The Australian tradie software market has no shortage of options. Invoice2go. Square. Tradify. ServiceM8. Xero. Each has a product page that makes it sound like exactly what you need.
But most of them are solving the same problem: how do you send an invoice? That's a real problem. It's just not the only one — and for most trade businesses it's not even the most expensive one.
The money tradies lose before the invoice ever gets sent — through missed follow-ups, underpriced jobs, and slow quoting — usually dwarfs what they lose from late payment. Yet almost no software touches that side of the business.
Here's the honest breakdown.
The quick summary
Every app in this comparison does invoicing. Most do quoting. A few add job scheduling. None of them — except Dockett — addresses the re-engagement problem, the pricing confidence problem, or the on-site capture problem with the same focus.
If your only pain is "I need to send better invoices," most of these tools will get the job done. If your pain is "I feel like my business should be earning more than it is and I can't figure out where it's leaking," that's a different conversation.
Invoice2go
What it does well
Invoice2go is a clean, well-designed invoicing app. It's easy to set up, looks professional, and handles GST and ATO compliance correctly. If you need to go from zero invoicing to organised invoicing in a day, Invoice2go works.
Where it stops
Invoice2go is invoicing software. It doesn't tell you which past clients are worth calling. It doesn't tell you whether your hourly rate is competitive for your state. It doesn't help you draft a quote while you're standing on a job site. It's a good Pillar 3 tool in a world where most trade businesses are bleeding money from Pillars 1 and 2 as well.
Tradies who have a quoting and follow-up system already, and just need a cleaner way to invoice and get paid.
Square
What it does well
Square started as a point-of-sale product and has expanded into invoicing and payments. It's genuinely good at accepting payments fast — the card reader hardware is a big part of its reputation.
Where it stops
Square is a payment company with invoicing features tacked on, not a business operating system for trade businesses. It has no concept of job types, trade-specific pricing, re-engagement windows, or the mechanics of how a trade business actually runs. It also charges transaction fees on payments processed through the platform — a cost that compounds as your revenue grows.
Businesses where instant on-site card payment is the main friction point. Not built for trade business complexity.
Tradify
What it does well
Tradify is purpose-built for trade businesses and shows it. It handles scheduling, job tracking, quoting, invoicing, and day-to-day workflow reasonably well. If you're running a team and the main problem is keeping everyone coordinated and jobs moving through the pipeline, Tradify is a serious option.
Where it stops
Tradify is workflow software. It will tell you where your jobs are. It won't tell you which clients are overdue for a follow-up, whether your plumbing callout rate is below market for Queensland, or generate a quote from a voice note on the driveway. The focus is on managing work in progress, not on optimising the commercial outcomes around that work.
Small-to-medium trade businesses where dispatch, scheduling, and job coordination are the primary problem. Workflow-first, not revenue-first.
ServiceM8
What it does well
ServiceM8 is a mature, feature-rich platform that goes deep on field service management. Job cards, checklists, asset tracking, scheduling, online booking, and Xero integration — it has the depth to run a complex trade operation. If you have a dispatcher, multiple field staff, and real workflow complexity, ServiceM8 can handle it.
Where it stops
ServiceM8 is complex software. The setup takes time, the learning curve is real, and the pricing reflects the feature depth. For a sole trader or small outfit, it's likely overkill — and it still doesn't address the commercial intelligence gap around re-engagement, pricing benchmarks, or invoice speed from the site.
Larger trade businesses with multiple staff and real operational complexity. Overkill for a tradie running 1–5 people.
Xero
What it does well
Xero is accounting software, and it's very good at that. Bank reconciliation, BAS preparation, payroll, reporting — it's the right tool for your accountant. Many tradies use Xero alongside another tool for quoting and invoicing.
Where it stops
Xero is not designed for the job site. It's not mobile-first, it doesn't know what a re-engagement prompt is, and it has no opinion on whether your tiling rate is competitive in Victoria. It belongs in your accountant's office, not in your work ute.
Your accountant. Use Xero for your accounts; use something else for actually running jobs.
The comparison table
Here's how the main features stack up across each platform.
| Feature | Dockett | Invoice2go | Tradify | ServiceM8 | Square | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Client re-engagement (follow-up prompts) | ✓ Built in | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Benchmarked pricing by trade & state | ✓ Built in | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Voice note → invoice on site | ✓ AI-powered | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Quoting & invoicing | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Payment reminders (automatic) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | ✓ |
| Job scheduling & dispatch | Basic | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| GST & Australian tax ready | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Partial | ✓ |
| Mobile-first design | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Built specifically for Australian tradies | ✓ | ✗ (global) | ✓ NZ-origin | ✓ AU-origin | ✗ (global) | ✗ NZ-origin |
Based on publicly available feature documentation reviewed April 2026. Features may change.
Where Dockett fits
Dockett is not trying to win on workflow depth or accounting horsepower. It's solving three specific commercial problems that most trade software ignores:
- Win more jobs from past clients. Re-engagement logic that tells you when an old client is due for a follow-up — based on actual job timing, not a guess.
- Charge the right rate. Benchmark pricing by trade type, job type, and state. Know before you quote whether your number is realistic.
- Invoice faster, get paid sooner. Voice note on site → structured invoice in under a minute. Automatic payment reminders so you don't have to chase.
If one of those three is where your business leaks money, Dockett is worth a look. If your biggest problem is dispatching a large team, ServiceM8 or Tradify are probably the better call.
The honest answer
No app does everything perfectly, and most tradie businesses end up using more than one tool — a trade-focused app for operations, Xero or MYOB for accounts.
The question to ask isn't "which app has the most features?" It's "where is my business leaking the most money right now?"
If the answer involves repeat clients not coming back, quotes going out below market rate, or invoices sitting unsent for days after the job — that's the problem Dockett was built to fix.
If the answer is "I need better team scheduling and dispatch," Tradify or ServiceM8 will serve you better.
14-day free trial. No credit card. See where your business is leaking.