the job. What turns up once the work starts, like the rot on Agave Way, is priced and signed as a change order.
Route your own general contractor day
Put in your own jobs, how long each takes and the windows you promise, and Business Genie puts them in the order that drives least, and re-orders it when a call comes in.
The first month is free. The team sets up your account and moves your customer data over at no charge, and route optimization is on every plan.
General contracting jobs, and how long they take
The work a general contracting business books, and how long each job takes once the super is there. Business Genie keeps the length you set for each job when it routes the day.
- Crew start on a job site20–45 minCrew start on a job site×1
- City inspection20–60 minCity inspection×1
- Sub walk for a bid30–60 minSub walk for a bid×1
- Change-order walk30–60 minChange-order walk×1
- Owner meeting on site30–60 minOwner meeting on site×1
- Tenant improvement walk45–90 minTenant improvement walk×1
- Estimate walkthrough1–2 hEstimate walkthrough×1
- Punch list1–3 hPunch list×1
Crew start on a job site
The super is there when the crew arrives. The day’s work is laid out, the material that landed is checked against the order, and anything the next trade or the inspector needs ready is called out.
City inspection
The inspector checks the work against the approved plans: footings, framing, the rough plumbing, electrical and mechanical, insulation, then the final. Cities book inspections by the day or a window, not the minute, and a failed item means a correction and another visit.
Sub walk for a bid
The plumber, the electrician or the HVAC sub walks the job with the GC to price their part. Their bids go into the GC’s own price.
Change-order walk
Something the plans did not show: rot behind a wall, a beam where there should not be one, or an owner who wants more. The GC sees it, prices the extra and gets it signed before the work goes on.
Owner meeting on site
The owners walk the job with the GC: what is done since last week, what comes next, the selections still to make, like tile and fixtures, and the next progress payment.
Tenant improvement walk
An empty commercial suite with the property manager and the tenant: which walls, ceilings, restrooms and HVAC stay and which go, for the build-out price.
Estimate walkthrough
The homeowners walk the GC through what they want. Rooms are measured, the structure, the electrical panel and the plumbing are looked at, and photos are taken for the subs who will price their parts.
Punch list
The last small items on a finished job, worked off the list the owners walked: a door that rubs, paint touch-ups, a missing cover plate, caulk at the tub. When it is done, the final invoice goes out.
Questions about general contractor software
- Does Business Genie do job costing?
- Yes. Job costing is part of Business Genie, alongside estimates and proposals with deposits, scheduling and dispatch, and invoicing.
- Can clients see their job?
- Yes. Business Genie includes a customer portal for your clients.
- How do clients pay?
- By card, Apple Pay, PayPal, Venmo or Cash App.