Quoting and Invoicing Software for Australian Tradies
One app for the quote, the invoice and the payment, or a quoting app beside an accounting package? The six options Australian tradies actually run, with GST, tap-to-pay fees and monthly cost spelled out.
Quoting and invoicing software for tradies has to close one loop: the quote you sent becomes the invoice you get paid on, without anyone typing it twice. A generic invoicing app does the second half and leaves you building the quote somewhere else. An accounting package does the books and treats quoting as an afterthought. Most Australian tradies end up running two tools, a quoting and invoicing app on the phone and Xero or MYOB for the accountant, and the question is which two. This guide compares the six options tradies actually use, with GST, tap-to-pay fees and the real monthly cost spelled out, and is clear about what an invoicing app can and cannot replace.
The quote-to-invoice loop, and where tradies lose money in it
The loop is: site visit, itemised quote, customer accepts, job done, tax invoice, payment. Money leaks at two joins. Between quote and invoice, when the invoice is retyped from a PDF and a line item drops off. Between invoice and payment, when the invoice goes out by email and nothing chases it.
Quoting and invoicing software closes both joins. In QuoteMate the accepted quote becomes the tax invoice in one tap, every line item intact, and goes out by email, SMS or WhatsApp. If it is not paid, automatic chasing follows up. For a job with stages, progress claims come off the same quote.
Generic invoicing apps like Invoice2go do the invoice well and the quote badly, because they have no idea what a switchboard upgrade or a bathroom rough-in is made of. Accounting packages can raise an invoice but were never built to itemise materials on a phone at a customer's kitchen bench.
At a glance
| # | App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | QuoteMate ★ Top pick | Tradies who quote: accepted quote becomes the invoice in one tap, paid on site | Free plan; Pro $49/mo or $490/yr |
| 2 | Invoice2go | Simple cross-industry invoicing | From ~$11/mo |
| 3 | Xero | Full accounting & BAS | From ~$35/mo |
| 4 | MYOB | Accounting with a sole-trader app | From ~$11/mo |
| 5 | QuickBooks | Accounting with unlimited invoices | From ~$33/mo |
| 6 | Rounded | Sole-trader invoicing & BAS | From $23.95/mo |
Invoicing app or accounting software: they are not the same job
Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks are accounting software. They reconcile the bank, lodge the BAS, run payroll and give your accountant the numbers at year end. They can send an invoice, and for a consultant that is enough. For a tradie the invoice has thirty line items that started life as a quote, and the accounting package has no way to build that on site.
A quoting and invoicing app is the front of house. It builds the quote, sends it, converts it, takes the payment. It should then hand the finished invoice to the accounting package so the books are right without re-entry. QuoteMate syncs invoices to Xero in one tap. It does not have a direct MYOB integration, so MYOB users export instead.
The most common question we get about invoicing in QuoteMate is whether it replaces Xero. It does not, and it is not trying to. It replaces quoting in Xero, which was never any good, and feeds Xero the result.
Getting paid: tap-to-pay fees and the surcharge ban
The fastest invoice is the one paid before you leave. Tap-to-pay on your own phone does that. In QuoteMate the card is processed through Square at about 3.1% all in, which is 1.6% to Square and 1.5% to QuoteMate, taken out of your payout. There is no surcharge passed to the customer.
That matters because card surcharges are banned in Australia from 1 October 2026. Any app that has been adding a percentage to the customer's total has to stop, and the fee comes out of the job price instead. Price it in. A 3.1% fee on a $500 job is $15.50, against a 30-day wait and a follow-up call if you send an invoice and hope.
For invoices that do go out unpaid, the difference between apps is whether chasing is automatic or something you remember on a Sunday night.
The six options, honestly
QuoteMate. Quoting and invoicing in one, built for Australian tradies. AI-assisted line items, live supplier pricing, one-tap quote-to-invoice, GST and ABN handled, Square tap-to-pay, automatic chasing, Xero sync. Free plan with unlimited quotes and invoices; Pro is a flat $49 a month or $490 a year. It is not an accounting ledger: no BAS, no payroll.
Invoice2go. Simple, cheap, cross-industry invoicing from around $11 a month. Fine for emailing a basic PDF after a job. No materials, no supplier pricing, so quoting a real trade job means building it elsewhere. Entry tiers cap clients and invoices.
Xero. The Australian small-business accounting standard, from around $35 a month. Runs your books and BAS. Slow for on-site quoting. Most tradies keep it and stop quoting in it.
MYOB. Full accounting with a sole-trader app, from around $11 a month. Same story as Xero: right for the books, wrong for building a materials quote on a phone.
QuickBooks. Accounting with unlimited invoices on its plans, from around $33 a month. Strong if you want payroll and project reporting in the same place as your invoicing.
Rounded. Sole-trader invoicing and BAS tracking, from $23.95 a month. Built for freelancers and sole operators who need simple invoices and tax set aside, not itemised trade quotes.
What it costs a sole trader per month
A quoting and invoicing app plus accounting is the realistic setup, so budget for both. QuoteMate is free, or $49 a month for Pro (about $41 a month paid annually). Xero from around $35. MYOB from around $11. QuickBooks from around $33. Invoice2go from around $11. Rounded from $23.95.
The cheapest combination that actually closes the loop is a free QuoteMate plan feeding a Xero subscription, around $35 a month total. The cheapest that adds AI material suggestions, the job pipeline and lower card fees is QuoteMate Pro plus Xero, around $84 a month, or less paid annually. Entry-tier generic invoicing apps look cheaper until you count the quotes still being built by hand.
What an Australian tradie tax invoice has to carry
For a sale over $82.50 including GST, the ATO requires the words Tax invoice, your business identity and ABN, the date, a description of what was supplied and the price, and the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST. Over $1,000 the customer's identity or ABN goes on too. A quote that is missing any of these cannot simply be relabelled an invoice.
Good software puts all of that on every invoice without you thinking about it. QuoteMate stamps your ABN, calculates GST per line and totals it, and carries the customer details through from the quote. If your current app makes you check the GST by hand, it is costing you time on every job and risk on some of them.
Frequently Asked Questions
One where the accepted quote becomes the invoice in a single tap and the invoice syncs to your accounting package. QuoteMate does both, with a free plan for unlimited quotes and invoices and Pro at a flat $49 a month, and hands each invoice to Xero. Pair it with Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks for the books.
For sending a simple invoice, yes. For building an itemised trade quote with materials on a phone at the customer's place, no. Most tradies keep Xero for accounting and use a quoting app in front of it. QuoteMate syncs the finished invoice into Xero so nothing is entered twice.
QuoteMate's free plan includes unlimited quotes and invoices with your logo and GST handled, and it is a permanent plan rather than a trial. The generic invoicing apps have cheap entry tiers from around $11 a month with limits on clients or invoices.
Over $82.50 including GST: the words Tax invoice, your identity and ABN, the date, what was supplied and the price, and the GST amount or a statement that the total includes GST. Over $1,000, the customer's identity or ABN as well. Software should add all of it automatically.
On sticker price, Invoice2go and MYOB from around $11 a month. For a tradie the true cost includes building the quote somewhere else, so a free quoting-and-invoicing plan feeding Xero is usually cheaper in hours than a cheap invoice-only app.
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