Joist Review — Best Estimating & Invoicing App for Solo Trade Operators
Visit Joist ↗Real Pricing
| Starter | Mid | Full |
|---|---|---|
| Free (limited) | $16/mo (Pro, billed annually) | $32/mo (Premium, billed annually) |
⚠ Payment processing is 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Monthly billing is ~20% higher than annual. The free tier limits you to 5 estimates/month and doesn't include digital payments.
What It Actually Does
Joist does two things and does them well: estimates and invoices. You open the app, pick a customer (or add a new one), line-item your materials and labor, and send a professional estimate in under five minutes. When the customer approves, you convert it to an invoice. They can pay by card right from the email.
The key pieces:
- Estimating — Pre-built templates by trade, line-item materials and labor, markup controls, photo attachments, client approval with one tap
- Invoicing — Convert estimates to invoices, accept credit card/debit payments, track paid/unpaid, send reminders
- Client Communication — Estimates and invoices sent via email or text, clients can approve and pay without creating an account
- Basic CRM — Client list with history, property notes
- Mobile App — Create estimates on-site, capture signatures, take photos
What it doesn’t do: scheduling, dispatching, route optimization, QuickBooks sync (Pro tier has basic export), inventory, job costing, time tracking, payroll. This is not a field service platform — it’s an estimating and invoicing tool that happens to be built for contractors.
Pros for Trade Contractors
- The estimates actually look professional — not like a spreadsheet you printed at home
- Clients can approve and pay from their phone without downloading anything
- Free tier is genuinely usable for a part-time or just-starting-out operator
- Material and labor templates save repetitive typing — build them once, reuse forever
- Takes card payments with no monthly fee, just the standard processing rate
- Mobile-first design — built for the guy writing an estimate in the driveway
- Client messaging is built in — all estimate/invoice communication stays in one thread
Cons for Trade Contractors
− No scheduling at all — if you need a calendar, this isn’t your tool − No route optimization or dispatching — pair with something else for multi-stop days − The Pro tier at $16/mo is where real value starts — free tier is really a demo − No QuickBooks Live sync — export only, which means double entry if you need real accounting − No inventory or parts tracking — electricians and HVAC techs with trucks full of parts, look elsewhere − Reporting maxes out at basic sales summaries — no P&L by job, no cost tracking
Setup Difficulty
Download the app, enter your company name, add a few services, and you’re writing estimates. The time investment is building your template library — entering your common materials and services so you’re not typing “GFCI outlet” and “$28.50” for the hundredth time. Spend an hour setting up templates and you’ll write estimates in 2-3 minutes for the rest of the year.
Best For Which Trades?
| Trade | Fit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | ✓ Strong | Per-opening estimating works great with templates. No parts inventory though. |
| HVAC | ○ Decent | Good for service estimates, but no load calc integration — you’re calculating elsewhere |
| Plumbers | ✓ Strong | Fixture-based estimates, photo documentation for pipe access issues |
| Pool Contractors | ✗ Weak | No milestone billing, no multi-stage tracking. Wrong tool for this job. |
| Pool Service Techs | ○ Decent | Monthly invoicing works, but no route integration. Fine for a solo tech. |
| Landscapers | ✓ Strong | Plant/material templates, seasonal service packages, before/after photo attachments |
From the Trenches
Joist is the tool you reach for when you realize your estimates look like garbage compared to the bigger shop down the street, and you’re losing jobs because of it. It’s not about features — it’s about presentation. A Joist estimate has your logo, line items, photos, and a “Pay Now” button. A notebook estimate has your handwriting and a total circled at the bottom. Which one closes the job?
The free tier is a smart hook: start using it for estimates, realize customers pay you 3x faster when they can click a button instead of writing a check, and upgrade to Pro for unlimited everything. The pricing is fair enough that you won’t resent the upgrade.
One thing to know: Joist doesn’t integrate with much. If your workflow is “write estimate → do job → send invoice → get paid,” you’ll love it. If your workflow involves QuickBooks, a CRM, a scheduling tool, and you want everything talking to everything else, Joist is the wrong piece of that puzzle. It works best as a standalone estimating and invoicing layer, with everything else handled elsewhere.
Alternatives
- Cheaper: Nothing — the free tier is actually free
- Simpler: ServiceM8 (if you want scheduling too, but it starts at $29/mo)
- More powerful (and more expensive): Jobber (full field service management, but starts at $49/mo and most solo ops don't need it)