Framing Contractor Software
Track crew productivity by phase, keep material moving ahead of the crew, and hold your place in a schedule that keeps moving.
Framing is labor-dominated, which means the margin is decided by hours per phase and almost nothing else. If you can't see labor cost by phase while the job runs, you find out how it went after it's over.
SiteAnchor ties clock-ins to a specific timeline phase, so hours cost to the part of the structure they were spent on rather than into one undifferentiated labor bucket.
What's hard about running a framing business
Labor per phase is the whole margin
- Crew pick a phase at clock-in, so hours roll up by phase and a section running long is visible while there's still time to react.
Material has to be staged ahead of the crew
- Purchase orders come off the signed estimate split by supplier, and material demand is checked against stock so a shortfall surfaces before the crew is standing on it.
The schedule ahead of you keeps slipping
- Dependencies cascade, so when the foundation moves your start moves with it, and crew double-bookings created by the shuffle are flagged automatically.
Lumber prices move faster than your quotes
- Weekly checks against the published lumber price index flag movement so a quote written last month gets a second look before it's honored.
Framing contractor software features
A framing crew's software problem is narrow and expensive: hours, material, and holding your slot in someone else's schedule.
Labor tracking by phase
- Crew select a timeline phase at clock-in from their phones, so hours roll up by wall, floor, or roof rather than into one labor total. Location is captured and off-site clock-ins are flagged for office review.
Framing job costing
- Estimated, committed, and actual cost on every budget line by your own cost codes, with labor broken out by phase — the number that decides whether a framing job made money.
Framing estimating software
- Price lumber, hardware, and labor from your own catalog, save the packages you bid repeatedly as assemblies that reprice when the catalog does, and reuse whole estimates as templates.
Material staging and purchase orders
- POs come off the signed estimate split by supplier with on-hand stock netted out, material demand is checked against stock so a shortfall surfaces before the crew is standing on it, and a PO that would blow a budget line is flagged as you issue it.
Scheduling under a GC
- Phases linked as dependencies cascade when the foundation moves, so your start date follows automatically, and crew double-bookings created by the reshuffle are flagged.
Lumber price alerts
- Weekly checks against published producer price indexes — including lumber and a construction materials composite — flag movement above a threshold, so an old quote gets looked at before it's honored.
Daily logs and progress photos
- Conditions, crew, work performed, and dated photos filed from a phone, which is what backs a delay claim when the trades ahead of you ran late.
Working with the GC
- RFIs, submittals, and change orders exchanged through a shared hub and logged against your own job record.
How SiteAnchor works for framing contractors
- 01
Bid it from your own numbers
Build the estimate on your material catalog with saved assemblies for the packages you bid every week. A signed estimate creates the budget and the material list.
- 02
Stage material ahead of the crew
Purchase orders come off the signature split by supplier with on-hand stock netted, and demand checked against stock so a shortfall surfaces before anyone is waiting on it.
- 03
Hold your slot in the schedule
Link your phases to the work ahead of you so a slipping foundation moves your start automatically, and let conflict detection catch the crew you just booked twice.
- 04
Watch hours by phase, not by week
Crew pick a phase at clock-in, so a section running long is visible during the job rather than in the numbers afterward.
What framing contractors use most
Every plan includes the full platform — these are the parts that tend to matter first.
Crew Time Tracking
Hours against a phase — the number that decides a framing job's margin.
Job Costing
Labor by phase against the budget the estimate created.
Scheduling
Cascading dependencies for a trade that's always waiting on the one before it.
Purchase Orders
Material staged off the estimate, with shortfalls flagged against stock.
For Concrete Contractors
Schedule pours around weather and inspection windows, cost yardage and labor by phase, and document conditions on the day.
For Roofing Contractors
Run a high volume of short jobs around the weather, with crews tracked by job and material ordered off the estimate you actually signed.
For Home Builders
Run long build cycles with draw schedules, selections, and a client portal that keeps buyers informed without keeping you on the phone.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best software for framing contractors?
- Framing is a labor business, so the deciding feature is whether hours cost to a phase rather than to the job as a whole. Add material staging off the estimate and a schedule that moves your start when the trades ahead of you slip, and you've covered most of what a framing crew loses money to.
Can I see labor cost by phase?
- Yes. Crew select a timeline phase at clock-in, so hours roll up by phase rather than into a single labor total.
Will it tell me if I'm short on material?
- Material demand is checked against stock on hand, and purchase orders that would exceed a budget line are flagged as you issue them.
How do I handle the schedule ahead of me slipping?
- Phases linked as dependencies cascade automatically, so downstream dates move together instead of being corrected by hand.
Does it track lumber prices?
- Weekly checks against published producer price indexes — including lumber, steel mill products, and a construction materials composite — flag movement above a threshold. Your own supplier pricing lives in the material catalog and drives estimates.
Can I use it as a subcontractor to a GC?
- Yes. You run your own projects, budgets, crews, and material, and exchange RFIs, submittals, and change orders with the general contractor through a shared hub, so your record stands on its own.
Is there a time clock app for the crew?
- Yes. Crew clock in and out against a job and phase from their phones, with location captured and off-site clock-ins flagged rather than blocked. Crew-role users don't count against your plan's seat limit.