We're biased, not hiding it. We make Yamate, and it's on this list. We've said where the others beat us, and every price here links to the vendor's own page.
How we picked
On 17 August 2026 we read each vendor's own Australian pricing page and recorded the figures as published, including the GST treatment. Nothing here comes from a comparison site. We then scored each product on the four things that decide whether you get paid: invoicing from the phone on site, a payment method on the invoice, automatic chasing, and handoff to accounting software.
Why these six. They are the products an Australian trade business would realistically shortlist. We have not padded the list with small or emerging apps — a business runs its cashflow through this choice. Jobber is excluded as North-America-first.
The three categories, and which you actually need
"Invoicing app", "accounting software" and "job management" are three different purchases, and most tradies end up needing two of them.
| What it is for | What it will not do | Typical tradie verdict | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoicing tool generators, simple invoice apps | What it is forProduce a correctly formatted invoice and send it | What it will not doNo job records, no quotes, no chasing, no books | Typical tradie verdictFine for the first few months, then you outgrow it |
| Accounting software Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks | What it is forYour books — bank feeds, BAS, payroll, the year-end file your accountant wants | What it will not doNot built for quoting on a roof or dispatching a job | Typical tradie verdictMost tradies need this eventually, and their accountant will say so |
| Job management ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, Yamate | What it is forThe whole loop — quote, schedule, do, invoice, chase — from the phone | What it will not doNot a general ledger; most hand off to accounting software | Typical tradie verdictThis is where the invoicing actually belongs for a trade business |
The practical answer for most tradies: a job management tool that invoices, plus accounting software your accountant can work in, connected so you're not typing invoices twice. A standalone invoicing app is a good place to start and a bad place to stay.
Looking for "accounting software for tradies"?
There is no accounting software made only for tradies. What the search really finds is Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks with a tradie using it. The honest answer has two halves,
- You will probably still want real accounting software eventually. Bank feeds, BAS lodged through your accountant, payroll filed with the ATO, the year-end file. A job app does not replace that, whatever its ads say.
- But most of what a tradie opens the accounting software for lives happily in the job app. In Yamate that is expenses with receipt photos, profit per job, GST and end-of-year summaries as CSV, tax put aside as estimates while money lands, pay runs prepared with payslips, and a Xero connection so invoices are typed once. Yamate prepares, you lodge.
And moving in is not the chore it used to be. When we moved a made-up business's old books in September 2026, three old invoices went in from a PDF and a photo in about 23 seconds, every figure exact, nothing invented, bank details untouched. None of the four competitors we ran beside it reads a document at all, measured on the scorecard. If the books are the real question, start with bookkeeping for tradies and what your accountant needs from you.
Scored on the invoicing job specifically
Four questions decide whether you get paid quickly. The full feature comparison is here.
| Product | Invoice from the phone, on site? | Payment method on the invoice? | Chases late payers automatically? | Hands off to accounting software? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes — this is its strength | Payment method on the invoice?Card payments, at 1.49–2.10% + 30¢ | Chases late payers automatically?Yes, via its messaging (SMS charged at 10¢) | Hands off to accounting software?Yes |
| Tradify | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes | Payment method on the invoice?Yes, via payment integrations | Chases late payers automatically?Reminders available | Hands off to accounting software?Yes |
| Fergus | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes | Payment method on the invoice?Yes, via integrations | Chases late payers automatically?Yes | Hands off to accounting software?Yes |
| simPRO | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes | Payment method on the invoice?Yes | Chases late payers automatically?Yes | Hands off to accounting software?Yes |
| AroFlo | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes | Payment method on the invoice?Yes | Chases late payers automatically?Yes | Hands off to accounting software?Yes |
| Yamate OURS | Invoice from the phone, on site?Yes, and it keeps working with no signal | Payment method on the invoice?PayID, bank transfer or card, through your own Stripe account | Chases late payers automatically?Yes — drafted for you to tap send, or switched on to send automatically | Hands off to accounting software?Xero |
Capability summarised from each vendor's own published material, read 17 August 2026. Prices and card fees checked September 2026 at each vendor's own pricing page. Card processing fees are charged by the payment provider, not by the software vendor, and differ by product.
What the price actually is
Nobody sells the invoicing separately — you buy the platform.
| Product | Published price, as at September 2026 | Charged by |
|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | Published priceFree $0 (30 jobs, 1 user) · $29 · $79 · $149 · $349/month, incl GST, as at September 2026. Source | Charged byMonthly job volume |
| Tradify | Published priceA$48 · A$52 · A$62 per user/month, ex GST, as at September 2026. Source | Charged byPer user |
| Fergus | Published priceFrom $53/month and from $77/month; timesheets from $26/month per timesheet user, as at September 2026. Source | Charged byPage does not state whether the base is per user |
| simPRO | Published priceNo price published — quote-based. Source | Charged byQuoted |
| AroFlo | Published priceStarting price $80 per user a month, minimum three users, as at September 2026. Source | Charged byPer user, three users minimum |
| Yamate OURS | Published price$19/month Founder plan before 30 November 2026, then $29/month; 3 people included. Company plan $59/month for 8, $15/month per person after. Details | Charged byPer business |
Prices read at each vendor's own Australian pricing page and linked to it, checked September 2026. ServiceM8 publishes GST-inclusive and Tradify publishes ex GST, so a like-for-like comparison adds 10% to the Tradify figures. Fergus and AroFlo do not say whether their prices include GST. simPRO's pricing page was not reachable to us on the day, so it carries no price here rather than us repeating someone else's guess. Currency AUD.
The products, on invoicing
1 · ServiceM8 — best for the busy service round
The most complete on-site loop of the group: job on the phone, quote, photos, signature, invoice, payment — often before you leave the driveway. The free tier is a real working allowance under 30 jobs a month, and paid tiers include unlimited users, so extra hands cost nothing extra.
Skip it if you send a lot of customer messages or take most payments by card. SMS at 10¢ and card processing at 1.49–2.10% + 30¢ sit outside the subscription, so the sticker price is not the bill.
2 · Tradify — best for the small crew wanting one all-rounder
Solid, mature invoicing inside a well-rounded job management product, with good Xero and MYOB handoff. Choose Tradify for the workflow and the invoicing will not disappoint you — the trade-off is the pricing axis, not the invoices.
Skip it if you are on your own, or adding hands quickly. You pay per user, A$48–62 per month ex GST as at September 2026, and the cost grows with headcount.
3 · Fergus — best for seeing the margin as you bill
Invoicing sits inside a product built around job costing, so the useful thing is not the invoice but the margin on the job you are invoicing. If profit leakage is your problem, that beats a prettier PDF.
Skip it if you want your exact monthly cost before you talk to anyone. The pricing page does not state whether "from $53 per month" is per user or per account, and there are separate timesheet-user charges on top — all as at September 2026.
4 · simPRO and AroFlo — best for staged and contract billing
Both invoice capably as part of much larger platforms, including progress claims and contract billing that the smaller tools do not attempt. If your invoicing means staged claims across long projects, this is the right category and the others are not in it.
Skip it if your invoicing is a bill for a hot water swap. AroFlo starts at $80 per user a month with at least three users, as at September 2026. simPRO's pricing page was not reachable to us, so budget for a sales call there.
5 · Yamate — best for the solo tradie who invoices from the ute OURS
We build this. Yamate's invoicing aims at one outcome: the invoice leaves before you do, with a way to pay attached, and chases itself if it goes unpaid. Payments run through your own Stripe account, PayID or bank transfer, never through us. GST, tax set-aside and profit per job show as estimates as you go. And it is not only invoicing — suppliers and purchase orders, stage billing on big jobs, crew pay runs prepared with payslips and SWMS drafting ride on the same flat price.
Skip it if you need inventory or formal contract claims with retentions. Big jobs bill in stages here, each stage raises its own tax invoice and the job tracks billed and to-go, but there is no stock control and no claim schedules. It hands off to Xero rather than replacing your accounting software, and sending an invoice needs a connection.
We invoiced the same job in five of them
In September 2026 we ran one job, quote to invoice to chasing to writing one off, through ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus, Xero and Yamate with the same made-up NSW electrical business in each. Measured 22 to 24 September 2026, one tester, who works for Yamate, limits disclosed on the scorecard. What we found,
- None of the five failed on the tax invoice itself. Every app produced a document with the elements the ATO asks for. The differences are all in what happens around the document.
- Xero kept the cleanest paper trail, the invoice carried the quote's number on it, so anyone can follow quote to invoice. And one trap, a draft invoice can be approved with no due date at all if payment terms were never set up, and an invoice with no due date is an invoice nobody chases.
- Tradify could not give a customer money back against an invoice, its own help says credits only happen through Xero and the workaround is a line with a minus price, so a proper credit lands in your accountant's lap. Its customer texts are also one way, marked do not respond.
- Fergus keeps a running tally of quoted, billed and paid, the right shape for billing a big job in stages, and more than a solo usually needs.
- ServiceM8's invoicing is fine, and much of what sits around it is sold separately, orders and job costs were separate add ons in our walk.
- Yamate picked up the numbering where her old book left off, the first invoice out was INV-1042 because the start number was set once in settings, so the paper trail never shows a reset to 0001. Writing off a bad debt and disputing an invoice each took one tap and both stop the chasing texts.
Four things that actually get you paid faster
Invoicing from the job, on site. The invoice raised in the driveway is paid days before the one written on Sunday night.
A way to pay on the invoice. A PayID, bank details or a card link removes the "I'll do it when I'm at the computer" step, which is where most late payments actually begin. See PayID for tradies.
Automatic, polite chasing. Not because you can't chase, but because you won't, the week gets busy and the invoice ages. A reminder drafted on day 7 recovers real money. The wording is in chasing unpaid invoices.
A valid invoice, first time. An accounts department that bounces your invoice for a missing ABN has restarted the clock at zero. The seven required elements take one minute to check and save weeks.
The verdict, in one line each
Bill from a busy service round and want the invoice gone before the van moves — ServiceM8. Want depth of workflow and can wear a seat price — Tradify. Suspect you are winning jobs that do not make money — Fergus. Claim in stages across long projects — simPRO or AroFlo. On your own or three-handed, and want the invoice, the payment and the tax picture in one place — Yamate. We would say that last one, which is why every figure above links to the vendor's own page.
Need an invoice right now? Free generator, no sign-up →Or if you want the whole loop: Yamate is $19/mo on the Founder plan if you sign up before 30 November 2026, locked in — $29/mo after that, and both include up to 3 people. Got a crew? The Company plan is $59/mo for eight people, then $15/mo each. No lock-in, cancel anytime. Prices in AUD.
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FAQ
What is the best invoicing app for a tradie in Australia?
A job management tool that invoices — ServiceM8, Tradify or Yamate, depending on crew size and job volume — rather than a standalone invoicing app. The invoice is not the hard part. Getting it out on site and getting it paid is.
Do I need accounting software as well?
Usually yes. Job management handles quoting, invoicing and chasing; accounting handles your books, BAS and the year-end file. Most of these connect to Xero or MYOB so invoices get typed once.
Is a free invoice generator enough?
For your first handful of invoices, yes — ours is free with no sign-up. It stops being enough when you cannot remember which invoices are unpaid, usually around invoice twenty.
What makes an invoice legally valid in Australia?
Seven elements for a taxable sale under $1,000, and an eighth at $1,000 or more. The full list, with examples, is on tax invoice requirements.
Do these charge card fees?
The payment provider charges them, not the software vendor, and they differ by product and plan. ServiceM8 publishes 1.49–2.10% + 30¢. With Yamate, payments run through your own Stripe account, so those fees are yours and we never touch the money.
Related
General information for Australian businesses, not financial or purchasing advice. Yamate makes one of the products compared here and says so wherever it appears. Competitor prices were checked September 2026 and capabilities read on 17 August 2026, each at the vendor's own material and linked to source; they change without notice.