I'm a project manager too. I've used Microsoft project. For our house,(move in is in 3 weeks) it would not have been as effective as the large paper lists (flip chart size) that we posted and updated every day and kept up on the walls of the house. We listed everything to be done the next day, the next week, the next month and tasks that were critical such as inspections and ouside appointments like propane tank burial and power hook-up. We increased the task detail as the time frame shortened (i.e. more detail on tomorrow's tasks, less on next months). The key is that EVERYONE had real time access to the list and could add or mark items out as they happened. That encouraged ownership of the jobs. YMMV. Jim PS: I'd doubt that 20% of our crews used computers and that 0% had a copy of MS project to view (yes, I know there are other ways to view the schedules) or, more importantly, update the scheudle with thier own activities.

Excel has all the functionality you need to track expenses, but how useful it will really be depends on how familiar/comfortable you are with it (i.e. formulas) or how willing you are to Google learn. For our custom build, I created a spreadsheet detailing all of the options we had discussed (e.g. adding a privacy fence, second fireplace), and then I added a filter to the data so that I could pick and choose which options to see, and how those made the price go up or down in the subtotal function. But if I was just tracking the data, and didn't need to manipulate it, then I wouldn't have needed more than a cursory familiarity with the AutoSum button in the Data ribbon.

Thanks all. Our builder sort of uses BuilderTrend but it does not have a good issues tracker. I sort of because though they've been setting it up for each project they've found it not very useful except for posting photos of project status. We are currently using shared Excel. Several problems with this. I had to make myself the only person who can write to it because it is too easy for others to accidentally modify/delete stuff. It requires a bit of manual time and effort on my part to resort and reformat when updates are made. It is very poor with relational tasks (e.g., a single task line might then have multiple comments over a period of time.) I believe all of these problems would be the same w/ OneNote. Building a simple shared database would be a good solution but I do not have the time to do that right now. Good idea about photos. Many issues are better understood via photo.

"There will definitely be some hiccups but could they be major?" Yes. "I would be hiring higher end well reviewed contractors throughout the process" Yes, and why exactly would these busy subs put the work of the General Contractors that give them several hundred thousand dollars worth of work every year behind for your onsie project? "Will there be contractors that mess things up and don't do things properly for the next trade to come in?" I promise. "Will there be things that are being done wrong and I won't even know?" Oh, you're going to know. You can't miss that big fat red tag the local division of inspection will post. "Once you have all blueprints are things relatively straight forward for each trade if they follow plan properly?" No. You have to know how to coordinate trades with each other. "Will trades or contractors not take me seriously and take advantage?" They'd be stupid not to. You're one little project one time. Who cares if you're angry and upset? What, you're not going to hire them for the next house you build twenty years from now? You have no relationships with subs. No relationships, no leverage. No leverage, big trouble.