Australian construction companies operate on some of the thinnest margins in the economy. A missed variation, an under-claimed progress payment, or a poorly tracked retention can turn a profitable project into a loss-maker. WHS legislation demands rigorous safety documentation that generic accounting software simply doesn’t support. The combination is why most builders outgrow Xero or MYOB at $10M turnover or 5 concurrent jobs.
Construction software — meaning ERP configured for construction plus a project management platform — runs the job lifecycle end-to-end. Tender and estimating, contract award, job costing at cost-code level, schedule-of-values or milestone billing under AS 4902 or AS 2124, variation workflows, subcontractor administration, retention release at practical completion and defects liability expiry. The ERP owns financial truth; the PM platform owns delivery truth; integration keeps them in sync.
The right stack surfaces margin erosion the day it happens, not at month-end.
We configure Business Central, SAP, NetSuite, and Dynamics 365 F&O for construction with native AS 4902 / AS 2124 contract structures, integrate with Procore and Aconex for project management, and automate WHS / SWMS workflows on top. Our largest measurable result was $1.2M in unclaimed retentions surfaced in the first quarter post go-live for a Brisbane construction group.
Real-time job costing with automated work-in-progress (WIP) calculations. Compare budget vs. actual vs. forecast across labour, materials, plant, and subcontractor costs. Margin erosion visible the day it happens, not at month-end.
Schedule-of-values or milestone billing aligned to head contract. Retention tracking with automated release at practical completion and defects liability expiry. Security of Payment Act compliance built in.
End-to-end variation workflow from site instruction through pricing, client approval, and incorporation into contract sum. Full audit trail for dispute resolution. Automated impact analysis on margin and forecast completion cost.
Centralised register with insurance expiry tracking, licence verification, and SWMS management. Automated POs, claim certification, and payment scheduling aligned to head-contract terms.
Digital SWMS with version control, worker acknowledgement, and automated review scheduling. Incident reporting workflows tied to WHS notification. PCBU-grade audit trail for principal contractors.
ERP integrated with Procore and Aconex so financial and project data stay in sync. Cost codes, variations, RFIs, and progress claims flow between systems without double-entry or month-end reconciliation pain.
GST treatment for construction-specific scenarios (going concern, capital improvement, deposits, retentions). BAS automation aligned to ATO reporting. PAYG instalment automation.
Plant register with utilisation tracking, maintenance scheduling, and cost recovery against jobs. Integration with telematics and fuel cards for owner-operator and Tier 1 fleets.
Single entity, 10–30 users. Standard job costing, claims, subcontractor admin. 12–20 week deployment.
Typical stack: Business Central + Procore (light) or Workbench
Multi-entity, 30–200 users. Multi-project consolidation, formal AS 4902 contract structures, SWMS automation. 6–9 month deployment.
Typical stack: Business Central or NetSuite + Procore + integration
Multi-entity, 200+ users. Full integration with PM, HR, safety, and treasury. Programme delivery 9–15 months.
Typical stack: Dynamics 365 F&O or SAP S/4HANA + Procore + Aconex
Book a free 30-minute systems review. We’ll assess your job costing, claims, and compliance workflows. Then outline a fixed-price implementation plan.