What is commercial construction management software?

Commercial construction management software is purpose-built for the financial and commercial discipline in construction – budgets, commitments, valuations, retentions, CVR forecasting, and cost approval workflows. It is different from generic project management tools that focus on scheduling, daily logs, and document control.

How is this different from project management software like Procore?

Project management software like Procore focuses on site operations – schedules, RFIs, daily logs, and drawings. Commercial management software focuses on the financial workflow – budgets, purchase orders, subcontractor valuations, cost to complete, and project profitability. If your team manages project finances rather than project tasks, you need commercial software.

Do I need to replace my accounting system (Xero or Sage)?

No. Planyard sits between your project team and your accounting system. It handles commercial control – budgets, orders, approvals, and valuations – then syncs approved costs to Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks with correct coding. Your accounting system stays exactly where it is.

Is this only for large contractors?

No. Planyard is designed for contractors from around £5m to £100m turnover – teams that have outgrown spreadsheets but do not need (or want) a full ERP implementation. Many customers have 5-50 live projects and a small commercial team.

How long does implementation take?

Most teams are live within days, not months. There is no lengthy IT project, no dedicated implementation team required. You can start with one project and expand from there.

Can commercial managers and QSs both use it?

Yes. QSs use Planyard for day-to-day budget tracking, valuations, and cost management on their projects. Commercial managers and directors use the multi-project dashboards for oversight, exception monitoring, and commercial decision-making.

What is the difference between this and an ERP like Access COINS?

ERPs like COINS cover everything – payroll, plant, HR, CRM, and project management in one large system. They suit very large contractors with dedicated IT teams and months of implementation time. Planyard focuses specifically on commercial control and deploys in days, integrating with the accounting system you already use.

Does it handle CIS and domestic reverse charge?

Yes. CIS deductions and domestic reverse charge VAT are handled through the integration with your accounting system (Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks). Subcontractor payments calculate CIS correctly and sync the right tax treatment to your ledger.

Commercial Construction Management Software for Contractors

The commercial layer between your site team and your ledger.

Most construction software focuses on site – scheduling, daily logs, drawings. Commercial teams need something different: budget control, CVR forecasting, valuations, retentions, and cost approval workflows that connect to the accounting system.

Planyard gives commercial teams a live financial control layer that sits between project delivery and the accounting ledger.

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Portfolio CVR overview showing profitability forecast across all active construction projects

For commercial teams who manage project finances, not just project tasks

This page is for QSs, commercial managers, and finance directors who need live financial control across multiple projects – not another task management tool.

You are a QS, commercial manager, or finance director on a main contractor.
You run 5-50+ live projects and track budgets, commitments, valuations, and forecasts.
Your accounting system (Xero, Sage, QBO) handles the ledger – but you need a commercial layer in front of it.
You have outgrown spreadsheets but do not want (or need) a full ERP like COINS or Sage Intacct.

"You can analyze costs at both a budget and subcontract level, making it easy to see exactly what has been ordered against your total commitments. That visibility filled a huge gap we had previously; Planyard completely solved that problem for us."

Sharon Brown Financial Controller · Empower Renewables · Dublin, Ireland

Not another project management tool – a commercial control platform

Most “construction management software” covers scheduling, daily logs, RFIs, and document management. That is project management. Commercial management is a different discipline entirely.

Commercial management software covers the financial side:

Budget setup and live tracking against cost codes.
Purchase orders and committed costs visible before invoices arrive.
Subcontractor valuations, certificates, and retention tracking.
CVR forecasting and cost to complete.
Variations with full audit trail.
Approval workflows before costs hit the ledger.
Multi-project commercial dashboards for directors.

If your team needs to control project profit rather than manage project tasks, you need commercial software, not PM software.

"We started looking for other software providers. But none of them worked for us - they were general project management tools but our problems were related to budget management not task management."

Tomy Saaron CEO · Hausers Group · Estonia

How commercial teams manage project finances today

There are three common approaches. Which one breaks depends on the size of your business and how fast you need to move.

	Spreadsheets + Xero/Sage	Full ERP (COINS, Sage Intacct)	Planyard + Accounting
Live budget visibility	Manual updates
Committed costs before invoice
Subcontractor valuations
CVR forecasting	Spreadsheet rebuild
Deploy in days		Months
No dedicated IT team
Scales past 5 projects	Breaks down
Works with existing accounting		Replaces it
Ideal for	1-3 projects, one QS	£50m+ turnover, full IT team	£5m-£100m, growing teams

"I’ve used other systems in the past that you need 3 or 4 days of training before you can even raise a purchase order on the system. With Planyard, you can just raise your first purchase order in 5 minutes in one go. You just Planyard it!"

Claire Hill Estimator and quantity surveyor · Brown & Bancroft Interiors · Bolton, United Kingdom

From tender budget to live project margin – one connected workflow

Planyard connects the full commercial workflow so the financial position updates as the team works, not when someone rebuilds a spreadsheet.

Budget – Import your estimate with cost codes. Set the budget the team manages against.
Procurement – Raise subcontracts and POs against budget lines. Committed costs are visible immediately.
Valuations – Subcontractors submit applications against their order. Certify, apply retention, calculate CIS.
Invoice matching – Match invoices to orders. Approve and sync to accounting with correct coding.
Forecasting – CVR and cost to complete updates as costs flow through. Directors see live position.
Reporting – Multi-project dashboards, margin tracking, exception alerts. No month-end rebuild.

"Planyard can save about 15 minutes per subcontractor payment. When I'm dealing with 50 subcontractors, that's 10 to 12 hours a month. Add the CVR reporting and all of a sudden I've got two extra days free."

Gareth Evans Commercial Manager · Vale Southern Construction Ltd · Portsmouth, United Kingdom

UK commercial workflows built in, not bolted on

Planyard is built around the way UK contractors actually work – not adapted from a US project management tool or a generic ERP.

CIS deductions calculated correctly through your accounting system.
Domestic reverse charge VAT handled.
Retention tracking with automatic half and full release calculations.
Valuations and interim certificates in formats UK subcontractors expect.
Works with Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks Online.

"All of the financial data and invoices are sent automatically to Xero and emailed to my bookkeeper, who then has all the information she needs to record it correctly in our accounts. It’s sort of job done, as simple as that."

Ian Holford Managing Director · Higgihaus Developments · Bristol, United Kingdom

Choosing the right tool for your commercial team

Not all construction software is built for commercial teams. Here is what to look for when evaluating options:

Live budget vs committed vs actual vs forecast – all visible in one view.
Subcontractor valuation and certification workflow built in.
Retention tracking with automatic calculations.
Purchase order approval before costs are committed.
CVR and cost-to-complete that updates in real time.
Variation tracking with full audit trail.
Multi-project director dashboard.
Accounting integration (Xero, Sage, QBO) – not a replacement.
CIS and domestic reverse charge support.
Fast deployment – days, not months.

"CVRs are so much easier to manage because the information is there and it’s live. It’s reduced mistakes as well because we have the information there at our fingertips and it never gets forgotten about. So it’s saved time and money, really."

Claire Hill Estimator and quantity surveyor · Brown & Bancroft Interiors · Bolton, United Kingdom

From spreadsheet budgets to live commercial control.

E&N Group was managing project finances across spreadsheets, emails, and manual purchase orders. With Planyard, their commercial team now works from live budget data with committed costs visible before invoices arrive, giving them real margin visibility across every project.

E&N Group Ltd

London, United Kingdom

Read the case study →

Why commercial teams choose Planyard

For QSs, commercial managers, and finance directors who want live project financial control without an ERP implementation.

"Without real-time cost tracking, it's easy to mistake being busy for being profitable. We needed a system that told us which projects were actually making money before it was too late. With Planyard's seamless integration with Xero, every purchase order, subcontractor payment, and invoice flows directly into our accounting system—giving us instant financial clarity without manual data entry or reconciliation headaches."

Sam Jarman Director · Rosetta Contracting · Old Knebworth, United Kingdom

"Timewise, on a single project, I'd probably save 6 to 8 hours—essentially a full day every month. When it comes to processing monthly payments, it saves me a solid day, perhaps even a day and a half, just in sorting through the invoices. Saving a day and a half of my time means the system pays for itself time and time again."

Paul Treweek Quantity Surveyor & Estimator · DPTQS Ltd · Cornwall, United Kingdom

"There is nothing more important to management than a real-time overview of what's happening in the business, and that’s exactly what Planyard provides."

Oliver Jakobson Project Manager · Bonava · Estonia

Trusted by construction companies globally

Still managing commercial data across spreadsheets and emails?

See how Planyard gives your commercial team live budget control, automated valuations, and real-time forecasting - connected to your accounting system.