Most trade software assumes the same job over and over. A roofer roofs. A pest company sprays. A handyman business is the opposite. In one week you might replace a toilet flapper, rehang a door, install shelves, caulk a tub, swap a light fixture and fix a fence gate. Every job is small, every job is different, and each one starts with the same question from the customer: how much?
That variety is why handyman software has to be simple. If it takes ten minutes to set up each job, you will stop using it by week three. This page covers what handyman business software should do, a checklist to take into any demo, and how Koira and the usual names compare.
- A handyman lives on lots of small tickets. Fast pricing and fast booking matter more than fancy reports.
- Decide how you price, by the hour, by the job or a mix, and check the software handles it the way you work.
- Many small jobs means many small invoices. Getting paid at the door saves the most time.
- Repeat customers and their neighbors are the cheapest work you will ever get. Software should bring them back.
The problem with small jobs
A small job takes almost as much office work as a big one. The call, the questions, the price, the booking, the reminder, the invoice, the payment, the review. For a $150 job, that office work can eat the profit if you do it by hand at night.
So the main thing to ask any handyman software is not what it can do. It is how many taps it takes to get one small job from the first call to paid. Fewer is better. If the answer involves a laptop, think twice. You are in a customer's hallway, not an office.
Hourly, flat or both
Handymen price in three common ways, and your software should match how you already work.
By the hour. Simple to explain, but customers get nervous without a number up front. Software should let you give a starting price, then bill the real time.
By the job. A fixed price for common tasks such as mounting a TV, hanging a door or replacing a faucet. Customers like knowing the number. You need a price list you trust, and software that quotes from it the same way every time.
A mix. Flat prices for the common jobs and hourly for the odd ones. This is where most handymen end up. The software needs both, and it needs a way to ask you about the job nobody has priced yet.
Materials are the other half. Decide whether you mark up parts, charge a trip fee or a minimum, and make sure those are lines on your price list, not something you remember on the drive.
Built for one person, ready for two
Most handyman businesses are one person with a truck. Some add a helper for the busy months. Good handyman business software should work fine for one person without a pile of settings, and should not punish you with a big jump in price the day you add a helper.
Look at the people column on every pricing page before you sign up. Some tools charge for each user. Some include a set number of users per plan. Some do not charge per person at all.
A handyman software checklist
- Calls answered and missed calls texted back while you are on a ladder
- A price on your website for common jobs, from your own list
- Customers who book a time by text, without phone tag
- An estimate you can send from the driveway, with options when there is a choice
- Signature and deposit on the same page for bigger jobs
- An invoice that goes out when you finish
- Card or phone wallet at the door
- A day in driving order, so you are not crossing town twice
- A review ask after every paid job
- A way to bring past customers back for the next small job
- No extra fee when a helper joins
How Koira works for a handyman
Pricing from your list. Koira quotes only what is on your price list, and never invents a number. A Get a price button on your Koira site answers common jobs from that list, day or night. When a customer asks for something you have not priced, Koira asks you once and remembers your answer. Instant quotes are on every plan. See instant quotes.
Photos to an estimate. Snap a few photos of the job and Koira drafts the estimate from them and your price list. An estimate can carry up to three options, such as patch the drywall, patch and paint the wall, or patch and paint the room. The customer picks, signs and pays the deposit on one page. See estimates and signing.
The phone, handled. On Grow, Koira answers on a Koira number and texts back any call you miss in about a minute, with three open times from your day. The customer replies with one and it is on Today. See the AI receptionist and booking by text.
A day that makes sense to drive. Today puts your stops in driving order, and new bookings slot in where the drive works. On-my-way texts tell the customer when to expect you. The day plan is on every plan. See Today and routes.
Paid before you pack up. Tap done and the invoice is built from the estimate and sent. The customer scans a QR code on your phone and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No card reader. See invoices and pay at the door.
The next job. Every text carries one link to the customer's own page, where they can book again. An hour after they pay, Koira asks for a Google review. After each job, Koira can mail postcards with the job photo to nearby homes that are likely to hire you, at one flat price per card. On Grow, past customers hear from you when the season turns, and happy customers get a referral link to share. See neighbor postcards and referrals.
Run it by text. Text Koira "invoice carl 640" or "who owes me" from the truck. Anything that deletes or sends money asks for a YES first, and you can undo for ten minutes. See Text Koira.
How the options compare
Each cell names the lowest plan whose card on the company's public pricing page lists that feature. It is a guide for what to ask, not a full list of anyone's features.
| What you need | Koira | Jobber | Housecall Pro | QuoteIQ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win the job | ||||
| Calls answered and missed calls texted back | Grow | Plus, or a $29 add-on | Listed as a separate product | Essentials (AI call team) |
| Instant prices on your website | Office (free) | – | – | Elite (InstaQuote) |
| Customers book online | Office (free) | Core | Basic | Elite (InstaSchedule) |
| Estimates | Office (free) | Core | Basic | Essentials |
| Options on one estimate | Office, up to three | Grow (optional line items) | Max (sales proposal tool) | – |
| A website | Office (Koira address) | Core | Listed as a separate product | Max (AI website builder) |
| Get paid | ||||
| Invoices and online payments | Office (free) | Core | Basic | Essentials |
| QuickBooks | Grow (coming) | Connect | Essentials | Pro |
| Bring them back | ||||
| Review asks | Office (free) | – | Basic | – |
| Postcards to nearby homes | Per card, any plan | – | – | – |
| Run the day | ||||
| Stops sorted by the drive | Office (free) | – | Essentials (routes) | Elite |
| Extra people | No per-person fee | Priced by team size | 5 on Essentials, 8 on Max, then $35 each | $25 a month each |
Each cell names the lowest plan whose card on the company's public pricing page lists that feature, checked October 8, 2026. A dash means we did not see it on the plan cards. The company may sell it as an add-on or on a higher tier, so ask them.
ServiceTitan is not in the table. Its pricing page shows three packages, Starter, Essentials and The Works, priced per technician on request, and it is built for much larger shops than most handyman businesses.
What it costs a month
For a one-person handyman business, the lowest plan is often the honest comparison. If you plan to add a helper, check the people column too.
| Plan | Price a month | People | What the plan card lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Koira | |||
| Office | Free | No per-person fee | Site, estimates with signing, invoices, card payments, day plan |
| Grow | $249 plus usage at cost | No per-person fee | Adds the receptionist and text-back on a Koira number, Turbo, campaigns |
| Front Office | $499 flat, usage included | No per-person fee | Adds maintenance plans, crew routes and hours, commercial outreach |
| Jobber | |||
| Core | $49 monthly, or $29 billed yearly | 1 user | Online booking, quotes, invoices, a website |
| Connect | $139 monthly, or $99 billed yearly, for 1 user. $199, or $149 yearly, for 5 | 1, 5, 10 or 15 users, priced by team size | Adds quote and invoice follow-ups, QuickBooks Online sync |
| Plus | $499 monthly, or $399 billed yearly, for 5 users | 5, 10 or 15 users | Adds crew scheduling, Marketing Suite, AI-powered Receptionist |
| Housecall Pro | |||
| Basic | $79 monthly, or $59 billed yearly | 1 user | Online booking, scheduling, quotes, invoices, review tools |
| Essentials | $189 monthly, or $149 billed yearly | 5 users | Adds routes, flat-rate pricing, QuickBooks Online sync |
| Max | $329 monthly, or $299 billed yearly | 8 users, extra users $35 each | Adds recurring service plans and route optimization |
| QuoteIQ | |||
| Essentials | $29.99 monthly, or $299.99 a year | 1 user, extra users $25 each | Estimates, invoices, scheduling, online payments, AI call team |
| Beginner | $99.99 monthly, or $999.99 a year | 2 users, extra users $25 each | Adds MapMeasure Pro and e-signatures |
| Pro | $199.99 monthly, or $1,999.99 a year | 4 users, extra users $25 each | Adds email and text automation, QuickBooks |
| Elite | $299.99 monthly, or $2,999.99 a year | 10 users, extra users $25 each | Adds InstaQuote, route optimization, campaigns |
| ServiceTitan | |||
| Starter, Essentials, The Works | Not published, priced on request | Priced per technician | Dispatching, scheduling, call booking, invoicing, estimates |
Prices from each company's public pricing page, checked October 8, 2026: Jobber, Housecall Pro, QuoteIQ, ServiceTitan and Koira. Prices are per month in US dollars and change often, so check the page before you buy.
Choosing handyman business software
Pick the job that eats the most of your evening and start there.
- If it is answering calls and texts, look at call answering and booking by text first.
- If it is writing prices, look at instant prices from your list and estimates from photos.
- If it is invoices and chasing payment, look at invoices on done and pay at the door.
- If it is finding the next job, look at reviews, postcards and bringing past customers back.
Then try it on a real week of jobs. Koira has a free plan with estimates, invoices, card payments, the day plan and a site that books jobs, so you can start there and move up when you want Koira to answer the phone.
