Built for one-person trade businesses
Job management app for sole traders
Less admin at night. Know what every job made.
Quote on site, log your hours and dockets as you go, invoice before you leave the driveway, and see the profit on every job, at one flat price for one tradie.
14 days free · No card required · iPhone, Android & web
In short
A sole trader needs an app that cuts the evening admin and shows what each job really made. TrackYaTradie does quotes from your own price list, online acceptance, hours and costs logged against each job, live job profit, invoices with card and bank debit payments, and Xero sync, for one flat monthly price for one tradie.
By Bailey Holdsworth, founder · Last updated
Sound familiar?
You are the office as well
Quotes, invoices, supplier dockets and the BAS all land on the same person who is on the tools all day. Every hour of admin is an hour you cannot bill or have back.
Quotes written at 9pm
The site visit was on Tuesday, the quote goes out on Thursday night, and by then the client has had two other prices. Quote on the spot from your own price list instead.
No idea which jobs paid
The bank balance says the month was fine. It does not say the bathroom made money and the deck lost it. Per-job profit does.
What a sole trader actually needs from an app
Working on your own, you do not need a dispatch board or a dozen user licences. You need the paperwork done faster and the truth about each job. These six cover it:
Quote fast, from your phone
Your own price list and saved job templates, so a quote is a few taps, not an evening.
Let the client say yes online
A link they open, accept and sign by typing their name, with a PDF to keep. You see when they open it.
Log costs as you go
Your hours per day and each supplier docket, against the job, while you are still on site.
See the profit before the job ends
The quote against what the job has cost so far, with a warning when costs climb towards the price.
Invoice the same day, get paid sooner
Turn the job into an invoice before you leave, and let the client pay by card or bank debit from it.
Keep the accountant happy
GST worked out on every quote and invoice, and invoices and costs sent to Xero as drafts.
One job, one week
Here is a small bathroom job run through TrackYaTradie by one person, from the site visit to the money in the bank.
Monday
Walk the job, start a quote from your saved bathroom template, adjust the quantities and send it from the driveway.
Tuesday
You get a notice that the client opened the quote. That afternoon they accept it online by typing their name.
Wednesday
Day one on site. Log your eight hours against the job and add the supplier docket as a supply cost. The job shows its profit so far.
Thursday
The client asks for an extra power point moved and a towel rail. Price it as a variation on your phone; they approve it on the link before you start.
Friday
Finish, take the after photos, turn the job into an invoice with the variation on it, and send it. With Get paid online switched on, the client pays by card or bank debit from the invoice.
Next Monday
A weekly email shows how last week's jobs tracked, and the invoice is already in Xero as a draft for your bookkeeper.
Nothing in that week happens at 9pm. The quote went out on site, the variation was priced before the work, and the invoice went out the day the job finished.
Know your numbers when it is just you
Working alone, every unbillable hour is yours: the quoting, the driving, the supplier runs, the invoices and the BAS. Your true hourly cost is everything it takes to keep you on the tools for a year, divided by the hours you actually bill. The default example on the tradie hourly rate calculator is a sole-trader chippy: $90,000 take-home, 12% super, six weeks off, 30 billable hours a week, $15,000 of overheads and $12,000 for the ute and tools. That comes to about $93 an hour before any profit, and about $116 an hour at a 20% margin. Put your own numbers in.
Two things follow. If you charge out at your wage, you are working for nothing once the costs are paid. And every hour of admin you cut is an hour you can bill, or have back. That is the real test of any app for a sole trader: does it give you hours back and tell you which jobs are worth taking?
The method for pricing each job from those numbers is in how to price a job, and job costing for tradies shows how to check each job afterwards.
What the job apps cost for one person
Some job apps are priced with crews in mind, so check what one person really pays. Checked on each company's own pricing page on 23 October 2026, list prices in AUD:
| App | For one person | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Free plan, or Starter $29 a month (inc GST) | Free covers 1 user and 30 jobs a month; Starter covers 50 jobs |
| Tradify | Lite $48 or Pro $52 a month (ex GST) | Costing, timesheets and online quote acceptance are on Pro |
| Fergus | Essentials from $53 a month | Priced per user; the page does not say whether GST is included |
| NextMinute | From $199 a month (plus GST) | Plans start at 3 users |
| AroFlo | From $240 a month | $80 per user with a 3-user minimum; demo, not trial |
| TrackYaTradie (ours) | $35 a month | Sole Trader plan, every feature included, Xero only |
Promotions left out. Prices change, so confirm with each company before you decide.
If you only send a handful of quotes and invoices a month and never need to know a job's profit, an accounting app may be all you need: MYOB's Solo app, for example, is a phone-only app for sole traders that sends quotes and invoices and takes in-person payments with Tap to Pay. The full feature-by-feature table is on job management software in Australia, and if you are weighing ServiceM8's free plan, read the ServiceM8 alternative for sole traders.
When you take on a helper
The day you hire an apprentice or bring in a regular offsider, move up a plan: $79 a month covers up to 3 tradies and $149 covers up to 10. It is one flat price for the business, never per login, so the second and third person do not add a line each to the bill.
Each tradie gets their own login, logs hours per day from their own phone and works through the job checklists. They see their jobs, tasks and hours, never your quotes, invoices or profit. The calendar rosters who is on which job each day.
What TrackYaTradie does not do
- No free plan. The 14-day trial is free and needs no card, then it is a monthly or annual subscription.
- No MYOB or QuickBooks sync. Xero only.
- No automatic overdue reminders to clients. You send a reminder from the invoice when you choose to.
- No recurring jobs, stock, purchase orders, dispatch map or GPS.
- No payroll. Logged hours can go to Xero Payroll as timesheets once you have staff.
What it does do is answer the question a sole trader rarely has time to work out: did that job make money, and is this one still on track?
What it costs
The Sole Trader plan is $35 a month for 1 tradie, all in AUD, with every feature on this page included. Annual billing is ten times the monthly price. Details on the pricing page.
Questions from sole traders
What is the best app for a sole trader in Australia?+
The one that covers what you do every week without charging you for a team you do not have. If you only need quotes and invoices, an accounting app may be enough. If you want to know whether each job made money, you need job costing as well. TrackYaTradie's Sole Trader plan is $35 a month for one tradie, with every feature included.
Is there a free app for sole traders?+
ServiceM8 has a free plan for one user and up to 30 jobs a month, checked 23 October 2026. It is a real plan, not a trial. TrackYaTradie does not have a free plan, but the 14-day trial needs no card and includes every feature.
Do I need job costing if I work on my own?+
If you quote fixed prices and buy materials for the job, yes. An invoice tells you what you charged, not what you kept. Job costing compares the price with the hours and costs you logged, so you find out which kinds of jobs to chase and which to price higher.
What happens when I take on a helper or an apprentice?+
Move to the Starter plan, $79 a month for up to 3 tradies. They get their own login, log their hours from their own phone, and never see your quotes, invoices or profit. Your jobs, clients and history stay as they are.
Does it work with my accountant?+
If your books are in Xero, yes: invoices sync as drafts, supply costs as draft bills, and nothing is approved without you. TrackYaTradie does not sync with MYOB or QuickBooks, so if your accountant uses either, check that first.
Can I use it on my phone?+
Yes. There are native iPhone and Android apps and a web dashboard, all on the one account, included in the price.
More answers in the help centre, or ask us directly.
Keep reading
Free template
Quote template for tradies
Free tool
Tradie hourly rate calculator
Compare
ServiceM8 alternative for sole traders
Pages for your trade: see every trade.
Sources
Checked 23 October 2026. Every competitor detail on this page comes from the company's own site.
Put one of your real jobs in and see
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