Forward vs Raken
Raken is a focused daily-log app. Forward isn't a daily-log app — it's the texting interface to whatever daily log you already keep (Procore, Autodesk, OneDrive, even a spreadsheet). When does Raken win, when does Forward?
What Raken is
Raken is a purpose-built daily-log tool. Open the app, fill out the form (weather, manpower, deliveries, notes, attachments), submit. The super or foreman becomes the daily-log entry point; Raken stores, formats, and emails the log to whoever’s on the distribution list.
It works. Raken has tens of thousands of jobsites running on it. The product is polished and the form is well-designed.
The adoption problem nobody talks about
The daily log only works if it gets filled out daily. The single biggest cause of broken construction data is the super-who-doesn’t-fill-out-the-log. We’ve interviewed PMs who described it the same way: the 20-year-vet super has been doing daily logs in his head for two decades and the iPad on the dashboard of his truck is “a nice idea.”
The result is logs that get hammered out by the PM at 6pm from memory + scattered photos. Or logs that stop showing up entirely.
Forward’s angle
Forward doesn’t have a daily-log form. It has a phone number. The super texts what he’d already say out loud:
Crew of 14 on site today. Concrete delivery at 7:30, finished L4 pour by 11. Rain shut us down 1pm-3pm. Inspector signed off on the rough mech east half.
Forward parses it into the structured daily-log shape your project tool expects (Procore daily log, Autodesk daily log, Raken daily log if you happen to use Raken, OneDrive log spreadsheet) and writes it — after PM approval if you’ve configured PM gating, or directly if the super has approval scope.
Head-to-head
| Scenario | Raken | Forward |
|---|---|---|
| Super wants to log a 14-second crew update | Open app, fill form, submit — 90 seconds | Speak it into a text. 14 seconds. |
| Super never opens the app | Log doesn’t get filed | Log still gets filed (he texts naturally) |
| Photo attached to log | Native | Native — text the photo, Forward attaches to the log |
| Logs from multiple jobsites by one super | Switch project in app | Project resolved from the phone number / message context |
| Custom log fields (safety, certified payroll) | Configured in app | Forward extracts from the text + asks if missing |
| Owner’s rep wants the log emailed daily | Native | Routes through the underlying tool (Procore/Autodesk) |
When to pick Raken
Honest answer: if your super is already happily using Raken, keep using Raken. Don’t replace what works. Forward doesn’t need to be the only tool on the project.
Raken is the right call if you need:
- Tight structured templates with required fields
- Forms that read identically across 50+ projects for audit
- A daily-log app as your primary tool (not a layer on top of Procore)
When to pick Forward
Forward is the right call if:
- You’ve tried 2-3 daily-log apps and adoption stalled at 40-60% of supers
- Your project data already lives in Procore or Autodesk and you want logs there, not in a separate app
- You want the same texting interface to also cover RFIs, submittals, drawings, room properties — not a single purpose-built app per workflow
Try it now
Text +1 (682) 300-6750 with daily log for 4/22/2026 and you’ll see what the demo project’s log looks like as a text response. Same shape Forward generates when your super texts in an update.
Try Forward right now
Drop your email above for early access — or skip the form and text +1 (682) 300-6750 from your phone. The live demo answers anything you can ask a project manager in plain English — no signup needed.