The construction industry has been infamous for lagging behind technology—plagued by slow productivity, fragmented workflows and razor-thin margins. That narrative is changing fast. A new wave of venture-backed startups is flooding the market with innovative tools designed for jobsite realities: messy data, complex crews, multi-entity accounting and all the other headaches contractors face daily.
The result? A full-blown construction tech renaissance. Contractors now have access to smarter software, more choice for contractors and measurable results for those who adopt wisely.
Follow the Money: Why This “Renaissance” Is Real
Investment is a reliable proxy for innovation. Contech—a.k.a. construction technology– commands a larger slice of venture capital than it did just a few years ago. According to Construction Dive, Contech investment in 2024 reached more than 1.1% of total VC spend, up from 0.6% in 2019—evidence that, despite headwinds, the category’s relative importance is rising.
With more funding in founders’ hands, tools for construction modernization are not only available—they’re multiplying. And contractors are taking notice. Persistent productivity gaps have long cost contractors millions in lost revenue.
Startups are capitalizing on this urgent need for better results and are innovating across the sector. For example, contech is bringing sourcing and procurement platforms like BuildVision and Kojo, AI project management tools like TrunkTools and data management solutions like Kroo. But here’s the catch: These platforms are only as strong as the data they run on. The old saying holds true—“messy in, messy out.” If your data isn’t clean, connected and flowing across systems, results will be harder to reach.
So, amid competing fires and constant demands, how does a contractor prioritize the business’s most critical need and vet solutions effectively? Enter: The Buyer’s Blueprint.
What Is ‘The Buyer’s Blueprint’?
In my three years leading sales at Trayd, I’ve seen both the best and worst software buying cycles. The difference comes down to one thing: preparedness.
With so many options on the market, selection discipline is your ultimate advantage.
Let’s take payroll and workforce management (which happens to be my specialty). Labor is the largest controllable cost for contractors—and the messiest—and it deserves that level of attention when vetting solutions. Today’s payroll platforms aren’t just “cutting checks.” They automate certified payroll, calculate multistate and local taxes, determine union rates and fringes and handle prevailing wage compliance and per-diem rules.
To make a smart choice—whether for payroll or any other critical software—you need to consider several factors, ask hard questions and be crystal clear on your business needs.
Here are some best practices when navigating a software purchase:
- Map your requirements before you shop.
Before conversations begin, document your current workflows—the systems and spreadsheets that help and the ones that slow you down. Then outline your target workflows by phase (precon → operations → closeout) and function (field, office and finance). Classify each as “Must-Have,” “Should-Have,” or “Nice-to-Have,” and tie every “Must-Have: to a measurable outcome (e.g., “reduce certified payroll prep from 8 hours to 10 minutes”).
*Pro tip: Your mapped requirements become your decision scorecard—not the vendor’s demo script. - Be upfront about existing systems.
Disclose early what tools you’ve already invested in and what integrations are essential. For your current ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning system) or system of record, clarify: Where is data mastered? On-prem or in the cloud? API (Application Programming Interface) -first or flat file transfers?
*Pro tip: Verify a live integration with your ERP, payroll and project management tools—not just a promise on a roadmap. - Test the messy edge cases.
Every contractor has quirks: union rules, prevailing wage mandates, retro pay adjustments, mid-job rate changes, voids and more. Bring these scenarios into vendor demos and insist on seeing how the system handles them.
*Pro tip: Look for flexibility in pay-rate handling and confirm your vendor has solved for your specific scenarios before. - Lock down security and compliance.
Request SOC 2 Type II (or ISO 27001) certification, data retention and deletion policies, audit logging and role-based access controls. For payroll/HR, confirm how SSNs are stored, how I-9s are handled and whether certified payroll files meet jurisdiction requirements.
*Pro tip: Your employee data is your most sensitive asset—if a partner treats it that way, they’re worth your trust. - Launch with purpose.
Before you go-live, define a clear migration and rollout plan with ownership, timelines and success metrics. Set specific, measurable goals for the first four weeks post-launch—such as error rate reduction, processing time savings or adoption targets—and review them weekly. A strong start prevents small issues from becoming long-term headaches.
*Pro tip: Stay engaged during and after migration. Partner closely with your vendor to give your team the best chance of success.
Closing the Loop—and the Deal
Today, construction is embracing advancements that once left the industry behind.
Venture capital, specialized tools and an urgency to close long-standing productivity gaps have created a once-in-a-generation opportunity for forward-thinking contractors.
But abundance can be a double-edged sword. The winners will be those who buy with intention: mapping real needs, protecting data, demanding integrations, stress-testing edge cases and launching with measurable goals.In short: slow down, do the hard work upfront and hold every vendor (including me) to a high bar.
Author
Anna Berger is the founder and CEO of Trayd, a venture-backed platform modernizing payroll, HR and compliance for specialty contractors. Growing up in a construction family, Anna saw how back-office inefficiencies drained time and profit from the trades. That experience shaped her mission to build Trayd into the industry’s single operating system—streamlining people, payroll and field management in one place. Backed by Suffolk Technologies, Bloomberg Beta and Y Combinator, Trayd has raised $4.5M to date. Based in New York City, Anna and her team are reimagining what’s possible when contractors can focus on what they do best—building. Learn more about Trayd.
Anna will be speaking on the Innovation Stage at Blueprint Vegas 2025, September 16-18 at The Venetian Las Vegas. Don’t miss her session on Thursday the 18th! Receive a special $300 discount on your Blueprint registration: BluprintVegas.com/NAR
Sharon Love-Bates, NAR’s Director of Emerging Technology, will also be hosting a private roundtable specifically for general contractors. If you are a GC who would like to join this discussion, Blueprint has a few complimentary passes left for chosen participants.
Already planning to attend Blueprint? Check out these related sessions on Tuesday, Sept. 16 :
- How the New Wave of Robotics Is Transforming Construction: 2:40 – 3:15 pm
- Bots on Job Sites: The Journey From Innovation to Implementation: 3:15 – 3:50 pm
- The Coming Wave of AI Applications in the Construction Sector: 3:50 – 4:25 pm
- What AI is Actually Changing in Construction: 4:25 – 5 pm
