Industries / Handyman and carpentry
One scheduler for handyman and carpentry.
Works today
Book small jobs fast, batch them by area, estimate on site, get paid before you leave.
Handyman services
Apex bundles a customer's task list into one visit, asks for a photo per task, and clusters your day so the lumber-yard run and the drive between houses stay short.
Who it is for: Handymen and small repair crews doing honey-do lists, punch lists, TV mounts, drywall patches and odd jobs for homeowners and property managers.
What generic schedulers get wrong for handyman work
Many jobs, one trip
A customer sends eight small tasks. The money is in bundling them into one visit, and the schedule has to sum their times.
The price is a range until you see it
Hourly with a minimum and a trip fee, or a flat menu for common tasks. Ambiguous jobs need a photo before a number.
The scope has legal edges
Some states cap the value of unlicensed work, and electrical, plumbing and gas jobs sit outside a handyman scope. Out-of-scope tasks should flag themselves.
Material runs are stops
A hardware-store run belongs in the route, not in a note.
Drawn in code for handyman work
A day in a handyman work business
- Honey-do list
- Single task
- Punch list
- Property manager
- Out of scope
8:00 window
11:00
1:00 window
3:30 windowout of scope
The outlet job is flagged for the owner, not scheduled.
Task times sum into a visit length. In build.
A quarterly customer returns on a standing list.
A handyman day: a multi-task honey-do, a supply run and a flagged out-of-scope job. Illustration of planned screens: entries are examples, not customer data, and not every screen shown is built yet.
How handyman work runs in Apex: the key settings
Starter settings for this trade. You change any of them. Nothing here is a promise about your numbers.
How jobs get booked
Morning and afternoon windows, Monday to Saturday, with a short-job option for one- or two-hour tasks.
Stops in a day
Around 4 visits a day, more for single-task jobs.
Routing
Dynamic cluster, with a materials stop allowed in the route.
Who says yes
Owner confirms; menu-priced tasks with photos can follow rules later.
How you price
Hourly with a minimum and a trip fee, a flat menu for common tasks, and photo quotes for unclear scope.
Repeat customers
Optional quarterly maintenance visit.
Follow-up calls
Day-1 call-back after a first visit, day-30 check.
Review requests
Review request a day after a paid job, once.
What we ask the customer
- List of tasks
- A photo for each task
- Do you have the materials?
- How urgent
- Access and parking
- Approximate sizes
Photos and papers to collect
- A photo per task flagged as needing one
- Before and after photos of the finished task
Rules to watch
- State limit on unlicensed work flagged against the job value
- Out-of-scope flag for electrical, plumbing and gas tasks
- Insurance certificate
What you get as a handyman work business
7 of 14 work today. The other 7 are coming soon.
Morning and afternoon windows
Customers pick a window; no exact time.
Photo required for repair tasks
A repair request cannot be confirmed until a photo arrives.
Route density with short stops
A short job is offered when you are already nearby.
Missed-call text-back
A text asking for a task list and photos.
Quarterly maintenance reminder
A gentle nudge for the second round of small jobs.
Photo chaser
A task when a task's photo is missing.
Starting pack for handyman work
Windows, four stops and owner approval as owner-confirmed defaults.
Task list that sums into a visit
Each task carries a time, and the visit length is their total.
Flat menu for common tasks
TV mount, faucet swap, door adjust at a stated price.
Materials run in the route
A stop for the supply store between jobs.
Out-of-scope task flag
Electrical, plumbing or gas tasks route to the owner.
Unlicensed work limit by state
A warning when the job value passes the limit you set.
Honey-do list as a recurring plan
Quarterly visits with a standing task list.
Skill tags in assignment
Matches tasks to the person who does drywall, tile or fixtures.
The tools in handyman work, and where we can honestly do better
Tools our research found in use for handyman work: Jobber, Housecall Pro, Workiz. Listing a tool is not a claim about it.
Housecall Pro
Its official pricing page reserves route optimization, advanced proposals and recurring service, and API access for higher tiers.
Vendor's own page: Housecall Pro pricing pageWhat Apex does about it: The photo-quote flow is part of every plan, Solo included. Route density is a core engine feature.
Jobber
Its pricing page lists AI Receptionist and Marketing Suite as separately priced add-ons.
Vendor's own page: Jobber pricing pageWhat Apex does about it: The plan price is the plan price, and texts run on your own provider or the prepaid wallet with the cost shown before sending.
When another tool may be the better choice: Jobber is the usual choice for a solo or small handyman business and is a solid default. Apex is newer. The task-list sum and the materials-stop items are in build.
What it costs for handyman work
Apex lists three public plans, priced by users: Solo $59 per month for 1 user, Crew $99 for 2 to 5 users, Business $129 for 6 users plus $10 for each extra user. No plan includes any texts, AI phone minutes or AI usage. For this trade we would start you on Solo. A solo handyman fits Solo and moves to Crew when a second person joins.
Jobber lists Core at $29 to $49, Connect at $99 to $139 and Grow at $149 to $199 or more per month. Housecall Pro lists Basic at $59, Essentials at $149 and Max at $299 per month billed annually, or $79, $189 and $329 billed monthly. These are public figures as read on 2026-10-06, verify before buying. Seat counts and included features differ between vendors, and we have not verified every one, so compare your own crew size on the pricing page before you decide. Texts and AI run on your own provider account or a prepaid wallet, and card processing is at the processor's own rate.
Handyman services: questions, answered first
Can a customer send a list of jobs?
Does it stop me from taking a wiring job?
Does it plan a supply run?
Can I offer quarterly maintenance?
Do I need photos?
Fencing
Apex turns linear feet, height and gates into a takeoff, then schedules the job in phases that wait on the utility locate, the permit and the concrete.
Who it is for: Fence installers and builders working wood, vinyl, chain-link and iron, residential and small commercial.
Works with a few tweaksFencing needs are drawn from vendor pages and domain knowledge, with no review evidence. Operator interviews will deepen this pack.
What generic schedulers get wrong for fencing
Linear feet drive everything
Run length, height, material, gates and slope set the price and the material order. A flat quote line has no takeoff behind it.
Nothing starts until the locate is done
The utility locate has a lead time, and permits and HOA approval can add weeks. The schedule should show the wait.
Three phases, not one day
Dig, set posts, hang panels, with a cure wait in the middle. One appointment hides the sequence.
The property line is a dispute
A survey, setback and a neighbor's fence change the job. A required question avoids a stop-work.
Drawn in code for fencing
A day in a fencing business
- Estimate
- Locate
- Dig and set
- Panels
- Gate
Panel count carries a small waste allowance. The material order follows the takeoff.
The dig waits on the locate. Cure days sit between set and panels.
- Estimate
- Contract
- Locate cleared
- Permit
- Material ordered
- Dig and set
- Cure
- Panels
Locate and permit gate the start. Phases are in build.
A fencing job in phases, with the locate and cure time visible on the calendar. Illustration of planned screens: entries are examples, not customer data, and not every screen shown is built yet.
How fencing runs in Apex: the key settings
Starter settings for this trade. You change any of them. Nothing here is a promise about your numbers.
How jobs get booked
Estimate window, then dated phases: locate, dig, set, panels.
Stops in a day
Two to three estimate visits a day; one crew per install.
Routing
Dynamic cluster for estimates.
Who says yes
Owner confirms every estimate and start date.
How you price
Per linear foot by material and height, plus gates, removal and a deposit on the material order.
Repeat customers
None; optional staining or maintenance reminders.
Follow-up calls
Quote follow-up at day 2 and day 5; day-30 check.
Review requests
Review request after the final walk-through, once.
What we ask the customer
- Linear feet and height
- Material and style
- Gates: how many and what width
- Old fence to remove?
- Slope and obstacles
- Property line or survey
- HOA?
Photos and papers to collect
- Run photos and obstacle photos
- Utility locate marks
- Photos of the finished run
Rules to watch
- Utility locate ticket
- Permit and setback rules
- HOA approval
- Contractor license where required
What you get as a fencing business
5 of 13 work today. The other 8 are coming soon.
Fence takeoff by run
Panels, posts, gates and concrete bags from run length and height.
Estimate windows
Morning and afternoon windows for site visits.
Quote follow-up at day 2 and day 5
Ends as soon as the homeowner replies or signs.
Route density for estimates
Estimates cluster by area.
Photo request before the visit
Run and obstacle photos requested at intake.
Utility locate step with lead time
The dig day cannot be set before the locate is cleared.
Permit and HOA approval tracking
Dated steps that hold the start.
Phase schedule with a cure wait
Dig, set, wait, panels, as dated phases.
Material order timed to the dig
Panels and posts ordered against the start date.
Weather hold on dig and pour days
Rain moves the day and tells the customer.
Satellite run measuring
Lengths drawn on a satellite view from the office.
Setback and property-line check
A required answer and a flag when a survey is needed.
Crew by feet per day
Scheduling by the number of feet a crew does in a day.
The tools in fencing, and where we can honestly do better
Tools our research found in use for fencing: Fence Cloud, Projul, QuoteIQ, JobNimbus, Jobber. Listing a tool is not a claim about it.
No claimsOur research found no sourced complaints about the tools used for fencing, so we make none.
When another tool may be the better choice: Fencing tools such as Fence Cloud and Projul focus on material takeoffs and estimating. We found only vendor pages about them, no review evidence, and make no claim against them.
What it costs for fencing
Apex lists three public plans, priced by users: Solo $59 per month for 1 user, Crew $99 for 2 to 5 users, Business $129 for 6 users plus $10 for each extra user. No plan includes any texts, AI phone minutes or AI usage. For this trade we would start you on Solo. A small fencing crew can begin on Solo and move to Crew when it adds a second crew.
Jobber lists Core at $29 to $49, Connect at $99 to $139 and Grow at $149 to $199 or more per month. Housecall Pro lists Basic at $59, Essentials at $149 and Max at $299 per month billed annually, or $79, $189 and $329 billed monthly. These are public figures as read on 2026-10-06, verify before buying. Seat counts and included features differ between vendors, and we have not verified every one, so compare your own crew size on the pricing page before you decide. Texts and AI run on your own provider account or a prepaid wallet, and card processing is at the processor's own rate.