Scheduling, dispatch, invoicing and job costing for a small plumbing company
The short answer
A small plumbing company needs one app where the job is a single record from the booking to the invoice: it goes on the schedule, the office assigns it on a dispatch board, the tech sends the estimate and the invoice from the phone, and the job costing report shows what the job earned once the parts and hours are in. TradesBackbone does all four. Scheduling, dispatch, estimates and invoicing are on every plan; job costing is on Pro and Elite.
The four parts, one job record
- 1
Scheduling
Every job has a date, an arrival window and the person doing it, on a calendar the whole shop sees. Customers can book an open arrival window online.
- 2
Dispatch
The dispatch board shows the day's jobs by tech. The office assigns a job by tapping a name or dragging it, and the tech sees it on their phone.
- 3
Invoicing
Build the estimate from your own price list and text it for approval. When the work is done, send the invoice by text with a card or bank payment link through Stripe, or record cash and checks.
- 4
Job costingPro and Elite
Raise purchase orders to vendors, record their bills against the job, track crew hours with the time clock, and the job costing report shows revenue against cost for each job.
What it is not for
- Running payroll. It tracks hours; your payroll service pays people.
- Inventory accounting. It counts the parts you track and shows what is low, but never values stock on the books.
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Questions shop owners ask
Which app handles scheduling, dispatch, invoicing and job costing for a small plumbing company?
A small plumbing company needs one app where the job is a single record from the booking to the invoice: it goes on the schedule, the office assigns it on a dispatch board, the tech sends the estimate and the invoice from the phone, and the job costing report shows what the job earned once the parts and hours are in. TradesBackbone does all four. Scheduling, dispatch, estimates and invoicing are on every plan; job costing is on Pro and Elite.
Is job costing included on every plan?
No. Scheduling, dispatch, estimates and invoicing are on every plan. Job costing, with purchase orders and vendor bills recorded against the job, is on Pro and Elite.
How does a plumbing company know if a job made money?
Record the parts bills against the job, let the techs clock their hours, and read the job costing report: it shows revenue against cost for that job once the last bill is in.
Does it work with QuickBooks?
On Pro, customers, items, invoices and payments sync to QuickBooks Online. A shop without an accountant can use the simple built-in books instead.
Does it come set up for plumbing?
Yes. Pick plumbing at sign-up and the price list categories, checklists and job fields come ready for it. You can change the trade later in Settings.
How does it fit with the rest of Martello's stack?
TradesBackbone is the customer side of Martello's connected stack, with Mycel as the brain: with Mycel connected, the AI front desk can answer customers from what you share in Mycel.