Finding the right software solution for your contractor painting business can be tough, especially with the speed of new tools and features being rolled out. I’ve spent several years in the contractor software industry and am often asked about what software solutions are best for painters. Here’s the list of my favorite painting software solutions with my personal reviews. Happy painting!
To streamline your estimating process
PaintScout is a platform for managing and automating the bidding process for commercial painting contractors. The company's platform includes features such as job estimation, proposal creation, and project management. PaintScout aims to help painting contractors streamline their bidding processes, save time and increase accuracy, and ultimately win more jobs.
Jeff’s Review of PaintScout:
The PaintScout team is fantastic. The founder owns a painting company and built this as a solution for his business and his network. PaintScout really shines when it comes to estimating, smartly looping in production rates into the estimating process. The user experience is also very easy to manage and modern. While it’s not intended to be a full-on CRM, PaintScout can be a critical part of your tech stack.
For businesses looking to grow
Estimate Rocket is a cloud-based platform for contractors to manage their businesses more efficiently. It provides contractors one centralized location to create estimates, manage schedules, track projects, and generate invoices. Estimate Rocket's platform also provides tools for customer relationship management, job costing, and reporting.
Jeff’s Review of Estimate Rocket:
Estimate Rocket has been a popular estimating and project management system in the painting industry for several years. They have recently added some automation functions that allow contractors to automatically follow up on outstanding quotes.
To build repeatable, effective processes in your business
DripJobs is a platform for managing and optimizing the workflow of field service businesses. The software includes features such as scheduling, dispatching, job management, and invoicing. Its customizable features help businesses meet their specific needs and requirements.
Jeff’s Review of DripJobs:
If you’re looking for a tool to help you build efficient, repeatable processes within your business, DripJob’s is a great platform to explore. It’s another system that was born out of an actual painting business. Tanner Mullen is the founder of DripJobs, and he has created a tool that has powerful automations, templated follow up messages, and easy to use CRM-like functionality. DripJobs seems to fit best for companies under a few million in revenue. It’s also Zapier friendly for easy integration - a huge plus!
The top-to-bottom software solution for project management
BuilderPrime is a suite of software tools for contractors, builders, and project managers to manage every aspect of a construction project, from pre-construction to completion. The platform includes features such as project scheduling, document management, budgeting and cost tracking, and collaboration tools. BuilderPrime aims to streamline the construction process, improve communication and transparency, and increase project efficiency and profitability.
Jeff’s Review of BuilderPrime:
BuilderPrime is the all-in-one tool for contractors. The team is scrappy and the product is impressive from what I’ve seen. We’ve also heard from customers that they provide great customer support. BuilderPrime is also Zapier-Friendly.
For small businesses to build relationships with customers (and more)
Thryv provides a suite of business management tools designed to help small businesses automate and streamline their operations. It includes features such as customer relationship management, online appointment scheduling, invoicing and payment processing, marketing automation, and social media management. Thryv aims to simplify the management of day-to-day business operations, increase customer engagement and retention, and ultimately help small businesses grow and succeed.
Jeff’s Review of Thryv: Thryv is an interesting option, particularly for younger businesses just getting started. It was actually launched by the company that used to be know as YellowPages (throwback!). It has a lot of features rolled into one system - but for larger companies, it might not have enough flexibility.
An affordable project management solution with growing features
JobTread offers a cloud-based project management software solution designed specifically for contractors in the construction industry. The platform includes features such as project scheduling, task management, job costing, document management, and invoicing. JobTread's software aims to help contractors manage every aspect of their construction projects more efficiently and effectively, from pre-construction to project completion.
Jeff’s Review of JobTread:
I know the JobTread founders personally, and have been impressed with their growth. Many of their users are in general contracting, but they also have a bunch of painting contractors benefitting from their tool. If you are looking for a fairly priced business management system with a ton of impressive features, check out JobTread.
The tool every contractor needs to protect their business
CompanyCam is designed to help contractors and construction professionals streamline communication and documentation processes. The platform includes features such as photo and video capture, annotation, and organization, as well as team collaboration tools and project management capabilities. CompanyCam's software aims to help users improve efficiency, reduce miscommunication, and simplify the project management process.
Jeff’s Review of CompanyCam:
CompanyCam’s tool is simple but so helpful. It removes the “he said she said” for contractors to owners. It also enhances communication between your team in a valuable way. They started in the roofing industry but have rapidly expanded the industries they serve. If you go to a project site of any type to do work, you can benefit from CompanyCam. We also like the team over there - good people :) CompanyCam is easy to use, improves team communication, and covers your butt. It also integrates directly with Groundwork.
To optimize your invoicing and payment process
Joist is a platform for small business contractors to manage their businesses more efficiently. The company's platform includes features such as estimating and invoicing, project management, client communication, and payment processing. Joist aims to simplify the management of day-to-day business operations and help contractors save time and increase profitability.
Jeff’s Review of Joist:
Joist is a low cost estimating and invoicing tool. For smaller companies looking for a solid but fairly simple system to manage their business, Joist might be a good fit. It’s inexpensive and powerful. But don’t expect it to be a great fit if you are doing a few million in sales each year.
A flexible and powerful CRM that’s Zapier friendly
HubSpot provides a suite of marketing, sales, and customer service tools designed to help businesses grow and succeed. The company's platform includes features such as lead generation, email marketing, social media management, CRM, marketing automation, sales automation, customer service automation, and analytics. HubSpot aims to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers, and ultimately increase revenue and profitability.
Jeff’s Review of HubSpot:
We know, HubSpot isn’t a trade-specific tool. However, if you are looking for a free or low cost CRM, it’s pretty powerful. It can get pricey to add on the more advanced features, but for a smaller company, the free or lower cost plans can be very helpful.
A popular CRM among contractors
Pipeline CRM is a software company that provides a platform for managing customer relationships and sales pipelines. The company's platform includes features such as contact management, lead tracking, deal tracking, and analytics. Pipeline CRM aims to help businesses improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their sales processes, increase pipeline visibility and predictability, and ultimately drive revenue growth.
Jeff’s Review of Pipeline CRM:
Like Hubspot, Pipeline isn’t necessarily purpose built for the trades, but it’s very flexible and easy to get up and running. It’s not going to have the detailed painting-specific estimating suite that some of the other systems might have, but partnered with PaintScout, for example, pipeline can be a great way to help manage customers and deals. It’s also Zapier-friendly!
To reduce costs through workforce management
Workglue is a platform for managing workforce productivity and performance. The company's platform includes features such as time and attendance tracking, scheduling, task management, and reporting. Workglue aims to help businesses streamline their workforce management processes, increase productivity and efficiency, and ultimately reduce costs.
Jeff’s Review of WorkGlue:
Looking for an easy way to keep your field staff on the same page? Workglue is a great fit for that. It’s not quite an “all-in-one” but it takes care of all of those production management workflows very well. Partner Workglue up with an estimating tool and a CRM and you’re set!
A sales tool to pre-qualify and convert leads faster
Groundworks is a sales software designed specifically for contractors in the residential contracting industry. The virtual selling tool helps contractors streamline their sales processes, from qualifying leads to closing deals. With Groundworks, contractors can create and manage leads, nurture prospects, schedule meetings, qualify leads, and capture valuable project information.
Jeff’s Review of Groundwork:
I founded this company, so I won’t necessarily give you a “review.” What I will say is that we’ve built something to help contractors solve the frustration that I’ve experienced first hand in the sales process. I felt like there was so much wasted time for both the customer and contractor. We’ve been working since 2019 to solve that problem. I’d love to show you what we’re building - try the software out for free.
These 12 tools represent some of the best software solutions available for painting contractors in 2023. With the right technology, contractors can make their operations more efficient, streamline project management processes, enhance communication between team members, attract and engage customers more effectively, and ultimately increase revenue and profitability.
Before investing in any software solution, it is important to read reviews like those above to gain an understanding of what the product offers and how it can help your business succeed. It pays to do your research, so take the time to read reviews, compare different solutions, and find the best tool for your business.
If you’d like to meet with our team to get a free tech-stack consultation, click here.
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post about software tools designed to help painting contractors in 2023. We hope you learned something new and found some helpful tips on which technology might be best suited for your business.
Founder + CEO of Groundwork
Jeff is an expert on technology in the trades. In his career, he has spent time in commercial and residential contracting, small business consulting, and technology. He is a champion for innovation and is passionate about building technology to help contractors run better businesses. He has an Engineering degree from Purdue University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Richmond. He is also the Founder and CEO of Groundwork, a video-based sales system for landscaping contractors and other residential trade businesses.
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