Industry guide
What does custom contractor software built by Black Badger involve?
Black Badger Software Solutions publishes this guide and builds custom software for specialty contractors, which is why a custom build appears on every list here. We build the system around the way your trade works, you own the code and the accounts, and there is no per-seat fee.
Who a custom contractor system is for
A custom contractor system is for specialty contractors who have been told, more than once, that no product fits their trade. The usual signs are a spreadsheet that holds the working schedule, field tickets on paper, and an office that enters everything twice.
We work mainly with companies of 50 or more employees, with several crews and several jobs running at once. A smaller contractor is usually better served by a product, and we say so when that is the case.
What we build for trades
We build crew scheduling and dispatch that follow your own rules. Field tickets, inspections and time entry run on a phone. Tracking is built around the thing your trade tracks, whether that is a unit under contract, a fabricated piece or a roof.
We build a customer portal where owners and general contractors can see status, reports and documents without calling the office. We also build integrations with the accounting system you keep, QuickBooks included, so a number is entered once.
How Black Badger builds a custom contractor system
A build starts with a conversation and then discovery, where we follow a job and a service call through your company from first contact to final invoice. You get a written scope that names what will be built, the cost and the schedule, before anything is signed.
During the build you see working screens and your foremen try them. Your data is moved across and checked. At handover every account the system runs on is already in your name.
What you own when a custom contractor system is finished
You own the source code, the database and the hosting account. Black Badger is invited in as an administrator and you can remove us whenever you choose.
There are no licenses. After launch you pay the running costs of the services the system uses, and adding a technician or a foreman costs nothing.
Why Black Badger ranks where it does on Best Software for Specialty Contractors
We spent years implementing and migrating business platforms before we moved to building custom systems, so we know what configuring a product can and cannot do for a contractor.
We rank the custom route first on only two lists here, elevator and steel, where the products we cover fit least. On every other list a product is first, and we name it.
Read more on blackbadger.biz
Ask Black Badger about a custom build
Questions buyers ask
What does custom contractor software cost?
We do not publish a cost for custom contractor software. The number depends on what the system has to do, how many crews use it and what it must connect to. We start from what you already pay in software fees each year and scope a one-time build against it. A written scope gives you a firm number.
Can Black Badger build software for an unusual trade it has not worked in?
Yes, Black Badger can build software for a trade it has not worked in. Discovery exists so we learn your trade from the people who run it before anything is designed. An unusual workflow is the reason to build.
Does Black Badger implement products such as BuildOps or ServiceTitan?
No, we do not implement or resell BuildOps, ServiceTitan or any other product on these lists. If one of them fits your situation we will say so, and the first call is free.