Business software for electricians is sold with the same words by products that differ enormously in what they hold. Some are a contact list with an electrical logo. Some are a full property record with the panel, the history, the licences on the crew and the documents each visit produced. The difference decides whether the software produces the next job or just stores a phone number. These seven questions, asked on a phone during the trial rather than on a demo call, sort one from the other in an afternoon.
One to three: the property, the panel and the history
Does the record start from the address, with people attached, rather than from a person? Can the electrician add the panel, its rating and the circuits from the phone while standing in front of it? Does the history show every visit in order with what was done and what was invoiced? A yes to all three is trade software. A no to the first usually means a sales CRM with a coat of paint, and the other two will be workarounds.
Four and five: licences and access from the truck
Does the schedule know who holds which licence and refuse to send an apprentice alone to a job that needs a journeyman? And is all of this on the electrician's phone at the property, offline if the signal drops, rather than on a laptop in the office? Software the electrician cannot reach is software the electrician will not update, and an un-updated record is worth less than no record.
Six and seven: the document chain and the exit
Does an estimate approved on the record become the work order and the invoice without re-typing, so the software and the money are one system? And can the whole record set be exported, with customers, properties, history and documents, if you ever leave? The second question is the one vendors like least, and it is the one that protects the business. The free tools on this site produce the documents; the paid records are exportable by design.
What the answers cost, from the vendors' pricing pages
On the day these were read, Tradify's Lite plan was $47 USD per user per month, Jobber's Core plan was $49 a month including one user with additional users at $29 a month each, and Housecall Pro's Basic plan was $59 a month billed annually or $79 billed monthly. The per-user line is the one to multiply, because the record only works when every electrician who visits a property can update it.
Questions people ask about business software for electricians
Is this different from electrical business software?
No, the same product under two searches. Both mean a customer record built around the property with the panel, history and agreements on it, an estimate-to-invoice chain, and a schedule that knows who is licensed.
Can a spreadsheet do this?
For a one-truck shop with a short list, for a while. It fails when two people need to update it from two places, or when a property's history is long enough that finding last year's job takes longer than the call.
What is the most common buying mistake?
Judging the demo rather than the phone. Ask to add a property, a panel and a visit from a phone in the trial. If that takes more than a couple of minutes, the electricians will not do it, and the record will stay empty.