Built for the bits ServiceM8, AroFlo and Fergus don't quite cover. Compliance certificates, gas test sheets, drainage records, hot water unit paperwork. Quoting that fits how you actually run.
Most plumbing businesses I build for are doing $500K to $3M a year, running three to fifteen on the tools, and already paying for one of the trade SaaS products.
They love most of it. The pain is the compliance side: Word templates, PDF editors, paper forms in the ute, photos that never quite make it into the right job. That is where the custom build sits.
Three examples of the kind of tool I would build for a plumbing business. Yours will be specific to your business and state regulator. These show the shape.
Permit-to-install certificates, gas compliance certs, backflow prevention forms, hot water installation paperwork, plumbing notice forms. Auto-filled from job data you already have, signed on site, sent to the regulator and the customer.
A tool that lets the plumber sketch the as-built drainage layout on a phone or tablet, tags it to the job, and produces the as-constructed drawing or record sheet the council or hydraulic consultant needs.
HW unit installation records that pull the serial, energy rating and customer details, then produce both the manufacturer's warranty registration and the state energy rebate application bundle. No more chasing paperwork weeks later.
Not on this list? Most jobs aren't. Tell me the bottleneck on the call. If it is buildable, I will quote it.
Project fee: fixed and transparent. Quoted off the discovery call. Typical builds land between a few thousand and the mid-five figures depending on scope.
Rescope clause: if reality shifts during the build we pause, explain what changed, and re-scope in writing. No silent overruns.
Retainer: optional, starts at $500/month. Covers hosting, monitoring, bug fixes, and small tweaks. Cancel anytime. AI and automation API costs are passed through at cost with no markup.
IP: you own the code on full payment.
Plumbing regulators vary by state (VBA in Victoria, QBCC in Queensland, NSW Fair Trading, and so on). I learn your state's forms during scoping. The shape of the build is the same across states; the field mapping is what changes.
Probably not for the bits those tools already do well. The custom layer is for what they do not: compliance certificates, gas test sheets, drainage diagrams, hot water unit paperwork, and the automations that connect your stack together. I extend the SaaS you already pay for. I do not replace it.
For plumbers specifically, this would be the first. My proof of work is a ground-up rewrite of an industrial calibration application (the B24 case study). Different industry, same shape of problem: repetitive software a team has to use every day, rebuilt around the pain points.
Depends on scope. A focused tool (for example a compliance certificate auto-filler) lands in roughly 3 to 6 weeks. A larger build (a quoting tool with ServiceM8 and Xero integration) is more like 8 to 14 weeks. Quoted off the discovery call.
Fixed project fee, transparent scope, quoted off the discovery call. If reality shifts during the build we pause, explain what changed, and re-scope with you in writing. Optional $500/month retainer covers hosting, monitoring, bug fixes and small tweaks. AI and automation API costs are passed through at cost.
Yes. The regulatory examples on this page assume Australian plumbing regimes; for NZ, UK, US or elsewhere I would build against your local rules. Most engagements happen over short calls and Loom videos regardless of location.
30 minutes. No agenda doc. Tell me the job and roughly what shape the bottleneck takes. If there is something to build, you will know by the end of the call.
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