Intuit’s First Industry-Specific ERP Signals a New Era for Mid-Market Contractors
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On February 11, 2026, Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) launched a construction edition for Intuit Enterprise Suite, its first industry-specific ERP. The construction edition is purpose-built for mid-market contractors and includes project phases, cost groups, AIA-style invoicing, proposals with e-signatures, negative change orders, and enhanced project budgets, all available in open beta at no additional cost. It is also available as a paid add-on for QuickBooks Online Advanced customers. This article covers what the announcement means for the construction industry, where IES stands competitively, and who should be paying attention.
If you have been in construction accounting for any length of time, you know the mid-market software gap is real. Enterprise platforms like Oracle, Sage, and Viewpoint are powerful but expensive and complex. QuickBooks has been the workhorse for smaller contractors but runs out of runway once you hit multi-entity structures, serious job costing, or progress billing requirements. The space in between has been filled with duct-taped combinations of QuickBooks, spreadsheets, and disconnected point solutions.
TL;DR
What happened: Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) launched a construction edition for Intuit Enterprise Suite, its first industry-specific ERP, in open beta at no additional cost for IES customers. Also available as a paid add-on for QBO Advanced.
What it covers: Project phases, cost groups, AIA-style invoicing, proposals with e-signatures, negative change orders, and enhanced project budgets, covering the full project lifecycle from bid to close.
Why it matters: Intuit is no longer just moving QuickBooks customers upstream. This positions IES as a credible mid-market alternative to Foundation, Sage, and Viewpoint for contractors in the $5M to $250M range.
What else shipped: Parallel approval workflows, five new consolidated multi-entity reports, AI-powered batch bank feed processing, expanded Sales Tax Agent, calculated fields in BI, new app integrations, Moving Average Cost preservation for Desktop migrations, and workforce management upgrades.
Who should look: Contractors on QuickBooks Desktop approaching end-of-life, QBO users who have outgrown it, companies evaluating Foundation or Sage, and CAS firms serving construction clients.
RedHammer's take: The construction edition is a meaningful strategic shift. Strong on bid-to-close lifecycle, AIA invoicing, cost groups, and AI. Watch carefully on WIP reporting, retention tracking, and certified payroll where dedicated platforms still go deeper.
That gap just got a lot narrower.
Intuit has launched a construction edition for Intuit Enterprise Suite and this is not just another feature update. It is Intuit’s first industry-specific ERP, purpose-built around how construction businesses actually operate, from proposal to payment. For construction companies in the $5M–$250M revenue range, the exact band RedHammer serves, this announcement deserves serious attention.
Why This Announcement Matters
Construction is a $2 trillion industry, and the technology adoption gap has been well documented. According to Intuit’s own report on construction’s toughest challenges, 93% of construction industry leaders believe technology can significantly increase productivity and reduce rising cost impacts. The problem has never been awareness. It has been the lack of platforms that fit how construction companies actually work without requiring a six-figure implementation and a team of consultants.
“Construction businesses are naturally complex, with dozens of projects to track and ensure their profitability, rising material costs to monitor, and limited visibility into overall business and multi-entity performance. Data is siloed and trends are difficult to spot. That’s why we’re investing heavily in industry solutions, starting with construction, so these businesses can benefit from our powerful, AI-native, ERP solution that automates workflows, delivers data insights and trends, and manages all aspects of a project, from proposal to payment, driving faster deal closure and accelerating growth.”
— Ashley Still, EVP and GM, Mid-Market, Intuit
The phrase “starting with construction” is worth noting. Intuit already offers industry-specific KPIs and dashboards for field services, healthcare, nonprofit, and manufacturing. But this is the first time they have built an entire vertical edition with dedicated project lifecycle features. It signals that construction is the template for how Intuit plans to go deep in other industries, and that means ongoing investment, not a one-time feature drop.
What the Construction Edition Includes
The construction edition is currently in open beta for all IES customers at no additional cost, though Intuit notes pricing may change in the future. It is also available as a paid add-on module for QuickBooks Online Advanced customers, which gives smaller contractors an entry point without committing to the full IES platform.
The core construction capabilities cover the full project lifecycle:
• Project Phases: Define project phases and use them to organize budgets and estimates. Project Management AI recommends phases from uploaded contracts and scope documents.
• Cost Groups: Designate industry-standard cost categories (labor, materials, equipment, subcontractor, miscellaneous) and track them across budgets, expenses, POs, and bills.
• Project Budgets: Simplified setup, real-time AI-powered overrun alerts, phase-level variance tracking, versioned budgets, and automatic budget creation during migrations from QuickBooks Desktop or Advanced.
• Proposals: A document builder with custom branding, rich text, images, and integrated e-signatures. Two-way integration between proposals and estimates, plus a client portal for signing, deposits, and scope review.
• Negative Change Orders: Support for scope reductions and price adjustments within the same change order, with automatic estimate income adjustments.
• AIA-Style Invoicing: Track contract value, invoiced to date, current draw, and remaining balance at the phase level. Each invoice builds on the last with running totals.
“We love the project profitability report. It has a lot of really great information, such as knowing the total outstanding bills and being able to look into the details.”
— Darla Hennessey, Controller, Lallier Construction
The Winter 2026 release also includes significant improvements beyond the construction beta: parallel approval workflows, five new consolidated reports for multi-entity visibility, AI-powered batch bank feed processing, an expanded Sales Tax Agent, enhanced business intelligence with calculated fields and new app integrations (HubSpot, Salesforce, Gusto, Hubstaff, Clockify), Moving Average Cost preservation for Desktop migrations, and workforce management upgrades.
For a full feature-by-feature walkthrough of every capability in this release, see our detailed companion article: Intuit Enterprise Suite Winter 2026 Release: Full Feature Breakdown for Construction Companies. For a comprehensive overview of the entire IES platform and how it serves construction, see The Complete Guide to (IES) Intuit Enterprise Suite for Construction Companies.
What This Signals About Intuit’s Mid-Market Strategy
For the past two years, Intuit has been methodically building IES into a credible mid-market platform. Multi-entity consolidation, intercompany allocations, dimensions, workflow automation, AI agents, business intelligence dashboards. Each release has added another layer. But the construction edition represents a strategic shift from “platform with features” to “industry solution.”
This matters for three reasons:
1. It validates IES as a real mid-market contender
Intuit is no longer just moving QuickBooks customers upstream. They are actively competing for the contractors who would otherwise be evaluating Sage, Foundation, Viewpoint, or NetSuite. The construction edition gives IES a vertical story that those platforms have owned for decades.
2. It creates an easier migration path from QuickBooks Desktop
QuickBooks Desktop’s end-of-life is approaching, and thousands of construction companies need somewhere to go. IES with construction capabilities, plus automatic budget creation during migration and Moving Average Cost preservation, makes that path significantly less painful than it was a year ago.
3. It signals ongoing investment
Intuit explicitly described this as “a major acceleration in a broader strategy to deliver deeper, end-to-end solutions tailored to the unique workflows of each industry.” Construction is the first vertical. More will follow. For contractors who adopt now, that means the platform will continue to get more construction-specific over time, not less.
“Scaling mid-market companies need a robust financial technology platform that keeps up with the growing complexities of running a business. Intuit Enterprise Suite brings together financial, operational, and project data in one AI-native platform, and the new construction edition delivers real value for industries with complex, multi-entity operations.
— Jordan Fladell, Partner, Managing Director, Technology Advisory Services, Aprio
An Honest Assessment: Where IES Stands and Where It Doesn’t
RedHammer has implemented construction accounting systems for over 135 companies across 20 states. We have worked with Foundation, Sage, NetSuite, QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, and now IES. Here is our honest read on where the construction edition stands today:
Where it’s strong
• The bid-to-close lifecycle is now covered in a single platform: proposals, estimates, budgets, change orders, progress billing, and project reporting
• AIA-style invoicing and negative change orders address two of the most common pain points we see in construction accounting
• Cost groups align the accounting system with how contractors actually estimate and bid work
• The AI capabilities (project phase recommendations, budget overrun alerts, bank feed matching) are genuinely useful, not gimmicky
• Multi-entity is built into the platform, not bolted on, which matters for growing contractors with multiple entities
• The QBO Advanced add-on gives smaller contractors an entry point without the full IES commitment
Where to watch carefully
• It is still in beta. Features could change, pricing could change, and there will be rough edges. We recommend piloting with one or two projects before a full rollout.
• WIP reporting, retention tracking, and certified payroll are areas where dedicated construction platforms like Foundation and Sage have deeper functionality. Evaluate whether IES covers your specific requirements.
• The migration from QuickBooks Desktop is smoother than it was, but it still requires planning, especially for companies with complex chart of accounts structures, historical job cost data, and custom reporting.
“With this release, Intuit is putting traditional construction software providers on notice. The combination of rapidly expanding construction-specific functionality with enterprise-grade AI, multi-entity architecture, and a fully integrated technology stack is closing the gap faster than most people in this industry expected. Contractors evaluating their next platform should be paying very close attention.”
— Scott Franchini, Partner, RedHammer
Who Should Pay Attention to This Release
Based on our experience across 135+ construction companies, here is who we think should take a close look:
- Contractors on QuickBooks Desktop: If you have been waiting for a reason to migrate, this is probably it. The construction edition plus automatic budget migration and Movering Average Cost (MAC) preservation makes the path to IES more practical than ever.
- Contractors on QBO who have outgrown it: If you are running multiple entities, doing progress billing in spreadsheets, or fighting with class-based reporting, IES with the construction edition solves the specific problems that made you outgrow QBO.
- Contractors evaluating Foundation, Sage, or Viewpoint: IES is now a credible alternative in the $5M–$100M range, especially if you value the Intuit ecosystem (payroll, payments, time tracking) and AI capabilities. Compare carefully on WIP, retention, and certified payroll.
- CAS firms and outsourced accounting providers: If you serve construction clients, the IES construction edition gives you a platform play that scales across your portfolio. RedHammer is already building implementation methodologies around these capabilities.
How RedHammer Can Help
RedHammer is the nation’s largest construction-only CAS firm and Intuit’s select implementation partner for IES deployments. We have been working with the IES construction capabilities since early access and are already deploying them for clients.
Here is how we help:
- Construction Beta Evaluation: We assess whether the current beta capabilities meet your specific construction accounting requirements, including WIP, retention, progress billing, and job costing, and design a phased adoption plan.
- IES Implementation: We handle the full implementation including entity structure, chart of accounts, dimensions, cost groups, project phases, workflow automation, and reporting configuration.
- QuickBooks Desktop Migration: We manage the migration with budget preservation, cost data carryover, and Moving Average Cost (MAC) continuity so your teams can start working on day one.
- Ongoing CAS: As the nation’s largest construction-only CAS firm, we provide outsourced accounting services on the IES platform: month-end close, WIP, project reporting, and financial management.
If you want to understand how the IES construction edition fits your business, reach out to RedHammer. We will give you an honest assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are the construction features free?
A: Currently in open beta at no additional cost for IES customers. Intuit may introduce fees in the future. For QBO Advanced customers, construction capabilities are a paid add-on. If you need help getting started, RedHammer offers full Intuit Enterprise Suite Implementation Services including construction beta configuration.
Q. Is this the same as what was in the Winter 2026 product release?
A: The construction edition is the headline feature of the Winter 2026 release, but that release also includes improvements to multi-entity reporting, workflow automation, AI, inventory, business intelligence, dimensions, and workforce management. See our full Winter 2026 feature breakdown for complete details.
Q. How does IES compare to Foundation, Sage, or Viewpoint for construction?
A: IES is now a credible alternative in the $5M–$100M range with strong multi-entity, AI, and workflow capabilities. Dedicated construction platforms still have deeper functionality in areas like WIP reporting, retention tracking, and certified payroll. The right choice depends on your specific requirements. RedHammer can help you evaluate. Learn more about our IES Implementation Services.
Q. Is this available for QBO Advanced customers too?
A: Yes. The construction capabilities are available as a paid add-on module for QuickBooks Online Advanced customers, giving smaller contractors an entry point without the full IES platform.
Q. What is the IES construction edition exactly?
A: It is Intuit’s first industry-specific , a purpose-built vertical platform within IES designed for construction businesses. For a comprehensive overview of IES and all its capabilities for construction, see The Complete Guide to Intuit Enterprise Suite for Construction Companies.
Related RedHammer Content
Intuit Enterprise Suite Implementation Services
Intuit Enterprise Suite Winter 2026 Release: Full Feature Breakdown for Construction Companies
The Complete Guide to (IES) Intuit Enterprise Suite forConstruction Companies
Intuit Enterprise Suite Fall 2025 Updates: Enhancements to Close Out 2025
QuickBooks Classes vs. IES Dimensions: From Single Tag toMulti-Dimensional Insight
Sources
1. Intuit Investor Relations Press Release (NASDAQ: INTU)
2. Intuit Launches New AI-Powered Construction Edition(QuickBooks Blog)
3. Intuit Report: Construction’s Toughest Challenges
4. IntuitEnterprise Suite Winter 2026 Product Release Overview
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