A No-Nonsense Review of Simpro: Features, Pricing, Alternatives, and More!

Simpro is a widely recognized business management solutions provider for the trades and services industry.

But is it the right fit for your business?

In this Simpro review, we’ll explore this app’s features, user experience, reviews, and pricing, helping you determine whether it meets your business’ needs.

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What Is Simpro?

Simpro was established in 2002 as a field service management software company in Brisbane, Australia through a collaboration between an electrical business owner and a software engineering student.

Specializing in digitizing trade and field service operations, Simpro has grown to serve businesses in New Zealand, the U.S., and the UK.

Simpro Overview

The Simpro platform offers solutions for scheduling and dispatch, timesheets, fleet tracking, lead management, site management, and customer communication.

Simpro also features tools for quoting, invoicing, project tracking, and reporting. Its system is designed to centralize leads, client management, and supplier tracking within a single system. 

Simpro also offers multi-company functionality for businesses managing multiple branches, divisions, and/or legal entities in different locations.

What it’s Like to Get Started With Simpro

Simpro doesn’t offer a free trial, but does provide a demo of their product on request.

Prior to scheduling a one-on-one session, Simpro will collect information about your company including your operational needs, systems in use, number of employees / technicians / office admins, and your current role.

The onboarding process is guided by a Simpro Implementation Consultant, who helps clients set up their Simpro accounts and systems. 

According to its resource guide, clients can set up Simpro by following these steps:

1. Getting Started – Define a strategy, set milestones, and outline responsibilities.
2. System Set Up – Import catalogs, configure rates, and set up Simpro Mobile.
3. Training – Work with an Implementation Consultant to personalize workflows.
4. Go Live – Start using Simpro with access to ongoing training and support.

After configuring the system, clients can move towards customizing Simpro for their specific business needs. The platform offers additional features including reporting, automation, and integrations. 

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The Simpro Web App Experience

The Simpro app is designed for easy use and quick navigation. Its main dashboard provides visualizations of project data including job costs and sales targets. You can easily access data visualizations from the top dropdown menu and view service, accounts, projects, and sales pages. 

The dashboard also features widgets for important alerts, announcements, and reminders. Since it’s a field-focused business solution, Simpro includes weather information at the top right corner of your dashboard.

The left-hand menu features activated modules including People, Leads, Quotes, Jobs, Schedules, Materials, Invoices, and Tasks.

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The Simpro Mobile Experience

Similar to the web app, Simpro mobile doesn’t offer a free trial for users. To use the Simpro mobile app, users need to provide not only their username and password, but also a dedicated Simpro Premium URL.

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More construction companies choose Workyard for their time-tracking needs.

Find out why

Simpro’s resource guide states that Simpro Mobile currently offers Quote, Sales, Timesheet, Service, and Stock modules. 

Using the Quote and Sales module, mobile users can add billable items, select particular jobs, and add materials and labor. Upon submission, the app syncs job details with the desktop account. 

The Timesheet module enables mobile users to clock on (to use Simpro’s terminology) and select assigned jobs from their schedule. They can record start and finish times, duplicate time blocks for other technicians, and add attachments. Upon submission, the app syncs their timesheet with the desktop account. 

Mobile users can distribute time among multiple cost centers within a single job, update and record worked hours for billable and non-billable jobs, and review time logs offline. 

However, there are no mentions of geofencing or GPS within the Timesheet module for Simpro mobile users.

These are separate solutions available in Simtrac, Simpro’s fleet tracking product. Instead of the mobile app, Simtrac requires trackers to be installed in vehicles for real-time fleet tracking. 

The Service module allows mobile users to check allocated materials and quantities for asset testing and audits. Users can record their signature for on-site jobs, email invoices, add materials and labor, take payments, and submit completed jobs for synchronization.

Simpro Key Features

Simpro People

The People module is the first item on the lefthand menu and allows you to navigate to pages dedicated to customers, sites, suppliers, and contacts. You can create new customers and add customer sites for easier job tracking. 

The page also allows you to add customer details including preferred technicians, tags, response times, and history of requested jobs. 

You can use the search bar to quickly locate a specific customer or use advanced filters to narrow results based on criteria such as status, type, account manager, or customer group. You can also view customer statements, create leads, quotes, or jobs, and customer locations. 

The platform allows you to merge customer records to eliminate duplicates and consolidate data. 

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Simpro Leads

The Leads section helps you organize potential customers in your pipeline.

You can create leads for prospective clients, track their status, and convert them into quotes once they convert. If a lead does not convert, you can close it and maintain their record for future reference.

Leads also features other functions like Forecast to help you see incoming sales from the next month or quarter, enabling you to better estimate income and project timelines.    

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Simpro Quotes

Quotes is where you manage service and project quotes.

You can navigate through open and in progress quotes, completed and approved job quotes, and even archived quotes. The platform allows you to filter quotes by status, salesperson, project manager, customer group and other key attributes to quickly locate specific quotes.

Users can also perform bulk actions including assigning salespeople, updating statuses, and changing due dates to save time when managing multiple quotes.

Similar to other modules, you can merge duplicate quotes to consolidate data. Outdated quotes can be archived to save data and reopened when needed. 

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Simpro Jobs

Once a project quote is approved by the client, it’s transferred to Jobs. This section shows your pending as well as jobs in progress, completed jobs, invoiced, archived, and contractor jobs. Simpro categorizes jobs into service, project, and prepaid jobs on its dashboard. 

Simpro provides a map of service jobs scheduled for the day so you can see where onsite jobs are located. 

Jobs are accessible through the Contractor Jobs tab while recurring jobs are managed from the Recurring menu. You can search and filter jobs by multiple criteria such as job number, customer, site name, salesperson, project manager, or job status.

Right-clicking on a job or accessing the Options menu lets you perform key actions like scheduling technicians, creating invoices, modifying job stages, or merging jobs.

Simpro also allows bulk actions like updating job statuses, assigning personnel, or adjusting due dates to save time and effort. 

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Simpro Recurring

The dash also includes a separate section for Recurring jobs and invoices for easier management. This section presents a ready-made template for repeat job orders and invoices. 

You can set specific dates and frequency for recurring jobs with a start and end date. You can also assign salespeople and project managers as well as technicians to clients with recurring job orders. 

Recurring job templates can be created for both service and project jobs. Simpro also enables bulk import of recurring jobs to save time on data entry.

For recurring invoices, you can view and manage invoices for repeat jobs including reasons for repeat visits. Simpro also offers a bulk pricing update option to keep labor rates and materials up to date with current pricing.

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Simpro Scheduling

The Schedules section offers day/month/week views as well as project and manual views. You can use the drag-and-drop interface to assign technicians to jobs based on their availability and skillset.

Simpro lumps Timesheets together with Schedules, which can make accessing time logs less intuitive from the dashboard. It’s a little hard to view time logs on the get-go since you need to navigate first to Schedules, open the sub-menu, and then select Timesheets. 

Once you’ve reached Timesheets, you can review job cards and run sheets. This functionality helps you track job progress and ensure assigned tasks are completed on schedule. 

Automated scheduling options allow businesses to set up recurring jobs and assign teams in advance. In case of scheduling conflicts, Simpro allows for manual adjustment of technician assignments. 

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Simpro Materials

Materials is where you can check your company catalogue for materials including pre-builds, stock, and take-off templates. 

The catalogue section helps you organize materials, set preferred suppliers, and update pricing details. Pre-builds allow you to group items and create assemblies of materials and labor for repeatable tasks, streamlining estimating and job costing. 

The platform also offers take-off templates for quick selection of predefined material lists for specific job types. Stock management enables you to track stock levels across multiple locations and monitor usage.

Lastly, the purchase orders section allows you to to track order statuses, receive items directly into stock, and document supplier invoices for accurate records.

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Simpro Invoices

Invoices helps you navigate pending and paid invoices.

It categorizes invoices into supplier and paid/unpaid contractor invoices. Users can also access dedicated sections for payments, credits, retentions, and variances to ensure all invoicing details are accurately recorded.

Simpro supports multiple invoice types, including deposit invoices, progress invoices, and final invoices. Users can generate invoices directly from jobs, consolidate multiple invoices for the same customer, and email invoices. 

The platform logs invoice activities to maintain a record of approvals, modifications, and emails. You can also automate recurring invoices for repeat orders to save time.  

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Simpro Tasks

Tasks makes it easy to create new jobs and edit existing ones.

You can set task/job number, customer name and site, assigned technician, and priority level. You can also view and set task status and progress against target due date. 

Tasks can be linked to quotes, jobs, or customers for easy access. When a task is associated with a customer, they can view task details via the customer portal. 

The platform notifies employees or contractors of their task assignments. Tasks can be categorized by priority, status, and type to streamline workflows.

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Simpro Multi-Company

Simpro also offers Multi-Company functionality for multi-location businesses, allowing you to centralize several company accounts into your main dashboard.

Multi-company clients can share data including employees, contractors, tax codes, and currencies. Simpro extends this feature to include stock, catalog, and customers through its Template Company setup.

The platform allows users to choose which data to share across companies. Some features such as employees, contractors, and tax codes are always shared to facilitate workflow integration.

However, other individual elements like logos, time zones, and individual invoices remain independent to uphold business autonomy. 

Integrating Other Business Apps With Simpro

Having been in the industry for over 20 years, Simpro has built a large network of partnerships with other business apps and systems.

These include accounting software like QuickBooks, Taxify, Sage, Xero, and more. Simpro also integrates with wholesale suppliers, estimating and materials management software, and compliance and documentation systems in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.

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Simpro Might be a Good Fit for You If…

…you’re running a multi-location trade business.

The Simpro app’s tailored features for large trade businesses shine best when it comes to handling business processes like recurring jobs, invoices, and workflows. It offers a dedicated multi-company build to make running multiple locations and businesses easy without muddling individual branding and autonomy.

The system is built for scalability with structured workflows, integrations with accounting software, and customizable job management features. 

However, before committing, it’s important to weigh its drawbacks, especially for field teams requiring GPS tracking or time verification tools.

You Might Not Want to Use Simpro If…

…you need good solutions for managing a field-based crew like field technicians and construction workers.

While Simpro offers comprehensive features for managing trade businesses, it falls short in key areas that are necessary for mobile workforce efficiency. 

One of its biggest drawbacks is the lack of GPS tracking for mobile users. If you need real-time location tracking for field technicians, the Simpro app may not be the best fit.

It offers limited visibility into teams’ whereabouts and makes dispatch and accountability more challenging for construction and trade businesses.

Another major limitation is the lack of time tracking verification. Many field service businesses rely on GPS-enabled time tracking to ensure accurate timesheets and prevent payroll discrepancies.

Simpro lacks security measures to verify when and where employees clock in and out. This can lead to time theft, fraud, and inaccurate job costing, which could impact your company’s bottom line. 

Since Simpro does not provide a free trial, potential clients must commit to a representative-led demo session instead of being able to test the platform’s capabilities for themselves.

If your business requires precise GPS time tracking and verification for field employees, Simpro may not be the best option. Instead, a platform like Workyard which specializes in accurate GPS tracking and field-based workforce management may better suit your needs.

More construction companies choose Workyard for their time-tracking needs.

Find out why

Simpro Cost/Pricing

Simpro pricing remains under wraps. Interested parties are invited to contact sales and commit to scheduling a demo with a Simpro representative to see if the app fits their needs. 

Some speculate that Simpro Enterprise starts at $149 monthly for a single user and costs approximately $15,995 monthly for organizations with 1,000 users. Mid-range options range from $798 monthly for 10 users to $3,495 monthly for 100 users. 

Beyond the monthly subscription, businesses are advised to budget for implementation costs ranging from $2,000 to $10,000 depending on organization size and deployment complexity. In addition, customization expenses are quoted separately based on specific business requirements, making the total investment different for each organization. 

While these speculations give us a picture of Simpro’s enterprise pricing, final costs ultimately depend on individual clients’ operational needs and their negotiations with Simpro. 

Simpro Reviews

Simpro users acknowledge the platform’s strengths including its robust quoting function. However, some were less thrilled with unreliable time tracking and persistent platform issues.

This iOS reviewer mentions issues with time tracking:

Slider for time input ⭐⭐⭐ 

Input for the time (the scrolling UI) seems to be hit or miss. I would make sure it is 9:00 for example – press done – would show 9:30 instead – click on time again and it still shows 9:00 – press done – now it shows correct 9:00. This happens too often and is extremely frustrating and time consuming. iPhone 13 Pro, iOS 17.2.1

This Capterra reviewer appreciated Simpro’s useful features like its catalogue function, but wishes for better customer support:

Customer Service is horrible, lots of broken promises ⭐⭐⭐ 
Overall: Our experience with Simpro started out great. The sales person promised us the world and we bought in. The onboarding process was partially hampered by Covid so the whole process was done online. We worked our way through that and started to use the program. We even switched our accounting software to one that was compatible with their system. A lot of the features that they promised to be seamless were not and I kept getting told that it would get better and that they would work on it.

The tax features were not compatible in Canada, even though we were assured numerous times that they were and when they finally admitted that they weren’t they promised they would fix the issues. We limped along with the software for about 6 months all the while being promised that the issues were being fixed. During this time we saw a definite drop in revenue, that corrected itself when we cancelled the software. We eventually got in contact with upper management, they promised to work with us and make things right. Unfortunately that is all it was, promises that were never followed through on.

After cancelling Simpro we were promised that they would keep in contact and even potentially talk about refunding some money. From that point on they refused to reply to emails or phone calls. Stay away. They only care about collecting your money and will say whatever they need to to do this.

Pros: The Quote features and catalogue worked well.

Cons: Time entering, looking back on jobs, live time costing.

How (and Why) We Scored and Rated Simpro

Based on our testing and user sentiments, here’s how we scored Simpro:

Top Alternatives to Simpro

Simpro promises total operational control for the trades, but there are plenty of Simpro alternatives offering similar and stronger dedicated features, especially for construction businesses.

Final Thoughts

Simpro shines in digitizing business operations for large, multi-location trade and services companies.

However, it fails in the nitty-gritty detail of delivering a reliable solution for managing a field-based workforce through accurate GPS tracking.

At the end of the day, your field employees are the ones who are delivering services and doing the jobs. They will have the greatest impact on your business’ bottom line, in spite of the best business operations in place. 

For companies seeking accurate GPS tracking, automated timesheets, and real-time labor cost insights, Workyard is a far superior alternative.

Workyard’s mobile-first approach ensures that field teams can be accurately tracked, reducing payroll errors and improving job cost accuracy. If your business depends on mobile workforce efficiency, Workyard’s advanced GPS tracking and workforce management features provide a more effective solution.

Construction managers and field workers love the Workyard mobile experience. Our iOS and Android apps are designed around the needs of team managers in the construction business. Our web platform also simplifies scheduling, team management, time tracking, and more for construction managers. Try Workyard free for 14 days and see how we can simplify your field service management and make your business more profitable!