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Construction · head to head

Foundation Software vs Kojo

Foundation Software logo

Foundation Software

Construction

Job cost accounting and construction payroll for contractors running certified and union jobs

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Kojo logo

Kojo

Construction

Materials procurement and inventory for speciality trade contractors

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Foundation Software no pricing is published anywhere, so shortlisting requires sitting through a sales process before you know whether the product is within budget at all.; Kojo benefits depend on distributors providing electronic catalogues and pricing, and a contractor whose main supplier will not participate is left keying quotes by hand.
  • They diverge on capability: Foundation Software covers Job costing, Kojo covers Field material requests.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Foundation Software and Kojo actually diverge.

Attributes where Foundation Software and Kojo differ
AttributeFoundation SoftwareKojo
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Construction).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Foundation Software

  • Job costing
  • Certified payroll
  • Union payroll
  • AIA billing
  • Equipment costing
  • Service dispatch
  • Mobile time entry
  • Executive dashboards

Only in Kojo

  • Field material requests
  • Multi-supplier quoting
  • Purchase order management
  • Inventory and warehouse
  • Committed cost visibility
  • Enterprise resource planning integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Foundation Software

  • A union electrical or mechanical contractor whose payroll spans several trades and fringe schedules in the same weeknot Kojo
  • A general contractor bidding federally funded work that requires weekly certified payroll filingsnot Kojo
  • A contractor whose QuickBooks file has outgrown job costing and who is reconciling work in progress in spreadsheetsnot Kojo
  • A firm with owned plant that needs equipment hours costed back to jobs to see true contract marginnot Kojo

Kojo

  • An electrical or mechanical contractor where materials are close to half of job cost and buying happens dailynot Foundation Software
  • A trade contractor that cannot see committed material cost against a job until the invoice arrivesnot Foundation Software
  • A contractor consolidating purchasing across branches to negotiate better distributor pricingnot Foundation Software
  • A subcontractor tracking warehouse stock and job transfers that currently live in a spreadsheetnot Foundation Software

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Foundation Software

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so shortlisting requires sitting through a sales process before you know whether the product is within budget at all.
  • Implementation, data conversion and training are billed separately from the licence and routinely run into five figures, which buyers comparing monthly software subscriptions do not budget for.
  • The payroll compliance engine is built for United States federal and state law, so the product has essentially no value to contractors outside the US.
  • The interface is a long-lived Windows-style application, and staff hired from cloud-native tools find it slow to learn compared with Buildertrend or Procore.
  • Project management, document control and field collaboration are weaker than the dedicated construction platforms, so most sites end up running Foundation for money and something else for the job, and paying twice.

Kojo

  • Benefits depend on distributors providing electronic catalogues and pricing, and a contractor whose main supplier will not participate is left keying quotes by hand.
  • It serves speciality trade contractors; general contractors procure subcontracts rather than materials and get almost nothing from it.
  • Enterprise resource planning integration quality varies by system and version, so confirm the depth for your exact configuration rather than accepting the logo on the website.
  • Field adoption is the whole game, and foremen who lose signal in a plant room or basement revert to phoning the office within days unless offline capture genuinely works.
  • It changes purchasing process as well as software, so contractors whose buying authority is informal have to formalise who can commit money before the system produces clean data.

Pricing, plan by plan

Foundation Software

On request
  • FOUNDATION$undefined/year
    • Modular licensing, priced by modules and user count
    • Cloud hosted or installed on your own server
    • Separate one-off implementation, data conversion and training fee

Kojo

On request
  • Kojo$undefined/year
    • Materials procurement workflow
    • Supplier quoting and purchase orders
    • Inventory tracking

Which should you pick?

Choose Foundation Software if

  • You need job costing.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want certified payroll.
Foundation Software review

Choose Kojo if

  • You need field material requests.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want multi-supplier quoting.
Kojo review

Questions people ask

Is Foundation Software or Kojo better?
Neither clearly leads. Foundation Software starts at On request and Kojo at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Foundation Software or Kojo?
Foundation Software starts at On request and Kojo at On request.
Does Foundation Software or Kojo run on more platforms?
Foundation Software runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Kojo runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Foundation Software best used for?
Foundation Software is most often used for a union electrical or mechanical contractor whose payroll spans several trades and fringe schedules in the same week, a general contractor bidding federally funded work that requires weekly certified payroll filings, a contractor whose quickbooks file has outgrown job costing and who is reconciling work in progress in spreadsheets, a firm with owned plant that needs equipment hours costed back to jobs to see true contract margin. Of those, a union electrical or mechanical contractor whose payroll spans several trades and fringe schedules in the same week and a general contractor bidding federally funded work that requires weekly certified payroll filings are not what Kojo is typically brought in for.
What can Foundation Software do that Kojo cannot?
Foundation Software covers Job costing, Certified payroll, Union payroll, AIA billing. Kojo covers Field material requests, Multi-supplier quoting, Purchase order management, Inventory and warehouse.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Foundation Software: How much does Foundation Software cost?

The vendor publishes no rates. Pricing is assembled per contractor from module selection and user count, with a separate implementation fee, and is only given after a discovery call.

Kojo: Is this for general contractors?

No. It is built for speciality trade contractors buying materials. General contractors procure subcontracts and would get little from it.

Foundation Software: Does it replace Procore?

No. Foundation is the accounting and payroll system; Procore is project management. They integrate, and many contractors run both.

Kojo: What if our suppliers will not connect?

You lose most of the quoting benefit and keep only the internal workflow. Check distributor participation before purchase, because it determines the return.

Foundation Software: Can it handle certified payroll for multiple states?

Yes, it produces state-specific certified payroll formats as well as the federal WH-347, which is the main reason multi-state contractors buy it.

Kojo: Does it work without signal on site?

Field requests are designed for site use, and offline behaviour should be tested with your own crews in your worst locations, because that is where adoption is won or lost.

Foundation Software: Is there a cloud version?

Yes, it is offered hosted as well as on-premise, but the hosted version is the same application delivered remotely rather than a rebuilt browser product.

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