A comparison of website builder and business management systems for tradies.

Trady and BorisDoes do similar things - both allow tradies to create a website for their small business, both provide a free trial period, and both provide an ability to manage relationships with customers. But how do the two compare?

Trady is designed to be a quick-start system that allows tradies to create a website quickly and easily, and then book jobs through their own online platform. The focus is on this combination of functionality and has proven popular with tradies, especially in the United States where small businesses there can get a local phone number that allows engagement with local customers in a particular area.

Based in Australia and designed for Australian tradies, BorisDoes includes both website builder functionality, as business management tools including quoting and invoicing and customer relationship management (CRM) functions, and accounting integration. BorisDoes started as an Australian task marketplace and retains that functionality, allowing businesses to advertise their services, respond to requests for quotes, and get paid all through one integrated system. The marketplace allows customers and taskers (businesses) to connect and use effective communication tools and safe payment options. Customers can browse a list of taskers and pick the right small business to help them with their job.

 

Comparison table

We've created a quick-reference table so that you can understand the major differences between Trady and BorisDoes. We've listed some of the key features you'd expect from small service business management software

 

Price comparison

With similar features, it's no surprise that Trady and BorisDoes offer similar pricing structures, and both have free trial periods to allow prospective users to try tools and functions to see if they are the right fit for their business.

Trady offers a 7-day free trial to enable new users to try their website builder system and perform a range of simple tasks. From there they can subscribe for $99 per month, or continue at no cost with limited functionality.

BorisDoes features and functions are also available on a free trial basis. Tradies are able to launch their new website in just 30 seconds, adding information about their business quickly and easily. Once their website has been launched they have 14 days to try all functionality to see if BorisDoes is a great fit for them. From there they can subscribe for $80 per month, or continue at no cost with limited functionality.

 

Features

Let's look at some of the key features that tradie businesses expect from a dedicated business solution. Depending on the type of services your business provides, some business features might be more or less important to you. Location is also a significant factor, with Trady being US-focused and BorisDoes being Australia-focused.

Website builder

Both Trady and BorisDoes have website builder tools. Trady websites are designed to be quick and relatively simple; a great replacement for a business Facebook page or Instagram profile. BorisDoes includes a range of extra customisation options including additional pages for specific services and unique design and colour combinations. Both services do what they say on the box in this regard and if you're looking for a way to enhance your customer service and increase your professionalism, both Trady and BorisDoes website builder tools offer some great options.

Send quotes and invoices

Both Trady and BorisDoes allow tradies to send quotes and invoices. But BorisDoes provides a more featured quoting and invoicing system. With BorisDoes you can calculate the cost of work and materials to produce detailed and accurate quotes, submit quotes to customers for their approval, and then have those quotes automatically converted into sendable invoices for customers to pay before you start work. You can also select from multiple payment options for invoices. With BorisDoes you can ensure customers know they have received a new quote or invoice with automated email and SMS notifications. You can also collate quotes and invoices for each customer within your intuitive dashboard for easy access and management.

Request a deposit when you produce a quote

As an Aussie tradie, the last thing you want to be doing is chasing unpaid invoices for weeks after you have completed work. Especially for small jobs, you don't want to commit to materials and work until you know your customer is committed to hiring you. BorisDoes allows you to request a deposit from your customers and ensure that you’ll get paid in accordance with your quote. Then you can manage the payment of that deposit before you start work using automated payment processing and notification tools. Australian consumer protection laws mean that if the total value of the job is more than $5,000 you can request a maximum deposit of 10%. It's a great system that allows you to reduce payment worries.

Add terms and conditions to your quotes

As a small business, it's important to ensure that your customers understand the terms and conditions that apply to the work you do and the obligations established when they accept your quote. Trady gives you the option of specifying that additional terms and conditions may apply. BorisDoes allows you to create terms and conditions to suit your business and the services you provide, and then ask customers to accept them as part of the quotes you send. With BorisDoes you can include details specific to your business and business structure to ensure you protect your interests and establish how you do business. BorisDoes provides template terms and conditions to help guide you, but of course it’s still a matter for you to decide the best way to present your business and determine the best way to protect it. And if you have private legal counsel create terms and conditions specifically for your business, you can upload and apply those instead. You can even specify particular terms for individual customers or make provision for ad hoc or occasional tasks.

Request a digital signature when a quote is accepted

In the trades space, quote shopping is still encouraged, in fact "get three quotes" is still a consumer mantra in Australia. BorisDoes understands that and so allows your small business to request an electronic signature from customers when they are finally ready to commit. With BorisDoes you can request a customer's electronic signature when they accept your quote. That means you have a specific record of the quote they accepted and the terms and conditions they agreed to when they did. Digital signatures are as enforceable as signatures in ink on paper which means you can be reassured that your interests are protected and you won’t be scammed by tyre-kickers and customers who won’t commit. BorisDoes also makes it easy to track quotes that have been accepted and keep records for future reference if necessary.

Send quotes and invoices via chat

Trady includes a cool inbox tool that allows tradie users to send email messages back and forth to customers. But BorisDoes offers a real-time, personalised chat tool that allows you to communicate with customers on an ongoing basis. With it, you can respond to quote requests with questions seeking further information, and clarify what your customer wants in order to produce an accurate quote and complete a project to their specifications. You can also arrange site visits, coordinate an appropriate time to have materials delivered to a project site, or schedule other trades once you have finished your work. Your BorisDoes chat is accessible only to you and your customer. One of the best features is that you can send quotes and invoices within your chat which means you'll always have a record of them associated with that customer. And even within chat, they retain their full functionality as quotes and invoices.

Integrate your accounts with Xero

Trady is a standalone system that does provide some tools for extracting data and adding it to your accounting software. But BorisDoes includes integration with external accounting systems including Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks. You can have all invoice data converted into the relevant data format and sent to your accounting software of choice to enable you to complete tax returns, business activity statements and other statutory submissions. BorisDoes makes it easy to manage your business finances without having to input data manually or pay someone to transfer relevant data into your accounting software.

Customer portal

BorisDoes includes a comprehensive "back end" including a customer portal, which means customers can log into your website in particular to access their chat with you, and their quotes and invoices. Whether your customer needs ongoing services or has an odd task here or there that needs completing, having their own customer portal makes for an awesome experience and ensures your small business will continue to produce satisfied customers. Use the chat style messenger feature to discuss tasks with particular customers in a place where they know every message from you is a personalised message for them in particular.