← the blogAI

AI for Contractors: What Questions to Ask AI Vendors Before You Buy

Before you buy an AI tool for your construction business, ask the hard questions first. We touched on a few of the questions contractors should ask during our September 9 webinar on AI for cash flow, WIP, and job costing: how a vendor secures your data, whether it connects to your ERP, whether it shows its sources, and more.

What questions you should ask your AI Vendors

During our September 9, 2026 webinar, "AI for Contractors: Cash Flow, WIP, and Job Costing," we shared several questions that we shared with attendees that they should ask vendors when evaluating their AI solutions, so you know what to look for and what to watch out for. Below is a list of questions.

Security and permissions

  • How do you secure your tool?

  • What types of permissions can I set?

  • What types of tools do you use, and can I see which tool the AI uses when it generates an answer?

Data and integration

  • Does your tool integrate directly with my ERP (Foundation, Sage, Vista, etc.) or does my team need to export and upload data manually?

  • Does your tool integrate with project management platforms like Procore, Autodesk Build, and similar?

  • Does your system write data back to my other systems, or is it read-only?

  • Who owns the data once it's in your system, and can I export it all if I ever switch tools?

  • How does data actually get loaded into the system, both initially and on an ongoing basis?

  • How often does the data sync, and what happens if a sync fails?

Accuracy and trust

  • How does the AI handle a question it doesn't have enough data to answer confidently? Does it say so or guess?

  • Can I see the source data behind any number or answer the AI gives me?

  • How do you test for accuracy, and what's your error rate on financial or job costing calculations?

  • Does the tool have agentic capabilities, meaning can it take action on its own? If so, what actions?

Implementation and support

  • How long have you been working specifically with contractors?

  • How long does implementation typically take, from signed contract to my team using it day to day?

  • Is there a real person I can call, or is support limited to a chatbot or ticket system?

  • What happens to my access and my data if I cancel?

Cost and ROI

  • Is pricing per user, per project, or usage-based, and what triggers a price increase?

  • What are the fees for additional AI usage?

Want to see this in action? If you missed the live session, you can watch the full webinar recording here, where we walked through real examples of AI applied to cash flow, WIP, and job costing. 

And if you're curious what AI can actually do with your own numbers, you can try Nova by ProNovos free for 7 days, either connected to your own data or using sample data if you'd rather see it in action before plugging in anything real. Start your free trial here. 


Keep readingall posts →
8SepHow Should Contractors Use AI to Get Better Answers?Contractors get better answers from AI by asking precise questions: name the project, the metric, the timeframe, and the decision you are making. A vague prompt like "how's the job doing?" returns a vague reply; a specific one returns a real number. It also helps to keep your data clean and use AI that connects to your live financials.Read →28AugHow to Get Your Construction Line of Credit Increased: What Banks Actually Ask ForYou have the backlog and the crews, but your banker still says no. The difference between contractors who get a line of credit increase and those who don't comes down to what they submit.Read →24AugTo Build or Not to Build: A Question I Didn't Expect to Find at the GlobeStanding in front of Shakespeare's Globe, Hamlet's most famous question turned into a software question: build your own AI financial tool, or buy one that already understands construction finance?Read →