Joist vs TradesTimer

What Joist is

An estimating and invoicing app for contractors designed to manage the workflow from professional quotes to online payments.

Best for: Contractors who need a streamlined way to send professional estimates, generate invoices, and collect payments from clients directly through their mobile device.

Pricing at a glance

Where Joist is strong

• Professional quote and invoice generation
• Integrated online payment processing

Where Joist falls short for trades

• Does not automatically track travel distance or time spent at jobsites via background GPS
• Requires manual management of the quote-to-invoice workflow rather than passive, automatic logging

Why I built a Joist alternative

Joist makes estimates and invoices — genuinely useful, and plenty of contractors I've worked with swear by it. But an invoice app starts from a number you type in. Where did that number come from? For most of us it came from memory, a dashboard scribble, or the notebook I kept in the truck for years.

That handoff — from your actual day to the number on the invoice — is where the money leaks. TradesTimer exists to make that handoff honest: it logs your stops automatically and gives you rounded per-job hours to drop straight into Joist or anything else.

— Ryder, founder of TradesTimer. Years on the tools across framing, fencing, roofing, concrete, drywall, and painting, plus the back office of an electrical contractor — orders, invoices, and yes, the time tracking.

What TradesTimer does differently

• Automatic mileage and jobsite duration logging via background GPS without manual timers
• Zero-configuration setup with no accounts or pre-defined jobsites required

The verdict

Joist is a specialized tool for managing the financial transaction of a job, from quote to payment. TradesTimer is a passive utility for solo tradespeople to accurately reconstruct their workday and mileage for tax purposes. Choose Joist if you need to bill clients; choose TradesTimer if you need to capture your actual time and travel.

Page last verified 2026-06-08. If Joist has changed pricing or features since then and this page is stale, email support@tradestimer.com and we'll fix it.