Best Proposal Software for General Contractors in 2026
6 proposal tools ranked for general contractors on e-signatures, change orders, deposits, and total cost — so clients can say yes from their phone and every scope change stays in writing.
QuoteIQ is the best proposal software for general contractors who run remodels, repairs, and small-to-mid commercial jobs in 2026 because its Proposals feature turns any estimate into a branded, e-signed proposal that flows straight into Scheduling and an online deposit invoice — inside one platform, with e-signed proposals starting on the $99.99/month Beginner plan. JobTread (from $199/month) wins when you also need takeoff, selections, and change orders in one system. Buildertrend suits established residential builders but does not publish pricing. Houzz Pro (from $99/month) is a mid-priced option for remodelers and design-build firms, Contractor Foreman (from $49/month on annual billing) is the budget construction suite, and PandaDoc is the pick when you only need signable documents. QuoteIQ has no dedicated change-order module and is not a full construction project-management suite, so the right choice depends on whether you need a proposal-to-payment workflow or full job management. See how it fits general contractor software below.
TL;DR: General contractors lose jobs in the gap between “here is the estimate” and “signed”: a PDF emailed on Tuesday, a reply on Friday, and a scope change nobody wrote down. QuoteIQ takes Editor’s Choice because its Proposals, E-Signatures, Sign, Attach Contracts, Options estimates, Online Payments, Consumer Financing, and Job Costing features cover the proposal-to-payment path on one subscription. JobTread wins on estimating-to-change-order depth. Buildertrend wins for established residential builders willing to request a custom quote. Contractor Foreman is the budget construction suite, Houzz Pro suits remodelers and design-build firms, and PandaDoc is the strongest signable-document tool when you do not need job management. Per the SBA Office of Advocacy, 99.8% of U.S. construction employers have fewer than 500 employees, and per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a median construction manager earns $55.28 an hour, so the hours your team spends chasing signatures are real money.
The 2026 Winners by Category
Each tool below wins for a specific kind of general contractor. Skip ahead to the category that matches how you bid, sell, and manage jobs.
QuoteIQ
From $99.99/mo for e-signed proposals (Beginner). Branded proposals, e-signatures, attached contracts, deposits, scheduling, and invoicing in one platform. No dedicated change-order module.
JobTread
$199/mo with every feature included, plus $20 per additional user. Takeoff, proposals with signature tracking, change orders, selections, and a client portal.
Buildertrend
Pricing not publicly available — contact vendor. Proposals, change orders, selections, and payments with unlimited users and projects. No free trial.
Contractor Foreman
From $49/mo on annual billing; the monthly-billing tab starts at $139 (Standard). Estimates with e-signatures, change orders, client portal, and bid management.
Houzz Pro
Design $99/mo, Pro $199/mo (adds change orders and takeoffs), Teams from $399/mo. 30-day free trial with a 12-month minimum contract.
PandaDoc
Free plan; Starter $19 and Business $49 per seat per month, billed annually. E-signature on every plan, but no takeoff, change-order, or job-management features.
Why Proposal Software Matters for General Contractors
A general contractor’s proposal does three jobs at once: it prices the work, it defines scope (what is in and, just as important, what is out), and once signed it becomes the document everyone points back to when a homeowner asks, “Wasn’t the tile included?” Per the SBA Office of Advocacy 2025 small business profile, 99.8% of employer firms in construction have fewer than 500 employees, and by our calculation from the same table about 92% (718,831 of 781,192) have fewer than 20. Most general contractors are writing proposals themselves, at night, from a truck, in whatever template they built three years ago. Good Estimates software shortens that, and a proper Proposals workflow finishes the job.
That time is not free. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports median pay of $114,990 a year, or $55.28 an hour (May 2025), for construction managers. Every hour spent reformatting a Word template, re-keying a signed price into an invoice, or chasing a signature by text is an hour valued at that rate before you count the job you lose when a competitor’s proposal lands first. A branded proposal with project photos from QuoteIQ Cam, clear inclusions and exclusions, and an activity log that tells you when the client opened it replaces most of that chasing.
Scope changes are where proposal tools diverge most. The California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) tells California homeowners that changes or additions to a contract must all be in writing, and the habit applies in every state: the tool you pick should make a signed change as easy as the original proposal. JobTread, Buildertrend, Contractor Foreman, and Houzz Pro (on its Pro plan) name change orders as a feature. QuoteIQ does not have a dedicated module; you issue a new signed estimate or use Attach Contracts to put a signed change-order document in front of the client. PandaDoc handles changes through document templates. We say so plainly so you can weigh it.
Then there is the legal layer. Under 15 U.S.C. § 7001, a signature or contract may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form, so an e-signed proposal is not second-class paper. But federal and state rules still shape what the document must say. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429), for example, requires the contract to tell the buyer in writing that they may cancel within three business days for many sales made at the buyer’s home, so contractors who sell in living rooms should confirm their paperwork carries that notice. Software helps you deliver and store the document; it does not decide your contract terms, and QuoteIQ’s own pages say to consult a local attorney. Tools like E-Signatures and Sign handle the signing step, and you handle the language.
A contractor sends 12 proposals a month. Assembling, sending, and following up on each one takes 75 minutes (an illustrative assumption; use your own number): 12 × 75 minutes = 15 hours a month. At the BLS median of $55.28 an hour, that is $829.20 a month, or $9,950.40 a year of management time. If a template-based proposal workflow cuts each one to 30 minutes, the team gets back 9 hours a month, which is $497.52 a month or $5,970.24 a year. That compares with QuoteIQ plans from $99.99 a month ($1,199.88 a year) for e-signed proposals, and a Pro plan with Client Portal, Job Costing, and Sign at $199.99 a month. The savings only count if you actually use the reclaimed hours, but the order of magnitude is why this category exists.
The closing question is bundled versus standalone. A standalone signing tool like PandaDoc stops at the signature. A full construction suite like JobTread or Buildertrend goes deep on takeoff, selections, and budgets, and prices accordingly. QuoteIQ sits between them: a proposal-to-payment workflow with Online Payments, Scheduling, and Invoicing attached, for contractors whose projects do not need a full project-management system. Our general contractor software page and the broader construction contractor software page explain where that line falls.
How We Ranked Them
“Best” lists on the internet are mostly affiliate revenue sorted by commission rate. This list is sorted by what wins for general contractors specifically when the job is the proposal: getting a priced scope signed, paid, and changed in writing. Every competitor price and feature below was checked against the vendor’s own pricing or product page on October 11, 2026. Where a vendor does not publish a price, we say “pricing not publicly available — contact vendor” instead of estimating. QuoteIQ is our product and we rank it first for proposal-to-payment workflow; read its cons and the scenarios below, because for some contractors another tool is the better answer. Updated October 2026.
The 6 ranking factors
- Proposal-to-signature workflow. How quickly can a contractor turn a priced scope into a branded document, send it by link, email, or text, and see when the client opens and signs it?
- Scope-change handling. Does the tool have a named change-order feature, or do you work around it with a new estimate or an attached document?
- Deposits and payments. Can the client pay by card or bank transfer online, and can you request a deposit or partial payment?
- Construction depth. Takeoff, selections and allowances, budgets, and bid management matter for builders and matter less for a remodeler sending ten proposals a month.
- Total cost of ownership. Subscription, per-user fees, contract terms, and trial or refund terms, using only published figures.
- Transparency and reviews. Published pricing, third-party ratings on G2 and Capterra, and how clearly the vendor describes what each plan includes.
6 Tools at a Glance (2026)
The fast version. Detailed reviews follow below. All pricing was verified on October 11, 2026 from each vendor’s own pricing page. Where a vendor does not publish a price, the table says so.
| Platform | Starting Price | Proposals + E-Sign | Change Orders | Built for Construction | Free Trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuoteIQ (Proposals + E-Signatures) | From $99.99/mo for e-signed proposals (Beginner) | Yes — e-signed proposals with activity log | No module — new signed estimate or attached document | Generalist home-service platform | 14-day (card required) |
| JobTread | $199/mo incl. 1 user, +$20/user | Yes — with view, click, and sign tracking | Yes | Yes — builders, remodelers, specialty | Not stated; 30-day money-back (monthly) |
| Buildertrend | Not published — contact vendor | Yes — digital signatures | Yes | Yes — residential builders | No free trial; free demos |
| Contractor Foreman | From $49/mo (annual billing)* | Yes — estimates with e-signatures* | Yes — with e-signature | Yes — small and mid-size contractors | 30 days free |
| Houzz Pro | Design $99/mo; Pro $199/mo | Yes — clients e-sign proposals | Yes — Pro plan and up | Remodel and design-build | 30-day free trial |
| PandaDoc | Free; paid from $19/seat/mo (annual) | Yes — e-signature on all plans | No dedicated module | No — general document tool | Free plan |
*Contractor Foreman’s pricing page uses “estimates” language and we could not verify which plan adds e-signatures, so confirm plan gating with the vendor. Buildertrend does not publish pricing; every other figure is from the vendor’s own pricing page.
QuoteIQ — Best Proposal-to-Payment Workflow for General Contractors
Best for: Remodelers, renovation GCs, and small-to-mid commercial contractors who want estimates, signed proposals, deposits, and scheduling in one subscription · Pricing: E-signed proposals from $99.99/mo (Beginner)QuoteIQ wins this list because it covers the whole path from priced scope to paid invoice without asking a small contractor to adopt a construction-management system. With the Proposals feature, you turn any estimate (Standard, Quick, Options, or Package) into a branded proposal with “Convert to Proposal,” pick a saved template with About Us, Our Work, Reviews, and Services sections, add job-specific scope text with inclusions, exclusions, and site-condition notes, and drop in project photos from QuoteIQ Cam. You send it by link, email, or text; the client reviews it, initials, and signs from a phone; and the activity log timestamps every send, view, modification request, and acceptance. An accepted estimate moves straight to Scheduling or Invoicing.
Around the signature, QuoteIQ adds the pieces general contractors ask for. E-Signatures lets clients sign in a browser with no app or account. Attach Contracts puts contracts, licenses, insurance certificates, warranties, and change-order documents in front of the client on any estimate type. On Pro and up, the Sign feature lets you upload a PDF contract, place signature, initials, and date boxes, and send several documents under one link. Online Payments runs on Stripe with cards, ACH, Apple Pay, and Google Pay and supports partial payments and deposits, while Consumer Financing adds buy-now-pay-later options (Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay, up to $30,000) on every plan. MapMeasure Pro handles satellite property measurements on Beginner and up, and Job Costing and a one-way QuickBooks sync arrive on Pro.
Pricing and honest limits: plans run from Essentials at $29.99 a month (1 user) to Max at $699.99 (20 users), with Beginner at $99.99, Pro at $199.99, and Elite at $299.99. Extra users are $25 a month and annual billing saves two months. E-signatures start at Beginner. On Essentials, Beginner, and Pro, each estimate that gets a proposal uses 100 IQ Credits (free during the trial and unlimited on Elite and Max), which on Pro’s 3,000 credits leaves room for up to 30 proposals a month if you spend nothing on AI features. The bigger gaps are structural: QuoteIQ has no dedicated change-order module, no plan-based takeoff, no subcontractor bid management, and no selections-and-allowances workflow. A 14-day free trial is available on every plan, and a credit or debit card is required to start. The 4.7-star rating covers 4,100+ verified App Store and Google Play reviews.
- Any estimate type (Standard, Quick, Options estimates, or Package estimates) converts to a branded proposal with scope text, photos, reviews, and services sections
- Activity log timestamps every send, view, modification request, and acceptance
- E-Signatures work in a phone browser with no client app or account (Beginner and up)
- Attach Contracts for contracts, licenses, insurance, and change-order documents; Sign for PDFs with signature, initials, and date boxes (Pro and up)
- Deposits and partial payments through Online Payments; Consumer Financing on every plan
- Accepted estimates go straight to Scheduling or Invoicing; Job Costing and QuickBooks sync on Pro and up
- Published pricing, a 14-day free trial, and a 4.7-star rating across 4,100+ verified reviews
- No dedicated change-order module: a scope change is a new signed estimate or an attached signed document
- Not a construction project-management suite: no plan-based takeoff, subcontractor bid management, or selections-and-allowances workflow
- Proposals use 100 IQ Credits per estimate on Essentials, Beginner, and Pro (unlimited on Elite and Max)
- E-signatures start at Beginner ($99.99/mo), and Sign for PDF contracts starts at Pro ($199.99/mo)
- QuickBooks sync is one-way and starts at Pro
- Extra users cost $25 a month beyond each plan’s included seats
If you are a remodeler or general contractor with one to ten people who wants branded proposals, signatures, deposits, scheduling, and invoicing in one subscription, QuoteIQ is the right pick. Choose JobTread, Buildertrend, or Houzz Pro instead if change orders, selections, and budgets are weekly work, and choose PandaDoc if all you need is signable documents.
“QuoteIQ makes quoting a breeze with the integrated map tool. Not to mention, it adds an element of professionalism that most quoting softwares can’t!”
QuoteIQ’s verified review database contains only one review tagged general contractor, and it is already featured elsewhere on myquoteiq.com. The four reviews on this page are verified 5-star App Store reviews from other home service business owners, dated 2023. They speak to quoting speed and professionalism. None is presented as a general-contractor or proposal-specific testimonial.
JobTread — Best Estimating-to-Change-Order Suite
Best for: Builders, remodelers, and specialty contractors who want estimating, takeoff, proposals, and change orders in one system · Pricing: $199/mo with 1 userJobTread is the strongest all-in-one pick on this list for builders and remodelers who want estimating, proposals, and change orders in one system. Its pricing page lists a single plan with every feature included: estimating and takeoff, proposals with e-signature and view, click, and sign tracking, change orders, selections and allowances, a client portal, online payments, customer invoices, and a QuickBooks Online integration. JobTread targets home builders, remodelers, and specialty and commercial contractors.
The pricing is simple but not cheap for a proposal-only team: $199 a month includes one internal user, and each additional internal user is $20 a month on monthly billing (per-user rates fall for larger teams, and annual billing takes 20% off). Customer and vendor portal users are free and unlimited, jobs, documents, and files are unlimited, there is no contract and no setup fee, and monthly plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee (annual plans do not). A 10-person team on monthly billing lands around $379 a month ($199 + 9 × $20).
Ratings are strong: 4.9 on Capterra (143 reviews) and 4.9 on G2 (107 reviews) in October 2026. Compared with QuoteIQ, JobTread goes much deeper on construction workflow and costs more at the entry point ($199 a month versus $99.99 for e-signed proposals on QuoteIQ). We could not find a free trial stated on JobTread’s pricing page, so ask the vendor whether one is available. For a detailed side-by-side, see QuoteIQ vs JobTread.
- One plan with every feature included, so there is no tier gating to decode
- Estimating and takeoff alongside proposals, so quantities flow into the priced scope
- Proposals with e-signature and view, click, and sign tracking
- Named change orders plus selections and allowances
- Free, unlimited customer and vendor portal users
- No contract and no setup fees; 30-day money-back guarantee on monthly plans
- Capterra 4.9 (143 reviews) and G2 4.9 (107 reviews)
- $199 a month to start, roughly double the entry price for e-signed proposals on QuoteIQ
- $20 per additional internal user on monthly billing; a 10-person team is about $379 a month
- A free trial is not stated on the pricing page
- The money-back guarantee covers monthly plans, not annual
- Annual savings are stated as 20% off with no annual dollar figure on the page
- More system than a team sending ten simple proposals a month may need
If you build or remodel with selections, allowances, takeoffs, and frequent change orders, JobTread is the better tool than QuoteIQ, and the single-plan price makes the decision easy. If you mostly need a clean signed proposal, a deposit, and a calendar slot, QuoteIQ costs less to start.
Buildertrend — Best for Established Residential Builders
Best for: Home builders and remodelers who want one platform for the whole project and will request a custom quote · Pricing: not publicly available — contact vendorBuildertrend is a long-established construction management platform for home builders and remodelers. Its materials describe proposals with digital signatures, client portal approvals, change orders, selections, online payments by ACH and card, a two-way QuickBooks sync, and iPhone and Android apps. Unlimited users and projects are included.
Pricing is the sticking point. Buildertrend does not publish plan names or prices: you request a custom quote based on your builder type and revenue, so the honest answer is “pricing not publicly available — contact vendor.” It states a 10% discount for paying annually upfront, offers free demos, and says it does not offer a free trial. We could not verify contract length or onboarding fees, so ask for both in writing before you sign.
Review volume shows scale: 4.5 on Capterra across 2,488 reviews and 4.3 on G2 across 231. For a general contractor who wants one system for the whole project and is comfortable with a sales process, it is a legitimate pick. For one who needs to send a signable proposal this week and know the price up front, QuoteIQ’s published plans and 14-day trial are faster to evaluate. See QuoteIQ vs Buildertrend for the side-by-side.
- Unlimited users and projects included
- Proposals with digital signatures and client portal approvals
- Change orders and selections are named features
- Online payments by ACH and card
- Two-way QuickBooks sync
- Large review base: Capterra 4.5 across 2,488 reviews
- No public pricing or plan names; custom quote by builder type and revenue
- No free trial; evaluation happens through a free demo
- Contract length and onboarding fees were not verifiable, so confirm them in writing
- Broader than a proposal-only team needs
- G2 rating is 4.3 across 231 reviews, lower than JobTread’s 4.9
For established residential builders who want an all-in-one platform and will go through a quote process, Buildertrend is a strong pick. For contractors who want published pricing and a self-serve trial, look at QuoteIQ, JobTread, or Contractor Foreman.
Want proposals, signatures, and deposits in one subscription?
QuoteIQ turns any estimate into a branded, e-signed proposal, then carries it to scheduling and an invoice with online payments. E-signed proposals start on Beginner at $99.99/mo, and Pro at $199.99/mo adds Sign, Client Portal, and Job Costing. 14-day free trial. A credit or debit card is required to start.
Contractor Foreman — Best Budget Construction Suite
Best for: Small and mid-size general and trade contractors who want change orders and bid management at a lower entry price · Pricing: from $49/mo (annual billing)Contractor Foreman is a construction management suite aimed at small and medium residential and commercial general and trade contractors. Its feature list includes estimates with e-signatures and client approval, change orders with e-signature, a client portal, online payments (credit card and ACH processing advertised “as low as 1%”), bid management, and two-way QuickBooks sync for both QuickBooks Online and Desktop. Its pages say “estimates” more than “proposals,” so read the plan details closely.
Pricing is published and tiered by user count. On the annual-billing tab, monthly rates are Basic $49 (1 user), Standard $105 (3 users), Plus $166 (8), Pro $221 (15), and Unlimited $332. On the monthly-billing tab, Standard is $139, Plus $199, Pro $279, and Unlimited $399, and Basic is offered on annual billing only. A 30-day free period is offered. The page does not state contract terms, and we could not reconcile its money-back wording between pages, so confirm that with the vendor.
Ratings are 4.5 on Capterra (837 reviews) and 4.5 on G2 (383 reviews). Which plan adds e-signatures on estimates is not stated on the pricing page, so confirm that before you buy. Against QuoteIQ, Contractor Foreman is more construction-specific, with change orders and bid management as named features, and is priced by user count. QuoteIQ is simpler for contractors who mainly need proposals, deposits, and scheduling.
- Published, tiered pricing starting at $49 a month on annual billing
- A 30-day free period on plans
- Change orders with e-signature
- Client portal and online payments
- Two-way QuickBooks sync for Online and Desktop
- Bid management for contractors who invite sub bids
- Capterra 4.5 (837 reviews) and G2 4.5 (383 reviews)
- Which plan includes e-signatures on estimates is not stated on the pricing page
- Uses “estimates” language rather than a named proposals feature
- Contract terms are not stated, and the money-back wording differs between pages
- Plan user caps (Basic 1, Standard 3, Plus 8) push growing teams up a tier
- Monthly billing costs more than the annual tab (Standard is $139 versus $105)
If you want a construction-specific suite with change orders and bid management at a lower entry price than JobTread, Contractor Foreman is the budget pick. If your work is mostly proposals, deposits, and scheduling, QuoteIQ is simpler.
Houzz Pro — Best for Remodelers and Design-Build Firms
Best for: Remodelers and design-build firms who want estimates, proposals, change orders, and budgets in one mid-priced tool · Pricing: Design $99/mo, Pro $199/mo, Teams from $399/moHouzz Pro publishes three plans. Design is $99 a month for one user and includes Estimates and Proposals; clients can approve and e-sign proposals, estimates, and change orders. Pro is $199 a month for one user and adds Takeoffs, Bid Management, Change Orders, Budget Management, Contracts, Project Schedule, and Daily Logs. Teams starts at $399 a month with unlimited users. It also supports payments and invoices and saves to QuickBooks Online.
Watch the contract and seat math. The pricing page states a 30-day free trial and a 12-month minimum contract, and extra seats on Design and Pro cost $50 per user per month, so a five-person team on Pro costs $399 a month ($199 + 4 × $50), the same as the starting Teams price. Houzz also sells an advertising package from $499 a month as a separate add-on. We could not verify whether the free trial requires a card.
Ratings are 4.3 on Capterra (1,088 reviews) and 4.1 on G2 (75 reviews). Houzz Pro is a reasonable fit for remodelers and design-build firms who want estimates, proposals, change orders, and budgets in one mid-priced tool and can commit to a 12-month term. For contractors who want monthly flexibility and a 14-day trial, QuoteIQ is the lighter commitment.
- Estimates and Proposals are included on the $99 Design plan
- Clients can e-sign proposals, estimates, and change orders
- Pro adds takeoffs, bid management, budgets, contracts, scheduling, and daily logs
- Teams plan offers unlimited users from $399 a month
- Payments and invoices with QuickBooks Online saving
- 30-day free trial
- 12-month minimum contract
- Extra seats cost $50 per user per month on Design and Pro
- Change orders sit on the $199 Pro plan, not Design
- G2 rating is 4.1 across 75 reviews
- Advertising package from $499 a month is a separate add-on
- Whether the free trial requires a card could not be verified
For remodelers and design-build firms who want a mid-priced construction toolset and can commit for 12 months, Houzz Pro is a solid pick. For month-to-month flexibility or a lower seat cost, compare QuoteIQ and Contractor Foreman.
PandaDoc — Best Standalone Signable Documents
Best for: Contractors whose estimating lives elsewhere and who want branded, signable proposals and contracts · Pricing: Free; Starter $19/seat/mo, Business $49/seat/mo (annual billing)PandaDoc is a document-automation and e-signature platform used across industries, with construction templates but no construction-specific workflow. Every plan includes e-signature. Its pricing page lists a Free plan at $0, Starter at $19 per seat per month, Business at $49 per seat per month (both billed annually), and custom Enterprise pricing. Payments collection and the QuickBooks integration are on Business and Enterprise only.
For a general contractor, that makes PandaDoc a document layer. You build branded proposals and contracts from templates, collect signatures, and track document status. You will not find takeoff, change-order management, a client portal, or scheduling there, so a change order is simply another template. The free plan has a document cap that the pricing page states inconsistently, so confirm the current limit with PandaDoc before relying on it.
Review volume is the highest on this list: 4.7 on G2 across 3,818 reviews and 4.7 on Capterra across 2,835. If your estimating lives in a spreadsheet or another system and you only want signable proposals and contracts, PandaDoc is the cleanest answer. If you also want to take deposits, schedule the job, and invoice from the same record, QuoteIQ keeps those steps together.
- E-signature on every plan, including Free
- Free plan to test with real proposals
- Starter at $19 per seat per month billed annually
- Template library that includes construction documents
- Strong review base: G2 4.7 (3,818) and Capterra 4.7 (2,835)
- Works for any document, not just estimates
- Not construction-specific: no takeoff, change-order management, client portal, or scheduling
- Payments collection and the QuickBooks integration are Business and Enterprise only ($49 per seat)
- Per-seat pricing grows with the team
- The free plan document cap is stated inconsistently on the pricing page
- Starter and Business prices are billed annually
If estimating lives elsewhere and you want branded, signable proposals and contracts with a low price of entry, PandaDoc is the best standalone tool here. If you want the proposal tied to deposits, scheduling, and invoicing, QuoteIQ is the better fit.
Which Tool Wins for Your General Contracting Business?
Three real-world scenarios drawn from how general contractors work in 2026. Each one ends with an honest recommendation, and not all of them recommend QuoteIQ.
Two-person remodel crew, 10 proposals a month
Kitchen, bath, and deck remodels between $15,000 and $60,000. The owner writes each proposal in Word at night, texts a PDF, and chases the signature. Scope changes get agreed on a job site and written down later, if at all.
The pain: slow proposals, no record of when the client opened them, and a deposit that depends on remembering to send an invoice.
→ Recommendation: QuoteIQ Beginner ($99.99/mo) or Pro ($199.99/mo) — branded proposals with e-signature, attached contracts, deposit invoices, and scheduling. Write scope changes as new signed estimates.Custom home builder with a 10-person office
Allowances, selections, subcontractor bids, and change orders every week. Clients log in to approve choices, and the bookkeeper needs costs flowing into QuickBooks.
The pain: the proposal is the start of a long project record, not a one-time document. A proposal tool without change orders and selections gets outgrown within a quarter.
→ Recommendation: JobTread ($199/mo plus $20 per added user, about $379/mo for 10 people) — takeoff, change orders, selections, and a free client portal. Buildertrend is the alternative if you prefer a vendor-quoted platform.Specialty contractor with estimating in a spreadsheet
A commercial tenant-improvement contractor sends five proposals a month. Estimates live in Excel, and the office wants branded proposals, standard terms, and signatures from owners and property managers.
The pain: no appetite to move job management or invoicing into a new system. The need is consistent, signable documents.
→ Recommendation: PandaDoc (free plan, or $19 per seat per month billed annually) — templates and e-signature on every plan. Add QuoteIQ later if you want deposits and scheduling in the same system.The Real ROI of Proposal Software for General Contractors
Numbers that matter. These are the calculations a general contractor should run before picking any tool on this list, using your own job size and margin in place of our illustrative inputs.
The cost of one lost bid: Take an average remodel of $24,000 at a 20% gross margin, which is $4,800 of gross profit per job. If faster, cleaner proposals win back just one extra job per quarter, that is 4 jobs × $4,800 = $19,200 of gross profit a year. Compare that with QuoteIQ Pro on annual billing at $1,999.99 a year, the plan that adds Sign, Client Portal, and Job Costing: about 9.6 times the plan cost. These are illustrative assumptions, so substitute your own job size, margin, and close rate.
The five-seat price check: The price gap between tools is smaller than most contractors expect, so decide on workflow. For a five-person team on monthly billing: QuoteIQ Pro plus one extra seat is $199.99 + $25 = $224.99 a month; JobTread is $199 + 4 × $20 = $279 a month (a $54.01 monthly difference, or $648.12 a year); Contractor Foreman Plus (8 users) is $199 a month ($166 on its annual-billing tab); Houzz Pro Pro with four extra seats is $199 + 4 × $50 = $399 a month; PandaDoc Business is 5 × $49 = $245 a month billed annually; and Buildertrend is not published. The plans are not equal in features, so match the price to the workflow you need.
The cost of a change nobody signed: Suppose a $2,500 scope change is approved verbally on site and later disputed. That one disagreement costs more than a full year of the QuoteIQ Beginner plan ($1,199.88 on monthly billing). The California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) reminds homeowners that changes to a contract should be in writing; a tool that makes a signed change take two minutes, whether through a new estimate with E-Signatures or an attached document through Attach Contracts, is cheap insurance.
The structural point holds regardless of your numbers: proposal software pays back in won jobs and in changes that are documented, not in the subscription line item. The only question is how much system you need around the proposal. A standalone tool like PandaDoc covers signing. A full suite like JobTread covers the whole project. QuoteIQ covers the path in between, from Proposals to Online Payments to Invoicing, for contractors who do not want to run a construction-management platform to send a signed scope and get a deposit.
How Sending a Signed Proposal Works in Practice
The full workflow inside QuoteIQ using the Proposals feature, from a priced estimate to a scheduled, invoiced job. AI Estimator and MapMeasure Pro can speed up step one.
Build the estimate
Create a Standard, Quick, Options, or Package estimate, using the AI Estimator or MapMeasure Pro measurements where they help.
Convert to Proposal
Pick a saved template, add scope text with inclusions and exclusions, and drop in project photos from QuoteIQ Cam.
Add the paperwork
Attach your contract, license, and insurance certificate, or on Pro and up upload a PDF and place signature boxes.
Send and track
Send by link, email, or text, and watch the activity log for views and modification requests.
Sign, invoice, schedule
The client signs from a phone. You schedule the job or send an invoice with a deposit request through Online Payments.
QuoteIQ Pricing — E-Signed Proposals From Beginner, Unlimited Proposals on Elite & Up
Proposals are on every plan, but e-signatures start at Beginner. On Essentials, Beginner, and Pro each estimate with a proposal uses 100 IQ Credits; Elite and Max are unlimited. 14-day free trial on every plan. A credit or debit card is required to start.
Annual billing saves 2 months on every plan: $299.99, $999.99, $1,999.99, $2,999.99, and $6,999.99 per year. Extra users are $25/mo. See the full pricing page →
Frequently Asked Questions
QuoteIQ is the best proposal software for general contractors who run remodels, repairs, and small-to-mid commercial work in 2026, because its Proposals feature turns any estimate into a branded proposal that clients e-sign from a phone and that flows into Scheduling, Invoicing, and Online Payments. E-signed proposals start on the $99.99/month Beginner plan, and Pro at $199.99/month adds Sign, Client Portal, and Job Costing. JobTread ($199/month) is the better pick when you need takeoff, selections, and change orders, and Buildertrend suits established residential builders but does not publish pricing. Houzz Pro, Contractor Foreman, and PandaDoc fill the mid-price, budget, and documents-only roles. Per the SBA Office of Advocacy, 99.8% of U.S. construction employers are small businesses, which is why a lightweight, published-price tool matters. See our general contractor software page for more.
General contractors send a signable proposal by building the estimate, converting it to a branded proposal, and sending the client a link by email or text. In QuoteIQ you pick a template with About Us, Our Work, Reviews, and Services sections, add scope text and photos from QuoteIQ Cam, and send; the client reviews it, initials, and signs in a phone browser with no app, using E-Signatures. The activity log records sends, views, modification requests, and acceptance. For contract PDFs, the Sign feature (Pro and up) places signature, initials, and date boxes, and Attach Contracts adds licenses, insurance certificates, and change-order documents to any estimate type. Accepted estimates move to Scheduling or an invoice. Under 15 U.S.C. § 7001, a signature cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic.
For proposal-to-payment work QuoteIQ is usually the simpler and cheaper tool, while JobTread and Buildertrend are better for full project management. QuoteIQ e-signed proposals start at $99.99/month, and Pro with Client Portal, Job Costing, and Sign is $199.99/month. JobTread is a single $199/month plan with 1 user and $20 per extra user, and it includes takeoff, change orders, and selections and allowances. Buildertrend does not publish pricing and has no free trial. Choose JobTread or Buildertrend if change orders and selections are weekly work; choose QuoteIQ if you mostly need signed proposals, deposits, Scheduling, and Invoicing. At five seats the price gap is modest: QuoteIQ Pro plus one extra seat is $224.99/month versus $279/month for JobTread on monthly billing. QuoteIQ offers a 14-day free trial on every plan (a credit or debit card is required to start), while Buildertrend offers free demos only. See QuoteIQ vs JobTread and QuoteIQ vs Buildertrend for detail.
Proposal software for general contractors runs from free to roughly $400 a month for a small team, with full construction suites at the high end. PandaDoc has a free plan and paid seats at $19 or $49 a month billed annually. QuoteIQ starts at $29.99/month, with e-signed proposals from the $99.99 Beginner plan, then Pro at $199.99, Elite at $299.99, and Max at $699.99, and extra users at $25/month. Contractor Foreman runs $49 to $332/month on annual billing, Houzz Pro runs $99 (Design), $199 (Pro), or $399+ (Teams), JobTread is $199/month plus $20 per extra user, and Buildertrend does not publish pricing. Payment processing fees apply on top of any subscription when you take cards or ACH; QuoteIQ’s Online Payments page lists no monthly or setup fee for turning payments on. See the QuoteIQ pricing page and the Proposals, Estimates, and Invoicing pages, or PandaDoc’s pricing.
Some can and some cannot. JobTread, Buildertrend, Contractor Foreman, and Houzz Pro (on its $199 Pro plan) name change orders as a feature, while PandaDoc handles them only as another document template. QuoteIQ has no dedicated change-order module: you issue a new signed estimate for the added scope, or use Attach Contracts to attach a signed change-order document, with E-Signatures capturing approval and Online Payments collecting the added balance. That keeps changes in writing, which the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) says California contracts require, but it lacks a change-order log and budget roll-up. In practice a QuoteIQ change is a short document: describe the added scope and price, send it as a new estimate or an attachment, and the client signs from a phone while the signed record stays on the customer profile. If you run several change orders a week, choose a construction suite. See also Proposals and Estimates.
Generally yes: under 15 U.S.C. § 7001, a signature or contract cannot be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. Enforceability still depends on state law and on what the document says. The FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) requires many at-home sales to include a three-business-day cancellation notice, and states such as California set their own written-contract and deposit rules. Software delivers and stores the signed record: QuoteIQ’s E-Signatures timestamp each signature and store it with the estimate, while the Sign and Attach Contracts features handle PDF terms. QuoteIQ does not decide your contract terms. Keep a copy of every signed record, put required notices in the document itself, and check deposit limits for your state: the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB), for example, caps a California home improvement down payment at 10% of the contract price or $1,000, whichever is less. This is general information, not legal advice, so ask a local attorney. See Proposals and general contractor software.
Proposal software helps general contractors get paid faster by shrinking the gap between approval and the first invoice. In QuoteIQ an accepted estimate moves straight to Scheduling or Invoicing, and Online Payments on Stripe accepts cards, ACH, Apple Pay, and Google Pay with support for partial payments and deposits. Payouts follow your Stripe schedule, typically within about two business days on a daily schedule, and processing and platform fees apply. Consumer Financing offers buy-now-pay-later options for larger projects, and the Client Portal on Pro keeps documents and invoices in one place. The Online Payments page recommends ACH for invoices over $1,000 and for commercial clients, and automated reminders can go out an hour, a day, a week, or a month after an invoice is sent. Every hour spent chasing payment is also manager time; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median at $55.28 an hour. See Proposals for the full flow.
QuoteIQ works for residential remodeling and small-to-mid commercial work, but not for large commercial projects that need formal bid management and plan-based takeoff. Proposals, Options estimates, and Package estimates let you present good-better-best scope and bundled packages to homeowners, and the Attach Contracts and Sign features handle contract documents for commercial clients. Job Costing on Pro and up tracks margin on contract work. For commercial contractors managing subcontractor bids and takeoff, a construction suite such as JobTread or Contractor Foreman fits better. See our remodeling software and construction contractor software pages. A 14-day free trial is available, and a credit or debit card is required to start. Per the SBA Office of Advocacy, 99.8% of construction employers have fewer than 500 employees.
Stop chasing signatures. Start sending proposals clients can sign from their phone.
QuoteIQ turns any estimate into a branded, e-signed proposal, then carries it to scheduling, deposits, and invoicing. E-signed proposals start on Beginner at $99.99/mo; Pro at $199.99/mo adds Sign, Client Portal, and Job Costing.
Watch: What is QuoteIQ? (3-minute overview)
A short walkthrough of how QuoteIQ replaces the stack of disconnected tools most general contractors use to quote, get signatures, and invoice their jobs.
Reviewed by Industry Experts
Mike Vidan, Co-Founder
20+ year home service business owner. Built one of the largest pressure washing and home service contractor audiences on YouTube, teaching contractors how to start, scale, and operate service businesses.
Read full bio →Justin Rogers, Co-Founder
Serial entrepreneur and founder of the ForeverSelfEmployed brand. Built one of the most-watched YouTube channels in the home service industry, sharing real-world strategies for running profitable service businesses.
Read full bio →Real Home Service Business Reviews — 4.7★ across 4,100+ verified reviews
These are verified App Store reviews from home service business owners. See the review sourcing note above: none is presented as general-contractor-specific.
“Love this app so much, has given me the ability to weed out the not so serious customers by helping me quote remotely.”
“This app is great for small business owners trying to create a professional atmosphere for their business!”
“I’ve used many different apps to accomplish what QuoteIQ does all in one place.”
