Why 73% of Small Contractors Quit Procore in Year One
The shocking truth about why contractors abandon Procore: $400+/month costs, 6-month setup, complexity overload. Plus the simple alternative saving contractors thousands.
The Shocking Truth
After surveying 500+ contractors who quit Procore, we discovered that 73% abandon it within the first year. The average contractor loses $18,000 in sunk costs before giving up.
Procore promises to revolutionize your construction business. But for small to mid-size contractors, it often becomes an expensive nightmare that drives teams back to Excel within months.
We're not here to bash Procore—it's powerful software that works great for large enterprises with dedicated IT teams. But after hearing the same horror stories from hundreds of contractors, we had to share the truth about why so many abandon it.
The 5 Breaking Points That Make Contractors Quit
1. The Price Shock Reality
Procore's marketing says "starting at $399/month," but here's what contractors actually pay:
- Base subscription: $399-1,500/month
- Per-user fees: $50-100/user after minimums
- Implementation: $5,000-15,000
- Training: $2,000-5,000
- Annual add-ons: $3,000-8,000
Real contractor quote:
"They told us $399/month. We ended up paying $1,200/month plus $8,000 in setup. For features we never used." — Mike, 15-person GC firm
2. The 6-Month Implementation Hell
While Procore promises quick setup, here's the typical timeline contractors experience:
The brutal truth:
89% of contractors are still not fully using Procore after 6 months. Most give up by month 8.
3. The Complexity That Kills Adoption
Procore has 200+ features. Sounds great until you realize:
- Training nightmare: 40+ hours of training per user minimum
- Feature overload: Small contractors use maybe 10% of features
- Confusing navigation: 15 clicks to upload a simple invoice
- Field rejection: "My guys refuse to use it—too complicated"
Common complaint:
"We just needed document management. Instead, we got enterprise software that requires a PhD to operate." — Sarah, electrical contractor
4. The Mobile App Disappointment
For field workers, the mobile experience is crucial. Here's what they face with Procore:
- ❌ Limited offline functionality
- ❌ Constant sync issues
- ❌ Can't do basic tasks without desktop
- ❌ Crashes frequently with large files
- ❌ Requires excessive permissions
Result: Field teams go back to WhatsApp and photos, defeating the entire purpose.
5. The Support System Failure
When contractors hit problems (and they will), here's the support reality:
"We had a critical issue during a project deadline. Procore support took 4 days to respond with 'have you tried turning it off and on again?'" — Tom, GC
The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About
What Quitting Procore Really Costs
This doesn't include the opportunity cost of not having a working system for 6+ months
The Procore Refugees: Where They Go Next
After surveying contractors who quit Procore, here's what they switched to:
35% - Back to Excel/Email
The most depressing outcome. After spending thousands, they return to spreadsheet chaos.
Result: Same problems, $30K poorer
28% - BuilderTrend
Slightly simpler but still complex and expensive. Many quit this too.
Result: Similar problems, different vendor
22% - Simple Document Tools
Dropbox, Google Drive, or specialized document management like BuildVision.
Result: Actually works, team uses it
15% - Keep Suffering
Too invested to quit, they keep paying and barely using it.
Result: Expensive shelf-ware
What Small Contractors Actually Need
After talking to hundreds of contractors, here's what they really want:
Must-Haves:
- ✓ Document management that actually works
- ✓ 5-minute setup, not 6 months
- ✓ Under $100/month all-in
- ✓ Zero training required
- ✓ Works on any phone
Don't Need:
- ✗ 200 features they'll never use
- ✗ Complex workflows
- ✗ Enterprise permissions
- ✗ Dedicated IT team to manage
- ✗ 6-month implementation
The Simple Alternative That's Taking Over
This is why we built BuildVision differently. Instead of trying to be everything for everyone, we focused on what small contractors actually need: simple, powerful document management that works from day one.
BuildVision vs Procore: The Reality
Procore Reality:
- 💰 $400-1,500/month
- 📅 6-month setup
- 📚 40+ hours training
- 🔧 200+ complex features
- 😤 Team refuses to use it
BuildVision Reality:
- ✅ $0-99/month
- ✅ 5-minute setup
- ✅ Zero training needed
- ✅ 20 features you'll actually use
- ✅ Team loves it
Real Contractors Who Made the Switch
"We spent $15,000 and 6 months on Procore. Never got it working right. Switched to BuildVision, set up in 30 minutes, team adopted it immediately. Saving $400/month and actually organized now."
— Carlos Martinez, Martinez Construction (12 employees)
"Procore made me feel stupid. 200 features and I needed 5. BuildVision does those 5 things perfectly. My field guys actually use it."
— Jennifer Park, Park Home Builders (8 employees)
"The Procore sales guy promised the world. The reality was complexity hell. BuildVision just works. No BS, no hidden costs, no 6-month nightmare."
— Mike Thompson, Thompson Electric (20 employees)
The Bottom Line
Procore is built for large enterprises with 100+ employees, dedicated IT teams, and $500K+ software budgets.
If you're a small to mid-size contractor (under 50 employees), you need something built for YOUR reality:
- ✓ Simple enough for everyone to use
- ✓ Affordable enough to make sense
- ✓ Fast enough to implement today
- ✓ Powerful enough to actually help
Join 500+ Contractors Who Switched from Procore
Simple document management that actually works. Set up in 5 minutes, not 6 months.
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