Simpro vs Planyard

This page compares Planyard with Simpro so you can choose the right fit for your commercial and project teams. We look at ease of use, rollout speed, pricing clarity, and how each tool handles UK and Ireland needs such as valuations, retentions, and CIS.

You will also see where Simpro focuses on all-in-one operational workflows across quoting, scheduling, jobs, and billing, and when Planyard helps commercial teams move beyond spreadsheets with forecasting, subcontractor claims, and client applications built in.

On this page

  • What it will cost and how long it takes to go live
  • How to leave Excel and manage UK specifics like retentions and CIS
  • Key features: cost to complete, commitments, valuations, variations, reporting
  • Fit with your stack: Xero, QuickBooks, Sage
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Reviews at a glance

Current public ratings from Capterra and other public sources.

Programme Rating Summary
Planyard

4.6 / 5.0

✔ Praised for ease of setup, user friendliness, and time savings.
Simpro

4.1 / 5.0

✔ Strong operational suite for trades. ✖ Some users report complexity and longer onboarding.

Quick summary

If you are comparing options, here is the short version to help you decide quickly.

  • Planyard. Easy to use, quick to roll out, and transparent per-user pricing with a free trial. It replaces Excel for budgets, commitments, variations, valuations, and retention, and links cleanly to Xero, QuickBooks Online, and Sage Accounting.
  • Simpro. A broad operational system covering jobs, quoting, scheduling, field work, inventory, and billing. Financial workflows are included but can feel heavier for SMEs focused on forecasting, valuations, and retention.

Side-by-side comparison

Aspect Planyard Simpro
Time to implement ✔ Days to pilot a live job ✖ Weeks depending on modules and training
Complexity of implementation ✔ Low. Connect accounting and import budgets ✖ Medium to high. Configure projects, workflows, job types, mobile, and billing
Training required ✔ Light for QS, PM, commercial, and finance ✖ Moderate to heavy. Formal onboarding recommended
Ease of use ✔ Intuitive for QS, commercial, PM and FD ✖ Powerful but complex. Broader scope means steeper learning curve
Reporting ✔ Real time CVR, forecasting and project P&L in app ✖ Strong operational reporting but financial forecasting is more manual
Accounting fit Connects to Xero, QuickBooks Online and Sage Accounting Connects to Xero, Sage, QuickBooks and MYOB
Pricing ✔ Public per-user plans and free trial ✖ By quote only. Pricing varies by modules and licenses
Best for Firms escaping spreadsheets with full commercial control Companies wanting an all-in-one system for jobs, scheduling, field, and billing

Why teams pick Planyard

  • Fast rollout. Connect your accounts, import cost codes and a live budget. You are ready to test on one project in minutes.
  • Easy to use. Built for commercial teams. Raising purchase orders, tracking commitments and approving costs is straightforward, and nobody needs a master spreadsheet.
  • Transparent pricing. Plans are public with per-user pricing and a free trial.
  • Works with your ledger. Only approved costs flow into Xero, QuickBooks and Sage so the ledger stays clean.
  • UK compliance. CIS, valuations and retentions in one place.

Where Simpro fits and common drawbacks

Where it fits. Simpro is a strong fit for businesses that want a full operational platform covering quoting, jobs, scheduling, maintenance, field apps, and billing.

Common drawbacks. Many SMEs find the configuration and training requirements heavy when they mainly need forecasting, subcontractor claims, and retention management. Detailed commercial control is often run in spreadsheets alongside Simpro.

Simpro and Planyard features compared

See how they compare on cost to complete, commitments, variations, and valuations, including UK specifics like CIS and retention.

Cost to complete and forecasting

You need a live view of cost to complete, early warning on overruns, and a forecast you can trust without rebuilding it in spreadsheets.

Planyard

Shows real-time CVR and forecast updates as orders, invoices and variations are approved.

Simpro

Tracks estimated vs actuals and WIP, but detailed cost-to-complete forecasting often requires manual updates or spreadsheets.

Commitments and purchase orders

One source of truth for committed spend, clear approvals, and clean handoff to accounts so the general ledger stays tidy.

Planyard

Lets PMs and QSs raise and approve POs and subcontracts in the app, then syncs only approved costs to Xero, QuickBooks Online or Sage.

Simpro

Manages supplier invoices, POs, job costs and inventory. Strong operational workflows, but commercial teams may still export data for deeper cost control.

Carregue o orçamento do seu projeto e acompanhe o progresso financeiro em tempo real

Não é necessário cartão de crédito. Sem necessidade de vendas ou suporte de TI.

Variations and change control

Variations must be logged fast, approved with an audit trail, and instantly reflected in the forecast and margin.

Planyard

Logs and approves variations with a clear trail and updates budgets and forecasts automatically.

Simpro

Supports variations on jobs and projects. Financial impact often requires manual budget updates or spreadsheet modelling.

Valuations and retentions

Smooth valuations, accurate retention schedules, and a clear status for what is certified, due or released.

Planyard

Generates valuations and retention schedules in the app and keeps the budget and forecast in sync.

Simpro

Handles progress claims and retention invoices for client billing. Many contractors still manage detailed subcontractor valuation status externally.

Implementation timelines

Here is what to expect before you go live.

Product Typical duration Typical steps
Planyard ✔ A few days to a week
  1. Connect accounting and import budgets
  2. Pilot one live project during the first week
  3. Roll out to more jobs once the team is confident
Simpro ✖ Several weeks
  1. Configure system modules (jobs, quoting, scheduling)
  2. Set up workflows, users, and mobile app
  3. Complete formal training and go live

Actual timelines vary by scope and data quality.

What UK and Ireland buyers say

Simpro is praised for its depth in operational management, quoting, job control, and field workflows. Some users note that commercial and financial control can feel heavier than needed for SMEs. Planyard reviews highlight ease of setup, clean Xero syncing, and real-time budget control. Both are cloud-based. Planyard goes deeper on forecasting, subcontractor workflows and valuations so you can avoid Excel.

Who should choose what

  • Choose Planyard if you want quick results, forecasting, subcontractor claims, retentions, and client applications in one place. See success stories
  • Choose Simpro if you want an all-in-one job management platform for quoting, scheduling, field service, and billing, and you are comfortable with a longer implementation.

Pricing and packages

Planyard has transparent per-user plans and a free trial. Simpro pricing is provided by quote after a demo.

Orçamentação

€49
/ month / project manager
 

Estimativa de custos

Experimente gratuitamente

Essencial

€99
/ month / project manager
€40
for supporting staff
Perfeito para funções de apoio ou partes interessadas—obtenha acesso a recursos essenciais do projeto e visualize dados financeiros chave sem permissões completas da plataforma, permitindo que os usuários se mantenham informados e contribuam sem tarefas práticas.

Normalmente selecionado para: engenheiros de obra, clientes, orçamentistas ou auditores.

Orçamentação e controlo de orçamento

  • Tudo no Orçamentação
  • Acompanhe orçamentos e despesas reais
  • Gerencie faturas de compra automaticamente
  • Reutilize dados de custos de projetos ativos para orçamentação
  • Sincronize faturas com Xero e QuickBooks
Experimente gratuitamente

Profissional

€149
/ month / project manager
€40
for supporting staff
Perfeito para funções de apoio ou partes interessadas—obtenha acesso a recursos essenciais do projeto e visualize dados financeiros chave sem permissões completas da plataforma, permitindo que os usuários se mantenham informados e contribuam sem tarefas práticas.

Normalmente selecionado para: engenheiros de obra, clientes, orçamentistas ou auditores.

Orçamentação, controlo de custos e gestão de ordens de compra

  • Tudo no Essencial
  • Emita e gerencie ordens de compra
  • Acompanhe custos comprometidos no orçamento
  • Preveja a rentabilidade do projeto em tempo real
  • Crie previsões de fluxo de caixa
  • Gerencie contratos com clientes e relatórios de progresso
Experimente gratuitamente

Ultimate

€199
/ month / project manager
€40
for supporting staff
Perfeito para funções de apoio ou partes interessadas—obtenha acesso a recursos essenciais do projeto e visualize dados financeiros chave sem permissões completas da plataforma, permitindo que os usuários se mantenham informados e contribuam sem tarefas práticas.

Normalmente selecionado para: engenheiros de obra, clientes, orçamentistas ou auditores.

Funcionalidade completa

  • Tudo no Profissional
  • Automatize cotações de subcontratados e fornecedores
  • Acompanhe subcontratos e progresso
  • Gerencie ordens de alteração de subcontratados
  • Recolha pedidos de pagamento de subcontratados
Experimente gratuitamente

In one paragraph

Planyard is the quick-to-roll-out choice for full commercial control that replaces Excel and sits next to your ledger. Simpro is an extensive operational system, strong for jobs and scheduling, but many SMEs keep forecasting and subcontractor retention schedules in spreadsheets.

Sources and last updated. Ratings and positioning from public vendor pages and Capterra listings. Last reviewed 29 September 2025.