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mHelpDesk alternatives for crews of one, two or three.

mHelpDesk covers scheduling, dispatch, mobile estimates, invoicing, QuickBooks sync and a customer portal for small service businesses. Its plans come in user bundles, and that's where a solo owner starts doing math.

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Who uses mHelpDesk, and the user bundles

mHelpDesk is field service software for small service businesses, with pages for painting, lawn care, carpet cleaning and IT services. You schedule and assign jobs and crews are notified, techs create and email estimates from the mobile app, time and materials from the field turn into invoices, invoices sync to QuickBooks, and customers can request service and see their billing history in a portal.

Its help center describes plans as bundles by user count, starting at 3 users. We found prices only in a help-center article, not on a pricing page, so we haven't listed them. Ask mHelpDesk for current figures and whether you can buy fewer seats. The free trial length isn't listed either.

If you're a solo painter or a two-person carpet cleaning outfit, a plan sized for three is the first thing to question. If the portal is how your commercial clients request work, that's a real reason to stay. Two-way comparison: Redline vs mHelpDesk.

A carpet cleaning lead to a quote, in two messages

Add Gina Ferraro in Lynn. 3 rooms and a hallway, wants pet stain treatment.
Redline

New contact Gina Ferraro, Lynn, with 3 rooms, hallway and pet treatment in her notes. Confirm?

Yes. Quote it at $65 a room, $35 for the hall, pet treatment $40 a room.
Redline

Quote for Gina Ferraro is ready to review: 3 rooms $195, hallway $35, pet treatment on 3 rooms $120. Total $350.

Example prices. Contacts and quotes are on the Free plan.

mHelpDesk alternatives

Redline

Sized for one person on Free, or Solo at $29 a month with invoicing, then Team at $129 for 3 seats. Quotes, calendar and pipeline by chat. No customer portal, QuickBooks sync or time tracking.

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Markate

Scheduling, dispatch and invoicing for cleaning, painting and landscaping in one plan listed at $39.95 a month billed annually; the customer portal is a $10 a month add-on.

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Kickserv

A customer center for invoices, payments and service requests, plus QuickBooks Desktop and Online sync, with plans tiered by user count.

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ServiceM8

A free plan for one user and 30 jobs a month, and unlimited users on paid plans priced by job count.

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Service Fusion

A customer portal on its Pro plan and unlimited users at one price, listed from $208 a month billed annually.

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Side by side

Dollar figures only where the vendor's own pricing page confirmed them.

Built forPricing as publishedFree plan or trialFits an mHelpDesk user who
RedlineContractors and home-service businesses, solo up to about 10 peopleFree; Solo $29 a month; Team $129 with 3 seats; Team+ $299 with 10 seatsFree plan, no card. Solo has a 7-day trial on the webWorks alone or with one helper and wants to start free
MarkateSmall service businesses: cleaning, landscaping, painting, pressure washingMarkate's pricing page lists one plan at $39.95 a month billed annually ($49.95 monthly), plus $5 per employee for the appNo free plan. 14-day trial, no cardWants one plan with a portal as an add-on
KickservSmall service businesses: handyman, cleaning, landscaping, locksmith, movingPlans tiered by user count (5, 10, 20 users). See Kickserv's pricing pageFree trial offeredWants a customer portal and QuickBooks sync
ServiceM8Trade and service businesses: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, locksmithServiceM8's pricing page lists a Free plan (1 user, 30 jobs a month), then Starter at $29 a month for 50 jobs, up to Premium Plus at $349. Unlimited users on paid plansFree planWants unlimited users and a modest job count
Service FusionSmall to midsize service contractors: HVAC, plumbing, electrical, cleaningService Fusion's pricing page lists Starter at $208 a month billed annually ($245 month-to-month) up to Pro at $533, unlimited usersNo free plan. Demo offeredHas a full office and wants every user at one price
mHelpDeskSmall service businesses: painting, lawn care, carpet cleaning, IT servicesPlans bundled by user count, starting at 3 users. See mHelpDesk's siteNo free plan. Free trial offered (length not listed)For reference

mHelpDesk to Redline: what changes

You'd lose

  • A customer portal for service requests and billing history
  • QuickBooks sync (Redline exports a QuickBooks-format CSV)
  • Time captured in the field for invoices

You'd gain

  • Pay for 1 seat on Solo, or 3 on Team
  • A Free plan with no end date
  • Contacts, jobs and quotes added by chat
  • Overdue alerts at day 3, 7 and 14 (Solo)
  • A free Pro Page with a quote request form

Questions contractors ask

Can a solo operator use Redline?

Yes. Free and Solo are one seat each. Solo adds invoicing, card pay links, deposits, expenses and reports for $29 a month, month to month, with a 7-day trial on the web.

Does Redline have a customer portal?

No. Customers get a pay link for each invoice. For new requests, the free Pro Page has a quote request form that drops leads into your contacts. See Pro Pages.

Can I bill time and materials?

Yes, by chat on Solo: give Redline the hours, the rate and the materials, and it drafts one invoice for the total with a one-line description. There's no clock-in, so the hours come from you.

Sources

Pay for the seats you have.

Start free on your own, add Solo when you invoice, and Team only when a second and third person join.

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