Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch

Words: Erin KoetsAsk a masonry contractor how they run their job site, and the answer probably sounds familiar: paper logs, a flurry of texts, maybe a shared email thread. It works until it doesn’t. And yet, even as purpose-built field management software has become more accessible than ever, many contractors are still reaching for the same tools their foremen used a decade ago.

The 2025 CrewTracks x MCAA Industry Research Campaign set out to understand why. Two survey questions, in particular, cut straight to the heart of it: why do contractors still rely on paper, and why do they still lean on email and texting? The responses paint a revealing picture, one that is less about technology and more about trust, habits, and a persistent question about whether the return justifies the investment.

THE PAPER PROBLEM
Among contractors who reported still using paper forms to capture daily job site information, the most common reason was a straightforward one: they don’t believe the ROI justifies the change. Nearly 39% of respondents cited this as their primary hesitation.

39% Don’t believe the ROI justifies switching away from their current process
28% Say foremen and crews resist using new technology
11% Concerned about the time and effort required for training

What’s notable here isn’t the resistance to technology itself. It’s the framing. Contractors aren’t saying the software is bad. They’re saying they haven’t been convinced it’s worth the disruption. That’s a fundamentally different problem, and it requires a different solution.

About 17% of paper users identified as “other,” with one respondent summing it up plainly: they print forms, keep them simple, and enter damage data into the computer later. It’s a hybrid approach that speaks to the practical mindset that drives field work. If the current system feels reliable and low-friction, it takes real proof to move off it.

THE EMAIL AND TEXTING PROBLEM
For contractors relying on email and texting, the dynamics shift somewhat. Here, crew resistance leads the way. About 37% of respondents said their foremen and crews simply push back on adopting new tools. That’s a people challenge as much as a technology one.

37% Foremen and crews resist using new technology
21% Have never found software that fits their specific needs
21% Don’t believe the ROI justifies switching

Another 21% said they’ve never found software that actually fits their specific needs, which is a signal worth taking seriously. Masonry is not a generic construction trade. The workflows, production tracking, and crew dynamics are distinct, and off-the-shelf tools built for general contractors often miss the mark. When software doesn’t speak the language of the trade, it’s easy to default back to the group chat.

Interestingly, ROI skepticism drops to 21% in this group, compared to 39% among paper users. Email and text feel nearly free. There’s no software cost to weigh, no new interface to learn. The inertia is softer, but the effect is the same: information flows through channels that are informal, fragmented, and hard to report on.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE INDUSTRY
Taken together, these two questions reveal that the path to modernizing masonry field operations isn’t paved with better features. It’s paved with better trust. Contractors need to see clear, trade-specific evidence that the switch pays off. They need change management support that brings crews along, not just software licenses. And they need solutions that are genuinely built for the way masonry work actually happens.

The good news is that none of these barriers is impossible to overcome. They’re the kind of challenges that get solved through peer-to-peer conversations at industry events, through honest case studies from contractors who’ve made the leap, and through software companies willing to do the hard work of earning credibility within a trade. The data is pointing the way, and now it’s up to the industry to follow it.

Old Habits, Familiar Tools, and the Real Reason Masonry Contractors Aren’t Making the Switch

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