Here are the top five picks at a glance:
A tradie CRM is software that keeps every customer, lead, and quote in one shared place.
Instead of digging through texts and emails on three different devices, you open one file and see past jobs, open quotes, notes, and the last call. That data stays with the business, even when an employee leaves.
Two types of technology get sold under this label.
A sales CRM focuses on winning work: it follows leads, reminds you to follow up on quotes, and shows which deals are about to close. A job management system runs the work once it is booked, with schedules, dispatch, timesheets, and invoices.
Your choice should depend on the nature of your work, which the buying guide below covers in more detail.
Few tradies got into the trade to sit at a desk after hours. The wrong tool adds admin, and that is a fast route to burnout. The right one takes tasks off your plate so you can spend time on work that makes money.
Before you compare tools, walk through how each one handles the things that matter most:
Some of the tools below help you win work. Others focus on running jobs. Each review covers the things it does best and who it suits.
Followup CRM is a cloud-based CRM built for commercial and specialty trade contractors who win work through bids. It tracks every lead from first contact through estimate, proposal, and close, so no opportunity goes quiet without someone noticing.
More than 4,000 construction professionals use it, and its core trades include roofing, electrical, glazing, waterproofing, concrete, and flooring.
Followup CRM also integrates with Foundation, Vista, Sage, QuickBooks, Procore, and CompanyCam. For trade contractors who bid on commercial work and need every follow-up tracked, it is the strongest fit on this list.
Book a demo and try Followup CRM to see how it fits your business needs.
Image source: simprogroup.com
Simpro helps electrical, HVAC, plumbing, security, and fire protection companies manage their field service operations from a single software platform. It handles both service calls and longer projects, from estimating and scheduling through job costing and invoicing.
Simpro reports more than 250,000 users in 23 countries.
Simpro is a good fit for growing trade businesses that run service and project work side by side and want one system connecting the office and the field.
Image source: fergus.com
Fergus is job management software built for trade businesses. Plumbers, electricians, builders, and HVAC contractors use it to quote, schedule, track jobs, and invoice from one app.
Its customer side keeps client details, job history, quotes, and notes on each job card. It is built to run booked work rather than manage a sales pipeline.
Fergus is a good fit for small to mid-sized trade businesses, from sole traders to teams of around 30, that want quoting, job tracking, and invoicing in one place.
Image source: servicem8.com
ServiceM8 is a job management system for trade contractors and service businesses, with plans built around small businesses. Electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and locksmiths use it to run jobs from the first call to final payment.
The mobile app runs on iOS and Android, and the product has a strong focus on iPhone and iPad.
ServiceM8 is suitable for small trade and service businesses that handle frequent service calls and want to run most of their admin from a phone.
Image source: tradifyhq.com
Tradify is job management software built for electricians, plumbers, HVAC technicians, and property maintenance businesses. It reports more than 55,000 tradespeople as users.
The app follows each job through six stages: enquiry, quote, schedule, job tracking, invoice, and payment. New users get free one-on-one training and phone support to learn the system.
Tradify can work well for smaller trade teams that want one straightforward app to handle each job from start to finish.
Start with how you win work, because that decides which kind of tool you need first.
If most of your jobs come from bids on commercial projects, put a sales tool first. You need to stay on top of bid deadlines, follow up with general contractors, and see which relationships bring in revenue.
One commercial painting contractor got three to four times more feedback from contractors after automating its follow-up in Followup CRM.
If most of your work comes from service calls booked by phone, a job management tool is usually the better starting point. Businesses that do both often run a sales tool and a job management system side by side.
Next, confirm each option integrates with the software you use day to day. It is a good idea to ask a few crew members to test each option on their own phones.
If mobile entry is difficult, job notes may remain incomplete, and the office will spend hours making calls to chase missing details.
The last step is to think about where the business is heading. Switching software later costs time and money, so choose technology that can handle future growth. The right choice is the one your team will trust and use every day.
For trade contractors who bid on commercial projects, a lot of work is lost between sending a quote and hearing back.
Small things go wrong: a general contractor never gets a reply, a bid deadline slips past, or the estimator who knew the client leaves.
Followup CRM closes that gap. Every lead, bid, and proposal lives in one place, with reminders that tell you when to follow up and dashboards that show where your pipeline stands.
Proposals go out branded and ready for clients to accept, and Voice AI and Gregg AI Assist cut the time your team spends typing updates at a desk, one of the quiet causes of burnout.
The answer depends on how your business wins work. For trade contractors who bid on commercial projects, Followup CRM is the strongest option. It tracks every lead, bid deadline, and proposal in one place, so your team can meet every due date.
It depends on what you need them to do. General sales tools serve almost any industry, field service tools serve service trades, and construction-specific systems serve contractors who win work through bids.
For trade contractors in that last group, Followup CRM is designed around the full bid process, from first lead to accepted proposal.
For beginners, the best option is one made for your type of business, so it is ready to use from day one.
Followup CRM is designed around the way contractors sell and estimate, and you can adjust fields, stages, and permissions to match your growth.
Live support comes with every plan, and Gregg AI Assist helps new users draft updates and follow-up emails.