Software for Trades and Field Services
Job sheets, surveys, quotes and timesheets done on a phone or tablet, so the evenings aren't spent catching up on paperwork.
Less paperwork for people who work on the road
If you run a trade or service business, the work happens in customers' homes, on sites and on the road, and the paperwork follows you home. Quotes are written up in the evening, job sheets come back to the office in the van, and hours are pieced together at the end of the week.
We build apps that let you and your crews record the job while you're doing it, and an office system that picks it up straight away. Quotes, invoices, reports and timesheets are produced from what was recorded on the day, so they're done once and done right.
Trade and field service software we've built
Big H The Plumber moved their paper surveys onto tablets, with sketches, photos, red flags and automatic saving. It saved 8 hours of office admin and 4 hours per surveyor every week, about 15% of the hours that went into surveys and admin.
For a building services company, we built a daily job sheet app where operatives record materials and hours on the job, and an office system that costs materials and labour against each job. AI reads the supplier invoices and statements that arrive by email, and someone in the office checks and approves them.
Tom O'Grady Heating and Plumbing uses an iPhone app for job tracking, quotes and invoices with mark-ups added automatically, a materials list with kits, supplier orders and gas certificates. It's won back about 10 to 15 hours a week of evening admin.
The Motorhome Man service motorhomes and caravans in the UK. Their digital service checklists save as the engineer goes, let them mark damp readings on a drawing of the vehicle, and email a PDF report to the customer when the job is finished.
For a home improvement company that sells and installs products in customers' homes, we built a full operations system that runs the business from first enquiry to final payment. The office manages customers, books surveys into a survey diary, and surveyors record each survey in detail. Quotations go out with the company's terms and conditions, orders are sent to suppliers from the system, installations are booked into an installation diary, and invoices and payments are recorded against each job.
For a contractor with crews working around the country, crew leaders check in on an iPad that records who's on the crew and where they are. The office gets timesheets and crew reports for about 35 staff, and site audits are done on the same iPad.
What a trade or field service app can include
Job sheets and surveys
Record the job on a phone or tablet with photos, sketches, signatures and materials used.
Quotes, orders and invoices
Price from your own materials list with your mark-ups, order from suppliers and send the invoice from the phone.
Timesheets and clock in
Hours recorded on the job, with location where it's needed, and exported for payroll.
Survey and installation diaries
Book surveys and installs into shared diaries, so the office and the crews know who's going where.
Job costing
Materials, stock and labour brought together so you can see what each job really cost.
Reports and certificates
PDF reports and certificates produced when the job's done and emailed to the customer.
See also construction software, mobile app development and business automation.
Case Studies
Big H The Plumber
Paper surveys moved onto tablets, saving 15% of the hours that went into surveys and office admin.
Read moreTom O'Grady Heating and Plumbing
An iPhone app for quotes, invoices, supplier orders and job records, winning back 10 to 15 hours a week of evening admin.
Read moreThe Motorhome Man
Paper service checklists replaced with digital forms, with a PDF report emailed to the customer when the job is done.
Read moreFrequently asked questions
Do you build apps for plumbers and heating engineers?
Yes. We've built systems for <a href="/case-studies/digitalising-big-h-the-plumbers/">Big H The Plumber</a> and <a href="/case-studies/tom-ogrady-heating-and-plumbing/">Tom O'Grady Heating and Plumbing</a>, and for other trade businesses, covering surveys, job sheets, quotes, invoices, supplier orders, gas certificates, stock and job costing.
Can I do quotes and invoices from my phone?
Yes. The iPhone app we built for Tom O'Grady prices jobs from his own materials list and kits, adds his mark-ups automatically and produces the quote and invoice from the phone.
Can you build a full office system for a trade or installation business?
Yes. For a home improvement company we built one system that handles customers, a survey diary, surveys, quotations with terms and conditions, supplier orders, an installation diary, invoices and payments. Everything about a job sits in one place, so nobody is hunting through emails and spreadsheets.
Can my crews clock in on a tablet or phone?
Yes. We've built clock in on an iPad that records who's on the crew and where they are, with timesheet reports for the office. For a catering company, casual staff scan a QR code at each event to start and finish work, and their hours go straight into payroll files.
Can the app produce a report for the customer?
Yes. The Motorhome Man's engineers fill in a digital checklist and the app emails a PDF report to the customer when the job's finished. Reports and certificates can be laid out the way you want.
Can the office see what was done on each job?
Yes. Job sheets, photos, materials and hours go straight to the office system as they're recorded. In one system we built, materials and labour from job sheets are costed against each job automatically.
Do you use AI in these systems?
In the office side, where it takes out typing. In one office system we built, AI reads supplier invoices and statements and picks out the details, including Irish VAT, and someone in the office checks and approves them.
Will it work for a small business with only a few people?
Yes. Tom O'Grady's app was built for a small business, and many of our trade clients have just a handful of people. A first version usually costs €3,000 to €8,000.
How long does it take to build a trade app?
A first version usually takes 4 to 8 weeks. After that it grows in stages. Many of our systems started with one form and now cover much more of the business.
Spending your evenings on paperwork?
Tell us what you write up after the job is done and we'll show you how much of it an app could do for you, and what it would cost.