Profit from Predictability: Construction Software as a Business Strategy

By

James Hamilton

, Steve Schultz

, Nichole Carter

, and Jeff Sample

Last Updated Dec 31, 2025

By

James Hamilton

, Steve Schultz

, Nichole Carter

, and Jeff Sample

For general contractors, managing complex, multi-million-dollar projects, every project phase — from planning and budgeting to on-site execution — is an opportunity to lose time and money. Construction software is a tool that can help mitigate that systemic, operational risk by reducing rework onsite and off, improving communication, and accelerating project delivery. 

But far too many GCs continue to make the same grave error: They treat the selection of construction software as a low-level decision for the IT department.  

Construction software is the single biggest lever to preserve and protect profit margins. For GCs, the bottom line is razor-thin, typically hovering around 3–5% of a project’s total cost. While advanced features are always enticing, the strategic decision to adopt a platform is ultimately about creating predictability in a market where 75% of projects run late. 

The software selection process is not simply an IT chore. Instead, evaluating software against specific, business-critical criteria transforms software selection from a rote task into a profit strategy. 

Beyond Integration: Achieving End-to-End Unification

Achieving predictable projects starts with data integrity: collecting and organizing data that is reliable, comparable across projects, and as close to real-time as possible. 

Siloed, incompatible data makes it impossible to differentiate between a serious project issue and a mistake caused by disconnected systems — a problem common when a GC relies on a suite of disparate point solutions bolted together to create a Frankenstein-style tech stack.

Even when tech solutions are well-integrated, they often aren’t unified. This creates “black holes” where information can disappear or become distorted as it flows between the field and the office. 

Effective software should lead to unification: Data should flow instantly and automatically from preconstruction through closeout. For most enterprise GCs, the solution is likely platforms (full suites) over point solutions. Platforms create a single source of truth, offer wider scalability and better versatility, and can serve as the center of a unified tech ecosystem. 

Success in construction is about choosing the right tech and effectively integrating it into current business processes and existing software platforms. A tech stack should solve problems and create new possibilities.

Jeff Sample

Founder

Ironman of IT

The ease of integration with other apps is right up there with the functionality of the software. Good construction software should help document the process but also improve the process so that it’s better than just using a spreadsheet.

When it’s all brought together, people should have better reports and be able to make better analyses.

Steve Schultz

Business Analyst

James G. Davis Construction Corp

Field-First Adoption: Focusing on Usability

Quite simply: If software doesn’t get used, it’s worthless. 

To ensure successful adoption, software must offer tools designed to empower the people who actually build the projects, specifically field teams – the superintendents, foremen, and subcontractors.

The user experience should be intuitive to how builders think. An intuitive mobile experience that’s accessible on any device is foundational for a field-first platform, reducing training barriers and making it easier to incorporate into existing workflows. 

Many companies prioritize usability in the field by forming a Technology Committee that includes field personnel and domain experts to ensure buy-in and address real-world workflows. 

So much of what we’ve historically done was solving business needs by pushing crap onto our field teams and making their lives worse. They would go to their jobs at 4 A.M. to get ready. Then they’d go home after a long day and have to open their laptops at 9 P.M. to fill out paperwork.

Tools that are easy to use and can be used on the go save time and energy. Even just being able to work in one system, as opposed to moving from system to system, creates buy-in and leads to better data.

Jeff Sample

Founder

Ironman of IT

Identify your power users and find out what tools they’re using and, much more importantly, what tools they’re not using or are underusing. When people in the field are doing great work with a tool, find ways to promote them or have them step into a training role.

I cannot emphasize enough that field training, from boots on the ground, is probably the most beneficial type of learning because its from somebody who understands the environment and what the day-to-day looks like.

Nichole Carter

Owner

ICWSAT

Long-term Planning: Seeking Scalability for Predictability

The difference between project-grade tools and enterprise platforms is scalability. Systems built for single projects immediately fall apart under the weight of an enterprise portfolio. 

GCs should look for platforms that support long-term growth and change as the company expands in size, markets, and project types. Achieving enterprise predictability starts with the standardization of workflows across regions and divisions.

An effective platform must offer unconstrained data handling and seamless performance, providing executive oversight through portfolio-level health tracking. 

Software solutions should be scalable, adaptable, and able to accommodate the needs of various project types and sizes. Before Procore and project management systems, we didn’t have visibility across organizations. We literally had to get in rooms and 10 people had to talk.

We were sending a million links to a bunch of things that we couldn’t find. Now, we have a place to run our business that grows with the company as it expands.

Jeff Sample

Founder

Ironman of IT

Real-time Visibility: Connecting the Jobsite and Accounting Teams

The construction platform serves as the hub of project data that executes and tracks work. While the ERP/accounting system remains the central financial authority, project predictability is generated by the platform that feeds it the necessary information (payroll, payments, etc.).

The goal is to avoid the budget blowouts that occur when field productivity, change orders, and submittals are managed in manual spreadsheets. Achieving this requires a platform that delivers real-time visibility into cost-to-complete. This includes: 

• Eliminating manual spreadsheets for forecasting 
• Providing a live budget dashboard that shows real-time committed costs, actual expenses, and project final costs
• Centralizing cost management (invoices, expenses)
• Streamlining payment workflows to keep subcontractors happy and reduce disputes

More Than a Record: Proactively Mitigating Risk

Construction software that leads to profitability is more than a historical record keeper; it’s a tool for proactive risk mitigation. 

Risk management starts with prevention: 

• Hand-off seamlessly from estimating to project management 
• Vet partners/subs before bidding 
• Resolve design conflicts by catching clashes early

While managing project risk, platforms shouldn’t introduce more risk in the form of digital security. Platforms should have: strong data encryption, infrastructure redundancy, and adhere to security frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001). Platforms should also offer controls like Single Sign-On (SSO) and role-based access, which mitigate the risk of data compromise or unauthorized access. 

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Design-to-Delivery Connectivity: Making Design Data Usable in the Field

The data from advanced 3D models, particularly Building Information Modeling (BIM), is precise and insightful, but too often, it’s siloed and inaccessible to the field team. This creates a gap between design intent and physical delivery. 

The solution is a platform that facilitates  on any device, connecting the model directly to execution workflows like submittals or inspections. 

Making BIM and Reality Capture accessible means the field team is always working off the latest information, which enhances precision, faster clash detection, and allows for the comparison of site conditions to the model early in the process. 

Final Advice: Choosing a Partner and Getting Started

The act of choosing construction software is the act of choosing a strategic partner for the next decade or more. 

Before committing, make sure the vendor offers clear implementation support and a plan to prove value quickly (“Time to Value”). This initial period should follow a structured pilot test on a low-risk, medium-intensity project to objectively measure efficiency gains. 

Above all, the vendor should be dedicated solely to construction. General business tools adapted for the industry simply lack the domain expertise and demonstrated innovation to solve complex, niche problems.

From there, here are steps to continue evaluating whether a software solution is the right fit: 

1. Start with the problem

   Map out broken processes. This turns the selection process away from chasing new, shiny features and towards practicality and profitability. 

2. Measure objectively

   Use a requirements matrix to objectively score potential solutions, rather than relying on hype.

3. Adapt the process

   Analyze whether existing processes are efficient and prepare to adapt the parts that aren’t. If a platform meets 80% of critical-path needs, the efficiency gain is worth adapting the remaining 20%

Protecting profitability is ultimately about choosing predictability. The platform you select should be built to deliver that.

Written by

James Hamilton

Writer & Producer

84 articles

James Hamilton is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York with experience in television, documentaries, journalism, comedy, and podcasts. His work has been featured on VICE TV and on The Moth. James was a writer and narrator for the show, VICE News Tonight, where he won an Emmy Award and was nominated for a Peabody Award.

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Steve Schultz

Business Analyst | James G. Davis Construction Corp

Steve Schultz brings more than two decades of experience in construction to his current role as Business Analyst at James G. Davis Construction (DAVIS). He has also held pivotal roles at various organizations, including BF Joy, Berkeley Research Group, Olson Engineering, and Donohoe Construction Company. Not only has Steve demonstrated expertise in business development, project management, and risk analysis, but he also earned specialized certifications, including Procore's Project Manager credentials and being a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS). His extensive background encompasses underground infrastructure, structural health monitoring, and pre-construction services, making him a valuable asset in data analytics, claims management, and technical support in construction projects. Steve is based in the Washington D.C. area.

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Nichole Carter

Owner | ICWSAT

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Jeff Sample

Founder | Ironman of IT

12 articles

Jeff Sample has devoted the past 25+ years to transforming companies. Jeff optimizes companies throughout the construction industry by designing solutions, optimizing strategic advantages, and breaking down information silos. His passion for outdoor adventure and Ironman competitions garnered him the moniker, "The Ironman of IT." As an Industry Evangelist, Jeff promotes collaboration and the transformation of construction to help project teams reach their potential. His depth of IT experience in various industries and his passion for continuous improvement have made Jeff a popular speaker and vocal thought leader in construction, spending much of his time educating on multiple topics to better the industry.

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