Expert: Scottgem - 3/14/2005

Question
What would be a couple of choices to best use for estimating, accounting, etc. for a small general contractor to use in his business?  The best but least expensive, of course.:)

Answer
I would look at Quickbooks. Its not expensive (I think its about $200) and is considered the premier small business accounting package. I think it can also do job estimating, but that may be a separate module.

Another place to look is in contruction trade journals. Usually the back pages are used to advertise such niche software.

You could, of course, have your own built. While this would be more expensive, the cost might not be that prohibitive. The advantage would be to make sure it does everything you want it to. I would estimate, something like you want might cost under $1000. If you are interested, I'd be happy to give you a quote, though I would need more info.

HTH
Scott<>