Softwr

Construction · head to head

Foundation Software vs Trimble Pay

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
Trimble Pay logo

Trimble Pay

Construction

Subcontractor billing and lien waiver automation, formerly sold as Flashtract

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.; Trimble Pay the Flashtract name is being retired in favour of Trimble Pay, so existing documentation, comparison articles and integration listings are split across two names and buyers should confirm which contract entity and which support channel applies
  • They diverge on capability: Foundation Software covers Job costing, Trimble Pay covers Automated pay applications.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Foundation Software and Trimble Pay actually diverge.

Attributes where Foundation Software and Trimble Pay differ
AttributeFoundation SoftwareTrimble Pay
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 Trimble Pay

  • Automated pay applications
  • State-specific lien waivers
  • Waiver release on payment
  • Compliance tracking
  • Lower-tier tracking
  • Payments
  • ERP posting

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 Trimble Pay
  • A general contractor bidding federally funded work that requires weekly certified payroll filingsnot Trimble Pay
  • A contractor whose QuickBooks file has outgrown job costing and who is reconciling work in progress in spreadsheetsnot Trimble Pay
  • A firm with owned plant that needs equipment hours costed back to jobs to see true contract marginnot Trimble Pay

Trimble Pay

  • A general contractor whose accounts payable team rejects a third of subcontractor billings each month for arithmetic or form errorsnot Foundation Software
  • A contractor working across several states that needs the right statutory waiver language selected automatically rather than from a shared template foldernot Foundation Software
  • A company that has been quoted Oracle Textura and wants to compare the total cost when the fee falls on the contractor rather than on the tradesnot Foundation Software
  • A contractor that needs the unconditional waiver to be released only after funds clear, so it is not holding a waiver that a court would treat as ineffectivenot 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.

Trimble Pay

  • The Flashtract name is being retired in favour of Trimble Pay, so existing documentation, comparison articles and integration listings are split across two names and buyers should confirm which contract entity and which support channel applies
  • Pricing is not published, and because it is bought by the general contractor rather than charged to subcontractors, the whole cost lands in one budget line rather than being distributed across the supply chain
  • It is billing and compliance only, so a contractor still needs a project management system for drawings and RFIs and a construction ERP for the general ledger, and the value depends heavily on the quality of those two integrations
  • Lien waiver correctness is a legal question, and the system generates forms rather than giving advice, so a contractor operating in an unusual jurisdiction still needs counsel to confirm the templates match current statute
  • Under Trimble the product now sits alongside other Trimble construction financial assets, and buyers signing multi-year terms should ask directly how it is positioned against Viewpoint and the rest of the Trimble construction portfolio

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

Trimble Pay

On request
  • Trimble Pay$undefined/year
    • Bought by the general contractor, typically priced by project volume or contract value under management
    • Subcontractors are not charged a per-project usage fee
    • ERP integration and onboarding scoped separately

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 Trimble Pay if

  • You need automated pay applications.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want state-specific lien waivers.
Trimble Pay review

Questions people ask

Is Foundation Software or Trimble Pay better?
Neither clearly leads. Foundation Software starts at On request and Trimble Pay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Foundation Software or Trimble Pay?
Foundation Software starts at On request and Trimble Pay at On request.
Does Foundation Software or Trimble Pay run on more platforms?
Foundation Software runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Trimble Pay 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 Trimble Pay is typically brought in for.
What can Foundation Software do that Trimble Pay cannot?
Foundation Software covers Job costing, Certified payroll, Union payroll, AIA billing. Trimble Pay covers Automated pay applications, State-specific lien waivers, Waiver release on payment, Compliance tracking.

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.

Trimble Pay: Is Flashtract still sold under that name?

No. Trimble acquired Flashtract and now sells it as Trimble Pay. The flashtract.com content redirects into the Trimble product pages.

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.

Trimble Pay: Do subcontractors pay to use it?

No. The general contractor buys it. This is the main commercial difference from Oracle Textura, where subcontractors are billed a percentage of their contract value per project.

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.

Trimble Pay: Does it replace my accounting system?

No. It generates and approves the billing and the waivers, then posts to your construction ERP. You still need the ledger.

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.

Trimble Pay: Does it handle lower-tier subcontractors?

Yes, it tracks sub-tier amounts and sworn statements against the prime commitment, which is the usual source of surprise lien exposure.

Share

Related pages

More on Foundation Software

More on Trimble Pay

Keep looking

Other head to heads