- Tried QuickBooks myself when we started our custom build, and yeah, it wasn't exactly intuitive for construction-specific tracking. Felt like I was constantly wrestling with it to get the details I needed.
- Ended up switching to Excel too, but honestly, spreadsheets can get messy fast—especially if you're not super disciplined about updating them regularly. Had a few late nights trying to figure out why my numbers weren't matching up... not fun.
- I've heard some builders mention specialized software like Buildertrend or CoConstruct, but I'm skeptical about whether they're worth the extra cost for just one project. Seems like they're aimed more at pros juggling multiple builds at once?
- Curious if anyone's tried those construction-specific apps or software and found them genuinely helpful for a single custom home build. Or is it just another case of shiny marketing without much real-world advantage over good old Excel?
I've been wondering about this too—I started out with Excel thinking it'd be straightforward, but halfway through, things got pretty tangled. Looked into Buildertrend briefly, but the price tag made me hesitate. Is it really worth it for just one build? Curious if anyone's found a simpler app that's somewhere between a full-blown software and messy spreadsheets...
I ran into the same issue—Excel got messy fast. Ended up using Trello, actually. It's not specifically for budgeting, but you can set it up pretty easily to track costs and tasks without drowning in features or fees. Might be worth a shot?
"Ended up using Trello, actually. It's not specifically for budgeting, but you can set it up pretty easily to track costs and tasks without drowning in features or fees."
Interesting idea—never thought of Trello for budgeting before. How exactly are you structuring your boards? Are you using cards as individual expenses or grouping them by project phases?
I've been down the Excel rabbit hole myself, and you're right, it can spiral out of control quickly... especially when multiple people start editing the same file. Version control nightmares, anyone? I've tried a few dedicated budgeting tools too, but honestly, most of them felt overly complicated for what I needed. Too many bells and whistles that just slowed things down.
One thing I've found helpful is combining Trello with something like Airtable or Notion. Airtable has a bit more flexibility with numbers and calculations compared to Trello—have you tried it? You can set up simple formulas to auto-calculate totals and subtotals without getting bogged down in Excel-style complexity. Notion's also decent if you're looking for something more visual and customizable, though it does have a bit of a learning curve.
I guess my main hesitation with Trello alone would be tracking cumulative costs or running quick calculations on-the-fly. Do you find yourself manually adding things up often, or have you found a workaround for that?
Anyway, it's definitely worth experimenting with different setups until something clicks. Curious to hear more about your approach!
Yeah, Trello can definitely work if you're keeping things simple. I used it briefly for budgeting by making each card an expense and labeling them by category. Worked fine until I needed totals—then it was calculator city... Airtable solved that headache nicely, though.
