From Tools to Tech Tradie Job Management Software

Welcome, to the Podcast! Our newsletter made easy! Please note, this podcast features A.I generated voices for your hosts, Mia Taylor and Leo Baker, bringing you expert insights from owner, Ben De Rosa, at Aevum Accounting. Each week, we're here to help you confidently navigate the ins and outs of Australian tax – whether it's for your individual finances, or the complexities of your business. We'll cut through the jargon to give you strategies for compliance, smart planning, and that ultimate peace of mind. So, if you're looking to understand your obligations, maximize your financial position, or simply gain clarity on your money matters, you're in the right place. Let's get started with our review of the week! Ryan Cook from Hurricane Roof Plumbing said we use Aevum Accounting & Ben De Rosa for all our business needs at Hurricane Roof Plumbing. We meet quarterly with Ben and make the most of his business advisory and consulting services. Aevum Accounting look after not only our tax affairs but our bookkeeping and processing as well. This allows us to focus on what we do best and takes the stress out of our financial affairs. We highly recommend Aevum Accounting and working with Ben De Rosa. Thank you for the amazing feedback Ryan! We love hearing from our clients and a positive review gets our podcast started on the right foot. And we are back! Leo Baker here, and today, Mia, we have a very special episode for a huge part of the Australian economy: our tradies. That’s right, Leo. Today we're talking about one of the biggest challenges for any trade business owner: getting off the tools mentally, even when you're still on them physically. It’s about structuring your business so it doesn’t run you into the ground. And to help us break it all down, we have a very special guest. He's a third-generation sparky and the owner of Mitchell Electrical & Air, a man who has lived the chaos and come out the other side. Welcome to the show, Dave! G'day Mia, G'day Leo. Great to be here. Thanks for having me. It’s fantastic to have you, Dave. Now, you’re a huge advocate for using technology in trade businesses, but it wasn’t always that way. Can you paint a picture for us of what your business life was like before you embraced job management software? Yeah, look, I'm happy to, but it gives me a bit of PTSD just thinking about it. I took over the business from my dad, and I ran it the way he did: with a hardcover diary, a pen, and a shoebox under the passenger seat for receipts. My Ute, was my office! The classic shoebox accounting system! We see a few of those. Mate, it was chaos. I’d finish a 10 or 12-hour day on the tools, come home, have dinner, and then spend another three hours at the kitchen table trying to write up quotes from scribbles on scraps of paper. Invoices would go out weeks late, so my cash flow was terrible. I had no idea if I was actually making money on a job. I was stressed, exhausted, and I was missing out on time with my family. It wasn’t a business; it was just a job I couldn't quit. That sounds incredibly familiar for so many of our clients. So what was the turning point? My youngest apprentice, just a kid, was running his whole life off his phone. One day he saw me fumbling through the diary and just said, "Why don't you use an app for this?" I brushed him off at first, you know, "Don't need all that tech stuff." But it planted a seed. I realised I couldn't hire another person or grow the business because everything – every job detail, every client's number – was stuck in my head or in that battered old diary. I. had. to. change. So you looked into these apps. In simple terms, for a tradie listening who is where you were, what *is* job management software? It's your whole business in your pocket. It’s one app on your phone and computer that handles everything from the first phone call from a customer, to quoting the job, scheduling your team, tracking the work, sending the invoice, and taking the payment. It connects everything together so nothing gets missed. Today we wanted to focus on two of the biggest names in this space in Australia: ServiceMate and Tradeify. Dave, having used both, can you give us a quick rundown on the 'personality' of each one? Yeah, good way to put it. I'd say ServiceMate is the highly organised, systems-driven one. It's incredibly powerful, especially with how deeply it connects with accounting software like Xero and MYOB. It's brilliant for creating really slick, automated workflows. It's very popular with sparkies and plumbers who have a lot of forms and compliance steps. It is very much designed for the Apple ecosystem – iPhones and iPads – though they have a Lite version for Android now. And Tradeify? Tradeify is like your super reliable, easy-going mate. It's known for being incredibly user-friendly and quick to get started on. It’s not as complex in some areas, but it does the core things quoting, scheduling, invoicing really, really well and it's very intuitive. It’s got a broad appeal across almost every type of trade because it's so easy to pick up and use on both Apple and Android. Let’s get into the specifics then. Dave, how did this software change the way you quote for jobs? Game changer. Before, I’d be guessing prices on the back of a bit of plasterboard. Now, I can be on-site, pull up a template on my phone with my standard material costs and labour rates already loaded in, and send a professional-looking, itemised quote to the customer before I even get back in the ute. The customer can click a button to accept it right then and there. My quote win-rate went up instantly because I looked more professional and I was faster than everyone else. Okay, so you win the job. What about scheduling? How do you manage your team? This is where you get continuity. Before, it was a text message in the morning telling the boys where to go. If they needed details, they had to call me, interrupting what I was doing. With the software, I can see the whole week on a digital calendar. I drag and drop a job onto a team member, and it automatically sends them all the details: the address, the customer's name, the job description, even photos I took during the quote. They get reminders, they can see a map, and they can check in and out of the job to track their time. And that creates a real structure for the business. The "way we do things" is now in the app, not just in your head. Exactly! That was the key to upscaling. I could finally hire more staff because I didn't have to personally tell them every single thing. A new guy could get all the job info from the app. I could step off the tools more often because I could see what was happening across the whole business in real-time from my phone, whether I was at the wholesaler or watching my kid's school sports carnival. And the bit every business owner loves: getting paid. How did it change your invoicing and cash flow? Night and day. I went from invoicing weeks late to invoicing the second the job was finished. My guys can even finalise the invoice on-site, add photos of the completed work as proof, and take a credit card payment right there on their phone. My average time to get paid went from over 40 days down to about 7. It completely fixed my cash flow. That is a staggering improvement. It shows how this technology isn’t just an operational tool; it's a financial management tool. It turns a scattered process into a structured, scalable business. One hundred percent. It turned my job into a sellable asset. Before, if I wanted to sell, what was I selling? A messy client list and my mobile number. Now, I’m selling a business with systems, a job history, clear financials, and a workflow that a new owner could step into and run from day one. That’s a real business. That’s the perfect summary, Dave. And it leads to a final, crucial point. Getting this operational software in place is step one. Step two is making sure it works perfectly with your financial backbone – your accounting software. This is where Aevum Accounting really steps in. Our Business Advisory and Accounting Software Support services are designed specifically for this. We help our tradie clients not only choose the right job management app for their needs but, critically, we set it up to integrate seamlessly with Xero or MYOB. This ensures that when Dave sends an invoice from his app, it automatically creates a perfectly matched invoice in Xero. It means we get a true, real-time view of the business's performance – profitability per job, cash flow, everything. It connects the work on the tools to the numbers that matter. Exactly. You need both. The app helps you do the work and get paid, and the accountant helps you understand if you're actually winning financially. It’s a team effort. From a shoebox under the seat to a fully integrated, scalable business. Dave, that’s an incredible story and some seriously valuable advice. Thanks so much for joining us. Anytime, guys. Cheers. And that brings us to the end of another episode! We hope today's discussion has provided you with valuable insights and helps you navigate your financial world with greater confidence. Before we go, a quick but important reminder: The information and strategies shared on this podcast are for general informational purposes only and do not constitute specific tax or financial advice. Everyone's situation is unique, and tax laws are complex and constantly evolving. For personalized advice tailored to your specific individual or business needs, we always recommend consulting with a qualified professional. You can connect with our team at Aevum Accounting – visit our website to learn more about our services, including detailed tax guides for various occupations, and how we can support your financial journey. Thank you so much for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing, leaving us a review, and sharing it with anyone who might benefit. Your support helps us reach more Australians. Until next time, stay savvy, stay proactive, and keep building your financial future! From all of us at Aevum Accounting, goodbye for now!