Trade software,
explained straight.

CompanyCam

★★★★★4.8 · 740

Takes job site photos, auto-tags them to the project with GPS and timestamps. Saves your arse on disputed variations, photos beat arguments every time.

SquareFree

★★★★★4.7 · 2800

Tap-to-pay on your phone, no terminal needed, no monthly fees. Dead simple for on-site payments, but the transaction fees add up if you're doing serious volume.

ZapierFree

★★★★★4.7 · 2840

Connects 5,000+ apps with simple trigger-action automations. Easiest way to start automating, but it gets expensive fast once you need more than basic workflows. Make is cheaper at scale.

ChatGPTFree

★★★★★4.7 · 1200

AI assistant that's genuinely useful for drafting emails, quote cover letters, job ads, and social posts. Free tier does the job for most tasks. Won't connect to your software or send anything for you, it's a writing tool, not an automation tool.

ClaudeFree

★★★★★4.7 · 450

Anthropic's AI assistant, particularly good at long documents, contract review, and detailed writing like SOPs. Handles 100+ page PDFs without losing the plot. Like ChatGPT, it's a thinking tool, not an automation tool.

Tradify

★★★★★4.6 · 420

Solid NZ-built job management app that handles quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and time tracking. Great starting point for small teams, but you'll outgrow it past 15-20 staff.

ServiceM8🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.6 · 310

Aussie-built field service app with a pay-per-job pricing model instead of monthly seats. The iOS app is genuinely great, Android has historically been a step behind.

Deputy🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.6 · 870

Sydney-built rostering and timesheet app that actually understands AU award wages, penalty rates, overtime, the lot. Worth its weight in gold once you've got apprentices on the books.

SafetyCulture🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.6 · 220

The go-to safety and inspection app in AU, digital SWMS, site inspections, incident reports. Free plan is usable. Does compliance paperwork well, but it's not a job management tool.

Google Business ProfileFree

★★★★★4.6 · 2400

Free Google listing that gets you on Maps and local search. If someone searches "plumber near me" and you're not here, you don't exist. Costs nothing, but you do need to keep it updated with photos and reviews.

Fergus

★★★★★4.5 · 180

Built by a plumber who was sick of losing money on jobs, so the cost tracking is genuinely good. Pulls live supplier pricing from Reece and Tradelink, which saves real time on quotes.

Jobber

★★★★★4.5 · 870

Canadian-built field service platform with a polished client portal that lets customers approve quotes and pay online. Priced in USD though, so check what you're actually paying in AUD.

HubSpot CRMFree

★★★★★4.5 · 4200

The HubSpot CRM system has a genuinely generous free plan, contacts, pipeline, live chat, email marketing at $0; the Professional tier adds serious marketing muscle. Brilliant if you care about marketing, overkill if you just want to manage jobs and send invoices.

SafetyCheck🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.5 · 15

Free SWMS tool with 40+ trade-specific templates, create, sign, and share digitally. Does one thing and does it well. You'll outgrow it once you need inductions, incident reporting, or multi-site management, but for sole traders it's hard to beat free.

Xero

★★★★★4.4 · 3200

The accounting system most AU tradies end up on. How the free trial works, how much Xero really costs once you add payroll, and whether it's worth it.

Employment Hero🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.4 · 239

AU's biggest HR and payroll platform. Handles Award compliance, onboarding, and leave so you don't have to guess pay rates. The interface feels a bit corporate, but it gets the compliance stuff right.

MYOB🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.3 · 1280

The other big AU accounting option, deeper payroll and award support than Xero, but fewer integrations with trade tools. Check what your accountant prefers before picking sides.

QuickBooks Online

★★★★★4.3 · 6700

Cloud accounting for small business with AU GST and BAS. QuickBooks Online pricing undercuts Xero at most tiers and does the job well, but check your accountant uses it first, most AU bookkeepers still default to Xero or MYOB.

Simpro🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.2 · 560

Brisbane-built enterprise platform for trade businesses with 20+ staff who've hit the ceiling on simpler tools. Powerful, but budget for a proper implementation, this isn't a weekend setup.

NiceJob

★★★★★4.9 · 220

Does one thing: gets customers to leave Google reviews after a job. Automated SMS and email nudges, set-and-forget. Cheaper and simpler than Podium, but that's all it does: no inbox, no webchat.

MakeFree

★★★★★4.8 · 1100

Visual automation platform that connects your apps and triggers actions between them. Handles complex workflows better than Zapier and costs less at volume, but the learning curve is steeper.

ConnecteamFree

★★★★★4.8 · 940

Team scheduling, chat, checklists, and training in one app, basically replaces the WhatsApp group chat. Free plan is genuinely usable for small crews.

StripeFree

★★★★★4.7 · 3120

Payments infrastructure that powers most job management tools behind the scenes. You're probably already using it without knowing. Not a standalone business tool, it's the plumbing, not the tap.

KeyPay🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.7 · 230

Solid AU cloud payroll with STP Phase 2 and award interpretation that actually works. Powers Employment Hero's payroll under the hood. Does payroll well, don't expect HR features.

CrewTraka🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.7 · 45

AU-built app for crew scheduling, timesheets, and safety paperwork. Does that narrow job well without trying to be everything. No quoting or invoicing, you'll need other tools alongside it.

Birdeye

★★★★★4.7 · 680

Reviews, local SEO, social media, surveys, does the lot. Expect to pay $450+ AUD/month for it though. Makes sense for multi-location operations, but it's a sledgehammer for a one-van business.

AirtableFree

★★★★★4.7 · 2200

A spreadsheet-database hybrid where you can build custom trackers, asset registers, and workflows without code. The catch: nothing works out of the box. You build everything yourself.

Canva🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.7 · 12000

Aussie-built drag-and-drop design tool for social posts, flyers, quote covers, and signage mockups. Won't replace a proper designer for branding work, but handles 95% of the day-to-day stuff without needing one.

Buildpass🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.7 · 45

Aussie safety platform with AI-generated SWMS, digital inductions, and incident tracking. Covers the full WHS stack, but the feature depth means a steeper learning curve, and pricing suits teams of 5+, not sole traders.

Groundplan🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.6 · 75

Aussie takeoff tool that measures areas, lengths, and counts from digital plans. Does one thing well, but you'll need separate software for the actual costing and quoting.

ActiveCampaign

★★★★★4.6 · 2400

Email marketing with genuinely good automation, set up a follow-up sequence once and it runs forever. Has a learning curve and no free plan, so only worth it if you'll actually use the automations.

FieldPulse

★★★★★4.6 · 90

US-built field service platform with a Reece partnership and dedicated AU site. Modern interface and flat monthly pricing. You don't pay more as you add staff. AU integrations are still maturing.

n8nFree

★★★★★4.6 · 320

Open-source automation with no per-task pricing, self-host it for free or pay for cloud. Powerful, but expect a learning curve on par with Make. This is for tinkerers, not beginners.

Monday.comFree

★★★★★4.6 · 5700

Visual boards and built-in automations for managing projects and teams. Not trade-specific. You won't find SWMS templates or job costing here, but handy if your business has outgrown spreadsheets.

HazardCoFree

★★★★★4.6 · 85

NZ-built safety platform covering SWMS, inductions, safety plans, and incident reporting. Well established in the AU/NZ trade space, though the interface feels a bit dated and paid tiers start at $119+/month.

Worx Safety🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.6 · 20

Aussie WHS platform with SWMS, inductions, and incident reporting. The selling point is a direct Simpro integration. If you're not on Simpro, you lose the main differentiator. Pricing isn't public, which usually means it's not cheap.

Pipedrive

★★★★★4.5 · 3000

Visual sales pipeline CRM, drag deals through stages, get nudged to follow up. Built for salespeople, not field service. If you're losing quotes because follow-up is hit-and-miss, this fixes that.

Tanda🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.5 · 160

AU-built rostering and time tracking that nails Award interpretation, overtime, penalties, casual loading all calculated automatically. Takes effort to set up properly, but saves hours every pay run.

Procore

★★★★★4.5 · 2600

Enterprise construction management for large commercial builders running $5M+ projects. Does everything from financials to safety, but the pricing, setup time, and complexity are serious overkill for most trade businesses.

InstagramFree

★★★★★4.5 · 1600

Free visual portfolio for your work, before-and-after photos and job-in-progress Reels. Won't generate leads like Google Ads, but when a potential customer checks you out, a solid feed builds trust.

Sophiie AI🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.5 · 15

AI receptionist that picks up when you can't, answers calls 24/7, captures job details, and books appointments. Built for AU trades. Still early-stage, so expect the odd hiccup with complex enquiries, but solves the missed-call problem.

SignOnSite🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.5 · 30

Digital site sign-in and induction platform, workers scan a QR code, site managers see who's on-site in real time. Does that one job well, but doesn't cover SWMS or incident reporting. You'll need another tool for the rest of your safety stack.

GoHighLevel

★★★★★4.4 · 1900

All-in-one CRM that replaces HubSpot, Mailchimp, Calendly, and your review tool in one subscription. Does a lot, but expect a learning curve, most people need help setting it up.

AroFlo🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.4 · 210

Aussie-built field service platform for 10-100 staff teams that need real job costing and inventory tracking. Does more than Tradify or Jobber, but the UI feels its age.

Buildxact🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.4 · 180

Aussie estimating software for builders, digital takeoffs, supplier price books, and margin tracking. The estimating side is solid; the project management is still catching up.

Formitize🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.4 · 90

Brisbane-built digital forms for SWMS, safety checklists, and compliance paperwork. Gets your clipboard off the dash and onto the cloud. Interface is a bit dated, but it does the job.

Thriday🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.4 · 55

AU fintech that bundles a business bank account with automated bookkeeping and tax reporting. Clever idea, free tier available, but the Tyro acquisition means nobody knows what it'll look like in 12 months.

Zeller🇦🇺 AUFree

★★★★★4.4 · 95

AU-built EFTPOS terminal and fee-free business account with a flat 1.4% tap rate. Clean hardware, quick settlements. No invoicing or online payments though, you'll still need Stripe for that.

ServiceTitan

★★★★★4.4 · 200

The big dog of field service software, built for operations with 20+ techs and dedicated office staff. Launched in AU in July 2024. If you're under 20 people, the cost and complexity aren't worth it.

NextMinute

★★★★★4.3 · 95

Bare-bones NZ-built job management for sole traders who just want to get off paper. Easy to learn, cheap to run, but you'll hit the limits fast if your business grows.

Podium

★★★★★4.3 · 1540

Automates Google review requests via SMS after each job, and it actually works. Also handles messaging and text-to-pay, but the USD pricing stings a bit in AUD.

Zoho CRMFree

★★★★★4.3 · 6800

CRM with a lot of features for not much money, free for up to 3 users. Highly customisable, but the interface is cluttered and you'll spend time setting it up properly.

Cubit🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.3 · 50

Australia's go-to estimating software for quantity surveyors and commercial builders. Deep takeoff and cost estimation tools, but steep learning curve and Windows-only. If you're just quoting resi jobs, it's overkill.

FieldInsight🇦🇺 AU

★★★★★4.2 · 30

AU-built field service platform for businesses that live and die by scheduled maintenance, HVAC, fire protection, plumbing. Great at asset tracking and compliance. Not the pick for simple reactive call-outs.

Google AdsFree

Pay-per-click ads that put you at the top of Google when someone searches for your trade. Can generate leads fast, but burns money just as fast if set up poorly. Not a set-and-forget tool.

FacebookFree

Not trendy, but still where most Australians hang out. Local community groups drive real word-of-mouth referrals for trades. Organic reach has dropped off a cliff though, don't expect miracles from just posting.

PinterestFree

More search engine than social media, homeowners come here to plan renovations and browse ideas. Pins of your work can drive traffic for years, unlike Instagram posts that die in 48 hours. Only worth it if your trade is visually driven.