Job Management App vs Spreadsheet for Small Tradies
Job management apps are excellent — and they cost A$30–A$100+ per user per month. For a sole trader doing 5–15 jobs a week, a well-built spreadsheet can cover most of what matters.
What you actually need to track
- Every enquiry, so none slip through
- Quote status (sent, won, lost)
- Scheduled and completed jobs
- Invoiced vs paid, and how overdue
- Where your work comes from (so you spend marketing money wisely)
- GST collected for BAS
When a spreadsheet wins
- Sole trader or two-person crew
- You quote from the ute and invoice from your phone or accounting software already
- You want zero monthly fees
When to move to an app
- Several staff need jobs dispatched to their phones
- You need job photos, forms and signatures attached to each job
- Timesheets feed payroll
The honest middle ground
Start with a spreadsheet until it hurts. You'll learn exactly which features you'd pay for.
I built a free GST-ready quote/invoice template for Aussie tradies (no signup), plus a cheap one-off job tracker if you want the six items above with a BAS GST dashboard. Full write-up and downloads:
Canonical: Job Management App vs Spreadsheet for Small Tradies
Disclosure: I made TradieKit. General information only — not tax advice; check ato.gov.au.
