Northspyre alternative for owners on GMP contracts
Both described in their own words, from their own pages on 9 September 2026, and the eight things an owner on a guaranteed maximum price contract needs to see.
The things an owner on a GMP contract needs to see, one per row.
Quoted from its own pages on 9 September 2026, or marked not published.
From the product's own code, file and line in the source record.
No logos, no statistics, no ranking. Two descriptions side by side.
Northspyre, in its own words.
Northspyre describes itself, on its own site, as "end-to-end development management" for "real estate development" firms and "developers": it aims to "guide real estate projects to success from acquisition through stabilization", helps teams "negotiate change orders", and its integrations page lists Yardi Voyager, MRI, Sage, QuickBooks, RealPage, Acumatica and Oracle JD Edwards for syncing invoices and payments.
The owner side of a guaranteed maximum price contract.
Costwitness starts at the GMP amendment, keeps contractor and owner contingency as two separate funds, records the cause of every change order and the date its notice clock started, follows buyout package by package against the GMP lines, and works out the shared savings on the cap and carve-outs written in the amendment. It does not do accounting, invoices or development budgets. One project, read from the owner's side, in nine modules.
Eight things an owner needs, and what each vendor publishes.
| What the owner needs | Costwitness | Northspyre |
|---|---|---|
| Anchored to the GMP amendment | Yes. The baseline is built from the GMP amendment and the schedule of values. | not published |
| Two separate funds, owner and contractor | Yes. Contractor and owner contingency on separate ledgers, each draw dated and documented. | not published |
| Change orders classified by cause | Yes. Cause decides which fund pays: owner scope, design gap, unforeseen, coordination, unclassified. | "Uncover the reasons behind change orders" |
| Notice date recorded from the event date | Yes. The notice clock runs from the day the condition was recognized, not the day it was typed in. | not published |
| Buyout tracked against GMP lines | Yes. Per package: GMP line value, awarded value, variance, award date. | not published |
| Shared savings with cap and carve-out logic | Yes. Cap as fixed, percent of GMP or percent of fee; carve-outs excluded from the pool. | not published |
| Pricing basis | Per active project, unlimited users. Free 14-day trial, no card. | not published |
| Built for | The owner side of a GMP contract. | "developers", "real estate development" |
Not published means the vendor's own pages do not state it, on the date shown. It does not mean the product cannot do it.
Sources, 9 September 2026: northspyre.com, northspyre.com/budget-management, northspyre.com/pricing, northspyre.com/integrations. Costwitness column from the product's own code; see Per active project. Never per seat. for the pricing basis.
- You are a developer running the whole capital stack, from acquisition through stabilization, and want it in one system.
- You want invoices and payments synced with Yardi, MRI, Sage, QuickBooks or another accounting system.
- You need a development budget across land, soft costs and financing, not only the construction contract.
- You are the owner on a GMP contract and want your own ledger, separate from the contractor's books.
- Two contingency funds, a cause on every change order and the notice date matter to you.
- You want per active project pricing with unlimited users, and a free 14-day trial before any invoice.
- No invoice or accounts payable automation. Costwitness records what a pay application claims; it does not approve or pay invoices.
- No development budget module. Land, soft costs and financing are not in it; the GMP contract is.
- No design document workflow. Drawings, submittals and RFIs to the designer live elsewhere.
Asked before choosing.
Is Costwitness a replacement for Northspyre?
Not one for one. Northspyre publishes itself as development management from acquisition through stabilization. Costwitness manages the inside of the GMP contract and nothing else. Some owners will want both.
Does Costwitness import from Northspyre?
No. There is no integration between the two in either direction. Costwitness starts from the GMP amendment and the schedule of values you give it.
What does Costwitness not do that Northspyre publishes?
Costwitness does not sync invoices or payments with accounting systems, does not carry a development budget and does not manage design documents. Northspyre's pages describe accounting integrations and budget management; Costwitness's do not, because it does not do them.
How is Costwitness priced?
Per active project with unlimited users, never per seat. It starts with a free 14-day trial on your own project, with no card asked for. Northspyre's pricing page publishes no basis and asks you to contact sales.
Start a free 14-day trial
Create the account, build the baseline from your GMP amendment and the schedule of values, and read the first month from the owner's side.