Renovation software for estimating, variations and progress claims

Buildxact and CoConstruct are capable, focused tools: Buildxact is the more mature 2D plan tracer with live merchant price feeds, and CoConstruct has deeper client-communication and selections workflow than we do. What both leave to other software is payment collection and GST accounting, so you end up back in Xero and a camera roll for site photos. OneBookPlus takes the all-in-one route: estimating from a cost catalogue, scan-to-plan and AI plan takeoff, variations, PC and PS allowances, progress claims with retention, online payment and BAS-ready accounting in one platform, core from $0/month plus the Builder Suite estimating add-on at $99/month. When you compare, weigh the all-in monthly cost across the whole stack rather than the estimating-tool price on its own.

Yes, that's the everyday reno case, and Builder Suite is built for it. On an iPhone with LiDAR, scan the room on site with scan-to-plan and it captures the dimensions to pre-fill an estimate (the scan is approximate, within a few centimetres, great to start, and you refine on the canvas). No LiDAR on your phone? Snap a room photo and add measurements by hand. When there are drawings, an extension or a second storey, upload the PDF or a photo and AI measures the areas, runs and counts off it into a review queue you check line by line.

Variations are logged against the job with their scope and cost, sent to the client for approval with one tap, and added to the contract total once approved, with a full audit trail of what changed, when, and who signed off. Because renovations run into the unknown behind every wall, this is the single biggest protection for your margin: nothing extra gets done for free, and nothing gets forgotten when the final claim goes out.

Yes. Carry tiles, tapware, the vanity, the benchtop and appliances as prime-cost (PC) items and provisional sums (PS) in the estimate, so the client sees a clear allowance for the things they haven't chosen yet. When they upgrade, the imported stone instead of the allowance, the difference is captured as a variation, so your quote stays honest and your margin stays intact.

Yes. Run a whole-home reno or an extension on a schedule of works, deposit, demolition, frame, lock-up, fit-off, practical completion, and raise each stage as its own GST invoice that draws down the contract value. Retention is held and released automatically, and the balance owing is always clear, so cash keeps flowing through a job that runs for months instead of waiting for one invoice at the end. These are GST-compliant tax invoices structured as progress claims, not statutory Security of Payment Act claims.

Every quote, progress claim and invoice automatically calculates 10% GST, displays your ABN and builder licence number, and meets ATO tax-invoice requirements. Clients pay online by card or bank transfer, and at BAS time your GST summary, collected on claims, credits on materials and subbie invoices, exports in one click. This is general information about how the software works, not tax advice, confirm your specifics with your accountant or the ATO.

Builder Suite is the estimating and cost-control add-on for renovators and builders, scan-to-plan, AI plan takeoff, a cost catalogue and recipes, AI estimating, variations, PC/PS allowances, progress claims with retention, RFQs, a site diary and defects, plus live cost control against budget. It's $99/month on top of any core plan (Free, Starter, Plus or Growth), includes AI with fair-use, adds unlimited users with no per-seat fee, and starts with a 14-day free trial. You can read the full feature list on the Builder Suite app page.

Licensing for renovation and building work is set at state and territory level, and whether a licence is required depends on the work type and contract value, many jurisdictions require a building or trade contractor licence above a certain threshold, and home-warranty insurance may also be mandatory (for example NSW HBCF over $20,000, VIC Domestic Building Insurance over $16,000, QLD QBCC Home Warranty over $3,300). OneBookPlus shows your licence and warranty details on quotes and invoices where they apply. Always confirm the current requirements with your state or territory building regulator, QBCC (QLD), NSW Fair Trading, the VBA (VIC), Building & Energy (WA), CBS (SA), CBOS (TAS), Access Canberra (ACT) or NT's building regulator.

For residential renovators and remodellers, OneBookPlus is a practical Buildxact alternative. 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, scan-to-plan, AI plan takeoff, progress claims with retention, variations and GST-ready accounting into one platform, with the AI included in the Builder Suite price and clients able to pay claims online. We're upfront that Buildxact is the more mature 2D plan tracer with live merchant price feeds; our edge is one all-in-one subscription, scan-to-plan for renos without drawings, and 'pick one, find all' AI symbol counting on plans.

The core platform has a free plan, 10 invoices and 5 quotes a month with a small client list, which suits a sole-trader renovator getting started with jobs, invoicing and a booking page. Estimating features (scan-to-plan, plan takeoff, AI estimating, cost catalogue, variations and progress claims with retention) live in the Builder Suite add-on at $99/month, which starts with a 14-day free trial. There's no lock-in contract and you can export your data any time.

Stop, get it assessed, and price the remediation as its own variation before anyone goes further. Renovating pre-1990 housing means the possibility of asbestos in eaves, sheeting and floor coverings, and removal is regulated work with licensing and disposal requirements set by your state or territory work health and safety regulator, not something to absorb into a fixed price. Practically, the software side is simple: photograph the find against the job the moment you open the wall, log the stand-down and the variation with its own cost and client approval, and let the program shift so the trades behind it are rescheduled rather than turning up to a locked site. The job record then carries the evidence, the approval and the date, which is what you want if the delay is queried later. This is general information, not legal or safety advice; check the requirements with your regulator.

No, and treating them as one is a common way to lose track of a contract. A deposit is a payment on account taken before work starts, and the first progress claim is payment for a stage that has been completed. Keep them as separate invoices against the same job so the contract value, the amount already paid and the balance owing all stay legible, both to you and to the client who wants to know what they have paid for. Some states cap deposits on regulated residential building work and set out what a contract must contain, so confirm the rules your state or territory building regulator applies before you set a standard percentage. This is general information, not legal advice.

Carry the undecided items as prime cost and provisional sum allowances rather than guessing a number and hoping. A PC item is an allowance for a product that is specified but not selected, the tapware or the vanity, and a provisional sum covers work whose extent is not yet settled. Naming the allowance on the quote does two things: the client can see what budget has been set aside for their tiles, and when they choose imported stone instead, the difference is a variation with a price rather than an argument about what was implied. In OneBookPlus each allowance stays as its own line on the estimate, and approved variations adjust the contract value and flow into the next claim, so the running total is current at every stage.