The home services ops stack (2026)

The rule

This is an operations stack for a US home-services shop — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cleaning, lawn — one to a few trucks. It is not a craft stack. We will not rank AI review writers, ad creative, or takeoff bots. That catalog is Aiacent. If the leak is the work in the attic, leave. If the leak is unsigned quotes, a schedule in a group text, and the founder’s personal checking, stay.

The default stack

• Field CRM / jobs: Jobber from $29/month annual Core, or Housecall Pro Basic $59/month annual. ServiceTitan only when you have an office and a quote.
• Estimates: inside Jobber or Housecall if the quote becomes the visit. Estimate Rocket ($139+) if estimating is a desk. AccuLynx Essential $250 if you are a roofer.
• Job costing: Knowify Advanced if actuals vs estimate are the leak; QBO Plus $140 if the CPA will actually use Projects.
• Books: QuickBooks Online Essentials or Plus. Wave is a starter, not a crew close.
• Payroll: Gusto Simple $49 + $6, or Square Payroll $35 + $6 if the counter is already Square. Construction public work: read construction payroll before you assume Gusto does certified payroll.
• Banking: a business checking account in the entity name. Relay if you will bucket tax and payroll. A branch if you deposit cash.
• Bill pay: Melio ACH for vendors. Do not put the supply house on a personal card “for points.”

Field

Appoint one job system. Jobber is the Incacent default for most trades. Housecall Pro if the floor already knows it. ServiceTitan if you outgrew both and will staff the implementation. HubSpot is a marketing layer, not dispatch. See home-services CRM and contractor estimates.

Photos can live in the job or in CompanyCam — we are not ranking cameras. The signed estimate must become the work order. If those are two PDFs, you do not have a stack. You have a drawer.

Money

As of September 20, 2026: Jobber from $29 annual; Housecall Basic $59 annual; Gusto Simple $49 + $6; Square Payroll $35 + $6; QBO Plus $140; Melio free/paid ACH. Card fees on a $12,000 HVAC change-out are the real line item. Offer ACH or a card-on-file you disclosed. This is not tax advice.

Open business checking before the first distributor wants an ACH. Sub-accounts for tax, payroll, and operating stop you raiding Friday’s Gusto debit. See Is Relay worth it and LLC banking. 1099 crews still need classification — contractor payments, not a handshake.

What to skip

• ServiceTitan for a two-truck shop.
• Rippling for eight techs.
• A second estimate tool “for backup.”
• AI ads as a reason to ignore unsigned quotes and payday.
• Personal Venmo as the deposit jar.