If you've searched for "tradie quoting software", you've probably seen a mix of tools: quoting apps, job management systems, accounting software and, more and more, quote follow-up apps. They can sound similar, but they do different jobs.
Here's a straight comparison to help you work out what you actually need. Fair warning: we make a quote follow-up app, Quote Converter, so we've tried to be upfront about where it fits and where it doesn't.
What a quoting app does
A quoting app helps you create and send quotes. Depending on the product, that might include:
- price lists and templates
- labour and materials calculations
- branded PDF quotes
- sending quotes by email
- turning an accepted quote into a job or invoice
- syncing with your accounting software
Job management and accounting tools that many tradies use, such as ServiceM8, Tradify and Xero, include quoting features of their own. If you don't have a good way to put quotes together yet, this is where to start. A quoting tool saves you time at your desk and makes your quotes look professional.
What a quote follow-up app does
A quote follow-up app works after the quote has been sent. Its job is to make sure the customer hears from you again before the quote goes cold.
Quote Converter, for example:
- lets you add a quote you've already sent by uploading a PDF or photo, or typing in the details
- shows you the customer, mobile, quote value and messages so you can check them first
- sends polite SMS follow-ups on Day 0, Day 3 and Day 8 once you press Start Chasing
- pauses the follow-ups when the customer replies, so you can take over
- stops chasing that quote if the customer texts STOP
It doesn't create quotes, price jobs or replace your job management or accounting software.
Where they overlap
Some quoting and job management tools include reminders or automated emails. If yours already does this well, and you actually use it, you may not need anything else.
It's worth checking a few things:
- Is it switched on? Many tradies don't realise their software has follow-up features, or never set them up.
- Is it email or SMS? Emails are easy to miss. Plenty of customers are quicker to reply to a text.
- Does it stop when the customer replies? You don't want a customer who has just said yes getting another reminder.
- Does it cover every quote? That includes the ones you wrote on a notepad, in a spreadsheet or in another tool.
If the answer to all four is yes, you're probably covered.
When it makes sense to have both
Having a quoting tool and a follow-up tool usually makes sense when:
- you're happy with how you create quotes and don't want to switch systems
- your current tool doesn't follow up by SMS, or you've never got it working
- quotes are slipping through the cracks because you're on the tools all day
- you quote in more than one place (some in software, some on paper, some by email)
In that case, a follow-up app fills one gap without asking you to change anything else.
When you probably don't need a follow-up app
To be honest, it isn't for everyone:
- If you rarely quote (mostly service calls or fixed-price call-outs), you may not have many quotes to follow up.
- If you already ring every customer a few days after quoting, and you genuinely never miss one, you've got a system.
- If your quoting software already sends SMS follow-ups that stop when the customer replies, and you use it, there's not much to add.
When you need a quoting app first
If you're writing quotes from scratch in a Word document every time, or you're losing hours at night on quotes, start with a quoting or job management tool. A follow-up app can't fix a quote that takes three days to send.
A simple way to decide
Ask yourself two questions:
- Is creating quotes slow or messy? If so, look at a quoting tool.
- Are quotes going out but not getting followed up? If so, look at a follow-up tool.
If the answer to both is yes, you probably need both. Many tradies find the second one is the bigger problem, because the quote is done but nobody ever got back to the customer.
How Quote Converter fits in
Quote Converter is built to sit alongside whatever you already use. Keep Xero, ServiceM8, Tradify, or a notepad and a calculator. Once a quote has been sent, add it to Quote Converter, check the messages, and press Start Chasing.
Pricing is simple: your first 3 jobs are free with no credit card. After that it's A$5 per job Pay As You Go, or monthly plans from A$40 for 15 jobs. Prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. See full pricing.
See how it works for your trade:
Try it with your next quote: first 3 jobs free, no credit card