Projects and bidding
A BuildingConnected alternative for pricing and running the work
BuildingConnected, part of Autodesk Construction Cloud, is a bid network. General contractors invite subcontractors, and subs sort invitations, share plans, and submit numbers. It is a marketplace and a bid board, not the system you fabricate and invoice in.
Searching for a BuildingConnected alternative usually means the bid tool was not the expensive part. The expensive part is everything after the invite: taking off the plans, pricing labor and material, then running the job if you win. TrueScope is that lighter operating system. It is not a public bid-invitation network, and it will not replace a GC’s invite list.
Relative cost for a small crew
BuildingConnected
Specialist software
TrueScope
$20 / full user
Longer bar means a heavier bill. TrueScope stays at $20. Confirm the other price on the vendor site.
Apps on a typical week
BuildingConnected plus
- Takeoff
- Shop
- Field
- Invoice
One subscription
TrueScope
Takeoff, shop, field, and books
Fit for a small contractor
BuildingConnectedTrueScope
Works on a Mac
Works on a phone
One app for the whole shop
More details
What BuildingConnected is built to do
BuildingConnected distributes bid invitations and documents. Its value is the network of general contractors. A small sub can spend the morning accepting invites and the afternoon retyping scope into a spreadsheet because the bid tool does not become the work order.
- A GC-facing invitation network you cannot recreate inside an ERP
- Bid leveling and risk tools aimed at preconstruction teams
- Autodesk Construction Cloud packaging that pulls you toward the rest of their stack
The lighter version for a small contractor
TrueScope starts where the PDF starts. Measure the set, build the estimate from your catalog, and if the job is yours, the lines are already a project, a BOM, and a schedule of values. You still answer the GC in whatever portal they use to collect the number.
Specialty contractors are rarely pure bidders. The same week they price a plan, they service a unit and cut parts in the shop. BuildingConnected does none of those. TrueScope turns modules on for the functions that company actually mixes.
Bids get reviewed away from the desk. Plan view and takeoff run on a Mac or a tablet, so a foreman can sanity-check a scope without a preconstruction analyst.
BuildingConnected is sold inside Autodesk’s construction cloud, often beside other paid Autodesk tools. TrueScope is $20 per full user a month for the work after the invitation arrives. Prices change. Check the vendor before you buy.
BuildingConnected and TrueScope side by side
Core job
BuildingConnected. Bid invitations and GC network
TrueScope. Takeoff, estimate, production, field, and invoice
Bid marketplace
BuildingConnected. Yes. That is the product
TrueScope. No. Submit numbers in the GC’s tool
Won job
BuildingConnected. Export and start over elsewhere
TrueScope. The estimate is already the job record
Shop and service
BuildingConnected. Out of scope
TrueScope. BOM, inventory, and dispatch included
Fit
BuildingConnected. Preconstruction teams on many invites
TrueScope. Small contractors who must also do the work
TrueScope features that cover this work
- Takeoffs
Price the invited set instead of guessing from the cover sheet.
- Projects
The awarded bid becomes the schedule and the logs.
- SOV billing
Bill the scope you priced, including retainage.
When BuildingConnected is still the right call
Keep BuildingConnected if the invitation network is how you find work. Add TrueScope so winning the bid does not mean rebuilding the job in four other apps. Do not expect TrueScope to be a GC bid board.
Questions small contractors ask
Does TrueScope replace BuildingConnected’s bid invites?
No. BuildingConnected is a network. TrueScope is the system that takes off, prices, and runs the job those invites describe.
Why do subs look for a BuildingConnected alternative?
The board does not fabricate, stock, or invoice. Small contractors want one app for the work the bid turns into, at a price that is not an enterprise construction-cloud bundle.
Can I estimate on a Mac?
Yes. Takeoff and proposals run in the browser on Mac, PC, and tablets.
$20 a full user. Every module.
Field contributors are $5. Mac, phone, and offline included.
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BuildingConnected is a trademark of its owner. TrueScope is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Bars show a relative picture for a small crew, not a live quote.