Yamate vs Fergus at a glance
We're biased and we'll say so: we make Yamate. Every Fergus figure below is dated and linked to their own pricing page, and the table says where they beat us.
| Yamate | Fergus | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Yamate$19/mo flat | Fergus~A$53–$77/month, plus from $26/month per timesheet user, as at September 2026 (see pricing) |
| Pricing model | YamateFlat — one business | FergusTiered plans, plus a per-user timesheet add-on |
| Built for | YamateSolo tradies first — and crews, one price per business | FergusTrade businesses with staff & jobs to manage |
| Job workflow | YamateCalendar booking, crew logins, suppliers & purchase orders, stage billing. No status board | FergusFull job-management (Status Board, scheduling) |
| Texts to customers | YamateUnlimited, included (fair use) | FergusSMS charged ($15 for 100 texts), as at September 2026 |
| Compliance / certs | YamateSWMS drafting, licence & insurance reminders included | FergusCertificates typically an add-on |
| AU-native | YamateGST, ABN, PayID & bank details baked in | FergusAU/NZ made, GST-ready |
When Fergus is the better choice
Two things it does that Yamate does not, and both matter once you run people:
- The Status Board, and supplier bills that handle themselves. Fergus tracks every job on a board from enquiry to invoice, and it reads an incoming supplier bill and matches it to the job it belongs to. In Yamate you book jobs on a calendar and enter supplier bills as purchase orders yourself. Run a lot of supplier paper and that difference is hours a month.
- Depth for a growing trade business. Plumbing, electrical and building outfits with staff or subbies get workflow depth and support to match. For a growing operation, that structure pays off, and it is worth the learning curve.
If a board and self-matching supplier bills are not how your week runs, that same depth is more platform than you'll use. That is the whole difference between the two apps.
Where Yamate wins for a sole trader
- One price per business. $19/mo covers you and up to three people, so the cost does not climb just because the software is capable. A bigger crew moves to the Company plan at $59/mo for eight people, $15/mo a head after that.
- Far less to learn. Yamate is quote → invoice → get paid → chase. No job board to set up, no workflow to configure, you're sending real quotes the same day.
- Texts included. Auto-chasing and reminders are built in with no per-message charge, and your PayID or bank details sit on every invoice.
- Built solo-first. Simple enough to run alone, and the same app runs the crew with a login each when you grow.
- Works with no signal. Quote in a basement, invoice in the driveway, core records are stored locally on the device, not fetched from a website you have to reach. Exactly what works offline.
- $19/mo while you stay subscribed if you sign up before 30 November 2026 — the price rises after that. No lock-in, cancel anytime.
Simple to run does not mean shallow
The reason Yamate suits a solo tradie is the driving, not a short feature list. The screens stay simple. Underneath, the one flat price carries more of the business than you would guess,
- The whole job. Quotes with deposits and validity dates, the customer accepts online, booking on a calendar, repeating jobs, and big jobs billed in stages with billed and to-go tracked on the job.
- The money. Expenses with receipt photos, profit per job, GST and end-of-year summaries, and tax put aside as estimates while money lands. Old invoices photograph straight in, so your books do not start from zero.
- The crew. A login each with what they see set by you, and pay runs with PAYG and super worked out, payslips included. Estimates, Yamate prepares and you lodge.
- The safety paperwork. SWMS drafted from the job's own words for you to review and sign, licence and insurance expiry reminders, and your certificate of currency sent in a tap.
- The phone. Missed-call text-back with your booking link, customer replies landing in the app, and AI that drafts the quote when you say the job out loud.
Every line above is on the feature list with its honest limits beside it. The depth we do not have is named in the Fergus section above, on purpose.
30 days free to try it properly — Fergus’s trial is 14 days. No card, cancel anytime.
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We ran both, same job, September 2026
Not off the brochure. Same made up business, same week of work in each, measured 22 to 24 September 2026. Fergus scored 50 on the standard ease of use scale against Yamate’s 77.5, where 68 is average. It had the deepest tradie features of any competitor we tested, supplier bills that match themselves to the job. The cost is learning it, sign up starts a 5 step course of about 30 minutes, booking is drag only on a calendar, its default deposit is 50% where the NSW cap is 10%, and its practice entries sit in amongst your real records. Every snag we hit in it is published on the scorecard page, with ours beside it.
FAQ
Is there a cheaper alternative to Fergus?
For a solo tradie, Yamate is $19/mo for the business — three people included, no per-seat fee at that size — covering quoting, invoicing, getting paid and auto-chasing. Fergus starts at around A$53–$77/month (as at September 2026), so for a one-person business Yamate is usually the cheaper option. Timesheet users are extra, from $26/month as at September 2026.
Does Yamate do job management like Fergus?
Mostly yes, these days. Yamate books jobs on a calendar, runs a crew with a login each, takes deposits, bills big jobs in stages and records suppliers and purchase orders. What it does not have is Fergus's Status Board view, or supplier bills that arrive and match themselves to the job. If those two run your week, Fergus is the better fit.
Can I switch from Fergus to Yamate?
Yes — Yamate sets up in minutes, so you can run it on a few real jobs alongside Fergus before you decide.
See also
ServiceM8 alternative · Tradify alternative · Getting paid as a tradie
Sources and the fine print
Competitor details as of September 2026 — check fergus.com for current pricing and features, sourced from fergus.com/au/pricing. Fergus's page does not say whether its prices include GST. General information only. Fergus is a trademark of its owner; Yamate is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Fergus. Pricing and features change — verify on their site.