Best quoting and invoicing app for a solo plumber
The short answer
You only want quotes, invoices and card payments: QuoteMate Free. A$0, unlimited quotes and invoices, card payments through Square (QuoteMate takes 1.7% of the payout on top of Square's own fee). Nothing to cancel because there is nothing to pay.
You also want a calendar and job cards, on iPhone: ServiceM8 Free (up to 30 jobs a month), then Starter at A$29.
Same, on Android: Tradify Lite, A$48 ex GST (A$52.80 inc).
Under 20 invoices a month and you would rather have your BAS sorted than a job app: Xero Ignite alone, A$37.
Quoting is where plumbers lose money, not scheduling
A solo plumber rarely has a scheduling problem. You have a phone, a diary and a customer who wants you today. The problem is the quote: standing in a wet laundry working out fittings, labour and a call-out fee, and then the invoice you forgot to send until Sunday night. Two things fix that. A price list of your common materials and labour rates that lives on the phone, and a pay-by-card link on every invoice so the customer pays while you are still on the driveway.
So this page is about the quoting and invoicing half of the job. If you also want a proper job calendar, read the solo job management pick; the answer there applies to plumbers too.
The four options, priced for one person
| App | Monthly | Card fee | Quotes and invoices | Scheduling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuoteMate Free | A$0 | 1.7% to QuoteMate, plus Square's fee | Unlimited | Job pipeline, syncs to Google Calendar. No dispatch calendar in the app. |
| QuoteMate Pro | A$49 | 1% online, 1.5% in person, plus the processor's fee | Unlimited | Same as Free |
| Xero Ignite | A$37 | Via payment provider, not on pricing page | 20 invoices a month | None |
| ServiceM8 Free | A$0 | 2.10% + 30c | 30 jobs a month | Full calendar and job cards |
| Tradify Lite | A$52.80 | Not on pricing page | Unlimited | Full calendar and job cards |
Inc GST. Tradify prints A$48 ex GST. Sources read on 13 September 2026: QuoteMate, Xero, ServiceM8, Tradify.
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.
QuoteMate: quoting first, free
QuoteMate is an Australian quoting and invoicing app first. The Free plan has no cap on quotes or invoices, works on iPhone, Android and the web on one subscription, and takes card payments through Square. Read the fee line carefully: QuoteMate keeps 1.7% of your payout on top of Square's own processing fee, which QuoteMate's page does not print, so the real card cost is higher than 1.7%. Pro is A$49 a month (or A$328 a year) and buys a lower QuoteMate fee (1% online, 1.5% in person), bank transfer, PayID, BPAY and PayPal options, invoice and payment tracking, and the AI tools. QuoteMate advertises AI-assisted material pricing; we have not tested how accurate the supplier prices are, so check a few against your wholesaler before you trust them on a quote.
On job management, QuoteMate's site (read 14 September 2026) lists a nine-stage job pipeline with scheduling, on-site photos and checklists, and says scheduled jobs sync to Google Calendar. So it is not "quotes only" any more, but it is not a dispatch calendar you drag jobs around on either; your calendar is Google's. It does push invoices to Xero in one tap, per its own FAQ. We could not find an on-the-way text feature anywhere on its site. We have not used the pipeline on a real week of jobs, so put it through your own trial before you rely on it.
Xero Ignite: skip the job app entirely
Xero's cheapest plan, Ignite, is A$37 a month inc GST. It sends quotes and up to 20 invoices a month, takes 5 bills, does bank reconciliation and produces your BAS figures. For a plumber doing three or four invoices a week it is the only subscription you need, and your accountant will thank you. The 20-invoice cap is hard; go over it and you are on Grow at A$78. Xero has no job cards or calendar, and its mobile app is built for accounting, not for pricing a job in someone's bathroom. It is the right choice if your invoicing volume is low and your bookkeeping is the mess you actually want fixed.
ServiceM8 Free: quotes, invoices and a calendar for A$0
If you carry an iPhone, ServiceM8 Free gives you a real in-app calendar and job cards, plus quotes, invoices, deposits and card payments at 2.10% plus 30c, capped at 30 jobs a month for one user. Once you pass 30 jobs, Starter is A$29 with 100 SMS included and progress invoicing, which Free does not have. For a plumber who wants "on my way" texts and a job history per address, that is a better long-term fit than a pure quoting app. The catch is the same as always: no full Android app.
Tradify Lite: the same, on Android, at A$52.80
Tradify Lite quotes, invoices, schedules and takes online payments, on any phone, with no job cap. It syncs to Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks. It is the most expensive option here for one person, and at that price you are paying for the calendar and the platform choice, not for better quoting. If you are a plumber on Android who wants job cards and not just invoices, it is the pick. If you only want quotes and invoices, QuoteMate Free does that for nothing.
Who should not buy QuoteMate
- Anyone who wants a proper dispatch calendar and on-the-way texts. Its scheduling is a pipeline plus Google Calendar sync, which is fine for one person and thin for a crew.
- Anyone about to hire. The flat price is attractive, but the pipeline and Google Calendar sync are built around one operator, not a crew being dispatched.
Who should not buy Xero Ignite on its own
- A plumber doing more than 20 invoices a month. The cap will hit you in the first busy month.
- Anyone who wants to quote standing in a bathroom. Do that in a trade app and push the invoice to Xero.
Who should not buy ServiceM8
- Android users. The Lite app cannot quote or invoice.
Who should not buy Tradify
- An iPhone plumber under 30 jobs a month, who gets the same thing free from ServiceM8.
- Anyone who just needs invoices. A$52.80 a month is a lot for a PDF and a pay link.
A sensible way to do this
Start free. QuoteMate Free if you only want to quote and get paid, ServiceM8 Free if you carry an iPhone and want a calendar. Run it for a month. If you send 20 invoices in that month without thinking about it, you are busy enough to pay A$29 to A$53 for a full job app and you will know which features you missed. If you sent eight, keep the free one and put the money towards Xero Ignite so the books are right.
See QuoteMate Start on ServiceM8 Free Try Tradify See Xero plans
Related: the whole stack under A$50 a month, Tradify vs ServiceM8, or the 60-second picker.