Tools & Software•11 min read•June 8, 2026
The Modern Trades Business Tech Stack (2026 Edition)
What software you actually need to run a 5–50 employee trades business, what you can skip, and where to consolidate to cut your monthly SaaS bill in half.
The average growing trades business pays for 9 different SaaS tools — CRM, scheduler, invoicing, payroll, route planner, marketing, accounting, phone system, and reviews software. Total: $850–$1,400/month. Most of that is overlap.
What you actually need
- All-in-one CRM (clients, jobs, scheduling, invoices, payments)
- Accounting (QuickBooks Online or Xero — for the books only)
- Payroll (Gusto, ADP)
- A business phone number with SMS
- Reviews/reputation (often bundled with CRM now)
What you can skip
- Separate route planner — should be in your CRM
- Separate marketing automation — should be in your CRM
- Separate sales coaching app — AI is now built into modern stacks
- Standalone proposal software — quotes should live with the client record
Consolidation playbook
Pick the tool with the widest feature set as your hub (usually your CRM). Cut everything that overlaps. Keep accounting and payroll separate — those are best-of-breed plays. Expect to cut your SaaS bill 40–60% on the first pass.
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