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For small UK contractors running 1-10 projects, Planyard paired with Xero gives you construction-specific job costing without replacing your existing accounting setup. Sole traders with simple books may find Xero or FreeAgent sufficient on their own. The right choice depends on whether you need per-project cost tracking or just company-wide bookkeeping.
If you track costs per project, manage subcontractor payments, or handle CIS deductions, yes. General tools like Xero handle invoicing and bank feeds well but cannot allocate costs to individual jobs or automate CIS returns. A construction layer on top fills that gap without replacing your accountant’s preferred platform.
Xero alone does not support per-project job costing at the level builders need. You can use tracking categories for basic allocation, but it breaks down with multiple cost codes, subcontractor packages, and retention. Pairing Xero with a construction-specific tool like Planyard gives you proper job costing while keeping Xero as your accounting ledger.
Sage 50 and FreeAgent both handle CIS returns natively within the UK. Planyard integrates with Xero to manage subcontractor payments with CIS deductions applied before syncing to your accounting platform. The key is choosing software that calculates deductions at payment stage rather than requiring manual adjustments afterwards.
Standalone tools like Xero start at around 15 GBP per month. Construction-specific platforms like Planyard typically range from 50 to 300 GBP per month depending on project volume. Enterprise systems like Procore or The Access Group often cost 1,000 GBP per month and above, with implementation fees on top.
General accounting tools manage company-wide profit and loss, bank feeds, and VAT returns. Construction accounting software adds per-project job costing, subcontractor payment applications, retention tracking, and cost-to-complete forecasting. The distinction matters because a profitable company can still have loss-making projects hidden inside the overall figures.
Construction-specific tools like Planyard, Sage 50, and The Access Group all track costs per project with multiple cost codes. General tools like Xero require workarounds using tracking categories, which become unmanageable beyond 3-5 active projects. If per-project visibility is a priority, choose a tool built for it.
It depends on the tier. Enterprise platforms like Procore or The Access Group take weeks or months, with a 3-6 month rollout typical for a full construction ERP. Tools built for smaller contractors, like Planyard, usually have a team working within hours: you import your existing budget structure and start tracking against it the same day.
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