Contractor invoicing is more involved than retail. On any given residential remodel you're juggling deposits, progress draws, change orders, lien waivers, warranty terms, and — in a growing number of states — required license numbers on every billing document. Pick the wrong app and you'll spend more time fighting the software than doing the work.
Here's how the leading options actually compare for a working contractor in 2025.
**Glo Invoice.** Purpose-built for solo trades and 1–10 person crews. 14-day free trial includes unlimited invoices and estimates, online card payments through Stripe, photo attachments, customer records, and branded PDFs. Paid tiers add automated reminders, recurring invoices, mileage tracking, and crew management. The single best feature for contractors is the parts-and-labor line splitting with per-line tax — critical in states like California and Texas where the rules differ. Best for: contractors who want a free-forever plan and don't need heavy scheduling.
**Joist.** One of the longest-running contractor-specific apps. Strong estimate-to-invoice conversion, decent client portal, integrations with QuickBooks. Free tier is limited; the paid Elite plan starts around $19/month. Best for: contractors already invested in a Joist workflow, or those who want the QuickBooks bridge out of the box.
**Housecall Pro.** Higher-end field service platform with dispatching, scheduling, and marketing built in. Pricing starts around $65/month per user and climbs fast for crews. Best for: HVAC, plumbing, and electric shops running 5+ techs with active dispatch needs. Overkill (and overpriced) for a solo contractor.
**Square Invoices.** Free, familiar if you already use Square for point of sale. Payment processing is slick. But it wasn't built for contractors — no parts/labor split, no lien waiver fields, no per-line tax control. Best for: mobile trades that already run through Square and don't need contractor-specific features.
**QuickBooks Online.** Full accounting first, invoicing second. Powerful, but the setup curve is steep and mobile is a weak point. Best for: contractors big enough to want an in-house bookkeeper working in it daily.
**Jobber.** Comparable to Housecall Pro — dispatching-heavy, priced from $39/month, deeper scheduling than Glo Invoice or Joist. Best for: 5+ tech crews with route optimization needs.
**What to look for.** Regardless of which app you pick, five features actually move the needle: (1) mobile-first, one-handed use on a phone in a truck cab; (2) parts and labor split with per-line tax; (3) photo attachments on every estimate and invoice; (4) deposit and progress billing on a single estimate → invoice → change order chain; (5) automated reminders at 7, 14, and 30 days past due. Anything else — CRM, scheduling, marketing — is nice-to-have.
**Common contractor asks Glo Invoice handles out of the box:** custom industry fields for permit numbers, lien waivers, and warranty terms; saved service templates so a 'panel upgrade' or '10×12 deck' is two taps; crew assignment so foremen can update job status; branded PDFs with your license number in the header; and a tokenized customer portal for online card, Apple Pay, and ACH payments.
For most working contractors — remodelers, electricians, plumbers, roofers, painters, HVAC, handymen, deck builders, general contractors — the answer isn't 'the most feature-rich app.' It's the app that lets you build an estimate on the truck, send it before you pull off the driveway, take a deposit before the customer changes their mind, and follow up automatically so you don't have to remember to chase invoices. That's the bar we built Glo Invoice against.