Excel has been around for about 40 years now. In these four decades, it has been a go-to platform for all sorts of businesses. And it deserves to be so.
Almost every professional is familiar with it and knows how to use it. It also has nearly no financial barriers. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it’s the best tool to handle simple spreadsheet tasks.
However, Excel’s limitations start to show up when big organizations like a construction company try to implement it.
Spreadsheets multiply across teams, version control becomes a headache, and one broken formula can throw off an entire project report.
Besides that, Excel wasn’t meant to be used for the kind of real-time financial visibility that construction accounting demands.
That’s why many construction firms today are moving on from Excel to better, construction-specific alternatives.
In this article, we’ll explore the reasons and the steps to replace Excel in construction accounting. At the end, you’ll also get familiar with the top three alternatives to Excel, including Anterra. So let’s begin.
Reasons to Switch From Excel to Construction Accounting Software
Here are the top five reasons to stop using Excel and start using a dedicated construction account software.
Manual Data Entry Causes Costly Errors
Several studies have found that an overwhelming amount of manually updated spreadsheets contain some kind of error.
Managers end up making decisions based on flawed numbers, only to realize later that the problem was a formula cell gone rogue.
On top of everything, when your data lives across dozens of spreadsheets, all on different desktops or shared folders, tracking down where that mistake happened can take forever.
Spreadsheets Lack Real-Time Data Updates
Data in the construction industry changes by the hour, not by the month-end close. Yet Excel runs on yesterday’s data.
Teams spend 12 to 18 hours every month just updating spreadsheets to stay current, and even then, it’s a lagging snapshot of what’s already happened.
Now, in comparison, construction cost accounting software supports the automatic flow of data from the field into the system.
Excel Has Limited Analytics And Reporting Capabilities
Excel can provide you with a view of your finances, sure. But it doesn’t have built-in support for drilling down into why one job’s margins are shrinking or visualizing cost trends across multiple projects.
This is again where construction accounting software stands out.
Construction accounting programs equip you with entire dashboards for viewing all sorts of metrics and KPIs, in different forms of visualizations.
Using Excel For Construction Creates Poor Workflow And Collaboration
Do you have files named like “JobCost_FINAL_v2_REAL_FINAL”? That’s one of the version control issues Excel brings with it.
Someone can forget to attach the latest version of a file when sending it around.
While this disjointed workflow can cause huge blunders, it also leaves an unprofessional impression on clients and vendors.
Excel Creates A Lack Of Centralized And Accessible Project Data
When data lies in siloes like email threads, old folders, personal drives, etc, teams have to waste hours to find the necessary information.
The fix is a single source of truth (a dedicated construction accounting tool) where all company data lives together and is well-organized.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Replace Excel in Construction Accounting
Step 1: Map out your current accounting workflows
If your team has been running everything on Excel, you’ve dozens, if not hundreds, of files spread across.
So, to replace Excel in construction accounting, first get all these spreadsheets on the table and identify the following:
- Which ones are actually used daily versus just archived?
- Which contain core accounting data (e.g., GL, AP, AR, payroll)?
- Which are feeding into reports for management or the bank?
This mapping makes sure you don’t lose critical links during Excel replacement.
Step 2: Define what you want the software to do
Once you have mapped all necessary Excel data, bring in department heads and list their must-haves (aka requirements) for the new system.
You can choose from the following requirement examples, but don’t rely on them only:
- Job cost tracking at the phase and cost code levels.
- Integration with project management tools (e.g., for RFIs, change orders).
- Equipment and materials tracking linked to projects.
- Payroll that handles union rules or certified payroll.
- WIP reporting and retention tracking.
Step 3: Shortlist and demo construction accounting programs
Now it’s time to start looking for Excel alternatives for your construction firm.
When evaluating vendors, don’t simply make a choice based on their claims. Instead, shortlist a few and set up demos with them. Also, make sure both office and field staff are present in these demos so that the chosen software is best for all.
Lastly, don’t forget checking if the vendor offers implementation support because even the best accounting software for general contractors won’t help if the vendor isn’t there after go-live.
Step 4: Prepare the data and make the migration
The Excel files you mapped out in the beginning aren’t ready to be fed into the new system.
Usually, they’re brimming with inconsistencies and missing data. For instance, you might have used duplicate vendor names (e.g., “ABC Concrete” vs. “ABC Concrete LLC”) on different instances.
Straighten out all these issues and standardize everything. Some companies bring in a data consultant for this phase, and you can consider making that investment, too.
After data preparation, decide what exactly will move to the new system. Usually, firms migrate:
- Active projects (with budgets, costs, and contracts).
- Open transactions (invoices, POs, payables).
- Vendors, clients, and cost codes.
Also, make sure your ERP vendor or consultant is there to instruct on how each Excel field aligns with the new system’s database fields.
Once you’re live, review reports over the next few months for accuracy and any need for adjustments in cost code structures, permissions, or approval rules.
Top Excel Alternatives for Construction Accounting
1. Anterra
Most ERPs are great at processing transactions but not good at providing the kind of financial and operational visibility construction firms need.
Anterra is a Construction Performance Management (CPM) platform that fills these gaps left by your ERP system.
The platform applies well-established CPM processes to draw insights from your spreadsheets.
Anterra’s flagship product is AnterraBI (Anterra Business Intelligence).
This reporting and analytics environment has two main modules, one for construction operations and another for finance.
Both these modules are packed with over 150 pre-built dashboards, scorecards, and trend graphs that visualize your firm’s day-to-day performance.
Construction Operations Module:
Anterra also maps jobs geographically. The job map lets you filter by company or by project manager. You can choose from a number of key performance indicators to color the push pins of your jobs.
Anterra also offers a detailed Job Overview Dashboard that instantly gives you the health of a job.
Here, you can see:
- If a job is on schedule and on budget
- Labor rate variance
- Procurement status
- Job cash position
- AR balance
- Margin gain or erosion
You can drill into each one of these KPIs to determine the root cause of an issue. If your labor costs are off, for instance, Anterra can show you exactly where overtime hours are accumulating and even project how much those overruns will cost if they continue unchecked.
Beyond individual projects, Anterra can show you performance across the entire company. All of Annterra’s grids are instant pivot tables. You can reorganize, filter, and explore your data on the fly, and export it to Excel if you still want that manual touch.
Finance Module:
Anterra’s financial reporting is full-featured, and every report drills to transactions. It handles any type of consolidated statement and has many pre-built dashboards and financial reports.
Take our revenue trend graph, for example. It can help you improve your month-end management package through better analysis.
Choose a consolidation group and you can see the trend of actual versus budgeted revenue over time by month and year to date. This is far more informative than looking at black and white numbers in Excel.
2. Procore
Procore is a cloud-based construction management platform that can replace Excel in construction accounting.
Within its ecosystem, project teams can manage:
- Budgeting, with real-time cost tracking that links directly to job progress.
- Subcontractor bidding, where bids are issued, received, and compared in one consistent format.
- Contract management, including change orders, approvals, and document histories.
- Quality and safety workflows to help maintain compliance and track incidents.
In day-to-day use, though, Procore is most often used for drawings, RFIs, submittals, and daily logs.
3. eSUB
eSUB makes it clear that it is a project management platform exclusively for trade contractors, including electricians, plumbers, HVAC pros, and drywall specialists, to name a few.
To switch from Excel to construction accounting software it allows you to transfer your existing construction templates simply by uploading Excel to the platform.
Inside eSUB, all your data like daily reports, field notes, change orders, submittals, purchase orders, and more, lives in one centralized digital hub.
For your field teams, eSUB can log the following directly from the job site:
- Timecards
- Upload photos
- Submit daily reports
- Check on RFI statuses
FAQs
How Excel is harmful to your construction company?
While spreadsheets have helped businesses grow over the last 30 years, that dependence comes with great risk. The danger is that these complex files are often handled in a slapdash manner, and no one is truly on top of them anymore. A single spreadsheet you start to track invoices can grow into a monster where one extra zero can ruin a month, a year, or the entire business, and that is incredibly dangerous.
Why should I update from Excel to a construction estimating software?
You should update from Excel to dedicated software because spreadsheets introduce significant risks and inefficiencies that modern software solves, such as:
- They cause costly errors
- They lack real-time data
- They have limited analytics
- They create collaboration chaos
- They silo data
What are some alternatives to Excel for construction management?
You can switch from Excel to construction accounting software like Anterra, Procore, and eSUB. Out of all these, only Anterra offers a solution for ERPs that doesn’t offer the visibility capabilities your company needs.
What are the financial consequences of relying on Excel for construction management?
Relying on Excel for construction management leads to severe and direct financial consequences, such as:
- Missed deadlines due to outdated data
- Costly bid errors from broken formulas
- Legal risks, such as hefty penalties from poor documentation
- Outdated numbers cause owners to question your credibility
Book Your Anterra CPM Demo Today & Replace Excel in Construction Accounting
While Excel is familiar and low cost, it’s doing more harm to your construction businesses than you realize simply because it wasn’t made to manage the needs of large businesses. At the end of the day, it’s just a spreadsheet.
But you don’t have to rely on Excel anymore.
You can switch from Excel to construction accounting software like Anterra with ease.
Anterra offers dashboards and data warehouse solutions for construction companies. With it, you can go beyond standard construction reporting by blending ERP data with spreadsheets and other sources for deeper analysis.
Book a demo today and see why it is the best Microsoft Excel alternative for your construction company.