Project & Invoicing Software for Builders

The best accounting software for an Australian builder ties GST-ready bookkeeping to the way builds actually invoice — progress claims at slab, frame, lock-up, fix and completion, plus variations and subcontractor payments. Xero and MYOB are the standard accounting packages but don't model progress billing or job costing on their own, so builders bolt on a separate estimating or job-management tool. OneBookPlus combines progress-claim invoicing, variation tracking, subcontractor management, job-level cost tracking and BAS-ready accounting in one platform from $0/month — fewer tools to reconcile at month's end.

Yes — for residential and small-commercial builders, OneBookPlus is a practical simPRO or AroFlo alternative. simPRO and AroFlo are powerful for large contracting firms with deep inventory and project-accounting needs, and we don't claim to match that enterprise depth. OneBookPlus is aimed at builders who want progress billing, variations, subcontractor tracking, site photos and GST invoicing in one affordable subscription that starts free — without enterprise onboarding or per-seat pricing.

Yes — our free plan includes 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month and up to 250 contacts. Great for sole trader builders or small residential builders getting started. Upgrade to Starter ($29/mo) for unlimited invoices and quotes as your building business grows.

Every progress claim automatically calculates 10% GST, displays your ABN and builder licence number, and meets ATO requirements. Invoice at each project milestone — slab, frame, lock-up, fix, completion. At BAS time, export a GST summary in one click.

Yes. Log variations with costs, get client approval, and add them to the project total. Every variation includes a full audit trail — what changed, when, who approved it, and how it affects the project price.

Absolutely. Track subbies assigned to each project stage, log their quotes and invoices, and monitor payment status. You always know who's been paid and who's outstanding across every active build.

Yes. Take progress photos on-site and attach them directly to the project record. Photos are timestamped and organised by build phase — perfect for client updates, council inspections, and your own records.

Yes. Store your state home warranty insurance certificate against each contract — NSW HBCF (via icare) for residential work over $20,000, VIC Domestic Building Insurance for work over $16,000, QLD QBCC Home Warranty Scheme for work over $3,300, and equivalents in SA, WA and TAS. Attach NCC Volume 1 (Class 2–9) or Volume 2 (Class 1 & 10) compliance notes, NatHERS energy ratings (7-star minimum under NCC 2022), and engineer-stamped certificates for AS 1684 timber framing, AS 3600 concrete, AS 3700 masonry, AS 4100 steel and AS 1170 wind/structural loads — all linked to the job for council, certifier and insurer access.

Yes. Build estimates from a cost catalogue and reusable recipes (assemblies), with markup or margin, wastage and PC/PS allowances, then convert an accepted estimate straight into a contract job that bills by progress claim. You can also upload a plan and have AI read the measured quantities off it into a review queue you check line by line. Unlike Buildxact, the estimating, invoicing, online payments and GST accounting all live in the one platform — clients can pay a progress claim online, and it's not a separate tool to reconcile.

Yes — and it's included, not a paid add-on. Describe a job in plain words (or speak it) and a full sectioned estimate streams in, priced from your own cost catalogue and calibrated to what you actually pay your suppliers. Or upload a plan (PDF or photo) and AI measures the room areas, wall lengths and counts off it, drawing each one onto the plan with a confidence score — you can zoom, pan and drag any measurement to correct it, and tap a single symbol to have it find and count every other one. A separate AI reviewer checks a drafted estimate for missing items, pricing outliers and Australian compliance gaps — termite management to AS 3660, waterproofing to AS 3740, smoke alarms, NCC energy efficiency — and lets you add anything it finds with one tap. You review and adjust every line before anything is sent; the AI does the first draft, you make the call.

Yes. Photograph the work as it progresses and AI reads the photos against your job's schedule of values, suggesting a percent complete for each stage — frame, roof, lock-up — with a short reason for each. It drafts the claim; you review and adjust every stage, and nothing is billed until you send it. The claim materialises as a GST-compliant progress-claim invoice (with retention withheld if you use it) that your client can pay online.

Buildxact is a capable estimating and job-management tool, but it has no built-in payment collection, a tax-exclusive-only engine, and its AI estimating is a paid add-on. OneBookPlus builds the estimating, AI plan takeoff, progress claims with retention, variations, subcontractor tracking and GST-ready accounting into one platform — with the AI included in the plan price and clients able to pay progress claims online. A few things Buildxact can't do: tap one symbol on a plan and have AI find and count every other one (their counting is click-by-click), turn site photos into a drafted progress claim, and calibrate estimate pricing to your own recent supplier costs. You can export your data any time, so there's no lock-in.