You're stuck in a software contract you can't get out of
Check the term, the renewal date and what you can export before the next invoice. Then choose software you can leave.
Many construction software contracts renew by themselves each year and charge a fee to leave. The sales call stressed the features, and the term was in the paperwork. By the time the software stops fitting, you've paid for the year, and leaving means losing the data or paying again. That cost belongs in the decision, and it's the part no one quotes you.
Three moves, in order
What CFOS does about it
CFOS is month to month, and you can cancel anytime. After you cancel, or if a payment fails, you can still sign in and look at everything, and nothing new is added or changed. Your books never left QuickBooks, and if you ask within 90 days we refund what you paid, less the card fee our payment processor keeps.
Who owns this: Owner.
At $3M, one annual fee for software the office stopped using is a number worth finding this week. Write down the renewal date and the fee. At $12M, check the term on each tool, because renewals come due at different times.
30 days free, a 90-day money-back guarantee, and cancel anytime. It opens January 2027.
Step 05: Software and bookkeeping alignment
Live job costs inside thirty seconds, with the bookkeeping cadence that keeps them current.
Other problems step 05 solves
Other things that go wrong
What owners ask
Get out of a construction software contract?
Check the term, the renewal date and what you can export before the next invoice. Then choose software you can leave. Many construction software contracts renew by themselves each year and charge a fee to leave. The sales call stressed the features, and the term was in the paperwork. By the time the software stops fitting, you've paid for the year, and leaving means losing the data or paying again. That cost belongs in the decision, and it's the part no one quotes you.
Which part of the system fixes this?
The step is number 05, software and bookkeeping alignment. Live job costs inside thirty seconds, with the bookkeeping cadence that keeps them current. It's drawn from chapter 5 of CONTROL: C.F.O.S. Construction Financial Operating System.
Is this normal for my trade?
Across the 48 trades that publish a figure, net profit at $1M to $5M averages 7% before taxes. If you're well under that and this page describes your month, the two are usually the same story. The published average tells you where the pack is, and your own job costing tells you where you are, which is the number that pays payroll.
Where do I start?
Find the renewal date and the notice period in your contract and put both on a calendar.
How do I cancel construction software before it auto renews?
Read the renewal clause for the notice period. Send the notice in writing and keep the reply. If the term has already renewed, ask whether the maker will refund part of it.
Can I get a refund on construction software I stopped using?
It depends on your contract, so ask the maker in writing. With CFOS, you can ask within 90 days and we refund what you paid, less the card fee. You can cancel anytime after that, and the account goes view only.
What happens to my data when I cancel construction software?
With CFOS, your books never left QuickBooks, so nothing needs exporting. You can still sign in and look at everything after you cancel. Nothing new is pulled from QuickBooks, and no one can add or change anything.
Can I fix this without touching anything else?
You can try, and it doesn't hold. Step 05 depends on step 01, job cost structure. Install it ahead of that and it produces numbers the field won't trust, which is worse than the problem you started with.
Wrote CONTROL, the 8 step system behind these figures. More about the author.