Guide / trade and service work
Business management software for service contractors
Contractors sell labour, but the money leaks through parts: stock on vans, jobs waiting on a fitting, invoices that miss what was used. Here is what software must hold for service work — and where BSimple fits and stops.
The key facts
- The contractor's loop: quote the job, reserve the parts, do the work, consume what was used, invoice it, keep the asset history.
- The usual leak: parts consumed on jobs that never reach the invoice — labour is quoted, materials evaporate.
- BSimple's coverage: projects that reserve without consuming, consume on invoice approval, per-customer asset and service history — plus purchasing and the books.
- The boundary: no scheduling or dispatch boards — FSM tools run the diary; BSimple holds the record the diary acts on.
- Where it fits: this page is one branch of the inventory management guide.
- 01The key facts
- 02What service work demands from software
- 03How BSimple covers the loop
What service work demands from software
A contractor's record has to handle a shape retail never sees: materials reserved for a job that has not happened yet, consumed only when the work is done and invoiced — possibly weeks apart, across several sites. The measure of a system is whether that loop stays attached: the quote reserves stock without depleting the shelf count; the invoice consumes exactly what was installed; the customer's history keeps the asset, its warranty and its service record afterwards. Get it right and every part ends up on an invoice. Get it wrong and the parts van is the biggest unreported cost in the business.
Around that loop sits the ordinary machinery — purchasing so jobs never wait on parts, live quantities across the workshop and the vans, batch traceability where it matters, and invoicing that reaches the books without re-entry.
How BSimple covers the loop
We build BSimple, so weigh that. The projects feature is the contractor's core: group inventory and on-site assets under a customer; reserve items against a job without consuming stock while it is quoted or scheduled; install and consume when the invoice is approved; and carry warranty, maintenance and service history for the asset over its life — boom-gate style installations and trade jobs are the intended pattern. Around it: purchase orders from demand so jobs do not wait on parts, batch and expiry tracking, invoicing with the handoff to Xero or MYOB (US accounting integrations rolling out), and the audit trail behind every movement. Plans run $180/$250/$399 per month AUD with projects in the core plans.
The stated boundary: no dispatch boards, no technician scheduling, no mobile job apps — those belong to field service tools, and BSimple composes with them rather than replacing them. Small business job management, work order management and the UK field-service view cover the scheduling side; the trial runs one of your real jobs through reserve-consume-invoice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does BSimple do for a service contractor?
The parts-and-record side of the job: reserve materials against a job, consume them on invoice approval, keep installed-asset and service history per customer, purchase against demand, and invoice into Xero or MYOB without re-entry.
Does BSimple schedule technicians?
No — no dispatch boards or rosters. Pair it with a scheduling tool for the diary; the record underneath (parts, jobs, assets, invoices) is what BSimple keeps truthful.
How does the reserve-then-consume flow work?
Reserve moves nothing physically but marks the stock as promised to the job; when the invoice is approved, consumption is recorded and quantities adjust. Promised and on-shelf stay visible separately — no more phantom stock.
We install equipment we later service — does that history live somewhere?
Yes — projects register on-site assets under the customer with warranty, maintenance and service history, so the sixth visit knows what the first five did.
What does it cost?
Starter $180, Professional $250 and Organisation $399 per month (AUD), projects included. Start the trial and run one real job — the fit shows in the first invoice.
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