About TradeSoftGuide

TradeSoftGuide is an independent review site that helps tradespeople pick the right software to run their service business. We focus on field service management, scheduling, dispatching, invoicing, and CRM tools built for plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, landscapers, and other skilled trades.

What we do

Every review on this site is based on hands-on testing. We sign up for the software, run real workflows, take actual payments, schedule real jobs, and then write about what we found. We don't take payment for reviews, and we don't let vendors preview or edit our articles before publication.

When you click an affiliate link on TradeSoftGuide and end up purchasing a product, we may earn a commission. This is how the site stays free. It never affects our recommendations. We say what's good and what's not, regardless of whether we have an affiliate relationship with the vendor.

Who we write for

Solo tradespeople and small service business owners — typically 1 to 10 employees — who are actively shopping for software to replace pen and paper, Excel, or a tool that doesn't fit their trade. Our audience is overwhelmingly in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, though the software we cover works in most countries.

What we don't do

• We don't sell software directly. We're a review site, not a vendor.
• We don't run sponsored content. If a vendor wants to reach our audience, they can join an affiliate program like everyone else.
• We don't cover enterprise software (ServiceTitan-tier tools are an exception — they're relevant to growing trades businesses).
• We don't write about software that tradespeople don't actually use. No "best CRM for SaaS startups" content here.

How we test

Our review process for any tool we cover:

1. Sign up for a free trial or demo. Pay out of pocket if needed.
2. Run real workflows — create a job, send a quote, take a payment, dispatch a technician (in a test account), generate a report.
3. Test on mobile, because most tradespeople live on their phones.
4. Read the support docs and forums to surface common complaints and edge cases.
5. Talk to actual users when we can (tradespeople who'll talk to us honestly about the tool's strengths and weaknesses).
6. Write the review with specific recommendations for different business sizes and trades.
7. Update the review when the software changes meaningfully (new pricing, new features, leadership changes).

Editorial independence

TradeSoftGuide is editorially independent. No vendor has paid for placement in our rankings, no vendor has reviewed our articles before publication, and no vendor has the right to remove or modify their review. If a product is bad, we say so. If a product is great, we say so. Our reputation depends on it.

Contact

Found a tool we should review? Disagree with one of our takes? Want to send us a tip? Reach out via our contact page. We read every message, even if we can't reply to all of them.