Cheapest way to run a one-van trade business
Three complete software stacks for a sole trader, each under A$50 a month, with what you give up at each price. Prices checked on 13 September 2026.
The short answer
Stack A, A$0 a month: ServiceM8 Free (iPhone) or QuoteMate Free (any phone) for jobs and invoices, your bank's app and a spreadsheet for the books, a once-a-quarter appointment with a bookkeeper for BAS.
Stack B, A$37 a month: the same free job app, plus Xero Ignite for the books. This is the one we would run.
Stack C, A$29 to A$52.80 a month: one paid job app that does everything except the books: ServiceM8 Starter (A$29), QuoteMate Pro (A$49), or Tradify Lite (A$52.80, just over the line).
What "run the business" actually means for one van
A one-person trade business has four software-shaped jobs. Quote the work and send the invoice. Know where you are meant to be tomorrow. Take the money without a trip to the bank. And keep the books straight enough that BAS and tax are not a panic. That is it. Anything else (GPS tracking, timesheets, job costing reports) is a payroll problem you do not have yet.
Every stack below covers those four. The difference is how much of the fourth one, the books, you do yourself.
Stack A: A$0 a month
| Job | Tool | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes, invoices, card payments | ServiceM8 Free (iPhone, up to 30 jobs a month) or QuoteMate Free (any phone, unlimited) | A$0 |
| Calendar | ServiceM8 Free has one in the app. QuoteMate has a job pipeline that syncs scheduled jobs to Google Calendar. | A$0 |
| Getting paid | Card link on the invoice: 2.10% + 30c on ServiceM8 Free. On QuoteMate Free, 1.7% to QuoteMate plus Square's own fee, so more than 1.7% all up. | Per transaction |
| Books | A spreadsheet of income and expenses from your bank statement, handed to a bookkeeper each quarter | A$0 software, bookkeeper's time |
This works. Plenty of sole traders run exactly this for years. The cost is your evenings: someone has to type the bank statement into the spreadsheet and match it to invoices, and that someone is you. The moment you are doing more than 15 invoices a month, the spreadsheet becomes the most expensive part of the stack even though it is free.
The A$0 ServiceM8 plan is one user and 30 jobs a month, and it is a plan, not a trial. The A$0 QuoteMate plan has no invoice cap; its scheduling is a job pipeline plus Google Calendar sync rather than a calendar in the app. Pick by phone and by whether you want the calendar inside the app.
Stack B: A$37 a month, the one we would run
| Job | Tool | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Quotes, invoices, calendar | ServiceM8 Free or QuoteMate Free, as above | A$0 |
| Books, bank feeds, BAS | Xero Ignite (20 invoices and 5 bills a month) | A$37 |
Xero Ignite is A$37 a month inc GST and the bank feed does the typing for you. Reconcile on the couch on Sunday, ten minutes. Your BAS figures fall out of it. If you use ServiceM8, the invoices sync across; QuoteMate's FAQ says it pushes invoices to Xero in one tap as well (read 14 September 2026), so either way you are not typing invoices twice.
The trap is the 20-invoice cap on Ignite. It applies to invoices you approve and send, and Xero notes that invoices pushed in by connected apps count too. If you invoice every job and do 25 jobs a month, you are on Grow at A$78 and Stack B is now A$78. Either batch small jobs onto one invoice per customer, or accept that at 25 jobs a month you have a real business and A$78 for the books is fair.
Xero currently shows 90% off for the first three months for new organisations, to 30 September 2026. Nice, but do not pick a plan for a promotion.
Stack C: one paid job app, A$29 to A$52.80
If you would rather have everything in one app and keep the books manual for now, pay for the job app and skip Xero.
- ServiceM8 Starter, A$29 inc GST. 50 jobs a month, 100 SMS included, unlimited users (so your partner can log in and do the invoices), card fee 1.85% plus 30c. iPhone only for the full app. The best value paid plan in this list by a distance.
- QuoteMate Pro, A$49 inc GST. Unlimited quotes and invoices, a lower QuoteMate fee (1% online, 1.5% in person, plus the processor's fee), bank transfer and PayID options, AI materials pricing. Job pipeline with Google Calendar sync, no in-app calendar. Any phone. A$328 a year if you pay annually, which is A$27.33 a month.
- Tradify Lite, A$48 ex GST, A$52.80 inc. Over the A$50 line once GST is counted, so it is here for honesty rather than as a recommendation. It is the pick if you are on Android and want a real calendar and Xero sync, and A$2.80 over budget should not change your decision.
Whatever you pick in Stack C, the books are still on you until you add Xero. ServiceM8 Starter plus Xero Ignite is A$66, which is where most one-van businesses that are getting busy end up, and is still less than one hour of your labour rate.
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.
Things that look cheap and are not
- Annual plans. QuoteMate's annual plan saves 44%, which is real money. But paying a year up front for an app you have used for two weeks is how people end up with software they do not use. Do three months monthly first.
- SMS. Tradify charges 20c a text with no bundle. ServiceM8 Free is 10c a text with no bundle. Send 100 "on my way" texts a month and that is A$10 to A$20 you did not budget.
- Card fees. On A$8,000 a month of card payments across 25 transactions, 2.10% plus 30c is about A$176. 1.49% plus 30c is about A$127. Card fees dwarf the subscription at any real volume, so compare the rate, not just the plan price.
- Two apps doing the same thing. Do not run QuoteMate and ServiceM8 at once "to compare". You will invoice from both and reconcile neither.
Who should not run the A$0 stack
- Anyone doing more than about 15 invoices a month. The spreadsheet is costing you more in evenings than Xero costs in dollars.
- Anyone with an employee. Payroll needs Xero Grow or similar, and Single Touch Payroll is not optional.
Who should not run the A$37 stack
- A tradie invoicing more than 20 times a month. You will hit Ignite's cap and pay A$78, at which point compare the whole stack again.
Who should not run the A$29 to A$52.80 stack
- Anyone who thinks a paid job app does the books. It does not. You still need Xero, MYOB or a bookkeeper.
ServiceM8 Free QuoteMate Free Xero Ignite Tradify Lite
Related: quoting and invoicing apps for a solo plumber, job management for a solo sparkie, or the 60-second picker.