Build your stack

Nobody needs forty tools. Pick your kind of business to see the usual order to tackle things in, with the directory’s tools for each step.

Remodelers A remodeling business lives or dies on the sale and the estimate. The usual order is to fix how you win and price jobs first, then how you run and bill them. 1. Win the job 2. Price it accurately 3. Run the job 4. Get paid 20 tools →
HVAC, plumbing, electrical and other service trades Service businesses run on the phone and the schedule. Most start with a field service system and add call handling and marketing around it. 1. Answer every call 2. Schedule, dispatch and invoice 3. Grow the book 4. Collect and account 26 tools →
Roofers and exterior contractors Roofing and exterior work is a fast quote-to-contract cycle, so measurement and sales tools often come before project tools. 1. Measure without the ladder 2. Sell and follow up 3. Estimate and order 4. Install and bill 22 tools →
Specialty trade contractors and subcontractors Subs live between the bid invitation and the pay application. The tools that matter are the ones that find the work, price it and get it billed. 1. Find and respond to bids 2. Take off and estimate 3. Coordinate the field 4. Bill and get paid 70 tools →
General contractors A GC’s stack is the widest. It helps to name the single biggest bottleneck first, whether that is bidding capacity, coordination or paperwork, and start there. 1. Pursue and bid 2. Understand the documents 3. Plan and run the project 4. Protect and pay 61 tools →
Homebuilders Repeatable plans and many starts at once. Production builders benefit most from tools that standardise estimating, purchasing and scheduling across homes. 1. Design and plan 2. Estimate and buy 3. Build 4. Sell and close out 13 tools →
Owners and developers Owners need visibility rather than another tool for their contractor. Look for platforms that give the owner’s side a clear view of cost, schedule and progress. 1. Test the site and the program 2. Oversee delivery 3. See progress 4. Control cost and risk 32 tools →

These guides are our own analysis of how businesses of each type tend to sequence software, not a recommendation of any product. The tools listed under each step are every directory entry in that category whose company says it serves that audience, in alphabetical order.