Contractor Foreman is a broad all-in-one suite at a low entry price. Planyard is focused financial control: budget to purchase orders, subcontract valuations, and forecasting without spreadsheets.
One consultant, choosing software for a small masonry subcontractor, summed up the trade-off after demoing the all-in-one suites: “They’re great solutions, but not for them. It’s way too big. We’re looking for progress billing mainly.”
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Current public ratings from Capterra and the Xero App Store.
| Programme | Rating | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Planyard (Capterra) |
4.6 / 5.0
|
Praised for ease of setup, user friendliness, and time savings. |
| Planyard (Xero App Store) |
4.9 / 5.0
|
Users highly praise Planyard’s seamless Xero integration. |
| Contractor Foreman (Capterra) |
4.5 / 5.0
|
⚠️ Strong value for money, but ease of use scores 4.3: reviewers mention glitchy, slow estimates once many line items are involved, a dated interface, and a mobile app that does not always sync with desktop. |
See how Planyard helps businesses like yours succeed - read their stories in our blog.
"Planyard is exactly what I’m after as a business owner: a good-value system that keeps everything in one place, saves me money and makes sure I’m not losing any money on projects. As a businessman, that’s a no-brainer."
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"Planyard has been one of the easiest systems to implement. Honestly, I don't find it difficult at all to onboard new users or projects onto the system."
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The quotes below are verbatim from recent demo calls with teams that evaluated Contractor Foreman and Planyard side by side, shared anonymously.
If you are comparing options, here is the short version to help you decide quickly.
The short answer: Contractor Foreman wins on sticker price and sheer breadth. But buyers who demo the all-in-one suites keep telling us the same thing: “way too big” for a team that mainly needs progress invoicing, job costing, and clean books. That focused job is what Planyard does.
| Aspect | Planyard | Contractor Foreman |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Deep financial control of projects |
Broad all-in-one project management |
| Ease of use | Focused workflow, quick team adoption |
Busy, dated interface. Reviewers report extra clicks, glitches on large estimates, and a steep learning curve for field staff |
| Job costing and forecasting | Cost to complete and margin forecast update automatically |
Job costing reports show actuals vs estimate. Forward looking forecasting is limited |
| Subcontractor workflows | Subcontract orders, progress claims, valuations, retentions |
Subcontracts, retainage, and AIA style invoicing included |
| Feature gating | Full workflow in every plan |
Users, training sessions, and features scale across five plans |
| Accounting fit | Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Sage Accounting | QuickBooks Online. Other ledgers via Zapier style workarounds |
| Pricing | Public per user plans and free trial |
From $49 per month billed annually for 1 user, up to roughly $332 for unlimited users. 30 day trial |
| Best for | Firms that need commercial control without spreadsheets | Small GCs and trades that want many tools in one box on a budget |
| Time to value | Pilot a live project in the first week |
Dozens of modules to configure and train before the value shows |
See how they compare on budget control, purchasing, subcontracts, and team adoption.
You need live budget vs actuals, committed costs, and a forecast that updates itself.
Budgets, commitments, and cost to complete are one live view. Overruns surface early, and the forecast updates as orders and invoices are approved.
Job costing reports compare actuals against the estimate and flag overspend. Most forward looking margin work still happens in spreadsheets.
Committed spend needs one source of truth with clear approvals.
POs and subcontract orders are raised and approved in the app, and only approved costs sync to your ledger.
POs, bills, and expenses are covered, with bills linked to POs. Approval workflows are simpler and discipline depends on setup.
No credit card required. No sales or IT support needed.
Subcontract billing, retention, and change control need a clean audit trail.
Subcontract orders, progress claims, valuations, and retention schedules are built in, and budgets update as certificates are approved.
Handles subcontracts, retainage tracking, and AIA style progress invoicing. Works well for US subcontract billing, with less depth on valuation workflows.
Software only pays off when the whole team actually uses it.
A focused purchase-to-forecast workflow means each role sees only what they need. Teams are typically productive in the first week.
Dozens of modules mean more setup and training. Permissions can hide unused features, but reviewers often describe the interface as busy, and buyers we meet bucket the all-in-one suites as too much tool when the real need is progress billing and job costing.
Planyard has transparent per user plans and a free trial. Contractor Foreman is priced by plan tier, from $49 per month billed annually for one user to roughly $332 per month for unlimited users, with features and training sessions varying by tier.
Cost estimating
Estimating and budget control
Estimating, cost control and purchase orders management
Full functionality
Where it fits. Contractor Foreman is strong value for small general contractors and trades that want estimating, scheduling, daily logs, safety, time cards, and invoicing in one inexpensive package. The 30 day trial and included training lower the barrier to entry.
Common drawbacks. Breadth comes at the cost of depth: forecasting and commercial workflows like valuations are lighter than a dedicated cost control tool. Feature access, user counts, and training vary across five plan tiers. Capterra reviewers rate ease of use 4.3 and describe estimates that get glitchy and slow once many line items are involved, an interface that feels dated and takes “more clicks than necessary”, a mobile app that does not always sync with the desktop version, and a cost database missing everyday items. Accounting integration is QuickBooks Online focused.
Planyard goes deep on project financials: budgets, POs, subcontract valuations, retentions, and automatic forecasting, synced to Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Sage. Contractor Foreman goes wide: dozens of project management tools at a low price, with lighter financial depth and plan-based feature gating. A low subscription price does not help if margins slip through a spreadsheet, which is why teams focused on profitability pick Planyard.
Sources and last updated. Ratings and pricing from public vendor pages and Capterra listings. Last reviewed 13 August 2026.
ApprovalMax automates purchase order and bill approvals for finance teams using Xero or QuickBooks but doesn’t connect to project budgets. Planyard goes further, giving UK contractors live cost control with valuations, retentions, CIS workflows and forecasting built in.
Fieldwire helps construction teams coordinate drawings, tasks, and site progress. Planyard focuses on budgets, forecasting, and project finances — giving contractors full cost control that Fieldwire doesn’t provide.
We've got your questions covered. If you can't find the answer below, then feel free to contact us via the chat.
At the entry level, yes: plans start at $49 per month billed annually for one user. But features, users, and training sessions scale across five tiers, so compare the tier you would actually need against Planyard’s per user pricing.
Planyard’s focused workflow usually pilots on a live project within days. Contractor Foreman covers far more modules, so setup and training take longer, though free training sessions are included.
Its native accounting integration is QuickBooks Online. Planyard syncs approved costs to Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Sage Accounting.
It replaces spreadsheets for estimates, POs, and job costing reports. Forward looking cost to complete forecasting is limited, so many teams keep margin projections in Excel. Planyard builds forecasting into the core workflow.
Yes. Contractor Foreman tracks retainage on invoices and subcontracts in the US style. Planyard manages retention – retainage in the US, holdbacks in Canada – on both subcontract valuations and client applications, keeps a per-project retention summary, and carries it through the forecast.
It can be. Buyers who demo Contractor Foreman alongside Planyard describe the all-in-one suites as “way too big… they’re great solutions but not for them”. If time cards, safety meetings, and scheduling would sit unused, a focused budgeting and progress-invoicing tool is faster to adopt than the plan tier of an all-in-one that unlocks the same financial features.
Because QBO stops short of construction financials. The buyers we meet put it plainly: “We can set up a project but we can’t budget it whatsoever” and “their needs being progress invoicing – that’s the biggest thing”. Planyard adds per-project budgets, progress invoicing, change orders, and retainage tracking on top of QuickBooks Online, and syncs approved costs back automatically.
Yes. Planyard budgets are built on your own cost codes, CSI divisions included, and a saved budget template means every new job starts with the full division structure. Line items can be copied between jobs.
Recurring themes across Capterra and other review sites: estimates get glitchy or slow once many line items are involved, the interface feels dated and takes more clicks than it should, the mobile app does not always sync with desktop, and the learning curve is steep for field staff. The overall rating is still solid at 4.5 on Capterra, but ease of use scores lower at 4.3, and most complaints cluster around polish and speed.
Yes. Most teams connect accounting, import a live budget, and trial Planyard on one project first. Contractor Foreman offers a 30 day trial.
No credit card required. No sales or IT support needed.
