Customer reviews
Migrated from QuickBooks in 40 minutes. My CPA reviewed the books on day three and said this is built right.
Progress billing and payrollthat don't fight each other.
Retention gets held back, materials get drawn mid-project, and the crew gets paid weekly whether the client has paid or not. Encarmo tracks all three against the same job, not three spreadsheets.
Free accounting and progress billing forever. No per-user fees. No forced bundles.
$0progress billing and accounting
Noper-user fees
1 dayto set up
1job record, billing to pay
Two honest paths
What construction and trades actually need, and what they don't.
Run in pieces, progress invoices live in one tool, materials on a spreadsheet, crew hours on paper, and payroll on numbers nobody checked against the job budget. Retention held on an invoice rarely matches what is collected months later.
$0
for the core. Accounting and progress billing are free forever, with no card required. Add Inventory, Scheduling or Payroll as jobs and crews grow.
How it works
Four steps to disciplined job costing.
1
Set up the contract job
Define the contract value, milestone draws and retention percentage once, on the job record.
2
Draw materials against the job
Materials pulled from the shop or yard leave inventory and post straight to the job's cost.
3
Dispatch the crew
Assign trades and equipment to sites on the visual calendar, so nobody is double-booked.
4
Run payroll from logged hours
Weekly payroll pulls verified job hours, matching labour cost directly to project billing.
What is included
Job costing and operations built for active trades.
Two free core modules, and add-ons you turn on as job sites multiply. No per-user seats and no forced bundles.
Job 24-031, to date
Billed$216,000
Job cost$171,400
Margin21%
Job accounting, free
A live general ledger that tags revenue and expenses to each contract job, so job profitability is always visible.
Draw 4, 45% doneSent
This draw$54,000
Retention, 10%−$5,400
Due now$48,600
Progress billing, free
Progress invoices with automatic retention, milestone draws, change orders and built-in payment links.
Copper pipe120 m
Drywall sheets80
Job 24-031To job cost
Materials tracking, $12 a month
Materials, tools and supplies tracked in real time and deducted as they go to site, keeping job costs accurate.
MTWTF
Electric
Plumbing
Drywall
Crew dispatch, $9 a month
A visual site calendar for crew shifts and equipment, with SMS notifications to the crew.
Weekly payroll, $19 a month
Weekly direct deposit for trade employees and 1099 subcontractors, tied to hours logged on the job.
Automatic retention calculation
Retention is calculated on every draw and held on the ledger until it is released at closeout.
Milestone draws and change orders
Bill against agreed milestones and add change orders to the same job without a separate invoice trail.
Direct job-cost ledger entries
Revenue, materials, labour and vendor costs post to the job they belong to, not to general overhead.
Vendor expense tracking
Supplier bills and expenses captured automatically and allocated to the right job.
Live cash flow and tax reporting
See cash position across every active job, with tax reporting from the same ledger.
Why it is still one system
Progress invoice to paycheck, one job record.
No separate spreadsheet for retention, no month-end inventory counts and no reconciling crew timesheets after the fact.
Invoicing + Accounting
Every progress draw applies the retention percentage and holds it on the ledger, so the exact amount still owed at the final draw is always clear.
No more retention audits at closeout.
Inventory + Accounting
Materials drawn for a job leave inventory and post to that job's cost.
No more materials lost in overhead.
Scheduling + Inventory
Crews, equipment and materials booked to the same site and dates.
No more idle crews waiting for kit.
Scheduling + Payroll
Crew hours logged against the job on site feed weekly payroll directly.
No more paper timesheets.
Payroll + Accounting
Weekly payroll posts labour to the job it was worked on, so job cost and job pay match.
No more guessing labour cost.
Start free. Add modules as job sites multiply.
Accounting and progress billing are free forever, with no card required. Add Inventory, Scheduling or Payroll when you need them, with no per-user fees.
Core FoundationFree forever
$0 / month, no card required
Job-cost general ledger
Vendor expense tracking
Live cash flow and tax reports
Progress invoices
Automatic retention calculation
Retention held on the ledger
Milestone draws
Change orders
Pay now payment links
Unlimited jobs and contracts
No per-user fees
No card required
Add as jobs and crews grow
No forced bundles. Each module connects to the same job record the day you turn it on.
Job AccountingFree
Progress Billing and InvoicingFree
Inventory$12 / month
Calendar and Scheduling$9 / month
Payroll$19 / month
By type of work
Built for every trade on the building site.
General contractors
Commercial and residential. Progress billing across subcontracted trades, retention tracked per draw, and oversight of every job.
Subcontractors
Trade specialists. Materials and labour per contract, change order billing, and weekly crew payroll tied to job hours.
Specialty trades: HVAC, electrical, plumbing
Service and installation. Tight materials-to-labour ratios, stock consumption tracking and fast job turnaround.
Remodelers and custom builders
Cost-plus and fixed-bid. Both job types tracked side by side, with live statements for homeowners.
What buyers ask before switching.
Anything else, our team replies in under two hours on weekdays.
support@encarmo.comHow is retention tracked?
Retention held on each progress invoice is tracked automatically on the ledger, so the exact amount still owed at the final draw is always clear.
Do I have to buy Inventory, Scheduling or Payroll?
No. Accounting and progress billing work as a free, standalone system. Inventory, Scheduling and Payroll are add-ons for when you track materials, dispatch crews or run payroll.
Can I bill change orders and milestones?
Yes. Milestone draws and change orders are billed on the same job, with retention applied automatically to each draw.
Can I pay employees and subcontractors weekly?
Yes. With the Payroll add-on, trade employees and 1099 subcontractors are paid weekly by direct deposit from hours logged on the job.
How long does setup take?
Most contractors are set up within a day, starting with the free accounting and progress billing core.
Your job site. Progress billing and payroll, always in sync.
Start with free accounting and progress billing, no card required. Add Inventory, Scheduling or Payroll as your job sites multiply.
Free forever for accounting and invoicing. Unlimited jobs and contracts.