QuickBooks is general-purpose accounting software — excellent for bookkeeping, invoicing, and taxes. Contractor Profitability Suite is purpose-built for contractors who need per-job profitability and change order profit tracking, which QuickBooks handles only at a basic level or not at all.
| Feature | Contractor Profitability Suite | QuickBooks |
|---|---|---|
| Job costing depth | Per-job cost tracking with burdened labor, materials, subs, equipment, overhead, and live variance vs. estimate. | General accounting with basic job costing via classes/projects; no burdened labor detail. |
| Change order tracking | Full change-order lifecycle with built-in burden, markup, overhead, tax, e-signature approval, and per-CO profit tracking. | No change order tracking — handled as invoices or estimates. |
| Profit leakage detection | Automatic flags for missing burden, low markup, margin below target, and category variance over estimate. | No automatic profit leakage detection. |
| Pricing model analysis | Dedicated pricing-model analyzer and break-even tooling to validate margin before you quote. | No dedicated pricing-model or margin analysis tooling. |
| Labor burden calculator | Purpose-built labor burden calculator (payroll tax + workers' comp + general liability + benefits). | No built-in labor burden calculator. |
| Ease of setup | Built for profitability tracking — set up in minutes with no schedule/dispatch configuration. | Familiar accounting setup; profitability tracking requires manual reports. |
| Starting price | $19/mo Starter · $39/mo Pro | See QuickBooks' website for current pricing. |
If you need full general ledger accounting, payroll, and tax-ready bookkeeping, QuickBooks is the stronger choice. CPS is built specifically for job profitability and change order tracking — many contractors run QuickBooks for accounting and CPS for margin control.
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