Procore

Much better than the competition at managing a range of projects across the things you need in construction
- RFI,s , punch/snag list (we use this for internal "to do" items) and critically the main contract variations- this is a bit clunky but REALLY effective when you get the hang of it
- meetings recording is again a trifle clunky but very effective so I forgive it

For the first time in 15 years I have proper oversight across all projects (typically around 40-60) and can manage the progress of each from my iPad wherever I am.

Site logging app very powerful

Clients love the visibility

Document handling with version control is brilliant

The only really annoying feature is that the company level information (ie visibility across projects, personal "open items" lists and financials) is only available on the browser version not the app.

The directory and permissions systems are well intentioned but actually you have to subvert them a bit as to do anything useful people really need full admin rights (even to add a contact to a directory- if this is to be used as the main shared company contacts directory we need everyone to be able to do that). I am happy to give my people that, but I can imagine a lot of companies where you don't want all your staff to have access to budgets and financials.

It is expensive- we think it a great investment at this time, but it is nonetheless expensive. if you are looking for a cheap app this is not the one for you.

The us-centric language and set up is a minor irritation- the partial attempt at making it Anglophile (changing a few of the function names) is actually worse than useless as the changes just confuse people- the training videos refer to the US terms for things and you can get used to pretty fast, but then they are not called that on your screen.

I would love to be able to customise some of the standard PDF outputs

Drawings handling a bit clunky, particularly markups- brilliant idea and conception but difficult to use as you can't undo markups once you have done them which makes people risk averse in case they cock it up- I am confident this will improve

Procore will allow all of the projects managed within our company to be managed in a single, universal format which will significantly increase efficiency. Procore also directly connects our office and field teams, including our subcontractors and vendors. Procore offers a lot of training to help get started, and the 24/7 chat support is helpful.

The cost is a big concern, but you don't buy a backhoe to let it sit and not dig holes. Don't spend the money on something like Procore and make its use "voluntary" within your company. Make its implementation throughout your company a critical item. Select your Company Administrators wisely and give them time to learn and properly set up the software to meet your company's needs. Develop standard operating procedures to help your team members understand how to use the software in line with your company's requirements. Procore isn't one of those things where you can just swipe the card and tell everyone to use it.

The user interface looked great from a far and on our demos.

Nothing seems to be done natively within procore. Scheduling done outside. getting accounting to integrate is painful and ultimately we didnt do it. Action plans cannot be reported on based on the assignee. Tasks are created individually which creates manual entry and no visibility or accountability. Timesheets and schedule doesnt integrate with the workforce planning module...seriously?

I appreciate the fact that Procore is one of the best cloud-based construction project management platforms, as its capabilities are tremendous in organizing all functions, storing project data, and providing collaborative capabilities to all project stakeholders, allowing them to track all project details with pinpoint accuracy. I appreciate how easily I can track any task and know its status and details, as well as how easily I can request a report or work delivery from subcontractors. It's nice to have all of the tools we need for reporting and monitoring subcontractor performance in one location, and I particularly appreciate how all project documents are preserved in a specific order so that we can keep track of their progress and easily return to them when needed.

It takes a lot of effort to use it effectively, and I don't think we'll be able to produce positive outcomes unless we thoroughly train the team and other project partners on how to use all of the tools and collaborate with them. It's worth noting that Procore offers customer assistance and integrated training sessions that help us learn how all of the tools work and how to utilize them effectively.