These two terms get used interchangeably, and they are not the same job. The difference matters, because hiring one when you needed the other leaves a gap somebody has to fill — usually you.
Project management
Project management runs the whole project, from the first idea through to handover. It starts before there is anything to build.
It covers the budget and where it is going, the programme and whether it is still realistic, which consultants are needed and when, reviewing proposals and quotations, obtaining additional quotes where it is useful, keeping decisions moving, and holding the permit process together. When the city sends comments, project management is what makes sure they are answered this week rather than next month.
Construction management
Construction management runs the build. It starts when construction starts.
It covers trades and sequencing, site reviews, requests for information, resolving what is found once walls are opened, inspections, deficiencies and close-out. It is the role that makes sure what is drawn is what gets built, and that the site keeps moving.
Where they overlap
Scheduling belongs to both, and this is where the confusion starts. Early on, the schedule is a planning question — can this open by March? During construction it is a sequencing question — can the electrician start before the framing inspection? Same word, different job.
Which do you need?
If you have a space, a budget and an opening date, but no drawings and no permit yet, what you need first is project management. The build is months away; the decisions that determine whether it is possible are being made now.
If your drawings are done and permitted and you are about to break ground, what you need is construction management.
Most small commercial projects need both, and they benefit considerably from the same office doing them. The handover between design and construction is where cost and blame usually leak, and there is no handover when it is one team.
A useful test
Ask who is responsible when the city asks a question during the build. If the answer is unclear, there is a gap in the arrangement — and it is a gap that costs weeks.
We carry both. Having built since 2007 and designed since 2018, we know what our drawings cost to build, which tends to show up in the estimate long before it shows up on site.