Procore Isn’t Broken—It’s Just Not Built Around You (Yet)

How we helped a $50M commercial GC turn a high-powered headache into a system that actually works

Let’s be honest—Procore isn’t cheap. And the sales pitch is smooth: “It’ll streamline your projects.” “Get everyone on the same page.” “Finally connect field and office.”

Sure. But here’s what they don’t tell you:
If you just turn it on and hope for the best, you’re basically buying a Ferrari and trying to teach your crew to drive it during rush hour… with the owner’s manual in another language.

That’s exactly what happened with one of our recent clients—a $50M commercial GC who bought Procore with high hopes… and then spent the next 18 months wondering why everything still felt like a fire drill.

The Situation: Right Tool, Wrong Setup

The leadership team was sharp. Their projects were complex. Their pipeline was full. But things weren’t running as smoothly as they should’ve been.

They’d rolled out Procore thinking it would connect the dots across the business. Instead, it had become one more system to wrestle with. PMs were still juggling spreadsheets. Supers barely touched the app. The field wasn’t logging daily updates. And no one—not even the CFO—could explain what was going on with project financials inside the platform.

They hadn’t given up on Procore—but they were close.

The Warning Signs

When we came in, here’s what we found:

• Inconsistent usage across teams. PMs had wildly different workflows. Some used Procore religiously. Others opened it only when someone was watching.

• Field teams disengaged. Daily logs were spotty at best. Job photos lived on phones, not in the system. Supers were frustrated but didn’t know where to start.

• Executives in the dark. Leadership had no reliable dashboards, and what little data they did see was incomplete or out of sync.

• The financial tools were there, but no one knew how to use them. Forecasting, change management, and cost tracking were all... sort of happening—but not in a way that anyone could actually explain with confidence.

In short: the tech was in place, but the process was missing. The Ferrari was sitting in the garage, but nobody knew where the keys were.

The Diagnosis: Software ≠ System

Here’s the truth a lot of contractors miss: buying Procore doesn’t magically fix operational issues.

You still need clear workflows. You still need training. You still need leadership buy-in. And you need those tools configured in a way that makes sense for your business—not some out-of-the-box setup built for a company twice your size with 12 project coordinators and a full-time tech team.

Procore wasn’t the problem. Misalignment was.

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The Fix: Configure the People First, Then the Platform

We didn’t tell this client to scrap Procore. We didn’t recommend buying another shiny tool. We focused on making what they already had actually work.

Step 1: Sit Down and Listen

We talked to everyone—from PMs and supers to accounting and senior leadership. We watched how jobs were being run and how data flowed (or didn’t).

Everyone had the same frustration: “We don’t mind using it… if we knew what the hell we were doing.”

So we documented the gaps, made a list of what needed to change, and got moving.

Step 2: Simplify the Setup, Align the Workflows

We cleaned up the chaos—but we didn’t overcomplicate things. Instead of designing a spaceship, we built a truck that gets the job done.

• Clean, consistent workflows for RFIs, daily logs, and change events

• Clarified how to use the financial tools (without requiring an MBA)

• Rolled out dashboards that actually made sense to the people using them

• Gave the field clear, mobile-friendly steps for logging work and updates

We didn’t “implement new technology.” We taught people how to use the tools they already had—and cut out the stuff that was slowing them down.

Step 3: Train Like You Mean It

This wasn’t death-by-PowerPoint.

We ran short, focused trainings for each role. PMs got their workflows. Supers got hands-on field guidance. Admins got tools that matched the way they actually work. And leadership finally got a way to see what was happening without calling someone for a status update.

We also made sure they had a few internal “Procore champions” who could keep things on track once we wrapped up.

The Results: A System People Actually Use

Within 90 days, here’s what changed:

 25% Boost in Delivery Efficiency

With everyone aligned, projects moved faster and smoother. PMs weren’t chasing updates or translating half-complete reports from the field.

 PMs Reclaimed 6–8 Hours a Week

They were no longer buried in repetitive admin or trying to make sense of inconsistent data. They actually had time to manage jobs again.

 Daily Log Usage Jumped from ~30% to 95%

Once the field had a process that worked on their phones and didn’t feel like a chore, they adopted it. And leadership started getting updates they could trust.

 Admin & Accounting Time Cut by 15–20%

Once the finance tools were properly explained and actually used, project reporting got faster, cleaner, and less stressful for everyone.

 Dashboards That Worked

Executives could log in and see project health, financials, and workflow progress in real-time—without chasing a paper trail.

Real Talk from the Client

“We bought Procore hoping it would solve a bunch of problems. Turns out we just added an expensive tool no one wanted to use. Ascent got it cleaned up, helped us make sense of it, and now it’s doing exactly what we wanted from day one.”

— COO, Commercial GC

 

A Quick Look: Before vs. After

The Takeaway: Stop Letting Tools Lead the Process

This story isn’t unique. It’s happening at construction companies everywhere. The difference is—this GC stopped spinning their wheels and got help before their team revolted or their projects started slipping.

If you’re sitting on a Procore implementation that feels underused, frustrating, or duct-taped together with spreadsheets and Slack messages… it’s not too late.

You don’t need a new system. You need your system to finally work with you.

That’s where we come in.

Ready to Unlock the Value in Your Tech?

We’ll audit your setup, talk to your team, and give you a no-nonsense plan to clean it up.
You don’t need more software. You need better execution.

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