Tool Reviews
This page is your starting point for finding the right ops, payroll, and HR tools for your trade. Instead of sifting through generic software reviews, you’ll see tools judged by one standard:
Does this actually make life easier for crews, the office, and the owner at the same time?
Featured Reviews
- BusyBusy Review: Time Tracking for Construction Crews
- Gusto Review: Payroll & HR for Small Contracting Companies
- QuickBooks Online Review: Accounting & Job Costing for Small Contractors
(If WordPress gave your BusyBusy page a slightly different URL, just paste the real URL into the href above.)
How Our Reviews Work
Each review focuses on how a tool fits into a real contractor’s day, not just a feature checklist. For every tool, we look at:
- Who it’s really for (size, trade, and type of work)
- Where it fits in your stack (time tracking, payroll, job costing, etc.)
- Strengths contractors actually feel in the field and office
- Drawbacks and deal-breakers you should know before you switch
- Pricing basics in plain language
- Implementation notes so you don’t blow up payroll week
The goal isn’t to crown one “best tool.” It’s to help you see which tools are a fit for your trade, size, and way of working.
Time Tracking & Crew Apps
These tools handle hours in the field. If time is wrong, everything that touches money is wrong.
In this category, you’ll find reviews for:
- Mobile crew time tracking apps
- Foreman-led clock in/clock out tools
- Apps that tie time to jobs, cost codes, and locations
Use these reviews if your biggest headaches are chasing timecards, fixing bad hours, or figuring out what really happened on a job last week.
Payroll & HR Tools
These tools make sure your people get paid correctly and your basic HR records stay clean.
In this category, you’ll find reviews for:
- Payroll platforms that can handle multiple crews and job sites
- Systems that sync with time tracking instead of retyping hours
- Basic HR tools for onboarding, terminations, and records
Use these reviews if payroll week feels like a fire drill, or if you’re trying to move away from generic payroll that doesn’t understand how your jobs run.
Scheduling & Project Management
These tools answer “Who is where and doing what today?” and help you keep jobs moving with fewer surprises.
In this category, you’ll find reviews for:
- Scheduling tools for crews, trucks, and equipment
- Project management tools for multi-day or multi-phase jobs
- Systems that store job details, notes, and files where everyone can find them
Use these reviews if your whiteboard, group text, or spreadsheet is always one change behind reality.
Accounting & Job Costing
These tools help you see what you actually made or lost on each job.
In this category, you’ll find reviews for:
- Accounting systems contractors commonly use
- Job costing setups that work for commercial trades
- Integrations between accounting, time, and payroll
Use these reviews if you’re tired of guessing on margin or only seeing how a job performed months after it’s finished.
CRM & Pipeline Tools
These tools keep track of relationships, opportunities, and future work.
In this category, you’ll find reviews for:
- CRMs that make sense for commercial contractors
- Systems that track property managers, owners, and repeat clients
- Tools that connect site visits, estimates, and follow-up
Use these reviews if your “pipeline” lives in email, texts, and people’s heads.
How to Use This Page
- Start with the category that hurts the most right now (time, payroll, scheduling, job costing, or CRM).
- Open a few tools that match your trade and company size.
- Compare not just features, but how each tool fits into your overall stack.
You don’t need the tool with the longest feature list. You need tools that work together so your crews, office, and numbers stay on the same page.
As new reviews go live, they’ll be linked into each category here so you can always start from one place.