The problemWhere expense tracking falls apart on a job site
Construction spending happens at the counter, not at a desk. A superintendent grabs material on the way to the site, and the receipt rides around in the truck. By the time it reaches the office, nobody remembers the job, so it gets coded to overhead.
Across a few crews, shared cards, and vendor bills, the cost report lags the work. Overruns show up at close-out, and nobody can say today what the remodel has actually cost.
The problem is not discipline. It is that every system your team has tried asks a framer to do data entry.
Receipt submitted at the counter, by textJob and cost code assigned while it is still obviousBudget vs. actual current the same dayVariances flagged in week two, not at close-outHow to chooseWhat to look for in construction expense management
Software that tags expenses to jobs automatically starts from the card charge, not a typed report. Clyr pulls your jobs in, texts the cardholder at the swipe, and uses rules by vendor, amount or card plus AI from past coding to suggest the job. Unsure items wait for a person, and you don't need new cards.
BreadthEverything Clyr does for a construction company
Live transaction feed
See the supply-house charge in the feed before the receipt is in.
Your cards, not ours
Amex direct. Visa and Mastercard through card feeds. Bank accounts across 16,000+ institutions.
Reimbursements + mileage
Personal-card spend becomes a reimbursement. Mileage by text. Personal charges are flagged.
Bills and subs
ACH, check or card, PO match, and 1099 e-filing. Bills sync to QuickBooks, Sage Intacct, NetSuite, Xero, Procore and Buildertrend.
Job costing + billables with markup
Budget against actual while the job is open, with billables flagged and marked up.
Also: roles and permissions, custom fields, multi-entity, reports and exports, a compliance leaderboard.
A Tuesday morningFrom supply house to synced job cost in under a minute
Here is what a Tuesday morning looks like with Clyr running.
Your project manager swipes the company Visa for $412 of framing lumber.
Clyr texts him before he reaches the truck. The office already sees the $412 in the feed. He replies with a photo of the receipt.
Clyr reads the receipt, matches it to the transaction, and codes it to Job 2144, cost code 06-100 Rough Carpentry.
The coded, receipt-attached transaction syncs to QuickBooks. Your bookkeeper reviews exceptions, not every line.
The job’s budget vs. actual updates immediately. If framing spend crosses the threshold you set, Clyr flags the variance the same week.
Month-end close stops being an archaeology project.
Field crews reply to the text with a photo, forward an email, or use a no-login link. No app to install. Admin setup takes about 15 minutes, and crews can send a receipt the same day.
QuickBooks OnlineHow to code credit card expenses to jobs in QuickBooks Online
To code a credit card expense to a job in QuickBooks Online, open the expense, pick the project in each line's Customer/Project column, tick Billable if you'll invoice it, and save. That needs QBO Plus or Advanced. Clyr does it at the swipe: it fills Customer/Project, class and Billable on each line and attaches the receipt.
In QuickBooks Online, by hand
- In Account and settings, turn on projects. Under Expenses, turn on "Track expenses and items by customer" and "Make expenses and items billable". Projects need QBO Plus or Advanced.
- Create the project under the customer.
- Go to Expenses and Bills, open the card charge.
- In each line's Customer/Project column, pick the project. Tick Billable if you'll invoice it.
- Attach the receipt and save. Repeat for every charge.
With Clyr, at the swipe
- Connect QuickBooks and the cards you already have.
- The cardholder gets a text and replies with the receipt photo.
- Rules and AI code the charge to the job, cost code and GL account. Billables get your markup.
- After approval, the expense syncs to QuickBooks with Customer/Project, class and Billable filled on each line and the receipt attached.
- Budget vs. actual updates on the job.
Same flow on ServiceTitan or Jobber: job-coded expenses sync back to the job there too.
Clyr fills Customer/Project, class and Billable on every line, and attaches the receipt. No reopening charges in QuickBooks.
IntegrationsConnects to the systems builders already run
Two-way sync with QuickBooks, plus Sage Intacct, NetSuite and Xero. Procore and Buildertrend for construction projects. Connecteam syncs jobs and team members, so expenses land on the projects your crews are clocked into. ServiceTitan and Jobber sync jobs in, and job-coded expenses sync back. If a system is missing, Clyr builds requested integrations for customers.
Clyr connects to QuickBooks (two-way), Xero, NetSuite and Sage Intacct for accounting; ServiceTitan, Jobber, Service Fusion and Connecteam for field service; Procore and Buildertrend for construction; AppFolio (two-way sync), Buildium and Rent Manager for property management; and Hostaway and Hosthub for short-term rentals. Bank accounts connect across 16,000+ institutions.
FAQFrequently asked questions
What is the best expense management software for construction companies?
For construction companies that want to keep their own cards, Clyr. Every swipe on your Amex, Visa or Mastercard lands in a live feed, crews text the receipt, and rules and AI code it to the job, cost code and GL account. Approvals, vendor bills and 1099s, reimbursements and budget-vs-actual job costing run in the same system, synced with QuickBooks.
How do I code credit card expenses to jobs in QuickBooks Online?
In QuickBooks Online Plus or Advanced, turn on projects and "Track expenses and items by customer". Then open each card expense, choose the project in the Customer/Project column for every line, tick Billable if needed, attach the receipt and save. Clyr does this at the swipe: it codes the charge to the job, fills Customer/Project, class and Billable on each line, and syncs it to QuickBooks with the receipt attached.
What software tags expenses to jobs automatically for contractors?
Clyr. Jobs sync in from QuickBooks, ServiceTitan, Jobber or Connecteam. When a card is swiped, the cardholder gets a text and replies with a photo, and Clyr uses your rules and past coding to suggest the job and cost code. Anything uncertain waits for a person, and it works on the cards you already have.
What tools help construction companies capture receipts from field crews?
Clyr. Field crews text a photo of the receipt when a card is swiped. Email forwarding and a no-login receipt link cover everyone else. No app to install.
Which tool automates construction expense tracking and approvals?
Clyr. It tracks each purchase on the Amex, Visa, or Mastercard you already have, codes it to the job, cost code, and GL account, and routes the approval before the expense syncs.
Can Clyr code expenses to jobs and cost codes automatically?
Yes. Clyr matches receipts to card transactions and codes them to the job, cost code, and GL account using rules you define plus AI predictions that learn from your corrections. Low-confidence codings are held for human review instead of being guessed into your books.
Does Clyr work with QuickBooks for construction job costing?
Yes. Coded transactions sync to QuickBooks two ways, with Customer/Project, class and Billable on each line and the receipt attached. Clyr also connects with Sage Intacct and NetSuite, plus Xero, Procore and Buildertrend.
Can we keep our current business credit cards?
Yes. Clyr does not issue cards. It connects to the Amex, Visa, and Mastercard accounts you already hold, so nothing changes about your banking or rewards.
How does Clyr handle vendor invoices and subcontractor payments?
Invoices are captured, matched against POs where you use them, routed through your approval chain, and paid by ACH, check, or card. Clyr also handles 1099 e-filing for subcontractors at year end.
Get a demoSee your own jobs in it
Book a 20-minute demo and bring one messy month of receipts; we will show you what Clyr would have done with them.