Can you work with our existing project management and accounting tools?

Typically, yes. However, we begin by reviewing the products and versions you use, the access available, and the records the workflow needs. We then confirm whether configuration, an integration, or a custom application is appropriate. Connection capabilities and update schedules vary by system.

Can we start with one workflow?

Yes. A focused project can address one defined workflow and give your team experience with the approach before considering more work.

How are project access and permissions handled?

We agree on which systems and records the workflow can reach, using accounts and access levels your team approves. Access follows your company’s policies and can be adjusted or removed.

Which AI outputs require human review?

Outputs that affect estimates, commitments, payments, or project decisions are reviewed by your team before they are used. We define the review points for each workflow during scoping.

What happens if a connection between our systems breaks?

Failed updates are flagged instead of skipped. We define how exceptions are logged, retried, and routed to the right person, so your team can see what needs attention.

Who owns the code and project data?

You own the custom code we develop for you. During scoping, we agree on where source records, reporting copies, and AI inputs are stored and processed, who can access them, and how they can be exported or deleted. We provide a source-code handoff so you can choose who maintains the software.

Where is the software hosted?

Hosting is agreed during scoping. We explain where the software runs, who can access it, and the expected monthly cost before work begins.

What ongoing costs and support should we expect?

Hosting, AI usage and provider costs are billed directly to you at cost. We don’t mark them up, and we explain what to expect before work begins. Support after launch is optional, and each request is scoped and quoted when you need it.

Custom software and AI tools for general contractors

Bring bids, project records, and job costs together so estimators, PMs, and controllers can compare scope, track changes, and review project exposure.

Fixed price, and you own what we build.

Book a Call See GC workflows

Illustrative example

Lincoln Tower · Job cost

1 item requires review

Division	Budget	Forecast final cost	Variance
Concrete	$1,420,000	$1,380,000	−$40,000
Steel	$1,960,000	$2,054,000	+$94,000
MEP	$2,310,000	$2,272,000	−$38,000
Envelope	$1,120,000	$1,099,000	−$21,000

Decision point

Steel's forecast final cost is $94,000 over budget. Review CO-014 and remaining commitments before revising the forecast.

Source: Accounting, commitments, PM forecast
Updated: Accounting today, 6:00 AM
Review: PM and project controller

Verified Procore Private App Developer

What construction clients say

“Build Lean is very professional and detail-oriented.”

Brandon Schroer, VP & CFO, DesCor BuildersSee the project

Where custom software can improve your workflows

Explore examples across preconstruction, project delivery, job costing, and closeout. We can connect existing systems, automate repetitive work, or build new capabilities around the challenges your team needs to solve.

Bid and PreconCompare proposals, review scope gaps, and track bid activity.Project DeliveryTrack RFIs, submittals, and issues affecting upcoming work.Job CostingReview budgets, commitments, change orders, and cost forecasts.Field and CloseoutTrack punch items, inspections, and documents needed for turnover.

Bid and Precon

Preconstruction and Bid Management for General Contractors

Compare scope before you award.

The problem

Comparing proposals across different formats makes exclusions, alternates, and scope differences harder to track.

Bring subcontractor proposals, scope sheets, alternates, and relevant drawing revisions into a structured comparison. Flag potential exclusions and unanswered scope questions for estimator review, with references back to the source documents.

What we can build

Compare proposals using consistent scope categories
Track exclusions, alternates, addenda, and proposal revisions
Manage bid invitations, deadlines, and follow-ups
Reference historical costs and reviewed takeoff information
Record estimator adjustments and unresolved scope questions before award

How this workflow runs

Information Used: Subcontractor proposals, scope sheets, alternates, addenda, and drawing revisions
What the System Does: Organizes proposals into consistent scope categories and flags potential exclusions
What Your Team Reviews: Flagged scope differences, estimator adjustments, and open questions
Resulting Output: A reviewed bid comparison with references to the source documents

Explore Technical Details

Illustrative example · Bid comparisonReview Required

Apex is $15,550 higher before adjustments and excludes vapor barrier and underslab work.

Source: Subcontractor proposals, takeoff, and specifications
Result: An evaluated comparison on the same scope
Review Required: Estimator confirms scope before award

Illustrative example · Bid comparison

AI assistant

AI compares each sub bid on the same scope and flags the gap for estimator review.

Claude

Example connection

Compare the three concrete bids for Lincoln Tower and flag any scope gaps before we award.

Normalized to the same scope categories:

Bidder	Proposal	Scope adjustment	Evaluated total
Granite Forming	$402,650	No adjustment identified	$402,650
Apex Concrete	$418,200	+$19,000 provisional scope allowanceVapor barrier and underslab, priced from estimator unit ratesReview Required	$437,200
Sierra Structural	$439,900	No adjustment identified	$439,900

Result

Granite has the lowest listed price at $402,650. Apex is $15,550 higher and excludes vapor barrier and underslab work. Confirm the scope requirements and review any pricing adjustments before finalizing the comparison.

Review Scope Adjustments

Source: Subcontractor proposals, takeoff, and specifications
Result: An evaluated comparison on the same scope
Review Required: Estimator confirms scope before award

Project Delivery

Project Delivery and Schedule Coordination

Connect project issues to schedule decisions.

The problem

When schedules, RFIs, and submittals live in separate systems, your team has to reconstruct which issues affect upcoming work.

Connect RFIs, submittals, procurement dates, and schedule activities so PMs can review dependencies in one place. Surface approaching deadlines, responsible parties, and potential impacts with links to the underlying records.

What we can build

Link RFIs and submittals to affected schedule activities
Track response deadlines and responsible parties
Review procurement dates and approaching constraints
Reference current drawings, documents, and field reports
Monitor unresolved issues across active projects

How this workflow runs

Information Used: Schedule activities, RFIs, submittals, procurement dates, and field reports
What the System Does: Links open issues to the activities they affect and surfaces approaching deadlines
What Your Team Reviews: Priorities, responsible parties, and potential schedule impacts
Resulting Output: A current view of the issues affecting upcoming work, linked to the underlying records

Explore Technical Details

Illustrative example · RFI schedule reviewReview Required

RFI-104 is blocking delayed steel erection; RFI-098 is due before the curtain wall release.

Source: Schedule activities and open RFIs
Result: Prioritized follow-ups with owners and due dates
Review Required: PM decides priorities and follow-up

Illustrative example · RFI schedule review

ChatGPT

ChatGPT checks open RFIs against the schedule and names the one holding up the critical path.

ChatGPT

Example connection

Which open RFIs are blocking the critical path on Lincoln Tower right now?

One RFI is blocking the critical path. Another requires attention before it affects upcoming work.

Schedule Updated · Today, 7:00 AM · RFI Log Updated · Today, 8:15 AM

Active Critical-Path Blocker

RFI-104Steel moment connection detail

Affected ActivitySteel erection (delayed 3 days)Responsible PartyStructural engineerResponse DueToday

Approaching Schedule Risk

RFI-098Curtain wall embed plate

Affected ActivityCurtain wall releaseResponsible PartyArchitectResponse DueIn 2 days

Result

Prioritize follow-up on RFI-104, which is linked to the delayed steel erection activity. Review RFI-098 before the curtain wall release deadline.

Source

SmartPM · Critical path

Procore · RFIs · open

Source: Schedule activities and open RFIs
Result: Prioritized follow-ups with owners and due dates
Review Required: PM decides priorities and follow-up

Job Costing

Job Costing, Forecasting and WIP Reporting

Review cost exposure before month-end.

The problem

When actual costs, commitments, pending changes, and forecast updates are reviewed separately, your team has to rebuild the financial picture of each job.

Bring accounting actuals, commitments, pending changes, and PM forecast updates into a shared job-cost view. Review budget movement and cost-to-complete assumptions with visibility into when each source was last updated.

What we can build

Compare budgets, actual costs, and commitments by cost code
Track pending and approved change orders separately
Review cost-to-complete assumptions and forecast revisions
Prepare WIP and over/underbilling views for accounting review
Connect accounting records with project and field updates

How this workflow runs

Information Used: Accounting actuals, commitments, change orders, and PM forecast updates
What the System Does: Combines sources into one job-cost view and shows when each was last updated
What Your Team Reviews: Budget movement, cost-to-complete assumptions, and forecast revisions
Resulting Output: A reviewed job-cost and WIP view ready for accounting

Explore Technical Details

Illustrative example · Job-cost dashboardReview Required

Steel’s forecast final cost is $94,000 over budget; CO-014 and remaining commitments need review before the forecast changes.

Source: Accounting actuals, commitments, and PM forecasts
Result: A job-cost view with source dates and review items
Review Required: PM and project controller approve forecast changes

Illustrative example · Job-cost dashboard

Custom dashboard

Accounting actuals refreshed from the connected system, with commitments and PM forecasts shown alongside their update and review dates.

Example: job costing

./

Build Lean/Job Costing

Example data

Lincoln Tower›Financials›Job Costing

Accounting actuals · Today, 6:00 AMCommitments · Today, 6:00 AMPM forecast reviewed · Oct 14

Actual cost to date

$7.62M

From accounting

Remaining commitments

$2.18M

Uninvoiced balance

Forecast to complete

$1.59M

PM forecast, uncommitted

Forecast final cost

$11.39M

Sum of the three

Budget vs. forecast final cost · Selected divisions

BudgetForecastForecast over budget

Concrete

Steel

MEP

Envelope

3 items requiring review1Steel forecast is $94,000 over budget2CO-014 is pending approval3MEP forecast not reviewed since Oct 14

Source: Accounting actuals, commitments, and PM forecasts
Result: A job-cost view with source dates and review items
Review Required: PM and project controller approve forecast changes

Field and Closeout

Field Records and Construction Closeout

Track what remains before turnover.

The problem

Missing documents, unresolved punch items, and unclear review status can leave your team chasing closeout requirements near turnover.

Track punch items, inspections, O&Ms, as-builts, and warranty documents by responsible party and review status. Collect records as work progresses and flag missing or rejected items before turnover.

What we can build

Assign punch items with photos, due dates, and verification status
Track inspections and outstanding corrective work
Organize O&Ms, as-builts, and warranty documents
Identify missing submissions and responsible parties
Route completed records for review and acceptance

How this workflow runs

Information Used: Punch items, field photos, inspections, O&Ms, as-builts, and warranty documents
What the System Does: Organizes records by responsible party and flags missing or rejected items
What Your Team Reviews: Verification status, corrective work, and submitted records
Resulting Output: A tracked list of what remains before turnover

Explore Technical Details

Talk through your field and closeout workflow on a 30-minute call

Illustrative example · Turnover checklistReview Required

Four documents are missing and one warranty letter was rejected before turnover.

Source: Field punch items, photos, and submitted closeout records
Result: A turnover checklist grouped by status and responsible party
Review Required: Superintendent and PM accept completed records

Illustrative example · Turnover checklist

Turnover App

Supers log punch items with a photo, and closeout records are grouped by status before turnover.

9:41

./

Turnover checklist

Lincoln Tower · 31 of 44 accepted · Showing 4 of 44 requirements

Missing 4Rejected 1Under review 2Submitted 6Accepted 31

O&M manualsMissing

Mechanical · rooftop units

Responsible · Coastal Mechanical

Warranty letterRejected

Roofing · unsigned copy

Responsible · Summit Roofing

Punch #39Under review

Corridor L4 · paint touch-up

Responsible · Superintendent

As-built drawingsSubmitted

Electrical · L1 to L4

Responsible · Spark Electric

Add punch item + photo

Source: Field punch items, photos, and submitted closeout records
Result: A turnover checklist grouped by status and responsible party
Review Required: Superintendent and PM accept completed records

Integrations

Connects to the tools you already run

We integrate with your existing stack: Procore, Sage, Bluebeam, QuickBooks, and more. No rip-and-replace.

Procore

Bluebeam

Sage 300

QuickBooks

Google Drive

DocuSign

Autodesk Build

Buildertrend

CoConstruct

PlanGrid

Dropbox

Trimble

Procore

Bluebeam

Sage 300

QuickBooks

Google Drive

DocuSign

Autodesk Build

Buildertrend

CoConstruct

PlanGrid

Dropbox

Trimble

Understand what you own and what it costs to operate

We agree on scope and a fixed price before development starts. Additional work is quoted for your approval. We also explain source-code ownership, hosting, data access, ongoing software and AI usage costs, maintenance, and support before work begins.

Ownership: You own the custom code we develop for you, with a source code handoff.
Hosting: Where the software runs and who can access it, agreed during scoping.
Ongoing costs: Hosting, AI usage and provider costs are billed directly to you at cost. We don’t mark them up.
Maintenance: Updates, dependencies, and what keeps the workflow running.
Support: Optional, scoped and quoted when you need it.

Start with one clearly defined workflow

We review how the work happens today, identify the systems and people involved, and define an initial scope. Your team validates the workflow before rollout, with training and support planned around the people using it.

1
Discovery
Review how the work happens today and the systems involved.
2
Initial scope
Define one workflow, its price, and what success looks like.
3
User validation
Your team tests the workflow with real work before rollout.
4
Rollout
Training, handoff, and support planned around the people using it.

Client project

DesCor Builders

Construction

The Result

260–300 manual steps eliminated per month

The problem: Business information lived in separate systems, so keeping it up to date took manual work.
The solution: An AI-powered platform connecting their systems into one source they own.

“What has impressed us most is their ability to ask the right questions, really listen to our feedback, and quickly translate that feedback into meaningful updates to the platform.”

Brandon Schroer, VP & CFO, DesCor Builders

Read the review on Clutch

From the blogClaude for Construction: 5 Use Cases from Submittals to WIP ReportingExplore five ways Claude can support construction teams, including submittal drafting, bid reviews, and WIP reporting.

Solutions

The technical capabilities behind your workflow

Explore the data connections, automations, reporting, and AI capabilities that can support your construction workflows. The right combination depends on your systems, access requirements, and operational priorities.

Not sure which approach fits? Book a 30-minute call

Not a general contractor?

Subcontractors Construction overview AI workshops

FAQs

Questions about custom general contractor software

Bring one workflow you want to improve.

Talk with Build Lean founder Marco Esquivel about how your team works today. We’ll discuss where work gets held up, the tools you use, and a practical place to start.

30 minutes · Free · No preparation required

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Select a Date

Get an initial software estimate

Explore a preliminary price range before discussing a project.

Or email us directly at hello@buildlean.dev

Custom software and AI tools for general contractors

Where custom software can improve your workflows

Preconstruction and Bid Management for General Contractors

Project Delivery and Schedule Coordination

Job Costing, Forecasting and WIP Reporting

Field Records and Construction Closeout

Connects to the tools you already run

Understand what you own and what it costs to operate

Start with one clearly defined workflow

The technical capabilities behind your workflow

Data Lakehouse

Automations

Data Modeling and Forecasting

AI Agents

Questions about custom general contractor software

Bring one workflow you want to improve.

Select a Date