The NZ-built ServiceM8 alternative

The honest answer

ServiceM8 is a capable, popular tool that does the job-admin basics well. It is a fast, mobile-first field-service app that small service trades love for quoting, scheduling and invoicing callouts. If that is all you need, it is a fine choice.

Where Toolie is different: Toolie is built around the New Zealand Building Code itself, not bolted onto a generic global product. Describe a job in plain English or drop in a PDF plan and Toolie runs the NZS 3604 take-off, prices it off a real NZ QS pricebook, keeps the crew compliant (H1 6th edition, Healthy Homes, CCA 2002 retentions), and does it for one flat price for your whole crew — not per user.

Why builders move from ServiceM8 to Toolie

• Toolie works offline on a no-signal site and checks the quote for missing companion items (fixings, flashings, sealant) before you send.
• ServiceM8 is built for service and callout work, not building — no NZS 3604 take-off, H1 or the estimating depth a new build or deck needs. Toolie builds the priced, code-aware quote from a description or a PDF plan.
• ServiceM8 prices by the number of jobs you do each month; Toolie is one flat price per plan, however busy you get.
• Toolie adds the NZ build side: a 13-phase programme, a CCA 2002 retention ledger, a consent tracker, 8 contracts, LBP Records of Work and 17 builder calculators.

ServiceM8 vs Toolie, side by side

Comparison compiled May 2026 and re-checked October 2026 from public competitor information; competitor features and pricing change — check their current sites.

AI in Toolie: it fills in the boxes and explains, it never sets the price

Toolie uses AI for two things: reading what you say or photograph into the right inputs, and putting figures Toolie has already worked out into plain words. Toolie’s own code works out every price, total and margin, and nothing goes to a client until you’ve checked it and sent it yourself.

• Voice to quote. Record a voice note (it waits on your phone until you have signal), type your notes, or add a photo. Toolie reads the job type and sizes into the Quote Builder’s own spec checklist, marks each input “from your note” or “assumed”, and asks about anything it couldn’t tell. Any price you say out loud is ignored. You confirm the inputs, then Toolie’s quote engine prices the job from the price book — the same total as ticking the boxes by hand — and you review the quote before it goes anywhere.
• “Why is this job losing money?” On a job that’s under way or finished, Toolie compares the quote (plus approved variations) with the timesheets, bills and receipts logged against it and ranks what’s over budget in dollars: labour, materials, subbies, and extras bought without a variation. Tap “Explain this in plain English” and the AI writes it up from those figures; if its write-up uses a number Toolie didn’t work out, it’s hidden. Anything not yet logged is flagged as missing, not counted as a saving.
• Supplier bill matching. Snap a supplier invoice and the AI reads the supplier, date, total, GST and lines into a draft bill. Toolie checks that the lines add up to the total and that the GST is 3/23 of it, then suggests which job the bill belongs to — from the order reference, delivery address, dates and lines that match the quote — with a confidence score and its reasons. It never assigns the job: you pick it and save. Lines that confidently match your price book can update your own trade price for that item, only within a sensible range of the price-book figure and never over a price you’ve recently set by hand; the price book keeps the source and the previous price.
• Ask Toolie (beta). An in-app assistant you ask in plain words. It answers from Toolie’s cited NZ reference library, your own jobs and invoices, and the price book; quantity sums such as concrete or GIB sheets are worked out by Toolie’s calculators, not the AI; ask “why is the Smith job losing money?” or “which jobs are over budget?” and it answers from the same job figures. It can also draft an email, variation or scope for you to edit and send yourself. You can switch it off in Settings.

AI features need a connection to run. Software changes quickly, so check the current feature list of ServiceM8 for anything similar before you compare.

See the full picture on the feature guide, try the on-site calculators, or read why Toolie exists.