ScopeLock for plumbers
You quoted the tap. The wall had other plans.
Plumbing quotes are educated guesses about what's behind tiles, under slabs and down pipes. ScopeLock turns what you actually find into a priced variation your customer signs on their phone — before you cut anything else.
Free under A$500 No card, no trial clock Your customer needs no account
Works alongside Tradify and whatever else runs your jobs. It doesn't replace your job management app and it doesn't add a seat to that bill — it covers the one screen those apps make you go looking for.
01 — The problem
The job you quoted isn't the job you're standing in.
No trade opens more sealed surfaces on someone else's optimism. The quote priced a mixer swap; the wall sheet comes off and the galv behind it crumbles where the spanner touches it. Nobody lied — the job just wasn't visible until it was open.
And the customer is usually standing right there. That's the moment the extra work gets agreed — verbally, vaguely, with a number to be sorted out later. Later is invoice time, and at invoice time “you never said it'd be that much” beats your memory of the conversation every time.
ScopeLock's whole job is making the written version faster than the verbal one: price it, hand them your phone or text them the link, and the signature is done before the kettle's boiled.
02 — How it works
Four steps, about a minute.
Price it while you're standing there
Open a variation on the job: what changed, what it costs, and how many extra days it adds. Plain wording, not a quote template. It takes about a minute on a phone.
Send it, or hand them your phone
A link by text or email if they're not on site, or turn the screen around if they are. Both work, and both end up in the same place.
They sign — no app, no account
It opens in whatever browser is on whatever phone they've got. Nothing to install and nothing to sign up for, which is the difference between signed now and signed maybe.
You both keep the PDF
Scope wording, price, time impact, your photos, both signatures and a timestamp on each. Export the approved amount to Xero or QuickBooks when you invoice.
03 — Keep your job app
This is not another job management system.
Tradify runs the same full app on iPhone and Android and prices per user, which suits a lot of plumbing crews. Keep it; it does the parts we don't. But Tradify's own help centre says it doesn't work offline — and under a house on one bar is where plumbing happens. ScopeLock queues the variation and sends it when you're back in coverage.
Compare properly, including the rows where they win: ScopeLock vs Tradify · every comparison
Different trade? For electricians · For builders
04 — Where the money goes missing
Three variations every plumber will recognise.
The job values below are examples for the arithmetic — yours will differ. The ScopeLock fee against each one is the real published price.
The galv behind the wall
In to swap a mixer, and the galvanised pipe behind the tiles is rust-scaled and weeping at every joint. Replacing the run while the wall's already open is the right call — and it's four figures the quote never mentioned.
Variation A$2,400 — ScopeLock fee A$10.
“While you're here — the ensuite tap drips”
Twenty minutes of your day, and because it's under A$500 the signed approval is free. Twenty minutes agreed in writing is still better than twenty minutes you argue about at invoice time.
Variation A$180 — free to get signed on ScopeLock.
What the camera found
Blocked drain, camera down, and there it is: root-bound clay pipe, cracked at three joints. The clear was small money; the reline is a different conversation — and it's one you want signed, not nodded at.
Variation A$5,800 — ScopeLock fee A$25.
Not for everyone. Not for you if your book is all fixed-price maintenance on contract — filter changes, backflow testing, servicing rounds — where the scope genuinely doesn't move. You don't have this problem, and we'd rather say so than sell you something.
05 — Pricing
You pay when they approve. Not before.
No card to start, and no trial that quietly ends. If the variation is under A$500 it's free — not for a fortnight, permanently.
| Variation value | What you pay | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Under A$500 | Free | No card, no trial clock |
| A$500 – A$5,000 | A$10 | Per approved variation |
| Above A$5,000 | A$25 | Per approved variation |
| ScopeLock Business | A$49 | Per month — unlimited approvals, 100 SMS segments, automated reminders |
Charged only when your customer approves. Never for a draft, never for one they knock back. Cancel Business and you drop back to pay-as-you-go — everything you've signed stays downloadable.
06 — Straight answers
Questions plumbers actually ask.
Does ScopeLock replace Tradify?
No. Tradify runs your scheduling, quoting and invoicing; ScopeLock covers pricing and signing the extra work before you do it. Tradify's quote-revision flow works well at a desk — this works standing in the customer's bathroom, and it doesn't add a seat to your Tradify bill.
There's no signal under the house. Does it still work?
Yes. Write the variation offline and it queues on your phone, sending itself when you're back in coverage. That's the exact situation that rules out cloud-only tools for this job — Tradify's own help centre says it needs a live connection.
The homeowner isn't on site — just the tenant. Who signs?
Send the link to whoever's paying — owner or property manager — by SMS or email. They read a plain-English summary of what changed and what it costs, and sign from wherever they are. The tenant never has to be in the middle of it.
Do I stop mid-emergency to get a signature?
No — make it safe first, always. The variation is for what comes next: once the burst is contained, the re-pipe, the reline or the new hot-water unit gets priced and signed before that work starts. Make-safe now, paperwork in the minute after.
Is the signed PDF legally binding?
Electronic signatures are recognised in Australia under the Electronic Transactions Act and its state equivalents, and the PDF records both signatures with a timestamp on each. What usually decides an argument isn't the signature on its own — it's whether you can show what was agreed, when, and that both sides saw the same words. This isn't legal advice; for large or high-risk contracts have your standard terms reviewed by a lawyer.
How much does it cost?
Variations under A$500 are free, permanently, with no card and no trial clock. From A$500 to A$5,000 it's A$10 per approved variation; above A$5,000 it's A$25. You're charged only when your customer approves — never for a draft, never for one they decline. ScopeLock Business is A$49 a month for unlimited approvals, 100 SMS segments and automated reminders if you're doing five or more a month.
The next one's coming
The next “can you just” is already on its way.
Price it, send it, get it signed. Takes about a minute, and under A$500 it costs you nothing.
Works in the browser on the phone already in your pocket. Your customer doesn't need an account.