A fair, plain-English look at how FieldForge stacks up against the other job management apps — and where it's genuinely different. No mud-slinging, just what each tool is built for.
Tradify and ServiceM8 are solid, well-known job management apps. Plenty of tradies run their whole business on them and get on fine. We're not going to pretend otherwise, and we're not going to put words in their mouth about features they may or may not have — pricing and feature lists change, so check their sites for the latest.
What this page does do is tell you straight where FieldForge is different, so you can work out which app actually fits the way you work. FieldForge was built by a working tradie who got sick of stitching together a quoting app, an invoicing app, a spreadsheet for GST and a folder full of paper spray records. So the differences below are the bits we obsessed over.
| What you need | FieldForge | Tradify | ServiceM8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote, schedule & invoice | Yes | Job management | Job management |
| Online payments & get paid from the phone | Yes — Stripe, money straight to your bank | Invoicing | Invoicing |
| AI quote from a customer's text or a job photo | Yes — turn a text or photo into draft line items | Standard quoting | Standard quoting |
| Compliance records — SWMS, SOPs, toolbox talks per job | Yes — right docs attach to each job, ticked off on site | Varies | Varies |
| Spray & chemical application records | Yes — product, rate, weather, wind, PDF export | Not a core focus | Not a core focus |
| Signed on-site sign-offs (signature + timestamp) | Yes — signature captured on the record itself | Varies | Varies |
| BAS-ready GST: collected (1A), paid (1B), net position | Yes — built-in BAS summary & PDF | Accounting add-on / sync | Accounting add-on / sync |
| Vehicle, fuel & equipment tracking | Yes — mileage, fuel logs, service records | Varies | Varies |
| Works offline, syncs when you're back in range | Yes — offline-first | Varies | Varies |
| Built in Australia, for AU GST/BAS & data residency | Yes — built by a working tradie | AU-based | AU-based |
"Varies" means it depends on the plan, add-ons or integrations a competitor offers, and we'd rather you check their current pricing than have us guess. FieldForge is a record-keeping and business tool, not a certifier — it helps you keep your compliance records straight but does not provide legal, tax or compliance advice or certify that you're compliant. Confirm requirements with your regulator or adviser.
You want quoting, scheduling, invoicing, payments and your compliance records in one app. You do work that needs real records — SWMS, spray and chemical logs, signed on-site sign-offs. You want a quote out the door fast (a customer text or a photo, turned into draft line items by AI). And you want your GST and BAS sorted as you go, not in a shoebox at quarter's end.
You want a well-established, general-purpose job management and invoicing app with a big user base, and you're happy to handle GST and compliance separately through your accounting software and your own paperwork. Check their current features and pricing to be sure it covers your trade.
You want another mature job management option and you like its particular workflow and add-on ecosystem. Same advice: look at their latest plans, and weigh up whether you'll still need separate tools for compliance records and BAS.
AI quote from a text. A customer sends "need the front and back mowed, edges done, and the hedge along the driveway trimmed" — FieldForge reads it and drafts the line items for you. Snap a photo of the job and it'll have a go at the scope too. You still check and price it; it just gets you 80% of the way in seconds.
Compliance records most apps skip. SWMS, SOPs and toolbox talks attach to the right job automatically — required versus optional, ticked off on site, then exported as a Job Pack PDF. Spray and chemical application records capture product, rate, weather and wind. Signed on-site sign-offs bind a signature and timestamp to the record itself. That's regulator-grade record keeping, not an afterthought.
Job to invoice to get-paid, from the phone. Turn an accepted quote into an invoice in a tap, send a payment link, and the money lands in your bank via Stripe. No laptop, no double entry.
BAS-ready GST. FieldForge keeps a running view of GST collected and GST paid, with a BAS summary and PDF you can hand your accountant. Doing it as-you-go beats reconstructing a year from receipts. (See our plain-English BAS guide.)
Built by a working tradie. The whole thing came out of running a real trade business, so the workflows match how a day on the tools actually goes.