A CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) tracks every lead and customer interaction. For tradies, the most common use case is automating follow-up when a new enquiry comes in — 67% of leads go cold within 24 hours without a response. Modern all-in-one CRM platforms like GoHighLevel also include email/SMS marketing, pipeline tracking, and review collection.
Free and essential for showing up in local search — every trade business should have one. Just know that setting it up is only the start; you need to keep posting updates and responding to reviews for it to actually work.
Generous free plan with real CRM features, but it's built for sales teams sitting at desks, not tradies in the field. You'll find yourself wanting it to do job management things it wasn't designed for.
Gets the job done for review automation at a fraction of Podium's price — just don't expect the same depth of features.
Full-featured reputation management that covers reviews, SEO, and social in one place. The price makes it hard to justify unless you're an established business where Google ranking directly drives revenue.
Handy for knocking up quick social posts, flyers, and quotes without a designer. The templates do the heavy lifting, but your stuff will look like everyone else's unless you put in some customisation effort.
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.
Modern and well-priced with flat monthly fees, and the Reece partnership is handy for plumbers. Still newer than Fergus or AroFlo though, so expect some rough edges as the platform matures.
Clean sales pipeline tool if you're actually managing a sales process. Most small trade businesses don't need a standalone CRM though — your job management software already tracks contacts and jobs.
Free visual portfolio that works well for trades where before-and-after photos sell the work. Takes consistent posting to build a following though, and it won't generate leads on its own without effort.
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.
Deep feature set for large field service operations, but the AU launch is still maturing and the price point puts it out of reach for most small trade businesses. One for the 50+ staff companies.
Packs a lot of features for the price, but the setup is a project in itself. Unless you enjoy configuring software, HubSpot's free plan or your job management tool's built-in CRM is probably easier.
Can deliver leads within days of launching, which no other channel matches. But it's easy to burn money fast with bad targeting — get professional help or budget for a learning period.
Still where most Australians go to ask for tradie recommendations, so you need a presence. The organic reach for business pages is poor though — expect to pay for ads if you want consistent visibility.
Reaches homeowners at the research stage before they start calling around, which is valuable. Only worth the effort for visually-driven trades like landscaping or bathrooms — most service businesses won't see returns here.