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As the owner of a growing business, you know how challenging it can be to schedule jobs, communicate with customers, and keep track of payments without the proper tools.
Choosing the wrong one can be catastrophic for your business as you struggle to stay afloat.
I’m AJ—here to help. I’ve spent the last decade building my business to a successful seven-figure exit. While doing so, I learned a lot about what works (and what doesn’t).
My goal with Small Business Bonfire (SBB) is to share what I learned with my fellow business owners in the hopes they can do the same.
So, let’s talk about Jobber, a platform sure to help you get organized and back on track! The SBB team and I tested this bad boy over three months to take the guesswork out of the equation for you.
Let’s dive in!
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Small Business Bonfire has been rigorously testing and evaluating numerous business software solutions since 2009. Our aim is to assist small business owners like you in launching and expanding your organizations with ease and efficiency. To learn more about how we test, please read this article here.
Jobber is a cloud-based field service management (FSM) solution designed to help business owners manage their day-to-day operations.
We’ve used the platform with several clients at SBB to help scale their business (without sacrificing quality or customer service).
Some features offered by Jobber include:
InvoicingClient managementJob formsScheduling & calendar viewClient PortalQuotes & follow-upsJobber mobile app
After three months of testing (and using this platform with clients for years), we can confidently say that Jobber is a perfect match for home service businesses.
It offers a comprehensive suite of tools specifically designed to cater to the unique needs of this sector.
From scheduling to invoicing, Jobber has got you covered, enabling you to streamline your workflow and boost productivity.
Its cloud-based system ensures accessibility across various devices, providing flexibility for teams constantly on the move.
Moreover, Jobber’s client portal and management features provide a seamless experience for your customers, fostering better client communication and promoting customer loyalty.
All that to say—Jobber software has plenty to offer and could be the perfect fit for your business.
Plenty of Jobber reviews discuss the platform’s benefits, but looking at the negatives is just as important. Let’s get into the pros and cons of Jobber!
Easy job form setup
Fantastic customer management
Great invoicing tools
Quotes & follow-ups are straightforward
Customer portal for self-service
Comprehensive scheduling & calendar view
No free plan
The mobile app lacks some important features
The basic plan is limited to one user
Jobber has a ton of utility, but let’s look at what it’s best at.
Here are some situations where Jobber is best suited for:
Home service businesses – Jobber is designed to help home service businesses succeed. With its comprehensive suite of tools, it’s tailored to help you streamline your workflow and manage customer relationships.On-the-go businesses – Jobber is a cloud-based platform that can be accessed from any device with an internet connection. This is great for businesses on the move who need quick access to their data from multiple locations.Small businesses – Jobber is perfect for small businesses, offering plenty of features (such as customer management and scheduling) that don’t require a huge budget. Its automated systems also help you save time and effort while providing top-notch customer service.
We’d love to recommend Jobber software to everyone, but let’s face it—not every business is a right fit.
Here are some situations where Jobber isn’t necessarily the best fit:
Sales teams – While Jobber offers some basic CRM features, it’s not nearly as comprehensive as dedicated CRM software. You may want to look at other options if you’re in a sales-focused role.Marketing teams – Jobber offers very little in the way of marketing features, so it’s not the best choice if you’re looking for a comprehensive platform.Large enterprises – Capped at just 15 total users, Jobber may not be suitable for larger businesses. We recommend exploring other options if you have over 15 employees on your team.
Jobber offers three pricing plans.
They include the following:
Core – $45/month for 1 userConnect – $117/month for 5 usersGrow – $225/month for 15 users
Let’s see how Jobber software stacks up against the competition regarding pricing and features.
We’ll compare the basic plans of each and pick a winner based on overall value for money.
Let’s break it down.
Jobber – $45/month for 1 user
No free plan
Automatic payments
Client self-service portal
Advanced job forms
QuickBooks integration
HoneyBook – $8/month per user
No free plan
Automatic payments
Client self-service portal
Basic job forms
QuickBooks integration
HouseCall Pro – $49/month for 1 user
No free plan
Automatic payments
Client self-service portal
Basic job forms
QuickBooks integration
FieldPulse – $60/month per user
No free plan
Automatic payments
Client self-service portal
Advanced job forms
QuickBooks integration
As you can see, when it comes to pricing, HoneyBook clearly comes out on top at only $8/month per user.
However, at Small Business Bonfire, we understand that cheaper doesn’t always mean better.
When we compare HoneyBook to Jobber in terms of features, Jobber easily comes out on top. In fact, it’s not even close.
While HoneyBook may be more affordable, it’s hard to beat Jobber’s excellent user interface, advanced job forms, and powerful payment and scheduling capabilities.
If we had to pick one as a winner for this competition, it would be Jobber overall. At the end of the day, we think it’s one of the best field service management platforms on the market.
Jobber really impressed us with its powerful scheduling capabilities and convenient calendar view.
At my previous agency business, we had a residential cleaning client struggling to keep up with her expanding customer base and manage her growing team.
We recommended Jobber, having used them to help several home service businesses.
With Jobber, our client was able to accomplish the following:
Schedule jobs directly from the calendarAssign team members with easeAdjust job details on the flySelect fixed or per-visit invoices for each jobSee any scheduling conflicts in real-time
Jobber lets you create and manage job forms, which can be scheduled with ease.
Here’s a sneak peek at the job form interface.
While working with our client, we experienced firsthand how Jobber could turn a scheduling nightmare into a well-oiled machine.
With its easy-to-use scheduling and dispatch features, she was able to essentially double the efficiency of her business, ensuring no job was overlooked or double-booked.
We loved that Jobber offered the following scheduling views:
Calendar (weekly & monthly)GridListMap
Check out the calendar view of our client’s cleaning schedule (100% managed by Jobber).
Her team could see their schedules in real-time, minimizing confusion and improving their overall productivity.
In essence, Jobber’s scheduling capabilities played a crucial role in helping our client scale their business (without the usual growing pains).
It’s a fantastic tool that brings organization and efficiency to your operation, allowing you to focus on just what really matters—growing your business.
Jobber offers robust invoicing features that greatly simplify your business’s financial operations.
With Jobber, you can easily create, send, and track invoices directly from the platform.
This saves you time and ensures all your data is in one place, eliminating the need for manual data entry and reducing the risk of errors.
Once you’ve sent the invoice, clients can pay via the following methods:
Credit cardPayPalStripeJobber PaymentsACH transfer
Jobber also offers automatic payment reminders to ensure clients don’t miss deadlines.
Jobber offers a comprehensive invoice history view for businesses with lots of payments to track. This makes locating past payments and invoices easy (with just one click).
Trust us when we say—this feature is a game-changer for home service businesses looking to revamp their sales process.
Take a look at an invoice that one of our clients created for a weekly cleaning job.
As you can see, everything is easy to navigate with Jobber’s sleek layout.
Within each invoice, you can easily add the following:
Product/serviceIssued datePayment dueCustom fieldsProduct/service descriptionInternal notes and attachments
Our takeaway: If you’re looking to track payments effortlessly from multiple sources, Jobber has your back.
Jobber’s client hub truly sets it apart from its competitors. When it comes to providing excellent self-service capabilities, Jobber excels.
By offering clients the option to handle their own bookings, payments, and requests, businesses can reduce their administrative workload significantly.
With the client hub, your customers can:
View and approve quotesRequest changes to servicesPay invoices onlineView past and upcoming workAccess online booking to request work
Here’s an example of the client hub “appointments” interface from a home service business we helped with Jobber.
As you can see, all of the client’s appointments are laid out in a way that’s easy to read.
We also loved how each card could be clicked (shown below) to display each team member who would be at the appointment.
This kind of self-service empowers your customers while also freeing up your team to focus on delivering excellent service.
It’s a win-win situation that can save you time, reduce miscommunications, and help you provide a superior customer experience.
Offering self-service options can enhance customer satisfaction and increase customer retention. After all, an empowered customer is a satisfied customer.
When running a home service business, communication is key.
Jobber understands this quite well.
The platform includes a robust customer communication feature that simplifies keeping track of all your customer interactions.
With Jobber, you can:
Send automated text messages and emails to your customersKeep track of all communications in one placeEasily update customers about job status, arrivals, and moreProvide quotes and invoices via text or email
This comprehensive communication tool means no more missed calls or overlooked emails.
It enables you to maintain a high level of service and keeps your customers informed every step of the way.
It also provides a record of all customer communication, which can be crucial in resolving any misunderstandings or disputes.
Let’s look at a specific example where communication with clients was key.
We helped an A/C repair company use Jobber to manage their customer communication.
Their technicians used the platform to send automated texts and emails to their customers informing them of the following:
Appointment timesRepair detailsJob updatesInvoices
This streamlined communication process allowed our client’s team members to focus on doing what they do best—repairing air conditioners!
Jobber also allowed customers to put in work requests, which was especially important in situations with families during summer months (who wants to be without A/C?).
Customer communication is a game-changer for home service businesses, and Jobber makes it easy.
Client management is the heart of a successful home service business.
That’s why we’re happy to inform you that Jobber offers extensive client management capabilities that allow your business to stay on top of its most important contacts without any extra work.
You can easily store, organize, and view all your customer data in one place with the following features:
Customizable contact information fieldsLocation searchNotes and attachmentsClient profilesWork historyJob scheduling
Creating a custom field was as easy as naming it and then selecting from the following field types:
TextNumericTrue/falseAreaDropdown
Here’s how this feature looked during our three months of testing.
We were able to add as many custom fields as we needed, making Jobber perfect for niche businesses that need a lot of customization.
With Jobber’s contact management, you can easily update customer information with a few clicks. This ensures your clients always have the right info and you don’t miss any important updates.
Let’s say you have a client that changes addresses.
Jobber lets you easily click on each contact and add a new property. This makes it easy for your team to manage contact information without guesswork.
Here’s how adding a new property looks in action.
As you can see, everything is laid out in a way that’s easy to read and navigate (even for beginners).
Take a look at some client data from the cleaning company that we’ve helped scale using Jobber.
They were big fans of the automatic notifications feature, which allows the following for each client:
Quote follow-upAppointment remindersJob follow-upInvoice follow-up
With this feature, Jobber makes it easy to keep customers up-to-date and ensure they don’t forget their appointments or invoices.
Overall, managing clients is essential to any field service management platform, and Jobber knocks it out of the park, in our opinion!
Quickly creating quotes and automatically following up with clients is essential for home service businesses.
We witnessed this firsthand when we assisted an up-and-coming roofing company in scaling their operations with Jobber.
With Jobber, their team was able to create detailed, professional quotes in no time, and the automatic follow-ups ensured they were constantly connected with their clients.
Check out one of their quotes on a roof replacement project for reference.
This feature allowed for:
Quick generation of clear and concise quotesAuto-generation of follow-upsReduction in manual trackingBoost in conversion rates due to timely follow-ups
The roofing company particularly liked how easy it was to customize their quotes, and the automatic follow-up mechanism saved them countless hours previously spent on manual tracking and follow-ups.
This feature of Jobber was instrumental in their growth and customer satisfaction overall.
It’s pretty clear that Jobber’s quoting and follow-up feature can be the key to turning potential leads into loyal customers.
Expense tracking is an essential part of running any business, and when you’re operating in the home service industry, it can be a challenge to keep up with all the expenses incurred in different jobs.
Jobber tackles this problem head-on with its robust expense tracking capabilities.
With Jobber, you can easily track all your expenses within the platform.
You can accomplish the following:
Create and manage expense records for all your job-related costsCategorize expenses for better organization and trackingAttach receipts or other relevant documents to each expenseMonitor your expenses in real-time for better financial management
This feature is designed to help you stay on top of your finances and make it easy to account for all expenses during billing.
When it’s time to invoice a client, you can quickly pull up all the expenses related to that job and ensure everything is accounted for.
In another example, we found this feature especially useful for landscaping companies we assisted, who had to deal with a large variety of materials and equipment costs.
Here’s the layout of their yearly business expenses (to give you a better idea).
This feature ensured they never missed out on billing for any of these costs.
In sum, Jobber’s Expense Tracking feature simplifies financial management for your home service business, making it easy to monitor and account for every cent spent.
Timesheets are a crucial component of business operations, allowing you to track how much time your team spends on each job.
Throughout years of using Jobber (and three months of testing it extensively), we’ve found Jobber’s Timesheet feature is a lifesaver for home service businesses.
It allows you to accurately track and record your team’s time on the job, making payroll and billing processes smoother and more efficient.
With Jobber, you can:
Track individual and team hours on specific jobsCompare estimated job times with actual timesManage overtime and ensure accurate pay
We found this feature particularly beneficial for a plumbing company we worked with.
Their team was scattered across several cities, and Jobber’s timesheets made it easy for them to log hours spent on each job from their mobile devices.
This not only helped with accurate billing but also provided valuable data for improving job estimates in the future.
Overall, Jobber’s timesheets tool simplifies time tracking, ensuring accurate pay for your team and correct billing for your clients.
If you want to enhance your business operations and improve your bottom line, Jobber could be just what you need.
No matter the industry, the ability to accurately measure business performance through reporting and analytics is a critical success factor.
Jobber excels in this area, offering powerful reporting and analytics tools that can help home service businesses make data-driven decisions.
With Jobber, you’ll have access to the following:
Detailed job reports showing profitability by job, team, or overallExpense reports for tracking cost trendsRevenue reports for identifying growth opportunitiesClient reports for understanding customer behavior
These features provide valuable insights that can guide your business strategy and help you optimize your operations.
Here’s an example of just how many reports were made available to us during our three months of testing.
Whether it’s identifying the most profitable jobs, controlling costs, or understanding clients better, Jobber’s reporting and analytics are designed to support your decision-making process and steer your business toward sustained growth.
Its reporting and analytics capabilities are a big reason why we’ve recommended the FSM platform to so many of our clients at SBB!
Jobber’s comprehensive and user-friendly features have made it stand out in the market, and for good reason—it helps a massive portion of the workforce.
The software is beneficial for a variety of home service industries, such as cleaning, contracting, landscaping, HVAC (and many more).
Each industry can leverage Jobber’s robust features to do the following:
Manage operations more efficientlyEnhance customer relationsDrive business growth
Whether you’re a small startup or an established enterprise, Jobber offers scalable solutions that can adapt to your changing business needs and support your operational demands.
Let’s take a look at some of the industries Jobber serves.
Here are some noteworthy examples:
Arborist/Tree Care: Jobber helps tree care professionals easily manage their appointments, keep track of client information, and issue invoices.Cleaning: Through Jobber, cleaning businesses can efficiently schedule jobs, manage teams, and communicate with clients.HVAC: Jobber assists HVAC businesses in streamlining scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing processes, significantly improving operational efficiency.Painting: Jobber offers painters a platform to manage their appointments and client information and issue invoices seamlessly.Roofing: Roofing companies can leverage Jobber’s automated notifications to update clients, manage appointments, and track job progress.Computers & IT: IT service providers can efficiently manage their workflows, customers, and payments via Jobber.Home Theater: Jobber facilitates job scheduling, dispatching, and invoicing, making business operations smooth for home theater companies.Junk Removal: Junk removal businesses can efficiently plan their pick-ups, manage clients, and issue invoices with Jobber.
No software is perfect, and that includes Jobber.
Some limitations of Jobber include the following:
No free plan – The fact that Jobber doesn’t have a free plan isn’t the biggest limitation; however, it can be a barrier to entry for some businesses. At Small Business Bonfire, we love a good free plan, so we were disappointed to not see one offered by Jobber.The basic plan is limited to 1 user – While the basic plan does have its benefits, it’s limited to 1 user—making it unsuitable for businesses with larger teams.The Jobber mobile app offers limited features – While it is arguably an important tool, it lacks some great features from the desktop version. For instance, although you can add new clients, you can’t view a list of existing ones. You also are essentially limited to your home dashboard, schedule, and timesheet with the mobile app. If you’re on the go and need to quickly check or update your schedule, the Jobber app is fantastic. If you’re looking for more advanced functionality, you’re out of luck.
Running a business becomes significantly smoother when you are able to incorporate all your favorite tools into one centralized system.
Fortunately, Jobber understands this and offers a ton of fantastic integrations.
The platform’s robust integration capabilities allow you to seamlessly connect with your favorite software, eliminating the need for constant switching between different apps and increasing your productivity.
Jobber integrates with the essential tools you use daily, streamlining your operations and enhancing interoperability.
This holistic approach enables you to create an all-in-one solution tailored to your business needs, making Jobber not just software but an integral part of your home service business.
Jobber integrates with the following platforms:
QuickBooksMailchimpZapierStripeXero
Here’s the “apps” marketplace to give you a better idea.
In addition to the many native integrations Jobber provides, it also integrates seamlessly with Zapier (which allows for thousands of third-party integrations) for more powerful automated processes.
This opens up even more possibilities to customize your workflow and make Jobber the perfect fit for your business.
Getting started with Jobber was a breeze!
First, we navigated to their homepage, where we were greeted with a color-coded call-to-action (CTA) to sign up for a free trial (which we took advantage of).
Then, we made an account using our Small Business Bonfire email and password.
From there, we selected our priority for using Jobber.
Here’s how it looked (to give you a better idea)
Next, we selected the following info:
Team sizeCompany nameEstimated annual revenue
Finally, we entered our name and phone number.
And the rest was history! We were taken to the dashboard, where we could create quotes, schedule jobs, and send off invoices with ease!
When it comes to onboarding with Jobber, we’d rate it a 10/10 based on our experience (and how easy it’s been to get our clients up and running on the platform).
Yes, Jobber software is incredibly easy to use. Its clean, intuitive user interface makes navigation a breeze, even for those with limited tech skills.
From setting up your account to scheduling tasks, Jobber simplifies every aspect of running a home service business.
Here’s why we believe Jobber is so user-friendly:
Intuitive Interface: Jobber’s platform is designed to be user-friendly. Its layout and features are straightforward and easy to learn, making it accessible to users of all tech abilities.Seamless Scheduling: With Jobber, scheduling and dispatching tasks is simple. You can adjust job details on the go, assign tasks to team members, and view schedules in various formats.Automated Invoicing: Jobber automates the invoicing process. You can send invoices via email, and clients can pay directly through the platform.Self-Service Client Portal: Jobber’s Client Portal grants clients access to their appointment history, job status, and invoice payments. This reduces the need for constant communication and allows you to focus on other aspects of your business.Efficient Client Hub: The Client Hub stores all client information in one place, making it easy to retrieve and update details as needed.Helpful Customer Support: If you ever encounter a problem, Jobber’s customer support team is always ready to help. They provide prompt and effective assistance, ensuring you can continue your work without any major hiccups.
In conclusion, Jobber’s user-friendly interface and features make it a fantastic tool for home service businesses, regardless of their tech skills or business size.
Jobber’s customer service is one of its standout features.
They offer support through various channels, including the following:
PhoneEmailLive chat
Additionally, they provide an extensive set of customer service features, such as a library of helpful articles and tutorial videos that we took advantage of throughout our three months of testing.
We reached out to Jobber support (through live chat) with a quick question about Slack integration to test out the response time of their support team.
To our surprise, we received a response within just a few minutes!
The customer service team was friendly and helpful in their response, which gave us an overall positive impression.
We can confidently say that Jobber has excellent customer service with knowledgeable staff to answer your questions.
Jobber has a mobile app for both iOS and Android.
The Small Business Bonfire team and I downloaded the Jobber mobile app on iOS to really test it out.
While we thought the app was easy to navigate, there were some features available on the desktop version that weren’t included in the mobile version.
However, we were still able to create the following while on the go:
New clientsExpensesInvoicesJob formsRequestsQuotesTasks
We added in some tasks that we typically deal with at Small Business Bonfire and found that they were super easy to track with the app.
It’s worth noting that a lot of our clients that we’ve helped with Jobber swear by the mobile app for the majority of their on-site work.
Our takeaway from the app is that while it doesn’t offer everything the desktop version does, it’s a fantastic tool for managing your business. If they were to update it with a few more features, we’d consider it a must-have for any business owner.
Jobber is an awesome platform, but there are other options out there. Here are a few of our favorites.
Having conducted such a thorough review of the FSM, we can safely say Jobber is absolutely worth it for small business owners, especially those in the home service industry.
The platform offers features that help streamline operations and save time, so it’s a great option if you’re looking to increase efficiency and profitability.
So, why not give Jobber a try today? They offer a no-strings-attached free trial allowing you to test the platform and see if it’s a good fit for your business.
With its powerful features, user-friendly interface, and excellent customer support, there’s no reason not to give it a shot. After all, there’s nothing to lose and potentially a lot to gain.
Jobber is absolutely legit. It has been helping businesses manage operations for over a decade and has received numerous awards and accolades for its services.
Jobber was founded by Sam Pillar and Forrest Zeisler in 2011.
When it comes to managing a home service business, Jobber and QuickBooks are like Batman and Robin; they’re a dynamic duo that can take your business operations from chaotic to streamlined faster than you can say, “Holy invoicing, Batman!”
There’s no hard and fast rule that says you definitely need them both, but they can make your job a whole lot easier.
Jobber’s payout usually takes two rolling days. This means that once a payment has been processed, it typically takes two business days for the funds to be transferred to your account.
This is a pretty standard timeframe for most business platforms, allowing you to maintain a consistent cash flow and keep your operations running smoothly.
In this year’s Home Service Economic Report, Jobber boasts over 200,000 businesses in their network.
This number has grown exponentially since the platform was first launched 12 years ago (and it continues to expand every day).
The post Jobber Review 2023: Best Home Service CRM? appeared first on Small Business Bonfire.
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