What job management software should do for a trades business

Most trades businesses go looking for software on a bad day: a quote that never went out, a job two people turned up to, an invoice nobody can find. The temptation is to buy the thing that fixes that one day. A better test is whether it will carry the whole week, every week, without becoming another job. Here is what to look for, and the questions that find out.

1. Where do enquiries go?

Every job starts as a message: an email, a form, a text. If the software expects you to type each one in by hand, you will stop doing it in the second week. Ask whether it reads your existing mailbox, what it does with newsletters and receipts, and whether it ever replies to a customer without you.

BizzMate connects to Gmail, Outlook or any IMAP mailbox and turns each real enquiry into a draft job with the customer, address and request filled in; newsletters and receipts are left out. Nothing is sent to a customer unless you switch that on. It does not answer the phone.

2. Can you see the week?

A list of jobs is not a schedule. Look for a calendar you can book technicians onto, that shows who is where, and that handles a job with no date yet without hiding it. If you do recurring work, ask how a repeat visit is created: by you, again, each time, or by the software ahead of time.

BizzMate's schedule plots bookings by technician, keeps unscheduled jobs in view, and spawns recurring visits early by as many days as you choose. Each technician's day can be re-ordered by real driving time.

3. Does it do GST properly?

Ten percent sounds simple until a line is GST-free or a quote has to show a total that includes it. Check that GST is worked out per line, shown on its own line, and that invoices carry what the ATO requires. Ask whether a quote becomes an invoice without retyping.

In BizzMate, GST is a per-line switch, totals show it separately, invoices say "Tax invoice" with your ABN, and an accepted quote converts to an invoice in one click.

4. How does the customer say yes?

The gap between sending a quote and hearing back is where jobs are lost. The software should give the customer a way to approve, decline or ask for changes without an account, and record when they did.

BizzMate sends a quote by email, SMS or both; the customer taps a link to decide, and you are notified at once. Extra work on site becomes a variation quote with its own approval trail.

5. What does the person in the van see?

A field technician needs today's jobs, the address, the checklist, a place for photos and a way to mark the job done. They do not need the whole office. Ask whether there is a phone screen built for that, and what happens when the signal drops.

BizzMate has a phone view for technicians with their own jobs, checklists, photos and customer sign-off, and an Android app on Google Play.

6. Where does the money end up?

Ask what happens after the invoice: whether the software tracks part payments and overdue amounts, whether reminders are automatic, and how it talks to your accounting package.

BizzMate tracks outstanding, overdue and part-paid invoices, sends payment reminders only when you switch them on, and pushes invoices and payments to Xero. It does not take card payments online; the customer pays you the way they always have.

7. What does it cost when you grow?

Read the limits, not the headline. Some plans price per user, some per job, some both. "Unlimited" should come with a fair-use note; one that doesn't is hiding a limit.

BizzMate has a Free plan for one person with a monthly job cap, paid plans from $19 a month, and a 14-day trial of the Crew plan with no card. Every limit is on the pricing page.

8. Where is your data, and can you leave?

Ask where it is hosted, who it is shared with, and how you get everything out if you stop. The answer should be specific.

BizzMate's data is hosted in Sydney. Email content is sent to Google's Gemini API for the AI step, which the privacy policy spells out. You can export your records and delete your account yourself.

What BizzMate doesn't do

• Answer or log phone calls.
• Take online card payments on an invoice.
• Import customers from a spreadsheet. Customers are created from enquiries and jobs, or typed in.
• Pull your contacts from Xero. The connection pushes invoices and payments out.

If one of those is the thing your bad day was about, we would rather you knew now.

The checklist

• ✓ Reads your existing mailbox; never replies on its own
• ✓ A real schedule, with recurring visits created ahead of time
• ✓ GST per line, shown separately; quote to invoice without retyping
• ✓ Customer approval from a link, with the time recorded
• ✓ A phone view for the field
• ✓ Part payments, overdue tracking, accounting connection
• ✓ Limits stated plainly on the pricing page
• ✓ A clear answer on hosting, sharing and leaving

General information This article is general information, not legal or financial advice. What the ATO requires on a tax invoice is on ato.gov.au.