Why Subs Switch From GC Software | SubTrade
For Subcontractors, By a Subcontractor

You're a sub.
So why are you paying for GC software?

Most construction software was built for the general contractor's office. You're paying for modules your crews will never open. SubTrade does the field work subs actually do, and nothing you don't.

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No credit card. Set up in an afternoon, not a quarter.

Sound familiar?

The Price

You're quoted GC pricing for sub work. Per project, per module, per user. The bill looks like it was written for a company ten times your size.

The Bloat

Bid management. Owner reporting. Prequalification portals. Tools built for the GC's office, sitting in your menu, padding your invoice.

The Field

Your guys are on a scaffold with gloves on. If the app takes more than two taps to clock in or log a day, it doesn't get used. Then the office is blind again.

The Spec Sheet

GC software vs. SubTrade

Same category on paper. Built for completely different companies. Here's what changes when the software is designed around how a trade contractor actually runs work.

GC Software
SubTrade
Built for
The general contractor's project management office
✓Trade subcontractors running crews in the field
Pricing logic
Per project or annual contracts sized for GCs, with modules sold separately
✓Simple subscription sized for a sub's business
Setup
Implementation timelines, onboarding calls, sometimes a consultant
✓Create your account, add your crews, start the same day
Who actually uses it
Project managers and coordinators at a desk
✓Foremen and crews on their phones, gloves on
Change orders
Routed through the GC's workflow, on the GC's terms
✓Built from your side: document it, price it, send it, track it
Getting paid
Owner billing and GC pay apps, with the sub as a line item
✓Progress billing built around how subs invoice up the chain
What you pay for
✗Bid rooms, prequal portals, owner dashboards you'll never open
✓Only the tools a trade contractor uses every week
What's In The Box

Everything your crews need.
Nothing the GC's office needs.

One app for the field and the office. Every feature below is included, and every one of them exists because a trade contractor needed it on a real job.

Time Tracking

GPS clock-in tied to jobs, so hours land on the right project automatically.

Job Costing

See labour burn against each job while you can still do something about it.

Crew Scheduling

Move crews between sites and everyone knows where they're going tomorrow.

Change Orders

Document the extra, price it, and get it in front of the GC before it's forgotten.

Daily Logs

Weather, manpower, work done. A defensible record for every site, every day.

Drawings & Markups

Current drawings on every phone, marked up where the work actually is.

Progress Billing

Bill the percentage complete, track what's outstanding, keep cash moving.

GPS Photos

Site photos stamped with time and location. Proof, not arguments.

Tasks & Punch Lists

Kanban boards and punch lists that close out instead of piling up.

RFIs & Submittals

Send them, track them, and have the paper trail when it matters.

Purchase Orders

Material orders tied to jobs, so costs land where they belong.

Safety & Forms

Toolbox talks, hazard assessments, and custom forms your crews fill on site.

Straight answer on what we don't do: SubTrade isn't accounting software. If you need payroll processing, keep the tools you have for that. SubTrade runs everything between winning the job and getting paid for it, and with estimating and bid management on the way, soon it'll help you win the job too.

Why It's Different

Built by a sub who still runs crews

SubTrade wasn't designed in a boardroom by people who've never hung a sheet of drywall. It was built inside a working commercial drywall and steel stud company in Calgary, by a contractor who got tired of paying for software that treated subs like an afterthought.

Every feature was tested on real jobs with real crews before it shipped. If it didn't survive a jobsite, it didn't make it into the app.

Fabian Vargas GarciaCo-Founder, SubTrade · President, Quality Gypsum Services Ltd.

Field-tested means:

  • Clock-in that works with gloves on
  • Daily logs a foreman finishes before his coffee's cold
  • Change orders captured the day the extra happens
  • Billing that matches how subs actually invoice GCs
  • Made in Canada, for Canadian trade contractors

Switching is the easy part

Set up your jobs and crews in an afternoon. Run it next to your current software for a week. Keep whichever one your crews actually use.

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