What we're shipping, and what we're learning

Sole trader vs company (Pty Ltd) for tradies

How a sole trader and a Pty Ltd company differ on tax, personal liability, licensing, insurance and admin, and the questions to ask before you switch.

Do sole traders pay super, workers comp, BAS and GST?

Plain answers for sole trader tradies on super for yourself and your workers, workers compensation by state, BAS, PAYG instalments and GST.

Tradie tax deductions for 2026–27: tools, ute, phone and more

What employee tradies and trade businesses can claim: tools, protective gear, the ute, cents per kilometre, the $20,000 instant asset write-off and the records you need.

TPAR for tradies: who lodges and what to report

Who in building and construction must lodge a taxable payments annual report, which contractor payments to include, the 28 August deadline and how to keep the records.

Is hipages worth it for tradies? How to work out what a lead really costs

How hipages, Airtasker and ServiceSeeking charge tradies, a simple way to work out your cost per won job, and the free alternatives.

Oneflare has closed: where to find a tradie now

Oneflare was retired on 30 June 2026 and now redirects to Airtasker. Your other options for finding a tradie, and how to check them.

The best job management apps for Australian tradies in 2026, compared

BizzMate, ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, AroFlo, simPRO and Jobber: who each suits, the starting price and the free plan or trial.

How much deposit can a builder ask for? Limits by state

The legal deposit cap, the written contract threshold and the insurance threshold for home building work in every state and territory, in one table.

Payment claim vs invoice: security of payment for tradies

When an invoice becomes a payment claim, what NSW, Victoria and Queensland require, payment schedules, and the adjudication deadlines.

Contractor or employee? How to tell for subbies and offsiders

The ATO and Fair Work tests, what changed in August 2024, sham contracting, and why a contractor paid for their labour can still be owed super.

Payday Super: what changed for trade businesses on 1 July 2026

Super now goes out with every pay run. The 7 business day rule, apprentices, labour-only contractors, the end of the ATO clearing house, and the first year.

How tradies can use AI without the hype

What AI is genuinely good at in a trade business, what to keep for yourself, how to protect customers' details, and where to start.

Win more work by answering enquiries faster

Get every enquiry into one inbox, acknowledge fast and quote properly, ask for what you need first time, and follow up the quotes.

Going paperless: the technology a trade business needs

A work phone, one place for every job, quotes and invoices from the job, connected accounting and records you can find in five years.

27 October 2026 9 min read

What to do when a customer won't pay

Check your own paperwork, remind early, call, then a letter of demand, and the formal options after that, without breaking the rules on collecting debts.

How to check a tradie's licence in Australia

Which work needs a licence, where each state lets you look one up for free, what the result should show, and what a licence doesn't tell you.

How to compare quotes from tradies

Give everyone the same brief, line the quotes up on scope, exclusions, materials and the total with GST, then check the business behind the price.

27 October 2026 9 min read

When a tradie has to register for GST

The $75,000 threshold, the two rolling tests the ATO uses, the 21-day deadline, and what registering late really costs.

Scheduling a small trade business without the chaos

Book jobs not times, estimate visits honestly, group work by area, match the job to the person, and keep one schedule everyone can see.

19 October 2026 9 min read

What to put on a quote in Australia

Who you are, what you'll do and what you won't, the price shown the way consumer law expects, how long it stands, and how the customer says yes.

19 October 2026 10 min read

What job management software should do for a trades business

Eight questions to ask before you pay for software, what BizzMate does on each, and the four things it doesn't do.

19 October 2026 9 min read

Getting more work as a tradie without paying for leads

Be findable, answer every enquiry, quote the way customers decide, turn one job into the next, and use the free leads that exist.

Product update

BizzMate for phones is here

Today's run, the job detail, checklists, photos and customer sign-off — on a real Android and iOS app that keeps working when the signal drops.

18 August 2026 6 min read

Product update

Route optimisation is live on every plan

Your morning run, ordered by real driving time instead of the order the jobs were booked in — and honest about it when the router cannot be reached.

28 July 2026 5 min read

What the ATO expects on a tax invoice

The seven things a compliant Australian tax invoice has to carry, what changes once it is over $1,000, and the mistakes that get an invoice sent back.

21 July 2026 9 min read

Product update

Variations now carry their own approval trail

When the job grows, the paperwork now grows with it — who found the extra work, what it was quoted at, and exactly when the customer said yes.

14 July 2026 6 min read

Cutting the time it takes to get paid

Most late payment is caused by something the business did — or didn't do — before the invoice ever went out. Six changes, in the order worth making them.

7 July 2026 9 min read

Pricing a job so you actually make money

Labour, materials, travel, overhead and margin — and the four costs most trades leave out of a quote entirely.

30 June 2026 11 min read