Construction management software in India: an honest shortlist

Three kinds of software get called "construction software" #

Site apps such as Onsite and Powerplay start from the site: daily attendance, labour payments, material requests and stock at site, photos and issues. They are quick to roll out to supervisors. Most leave the books, GST returns and TDS to an accounting package.

Accounting software such as TallyPrime, BUSY or Zoho Books keeps the ledger, GST and TDS correct. It knows nothing about a BOQ, a measurement or an RA bill, so project cost is worked out in Excel from what the site sends.

An ERP holds both: the BOQ, what was measured and billed, what the site consumed and paid, and the ledger those entries post to. ERPNext and Odoo can be configured for construction; Rebota ships with it.

None of the three is right for everyone. The question is where your money leaks today: on site (labour and material), in billing (RA bills, retention, advances), or in the books.

What a contractor's system has to do #

• BOQ to RA bill. Quantities measured against the BOQ, the RA bill raised from them, with retention, mobilisation-advance recovery and earlier bills carried forward.
• Works-contract GST and TDS. GST on each bill, and TDS on contractor payments (section 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025; section 194C before 1 April 2026) on the bills you receive from sub-contractors.
• Labour. Attendance by worker or gang, wages and advances, and the cost landing on the right project.
• Material. Indent, purchase order, receipt at site and consumption, so wastage shows against the BOQ quantity.
• Sub-contractors. Work orders, their bills and the retention you hold from them.
• Books your CA accepts. A ledger, GST returns, and a way to give the accountant what they need at year end.

Take this list into every demo and ask to see each step on one sample project, end to end.

The shortlist #

Onsite (onsiteteams.com). A site-first app with labour attendance and salary, material requests and inventory, tasks, snag lists and sub-contractor work orders with RA billing on the Business plan. BOQ and client RA bills, budget control, purchase orders and staff payroll are on Business+. Accounting integration with Tally or Zoho is on Enterprise or an add-on. Prices are per user per year; there is a free demo, not a free trial.

Powerplay (getpowerplay.in). A site-team app: project and work tracking, material at site, labour attendance and payroll, issues, reports and petty cash. It does not publish prices; you request a demo. Its home page does not mention accounting, GST invoicing, BOQ or RA bills, so ask about them directly.

TallyPrime. The books, GST and TDS, and the package almost every Indian CA can open. No BOQ, measurement or RA bill; contractors usually pair it with Excel or a site app. Prices compared on Tally vs BUSY.

ERPNext. Open source (GPL-3.0) with projects, purchase, stock and accounts. Construction billing has to be set up, so it suits a firm with someone who can configure it. Costs on Odoo vs ERPNext.

Rebota. One system for the BOQ, RA bills with retention and advances, sub-contract work orders, labour attendance and wages, purchase, site stock, GST invoicing with e-invoice and e-way bill, and the accounts. It imports Tally data free. After the 15-day trial it stays free for 1 user and 30 GST invoices a month.

Five people, one year, in rupees #

A contractor with an owner, an accountant, a purchase person and two site engineers, before GST:

• Onsite Business+ (the plan with BOQ and RA bills): 5 × ₹15,000 = ₹75,000 a year. Business without BOQ: 5 × ₹12,000 = ₹60,000. Add ₹20,000 a year plus ₹5,000 maintenance if you want it to talk to Tally.
• Powerplay: no published price; ask for a written quote for five users.
• TallyPrime Gold for the office: ₹67,500 once, then ₹13,500 a year for TSS. This covers the books only; the site still needs something.
• ERPNext on Frappe Cloud: hosting from ₹410 a month, plus whoever sets it up for construction.
• Rebota Starter: ₹9,832 for the first year, then ₹11,990 a year, for up to 5 users with every module. Plans never renew automatically.

Prices checked on the vendors' own pages: Onsite pricing and Powerplay on 24 October 2026; Tally's cost guide and Frappe Cloud pricing on 20 October 2026. Onsite's plan cards show a 5-user minimum and its FAQ a 3-user minimum; confirm with them. Rebota's price is from rebota.in/pricing.

Where the others are the better choice #

If attendance by GPS or face matters most, Onsite sells it (Enterprise, or a ₹20,000 a year add-on) and Rebota does not. If your supervisors only need a simple phone app and your accountant will not leave Tally, a site app plus Tally is a sensible setup, as long as you accept re-typing bills or pay for the integration.

If you have a developer and want to own and change the code, ERPNext is the honest pick. If you are a large developer with sales, bookings and RERA reporting, look at real-estate ERPs; Rebota is aimed at small and mid-sized contractors and builders.

In every demo, ask the vendor to take one sample BOQ item from measurement to RA bill to the client's payment with retention held, then show where that entry sits in the ledger and the GST return. A system that needs a spreadsheet anywhere in that chain will need it every month.

• Write down where money leaks today: labour, material, billing or books.
• Count the users you will have in a year, and price every option for that number.
• In each demo, take one BOQ item from measurement to RA bill to payment with retention.
• Ask how TDS on sub-contractor bills and works-contract GST are recorded.
• Ask your CA what they need at year end, and check each option can give it.
• Work out retention due to you with the Retention Money Calculator.