There are plenty of job management apps for tradies, and most of them look the same on the website: quotes, scheduling, invoices, a nice phone screenshot. The differences show up three months in, when you're paying for it and the crew have stopped using it. Here's what to check before you sign up to anything, ours included.
1. Is it built for how you work?
A lot of trade software is built for service work: a plumber doing six call outs a day, each one a few hours. If you run a crew on longer jobs, a paint job or a fit out that runs for weeks, you need different things. Quotes priced line by line, progress claims, the same crew on one site for a fortnight, and hours tracked against the stages of the job, not just the job.
2. How is it priced?
Many apps charge per user. That sounds cheap for one person and gets expensive fast with a crew. Five workers at a per seat price can cost more than the owner expects, and it quietly punishes you for growing. Work out the price for your whole crew today, and for the crew you'll have in a year.
3. Will the crew actually use it?
The best app in the world is useless if the crew won't open it. Ask what a worker has to do every day and how long it takes. If it's more than a couple of minutes at the end of the day, or it needs an app they have to install and log into, expect the hours to come in late, wrong or not at all. See crew timesheets without chasing anyone for what a good daily sign off looks like.
4. Does it tell you if the job made money?
This is the one most apps skip. Sending a quote and an invoice is easy. Knowing whether the job made money, and which part of it didn't, is what changes your business. That needs the crew's hours against each line of the quote, then a comparison when the job's done. Without it you're guessing at your rates forever. More on that in job costing for tradies.
5. Does it talk to your accounts?
If invoices and hours don't flow into your accounting software, someone types them in twice. Check it connects to the one you use, and what actually goes across: invoices, payments, the crew's hours for the pay run, supplier bills.
6. Can you try it on a real job?
A demo shows you the best case. A free trial on one real job shows you the truth. Put one quote through it, have the crew sign off for a week, and send the invoice. You'll know by Friday.
A quick checklist
- Built for crews on longer jobs, not just call outs
- One price for the business, not per worker
- A daily crew sign off that takes two minutes on any phone
- Hours logged against each quote line
- A finished job report that shows which rates to move
- Connects to your accounts
- A free trial with no card
TradieXai was built by a tradie running his own crew, to tick every box above. One price covers up to 11 workers, and you can try it free for two weeks.