Two new moves occurred in construction accounting software. Constellation HomeBuilder Systems acquired the assets of Rockville, Md.–based BuildTopia, a Web-based construction management software solution for residential home builders. BuildTopia’s SaaS solution joins Constellation’s product suite that includes BuildSoft, Builder 360, Constellation CRM (CFT), Constellation Web Solutions, FAST, NEWSTAR, and Sales1440. Around the same time, Sage added a third leg to its Timberline series: Timberline Enterprise is aimed at specialty and service trades such as HVAC and drywall.
The BuildTopia buy follows Constellation’s model of growth through acquisition. The company has acquired eight other software developers, including Newstar and Homesphere, since 2006.
Constellation HomeBuilder Systems’ Dexter Salna emphasized that Constellation has maintained and supported all of its software acquisitions. “We continue to invest in new products and services and maintain our long-term commitment to the home building industry,” he says. “We want a broad portfolio of software solutions to offer to different levels of builders, and the BuildTopia acquisition fills a niche and lets builders interface with a Web-based solution.”
Jim Walter, vice president of product development at Sage, which has the largest market share in that vertical, says a new-product development approach better targets specific builder requirements. “We’re going after new opportunities and unmet needs,” he states.
Both approaches have their advantages, but the bottom line is that builders will have choices, and that’s always a good thing.
