Joist Review: Overview, Features, Pricing & Alternatives in 2025

Estimates and invoices take too much time.

If you’re running a contracting business, you know how overwhelming it gets juggling paperwork, chasing payments, and keeping track of every project detail.

And let’s be honest—losing half your day to paperwork means you’re missing out on growing your business and winning more jobs.

Joist aims to fix this exact pain point by delivering an intuitive app that lets you quickly create estimates, send invoices and collect payments—all from your phone or laptop. Unlike most clunky solutions, Joist is built for contractors who want to manage work and cash flow in real time, right from the job site or the office.

In this review, I’ll break down how Joist actually helps you reclaim your time and ditch manual admin for good.

You’ll see, in this Joist review, a deep dive into its core features, pricing, QuickBooks integration, and genuine alternatives—plus my candid verdict after hands-on testing.

You’ll leave knowing the features you need to make a confident decision—without sales fluff or confusing jargon.

Let’s get started.

Joist Overview

Joist has supported trades professionals since their 2011 founding. From their Toronto headquarters, their core mission is simple: make estimating and invoicing straightforward for contractors on the move.

What sets them apart is their dedicated focus on independent businesses. They built their platform for contractors and home service professionals, not for large firms needing complex enterprise software.

Their 2019 acquisition by EverCommerce was a key strategic move, giving them more stability. Through this Joist review, you can see how this influences their product roadmap and development.

Unlike tools like QuickBooks, which can feel overwhelming, Joist feels designed by people who understand contracting. It’s less about deep financial analysis and more about winning jobs and getting paid quickly.

They work almost exclusively with owner-operators and small crews. You’ll find them popular with general contractors and technicians who need a professional mobile tool without a steep learning curve.

I found their current strategy centers on a great mobile experience and simplifying payment collection. The integrated homeowner financing options are a clever way they help you close bigger jobs more often.

Now let’s examine their capabilities.

Joist Features

Tired of juggling contractor tools?

Joist features provide an integrated platform for contractors, simplifying everything from estimates to payments. These are the five core Joist features that help home service professionals manage their business more efficiently.

1. Estimates

Losing bids due to slow, unprofessional quotes?

Manual estimate creation is time-consuming and often lacks the polish that wins over clients. This can make you seem less professional than competitors.

Joist’s Estimates feature allows you to create detailed, professional proposals on-site, including photos and contracts. I found the ability to include deposits and markups extremely useful for comprehensive bidding. This feature helps you impress clients and secure more jobs.

This means you can provide clear, winning proposals instantly, significantly increasing your close rates and improving your business image.

2. Invoices

Struggling to get paid on time?

Manually re-entering data from estimates to invoices wastes time and introduces errors. This slows down your cash flow and makes billing a headache.

The Invoices feature lets you convert estimates directly into professional invoices with a single click, saving significant time. From my testing, the customization options with your company logo really add a professional touch. It also helps track payments and send automated reminders.

So, you can streamline your billing process, reduce administrative work, and ensure your cash flow remains steady with less effort.

3. Payments & Homeowner Financing

Chasing clients for payment constantly?

Limited payment options can delay collections and make it harder for clients to pay you. This directly impacts your working capital.

Joist facilitates direct payment acceptance from invoices, supporting various options like credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay. What I love about this feature is the integrated homeowner financing through partners like Acorn. This helps make projects more affordable for your clients.

This means you can get paid faster and potentially increase job sizes by offering flexible payment solutions to your customers.

4. QuickBooks Sync

Drowning in manual bookkeeping?

Manually transferring financial data between your operational software and accounting system leads to errors and wasted hours. This creates accounting headaches.

The QuickBooks Sync feature automates the transfer of estimates, invoices, and payments to QuickBooks Online, eliminating manual data entry. Here’s what I found: transactions update automatically, keeping your books current. This ensures your financial records are always accurate without the extra work.

So, you can effortlessly maintain up-to-date accounting records, saving you valuable time and reducing the risk of costly financial mistakes.

5. Client Management

Client details scattered everywhere?

Disorganized client information makes it hard to track project history and maintain consistent communication. This can frustrate both you and your customers.

Joist provides a centralized system to store all customer information, including documents, work orders, and proposals. This feature offers a comprehensive view of each client’s history, accessible from anywhere. It streamlines your client interactions and ensures you always have the right context.

This means you can keep organized client records, improve communication, and deliver better service by having all essential information at your fingertips.

These Joist features work together to create a powerful, integrated system that addresses the core operational needs of contractors.

Joist Pricing

Budgeting for new software can be tricky, right?

Joist pricing is straightforward with clear tiers, helping you easily understand what you’ll pay and what features your business gains.

Plan	Price & Features
Basics (Free)	Free • Up to 5 documents/month • Unlimited clients • Display your logo • Online payments & financing
Pro	$14/month or $140/year • Unlimited documents & clients • QuickBooks sync • Project templates • Track client activity • Custom contracts
Elite	$32/month or $320/year • Business reports • Change orders • Advanced line item organization • Deposit & payment schedules • Priority support

1. Value Assessment

Great pricing transparency here.

From my cost analysis, what impressed me is how the Pro plan includes everything most growing contractors need without forcing you into expensive enterprise tiers. The tiered pricing scales naturally with your needs, and you avoid paying for features you don’t use right away.

This means your monthly costs stay predictable as you grow, with clear upgrade paths when your business needs more functionality.

2. Trial/Demo Options

Smart evaluation approach available.

Joist offers a 14-day free trial that gives you full access to test the Pro or Elite plans before committing to paid subscriptions. What I found valuable is how the trial requires no credit card, removing any pressure to sign up before you’re ready.

This lets you validate ROI and user adoption before spending money, reducing the risk of expensive software mistakes for your budget.

3. Plan Comparison

Choosing the right tier matters.

The Basics plan works for individual contractors with minimal document needs, but most growing businesses find the Pro tier offers better value with unlimited documents and QuickBooks sync. What stands out is how the Elite tier adds comprehensive reporting for advanced business operations.

This tiered approach helps you match pricing to actual usage requirements rather than overpaying for unused capabilities.

My Take: Joist’s pricing strategy focuses on transparent tiers and scalability, making it ideal for small to mid-size contractors who want predictable costs without sacrificing essential features.

The overall Joist pricing reflects transparent value without hidden surprises for contractors.

Joist Reviews

What do real customers actually think?

Analyzing Joist reviews reveals a clear picture of user sentiment, focusing on how contractors experience its features and real-world utility.

1. Overall User Satisfaction

Contractors seem quite satisfied overall.

From my review analysis, Joist consistently earns high ratings across platforms, reflecting strong general approval. What impressed me about the user feedback is how specific customers get about core benefits, often citing tangible improvements to their daily workflows and sales figures.

This suggests you can expect a largely positive experience, especially regarding core features.

2. Common Praise Points

Ease of use consistently delights users.

Users repeatedly highlight Joist’s intuitive interface and its power to professionalize their client interactions. From customer feedback, the professional estimates and integrated payment options are repeatedly celebrated, directly contributing to increased sales and faster payments for users.

This means your business can achieve a more polished image and efficient cash flow.

3. Frequent Complaints

Limited reporting often frustrates users.

While functional, some reviews mention Joist’s reporting capabilities aren’t as robust as dedicated accounting software. What stands out in feedback is how the lack of advanced accounting features, like inventory or payroll, can be a hurdle for growing businesses.

These limitations aren’t usually deal-breakers for small contractors but are worth noting for growth.

Overall Joist reviews reveal a focus on core contractor needs, with some feature limitations for comprehensive business management.

Best Joist Alternatives

Choosing the right contractor software is tricky.

The best Joist alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities regarding features, pricing, and specific contractor needs.

1. QuickBooks (Intuit)

Need a full accounting solution, not just estimates?

QuickBooks is ideal if your business requires comprehensive accounting beyond invoicing, like payroll, inventory, and detailed financial reporting. What I found comparing options is that QuickBooks offers robust features for entire business financial management, while Joist focuses more specifically on contractor workflow and field operations.

Choose QuickBooks if your business needs a full-fledged accounting system with extensive integrations.

2. Invoice2go

Prioritizing a super simple, mobile-first invoicing tool?

Invoice2go is a strong alternative if you mostly need a minimalist, intuitive mobile interface for quick invoice and estimate creation. From my competitive analysis, Invoice2go excels in quick, on-the-go invoice generation for small businesses and freelancers, though it lacks Joist’s specific contractor features.

Consider this alternative when you prioritize extreme mobile simplicity and quick billing over specialized contractor tools.

3. Housecall Pro

Seeking an all-in-one field service management suite?

Housecall Pro makes more sense if you require a comprehensive field service management solution covering dispatching, GPS tracking, and a client portal alongside invoicing. From my analysis, Housecall Pro provides a wider range of field service tools than Joist’s more focused estimate and invoice capabilities.

Choose Housecall Pro if you need a complete field service management system for your entire business lifecycle.

4. Hearth

Focusing heavily on extensive customer financing options?

Hearth is a strong alternative if your primary need is offering a wide network of personal loan lenders for your customers’ home improvement projects. Alternative-wise, Hearth excels at facilitating diverse financing options for clients, which goes beyond Joist’s more integrated but less specialized financing approach.

Consider Hearth when offering varied, flexible financing is your top priority for securing larger projects.

The best Joist alternatives depend on your specific business needs and feature priorities more than just general functionality.

Joist Setup

How complicated is Joist to set up?

Joist implementation is generally straightforward for small businesses and individual contractors, allowing most users to set up and start quickly. This Joist review will detail what you can expect.

1. Setup Complexity & Timeline

Starting with Joist is truly simple.

The sign-up is easy, and you can create your first estimate or invoice within hours. From my implementation analysis, most users are operational in a few hours rather than days, which is ideal for busy contractors needing quick functionality.

You’ll quickly move from registration to actively managing your projects and finances.

2. Technical Requirements & Integration

Minimal technical hurdles to overcome.

Joist is cloud-based, accessible via mobile apps (iOS/Android) and web, so you only need an internet connection. What I found about deployment is that it integrates directly with QuickBooks Online, simplifying accounting for many, though QuickBooks Self-Employed requires manual data handling.

Prepare for basic app downloads and, if applicable, your QuickBooks Online integration details to streamline data flow.

3. Training & Change Management

User adoption is remarkably intuitive.

Despite lacking video tutorials, Joist’s interface is highly user-friendly, with a low learning curve for core functions. From my analysis, user-friendliness greatly minimizes the need for extensive training, helping your team adapt quickly and with minimal disruption.

Expect your team to quickly grasp the system, leveraging the help center or chatbot for any specific questions.

4. Support & Success Factors

Excellent support smooths any bumps.

Joist offers responsive and helpful customer service, which is crucial for addressing any setup or usage questions. What I found about deployment is that their excellent support ensures a smooth experience, minimizing frustration and keeping your operations running efficiently.

Leverage their polite and effective support team to quickly resolve issues and optimize your use of the platform.

Overall, the Joist setup is exceptionally quick and straightforward, allowing small businesses to achieve rapid operational efficiency with minimal fuss.

Bottom Line

Is Joist the right choice for your contracting business?

My Joist review shows a highly effective mobile-first application designed to simplify estimates, invoices, and payments for contractors, making it a strong contender for specific business needs.

1. Who This Works Best For

Contractors and home service professionals seeking efficiency.

Joist is ideal for small businesses and independent contractors, typically with 1 to 10 employees, in construction or environmental services. What I found about target users is that those needing on-the-go billing and estimating find immense value in its mobile accessibility and straightforward workflow.

You’ll succeed if your priority is streamlining client-facing financials and accelerating cash flow without complex project management.

2. Overall Strengths

Unmatched ease of use and professional document creation.

The software succeeds by simplifying estimate and invoice creation, enabling online payments, and offering homeowner financing, all from a user-friendly interface. From my comprehensive analysis, its mobile-first design empowers field-based professionals to manage financials anywhere, providing a significant competitive edge.

These strengths directly translate into increased professionalism, faster payments, and substantial time savings for your business.

3. Key Limitations

Limited advanced accounting and reporting functionalities.

Joist lacks comprehensive accounting features like payroll or inventory management, and its reporting capabilities are less robust than dedicated accounting software. Based on this review, integration challenges can arise with non-QuickBooks Online accounting systems, requiring manual data handling for your financial records.

While these limitations are notable, I’d say they are manageable trade-offs if you already use QuickBooks Online or prefer specialized tools for advanced accounting.

4. Final Recommendation

Joist earns a confident recommendation for its niche.

You should choose Joist if you’re a small to medium-sized contractor focused on professionalizing estimates, accelerating payments, and simplifying billing processes. From my analysis, your success depends on its specific focus aligning with your core needs rather than requiring an all-in-one construction management suite.

My confidence level is high for contractors prioritizing streamlined client interactions and efficient financial workflows.

This Joist review confirms strong value for its target audience, making it a powerful tool for streamlining your client-facing financial operations and improving cash flow.