Best job management app for a solo sparkie
The short answer
iPhone, under 30 jobs a month: ServiceM8 Free. A$0, no expiry, quotes, scheduling, invoicing and the on-the-way text. Nothing else in this list beats free.
iPhone, 30 to 50 jobs a month: ServiceM8 Starter, A$29 inc GST, with 100 SMS included.
Android: Tradify Lite at A$48 ex GST (A$52.80 inc), or Fergus Essentials from A$53. ServiceM8 is off the table because its Android app cannot quote or invoice.
You want SWMS and test sheets in the app without paying A$79: Fergus Essentials (from A$53) lists SWMS, hazards and forms, and Tradify Pro (A$52 ex GST, A$57.20 inc) lists health and safety forms and compliance certificates. ServiceM8 needs the A$79 Growing plan for forms.
What a solo sparkie actually needs
Strip the feature lists back and a one-person electrical business needs six things from an app. A job card with the address and the customer's phone number. A calendar you can move jobs around on from the ute. Quotes that the customer can accept online. Invoices that go out the same day, with a pay-by-card link so you are not chasing bank transfers. A place to keep photos of the switchboard before and after. And a sync to Xero or MYOB so your bookkeeper stops asking for spreadsheets.
Everything else, timesheets, GPS tracking, purchase orders, job costing reports, is for a crew. Paying for it as a sole trader is money out of your pocket for features you will not open.
Compliance is the one sparkie-specific item. Every state requires an electrical compliance certificate, and in most states the official lodgement goes through the regulator, not through your job app. So the app's "forms" feature is really for your test results, the customer's copy, and your SWMS. Useful, but not something you should pay A$50 a month extra for on day one.
The three worth considering, priced
| Jobs a month | ServiceM8 | Tradify Lite | Fergus Essentials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Free, A$0 | A$52.80 | From A$53 |
| 40 | Starter, A$29 | A$52.80 | From A$53 |
| 80 | Growing, A$79 | A$52.80 | From A$53 |
Inc GST for ServiceM8 (printed inc GST) and Tradify (A$48 ex GST plus 10%). Fergus prints "from A$53 per month" and does not say whether GST is included, so that is as printed. Sources on 13 September 2026: ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus.
Notice the crossover. At 20 jobs ServiceM8 is free. At 40 it is about half the price of the others. At 80 it is the dearest of the three, because 80 jobs pushes you onto the Growing plan. A busy solo sparkie doing 15 to 20 jobs a week should price Tradify or Fergus seriously; a maintenance sparkie doing five or six a week should not pay anyone.
What it actually costs a month
Type your numbers. Prices come from one file we checked on 13 September 2026. One invoice per job is assumed for the Xero row.
ServiceM8: free is the whole argument
The Free plan is one user and 30 jobs a month, and ServiceM8 says a quote that becomes a work order counts once. It includes scheduling, quoting, invoicing, the on-the-way SMS with a live ETA (10c a text, no bundle) and card payments at 2.10% plus 30c. It also includes recurring jobs, deposits and online bookings, which is more than you would expect at A$0.
What you do not get on Free: progress invoicing (Starter, A$29), building your own electronic forms and certificates (Growing, A$79; pre-made purchased forms are allowed on Free), a second login, and an SMS bundle. What you do not get on any plan: a full Android app. If you carry an iPhone this is where to start, and the Starter plan at A$29 is a small step up when you pass 30 jobs.
Tradify: the Android answer, at a per-user price
Tradify Lite is A$48 ex GST per user per month. For one person that is A$52.80 inc GST and it does not change whether you do 10 jobs or 200. The app is the same on iPhone, Android and the web. Lite covers job cards, scheduling, quoting, invoicing, online payments and Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks sync.
The gaps at Lite: recurring jobs, appointment reminders, timesheets, job photos and files, health and safety forms and compliance certificates are all on Pro (A$52 ex GST, A$57.20 inc), per Tradify's pricing page. SMS quotes and invoices are 20c each with no included bundle. The pricing page does not say which state certificates are built in, so fill in your usual test sheet during the 14-day trial before you commit.
Fergus: worth a look for the forms
Fergus Essentials starts at A$53 a month and its plan table lists SWMS, hazards, forms, job phases, purchase orders and Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB integration on both plans. There is a separate Certificates add-on at A$30 a month for 1 to 9 staff. SMS is A$15 per 100 texts and card payments are 1.95% plus 30c. It runs on iPhone and Android.
Two honest cautions. Fergus's pricing page says "from" A$53 and does not print what a second full user costs, so the moment you hire, get that in writing. And it does not state whether A$53 includes GST. As a sole trader those are minor; as a business about to grow they are not.
Who should not buy ServiceM8
- Any sparkie on Android. ServiceM8 Lite cannot quote or invoice.
- A solo sparkie doing 60 to 90 jobs a month. At A$79 you are paying more than Tradify or Fergus for the same one-person workload.
Who should not buy Tradify
- An iPhone user under 30 jobs a month. ServiceM8 Free does it for nothing.
- Anyone who sends a lot of texts. 20c each with no bundle adds up on reminders.
Who should not buy Fergus
- Anyone about to add staff, until Fergus tells you the per-user price in writing.
- Anyone who needs the certificate add-on and is price sensitive: A$53 plus A$30 is A$83 a month, more than ServiceM8 Growing.
What to check in the trial, in this order
- Send yourself a quote and accept it from your own phone. Was that painful?
- Invoice a fake job and pay it by card. Check the fee that landed.
- Fill in your usual test sheet or SWMS in the app. If the fields are wrong, that is the answer.
- Connect Xero or MYOB and push one invoice through. Look at what your bookkeeper sees.
- Do all of it on the phone you actually carry, in the ute, on 4G.
Start on ServiceM8 Free Try Tradify See Fergus pricing
Related: Tradify vs ServiceM8 in full, the whole software stack under A$50 a month, or the 60-second picker.