Comparisons
ScopeLock compared.
Every mark below comes from the vendor's own website or help centre. Where we couldn't find a published answer we've said so rather than guessed. If we've got something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.
23 points of comparison Checked 4 August 2026 USD converted at A$1.50
01 — The short version
Most of these aren't competitors. They're what you already pay for.
ScopeLock does one screen of the job: getting extra work priced, agreed and signed before the tool comes out. It doesn't schedule, invoice or run your books, and it isn't trying to replace the thing that does.
Your jobs already live somewhere else and what's missing is a signed record of the extra bits. Free under A$500, A$10 or A$25 above that, only when they approve.
You need scheduling, timesheets, quoting, invoicing and a customer database in one place. ServiceM8, Tradify, Fergus and Simpro all do that. ScopeLock does none of it.
Someone has already written the document and you're sending prepared agreements from a desk. It signs documents well. It doesn't write one for you up a ladder.
You've never been argued out of money at the end of a job. Plenty of blokes haven't. If you have, a screenshot isn't the thing that fixes it.
02 — Feature by feature
What each one actually does.
Twenty-three rows, four groups, no marketing adjectives. A question mark means we looked and couldn't find a published answer.
✓ Does it ~ Partly, or with a catch ✕ Doesn't ? Not published
| Feature | ScopeLockVariation approvals | ServiceM8Job management | TradifyJob management | FergusJob management | DocuSignE-signature | A text messageWhat you do now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGetting it agreed while you're standing there | ||||||
| Built for pricing extra work mid-job | Does it. It's the only thing it does | Partly, or with a catch. One screen inside a bigger system | Partly, or with a catch. One screen inside a bigger system | Partly, or with a catch. One screen inside a bigger system | Doesn't. You write the document first | Doesn't. A number with no scope |
| Getting it sent from site | Does it. Three screens on a phone | Partly, or with a catch. Open job, build quote, send | Partly, or with a catch. Open job, build quote, send | Partly, or with a catch. Open job, build quote, send | Doesn't. Prepare doc, place fields, send | Does it. Fastest thing there is |
| Works with no signal | Does it. Queues and sends itself | Partly, or with a catch. iOS app offline; Android via browser | Partly, or with a catch. Cloud-first, limited offline | Not published. Not published | Doesn't. Needs a connection | Does it. SMS queues |
| Native Android app for the field | Does it. Any modern mobile browser | Doesn't. No native Android field app | Does it. Full native app | Does it. iOS and Android | Does it. iOS and Android | Does it. Obviously |
| Customer needs an app or account | Does it. No — link, read, tap | Does it. No | Does it. No | Does it. No | Does it. No account to sign | Does it. No |
| Both sides sign | Does it. Contractor and customer, each timestamped | Partly, or with a catch. Customer signature on the job or form | Partly, or with a catch. Customer accepts the quote | Partly, or with a catch. Customer accepts the quote | Does it. Every party in the envelope | Doesn't. Nobody signs anything |
| BWhat you're holding if it goes bad | ||||||
| Signed, timestamped PDF evidence pack | Does it. Every approval, automatically | Partly, or with a catch. Signed PDF quote or form | Partly, or with a catch. PDF quote plus acceptance record | Partly, or with a catch. PDF quote plus acceptance record | Does it. Certificate of completion | Doesn't. A screenshot |
| Photos attached to the agreed wording | Does it. Shrunk and stored with the record | Does it. Yes | Does it. Job photos and files | Does it. Files and photos on Pro | Partly, or with a catch. Only if already in the document | Doesn't. Separate to the price |
| Time impact recorded with the price | Does it. Its own field on every variation | Partly, or with a catch. Free text | Partly, or with a catch. Free text | Partly, or with a catch. Free text | Partly, or with a catch. Only if in the document | Doesn't. Rarely mentioned |
| Record fixed after signing | Does it. Neither side can edit it | Not published. Not published | Not published. Not published | Not published. Not published | Does it. Tamper-evident audit trail | Doesn't. Two versions of the story |
| Records survive cancelling | Does it. Everything signed stays downloadable | Not published. Not published | Doesn't. Export first — access ends | Not published. Not published | Doesn't. Access ends with the plan | Partly, or with a catch. Until you lose the phone |
| CWhat it costs | ||||||
| Shape of the pricing | Does it. Per approved variation | Partly, or with a catch. Job volume, unlimited users | Doesn't. Per user, per month | Doesn't. Per user, per month | Doesn't. Per user, plus envelope caps | Does it. Free |
| Cheapest way in | Does it. A$0 under A$500, forever | Does it. A$0 free plan, 30 jobs | Doesn't. ≈A$70/user/mo, no free plan | Doesn't. A$53/user/mo | Partly, or with a catch. ≈A$15/mo, five envelopes | Does it. A$0 |
| Typical small-business plan | Does it. A$49/mo, or nothing at all | Partly, or with a catch. A$79/mo Growing, 150 jobs | Doesn't. ≈A$76/user/mo Pro | Doesn't. A$75/user/mo Pro | Doesn't. ≈A$38/user/mo Standard | Does it. — |
| A quiet month with no variations | Does it. A$0 on pay-as-you-go | Doesn't. Full plan fee | Doesn't. Full seat fee | Doesn't. Full seat fee | Doesn't. Full seat fee | Does it. A$0 |
| Adding your third person | Does it. No seat fee | Does it. Unlimited staff included | Doesn't. Third seat, third bill | Doesn't. Third seat, third bill | Doesn't. Third seat, third bill | Does it. Free |
| Card needed to start | Does it. Not until one goes over A$500 | Does it. 14-day trial, no card | Does it. 14-day trial, no card | Partly, or with a catch. Free trial | Doesn't. Required after trial | Does it. No |
| Cap on how many you send | Does it. None | Partly, or with a catch. Job count set by plan | Does it. None | Does it. None | Doesn't. ≈100 envelopes/user/year | Does it. None |
| SMS delivery | Does it. 100 segments a month on Business | Partly, or with a catch. Allowance bundled per plan | Not published. Not published | Not published. Not published | Doesn't. From AU$0.60 a delivery | Partly, or with a catch. Your own phone plan |
| DAfter it's signed | ||||||
| Xero and QuickBooks | Does it. Import-ready CSV invoice drafts | Does it. Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks | Does it. Two-way with all three | Not published. Accounting sync, detail not published | Partly, or with a catch. Via integrations, not accounting-native | Doesn't. You retype it |
| Automated reminders when they go quiet | Does it. Schedule and channel you set | Does it. Yes | Does it. Quote and invoice follow-up | Not published. Not published | Does it. Yes | Doesn't. You, on a Sunday night |
| Scheduling, timesheets, invoicing | Doesn't. No — deliberately | Does it. Yes | Does it. Yes | Does it. Yes | Doesn't. No | Doesn't. No |
| Runs alongside what you already pay for | Does it. Designed to | Doesn't. It's meant to be the system | Doesn't. It's meant to be the system | Doesn't. It's meant to be the system | Does it. Yes | Does it. Yes |
ScopeLock is not a job-management system and the job-management columns are not variation tools. The row that decides it isn't who has more ticks — it's which one gets the approval done before the work starts.
03 — Pricing
Eighteen variations in a year. Here's the bill.
One person, eighteen variations across twelve months: eleven under A$500, six between A$500 and A$5,000, one above. Seat prices are one seat. Vendors publishing in USD are converted at A$1.50.
Eleven free, six at A$10, one at A$25. No card until the first one over A$500.
US$25/user/month billed annually, capped near 100 envelopes a year. SMS delivery from AU$0.60 a send on top.
A$49 a month. At eighteen a year you shouldn't be on this — it starts paying past five approved a month.
A$53/user/month. Pro is A$75. Every extra person on the tools is another seat.
US$47/user/month published; the AUD figure is only shown at sign-up. No free plan.
A$79 a month, 150 jobs, unlimited staff. Priced on job volume rather than seats, and there's a free tier at 30 jobs.
The job-management tools run your scheduling, timesheets and invoicing as well, so this isn't a fair fight on features and we're not pretending it is. That's the point, though: you're already paying for one of them, the variation screen is buried three taps in, and most blokes skip it because it's quicker to say "yeah no worries, I'll add it on."
If you do fewer than five paid ones a month, don't subscribe to anything. Pay-as-you-go is the cheapest column on the page.
04 — On the job
The four things that decide it on site.
You're up a ladder, not at a desk.
E-signature tools expect the document to exist already. Job-management tools expect you to open a job, build a quote, and send it. Three screens on a phone, priced and signed before you climb down, is a different piece of software.
The basement has no signal.
Written and saved on the phone, queued, sends itself when you're back in range. The time you captured it on site is recorded separately from the time it sent — which is the timestamp that matters if anyone asks later.
The customer isn't installing anything.
A link by SMS or email, or your phone handed across the hallway. No account, no app, no password reset at 4pm on a Friday. They read what changed, what it costs, and tap.
The signature isn't what settles it.
What settles an argument is showing what was agreed, when, and that both sides saw the same words. Both signatures, both times, the wording, the price, the time impact and the photos, in one PDF neither of you can edit afterwards.
05 — Why it has to be in writing
This isn't a preference. A lot of the time it's the law.
None of the following is our opinion, and none of it is legal advice. It's the background that makes an unsigned variation an expensive habit.
For NSW residential building work over $5,000, the Act writes a term into your contract whether you print it or not: any agreement to vary the work must be in writing and signed by both sides. Do the extra on a nod and it isn't a variation under the contract at all.
The NSW Government's standard home building contract for work over $20,000 carries the same rule as its variations clause: description, price and any extra time in writing before you start, then signed and dated by both parties. The small-jobs form carries it as clause 4. Neither is a clause of the Act.
Unsigned doesn't always mean unpaid — it means arguing quantum meruit instead of holding a contract, and the High Court has confirmed the contract rate is the ceiling on what you recover. Victoria is harder still: s 38 shuts that door on owner-requested variations outright.
Electronic signatures are recognised in Australia under the Electronic Transactions Act and its state equivalents. 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. If you're in a dispute, talk to someone qualified.
06 — One at a time
The head-to-heads.
Both get a signature. Only one writes the document for you while the switchboard is open and the customer is asking how much.
Job-volume pricing, unlimited staff, an excellent iOS app and no native Android one. Keep it — it does the parts we don't.
Per user, per month, priced in USD on the public page. Full Android app. Cloud-first, which is a problem in a basement.
A$53 a seat for Essentials, A$75 for Pro. Strong on job tracking and reporting. Variations are a quote, not a signed record.
07 — Method
Where these answers came from.
Vendor pricing and features are taken from each product's public website on the date shown. Nothing here is sponsored and no vendor has reviewed it.
Prices published in USD are converted at A$1.50 to US$1.00 and marked with ≈. If something's changed, let us know and we'll fix it.
Try it on the next one
Price the next bit of extra work. Keep the signed PDF.
No card, no trial clock. Under A$500 it costs you nothing, ever. Hand over your phone, or send a link and let them sign in their own time.
Works in the browser on the phone already in your pocket. Your customer doesn't need an account.