A custom system built by Black Badger is the best next step for a contractor that has outgrown Smartsheet or spreadsheets, because your sheets already describe exactly how you run jobs and a build keeps that process while removing the manual work. Procore is the best product to move to if you would rather adopt a standard platform than own one.
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for contractors whose sheets already define how jobs are run
This is an outgrowing list, so the custom route goes first. Black Badger publishes this guide, builds custom software, and spent years building and migrating Smartsheet setups before that. A contractor that has run jobs in sheets for years has already designed its system. We turn those sheets into software with job records, permissions and field screens, connect it to accounting, and move the data. There are no licenses and no per-seat fee.
Watch for. If the sheets are a mess because nobody agrees on the process, software will not settle that. Discovery and a written scope come first, and you own every account at the end.
- How it charges
- One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
- Main limit
- Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
What a custom build involves, and how to ask about one
2 Procore
Best for contractors ready to adopt a standard construction platform
Procore is the best product to move to, and it ranks second. It replaces a folder of sheets with one project management platform, and Procore says it will never charge for adding more users, so nobody loses access in the move. The trade-off is that your process has to change to fit the platform. The trackers your team built for itself are replaced by the way Procore does things, which is a gain for some companies and a loss for others.
Watch for. The fee is based on annual construction volume and does not count seats. That is a different bill from a per-member sheet plan, so model it against your backlog.
- How it charges
- Annual fee by product, based on construction volume
- Main limit
- Priced on your annual construction volume, so cost rises as your work grows
3 Autodesk Construction Cloud (Autodesk Build, now Forma Build)
Best for sheet-based teams that want a published per-user price
Forma Build ranks third as a next step. For a contractor leaving sheets, its appeal is that the way you buy it is familiar. There is a per-user price on the page, a lower Essentials tier, and no need to disclose your volume to get started. It suits teams whose sheets mostly track drawings, issues and documents, since the product is aimed at contractors that work from drawings and models.
Watch for. Essentials is listed per user a year at a lower rate than Forma Build. Check which tier holds the features your sheets were covering.
- How it charges
- Per user, yearly or monthly, unlimited users quoted
- Main limit
- Priced per user, and unlimited users needs a sales quote
4 Smartsheet
Best for contractors that have outgrown a plan but can keep the product
Staying on Smartsheet ranks fourth. Some contractors have outgrown only the Pro plan, which stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month. Business lists unlimited automations and Enterprise adds portfolios and single sign-on. If your sheets are sound and the problem is a cap, the cheapest next step is the next plan. It ranks below the others because it leaves the structure problem untouched.
Watch for. The comparison table marks API calls as unavailable on Pro. Any integration with accounting or a field app needs Business or higher.
- How it charges
- Per member, billed yearly or monthly, Enterprise quoted
- Main limit
- Pro stops at 10 members and 250 automations a month, no API calls
5 CMiC
Best for contractors whose sheets were covering for weak cost data
CMiC ranks fifth. Sometimes the sheets exist because project managers do not trust or cannot reach the cost data in accounting, so they keep their own. A single database for financials and project controls removes the reason for the separate workbook. It ranks below the lighter options because moving from spreadsheets to a full construction ERP is the largest change on this list, and there is no published price to plan around.
Watch for. Confirm which of the areas CMiC lists, such as Project Management, Workflow and Analytics, are in the quote, and ask how it is deployed.
- How it charges
- Quoted by sales, no published price
- Main limit
- No price or deployment model is stated on its pages, so both need a sales call
6 Microsoft Project and Planner plans
Best for microsoft 365 contractors that outgrew sheet-based schedules
Microsoft Project is sixth. If the sheet you outgrew is the schedule, Planner and Project Plan 3 gives you baselines, critical path and resource management at a published per-user price paid yearly. For a company on Microsoft 365 it is a small step. It ranks low because it solves the scheduling sheet and nothing else. Logs, trackers and reports stay where they are.
Watch for. Planner Plan 1 lists portfolios as view-only. Only the people who build schedules need Plan 3, so license by role.
- How it charges
- Per user, paid yearly, or monthly at a higher rate
- Main limit
- Plan 1 shows portfolios view-only, full resource tools start at Plan 3
7 monday.com
Best for teams that want boards and automations instead of sheets
monday.com is seventh. It replaces grids with boards and is another general work tool. For office workflows such as buyout and closeout tracking its boards are easier to read, with automation allowances listed from the Standard plan up. It ranks last because a contractor that has outgrown one general tool will reach the same limits in another. Portfolio management, resource management and multi-level permissions are all Enterprise plan features.
Watch for. Standard allows 250 automation actions a month. A contractor with many jobs will be on Pro or Enterprise, and plans above 40 users are quoted.
- How it charges
- Per seat, billed yearly, from 3 users, Enterprise quoted
- Main limit
- Pro caps automations at 25,000 a month, portfolios need Enterprise
Questions buyers ask
How does a contractor know it has outgrown Smartsheet and a higher plan will not help?
A contractor has outgrown Smartsheet when the problem is structure, which a higher plan does not fix. If the problem is a cap, such as members, automations or API access, the next plan fixes it. If sheets cannot enforce who may change what, or the same job is kept in five sheets that disagree, a bigger plan will not help.
What happens to a contractor's Smartsheet sheets when it moves to other software?
The rows in your sheets can be moved. The automations, forms and cross-sheet formulas built around them belong to the tool and are rebuilt wherever you go. That rebuild is also the moment to drop the sheets nobody opens.
Is a custom software build realistic for a mid-size contractor?
A custom build is realistic for a contractor of 50 or more employees with several crews, which is the size Black Badger mainly works with. A contractor of that size has a settled process, enough people for software fees to become a large cost, and enough work that owning the system makes sense. A written scope tells you the cost before you commit.