Automation platforms like Make and Zapier connect your existing tools together and trigger actions automatically — send a quote follow-up SMS 24 hours after delivery, create a job in your scheduling tool when a lead books online, request a Google review 3 days after job completion. AI tools go further: drafting quotes, responding to enquiries, generating content. This category has the highest ROI for most trade businesses once the basics are in place.
Easy way to connect your tools without code, and the free tier is generous enough to start. You'll hit the task limits faster than you expect once you get hooked on automations.
Genuinely useful for drafting emails, quotes, and admin tasks — and the free plan covers most daily needs. Just don't trust it blindly with numbers or technical details; always check its output.
Handles long documents and detailed work well — good for SOPs, contract reviews, and summarising safety manuals. The free tier is more limited than ChatGPT's, and it's less well-known so finding tutorials is harder.
More capable than Zapier for complex automations and cheaper at volume — but the learning curve is real, and you need your other tools sorted first.
Flexible enough to build almost anything, but that's also the problem — you'll spend hours building what Tradify or ServiceM8 gives you out of the box. Better suited as a back-office ops tool than a primary system.
Genuinely capable email automation if you're willing to learn it. Most tradies won't use half the features, but the ones who do get a real edge on follow-up and nurturing leads.
Cheaper than Zapier or Make for high-volume automations and there are no per-task limits. The trade-off is you need technical confidence to self-host or configure it — this isn't plug-and-play.
Handy for tracking projects and internal operations if spreadsheets aren't cutting it anymore. Don't mistake it for job management software though — it won't do quoting, invoicing, or scheduling.
Purpose-built for the missed-call problem that costs tradies real money. Still early stage, so expect some rough edges — but the maths works if it captures even a couple of extra jobs per month.
Replaces four or five separate marketing tools in one subscription — but most tradies need help setting it up, and the SMS costs sneak up on you.