Comparisons
# Surfaice vs Fieldwire for Retail Construction
March 1, 2026 · 7 min read
Fieldwire is built for field crews on construction sites. Surfaice is built for retail store development teams managing multi-site programs from the office. Different tools for different roles.
## The Core Difference: Field vs. Program
Fieldwire excels at what GC field teams need on an individual job site: mobile plan viewing, punch list documentation, and task management for field crews. It's a field tool at heart.
Surfaice is built for the retail tenant's office team managing 10-100 stores simultaneously: AI lease abstraction, automated permit tracking across all AHJs, CAM reconciliation, and portfolio-level dashboards. Entirely different use case.
| Feature | Surfaice | Fieldwire |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AI Lease Abstraction | ✓ | ✗ |
| CAM Reconciliation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Permit Tracking | ✓ Automated | ✗ |
| Co-Tenancy Monitoring | ✓ | ✗ |
| Multi-Site Portfolio Dashboard | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mobile Field Punch List | ✓ Available | ✓ Excellent |
| Plan Viewing (Mobile) | ○ Available | ✓ Excellent |
| Daily Field Logs | ○ Available | ✓ Strong |
| Budget Tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| Critical Date Alerts | ✓ Automated | ✗ |
| Built for retail tenants | ✓ Yes | ✗ Built for GC field |
## Who Should Use Each
USE SURFAICE IF...
- ✓ You're a retail tenant (not a GC)
- ✓ You manage 10+ concurrent openings
- ✓ You handle lease administration + construction
- ✓ You need portfolio-wide visibility
- ✓ Automation and AI are priorities
USE FIELDWIRE IF...
- Your GC field team needs mobile plan access
- Punch list documentation is the primary need
- You manage one project at a time
- Field crew task management is the focus
## Can You Use Both?
Some retail development teams use Fieldwire as a field tool for their GC partners while managing the overall program in Surfaice. This works well when: GC field teams need mobile plan access on site, while the owner's team manages permits, leases, budgets, and portfolio status in Surfaice.
Surfaice integrates with popular construction platforms and can import data from field tools. Book a demo to discuss your specific workflow and integration requirements.