ScopeLock vs Tradify
ScopeLock vs Tradify: different ends of the same job
Where each one fits, what each actually costs, and the rows where Tradify beats us. Sourced from Tradify's own site, not from a roundup.
Straight up: we make ScopeLock, so we're not a neutral party and you shouldn't read this as if we were. Every Tradify fact below comes from Tradify's own website or help centre and was checked on 5 August 2026. The links are in the page — check them yourself, and tell us if we've got something wrong.
The short version
The short answer
Tradify is a strong all-rounder — enquiry through to invoice, clean quoting, Xero and QuickBooks sync. If you want one app to run the business, it's a reasonable pick and we're not competing for that job.
Its quoting is genuinely good: you can revise a quote and resend it, and on Pro and above the customer can accept it online. That's the right tool for a change the customer has formally asked for. It isn't the tool for the other kind — the "oh and while you're in there" that arrives at 2pm on a Tuesday. Nobody revises a quote for that. You do it, and it disappears. ScopeLock exists for that moment: price it, send it, they sign on their phone, you keep the PDF. It costs nothing under A$500 and it doesn't add a seat to your Tradify bill.
Who ScopeLock is for
Trades who need a variation agreed before the tool comes out
Tradespeople who need a variation priced, explained and approved on site — on a phone, in under a minute. It does one job: the moment between “while you're here, could you…” and picking the tool back up. If you need scheduling, timesheets and job costing, this isn't that.
Who Tradify is for
Trades who want tidy quoting and invoicing across a small team
Tradify is a well-built job management app with a particularly clean quoting and invoicing flow, and its quote reminders are better thought through than most. If you've got a few people on the tools and you want everyone's jobs, quotes and timesheets in one place, it does that properly.
Credit where it's due
What Tradify does better than us
Tradify does a great deal that we don't, and some of it is the reason you'd pick it in the first place.
- The full workflowEnquiry, scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, payments and accounting sync in one place. ScopeLock does none of it.
- Online quote acceptanceOn Pro and above the customer taps accept and it's logged against the quote. That's a clean flow and it's well built.
- Quote reminders that are actually thought throughAutomated email and text chases at 7 and 14 days, and 3 days before a quote expires. Better than most of the category.
- The same full app on iOS and AndroidNo reduced edition for half your crew — everyone gets the same thing, which matters more than it sounds if your team isn't all on iPhones.
Feature by feature
What each one actually does
Every mark in the right-hand column comes from the vendor's own website or help centre. Where we couldn't find a public answer we've said so rather than guessed.
- Yes
- Partial — see the note
- No
- Couldn't verify
| Feature | ScopeLockVariation approvals | TradifyJob management for trades |
|---|---|---|
| On-site variation approvalPrice the extra work and get it agreed before you start it | Yes. Built for exactly this — draft, price and send from the register in under a minute. | Partial. A quote can be accepted and signed on site, but there's no distinct variation record on an existing job. |
| Customer signature on mobileThey sign on a phone, yours or theirs | Yes. Customer signs on their own phone from a link, or on yours. | Yes. “Have the customer sign on the screen” — the signature is saved onto the quote. |
| SMS deliverySend the approval link by text, not just email | Yes. SMS and email delivery. 100 SMS segments a month included on Business. | Yes. Optional add-on at around A$0.20 a message across all plans. |
| Signed PDF evidence packsOne PDF holding the scope, price, photos and both signatures | Yes. Scope wording, price, time impact, your photos, both signatures and the timestamp on each. | Partial. The signature appears on the quote when it's emailed or printed; it isn't a standalone evidence pack. |
| Timestamped recordsWhen it was sent, opened and signed | Yes. Every response carries both signatures and the timestamp on each one. | Not verified. The signature is saved to the quote, but Tradify's help centre doesn't document a timestamp on it. |
| Pay-as-you-go pricingPay per variation instead of a monthly seat fee | Yes. A$10 or A$25 per approved variation, and nothing at all under A$500. | No. Per-user monthly subscription only. |
| Xero / QuickBooks exportGet the approved amount into the books | Yes. Xero and QuickBooks invoice-import CSV drafts. | Yes. Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks Online sync on every paid plan. |
| Automated remindersChases the customer who hasn't tapped yet | Yes. Automated follow-up on the Business plan. | Yes. Automated email and text reminders at 7 and 14 days, and 3 days before a quote expires. |
| Free tier for small jobsA permanently free path, not a 14-day trial | Yes. Anything under A$500 is free forever. No card. | No. 14-day trial, then a per-user monthly fee. |
Pricing
What you'll pay
Two different shapes of pricing. ScopeLock charges per approved variation; most job-management and e-signature tools charge a monthly seat fee whether you raise a variation that month or not.
ScopeLock
Pay-as-you-go, or A$49/month once you're doing five or more paid ones a month.
- Under A$500No card, no trial clockFree
- A$500 – A$5,000Per approved variationA$10
- Above A$5,000Per approved variationA$25
- ScopeLock BusinessPer month — unlimited approvals, 100 SMS segments, automated remindersA$49
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.
Tradify
Per user, per month, excluding GST. Every seat costs the same whether they raise variations or not.
- LitePer user, ex GST · jobs, scheduling, quoting, invoicing, accounting syncA$48/mo
- ProPer user, ex GST · adds quote options and online acceptance, job templatesA$52/mo
- PlusPer user, ex GST · adds AI tools, service reminders, purchase ordersA$62/mo
- CustomLarge teamsContact
Prices from Tradify's Australian pricing page and shown excluding GST — the global page quotes US dollars, which is a common source of confusion. 14-day free trial, no card required. SMS is an optional add-on at about A$0.20 a message.
Pricing checked 5 August 2026. Verify on Tradify's site — plans change and we don't always hear about it.
On the job
The four things that decide it on site
Most of this software was built for an office. These are the details that change whether a variation actually gets agreed while you're standing in the room.
01Your customer never makes an account
They get a link, they read a plain-English summary, they sign. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for. Every account you ask a homeowner to create is a variation that gets approved tomorrow instead of now.
02Works on whatever phone is in the room
It runs in the browser. No app store detour on a roof in the rain, no “I'll do it when I'm back at the computer”, no wondering whether their five-year-old Android is supported.
03You sign first, then they do
The variation is a two-sided record: you commit to the scope and the price, then they agree to it. Both signatures and both timestamps land in the same PDF, which is a different thing from a customer ticking a box on a quote.
04One PDF that holds the whole story
The scope wording, the price, any time impact, the photos you took standing there, both signatures and the timestamps. That's the document you want six weeks later when everyone remembers the conversation slightly differently — and you're both being honest.
Which one you actually need
Who should use what
Tradify and ScopeLock sit at opposite ends of the same job. Here's how that plays out.
Tradify on its own
Work that's quoted once and done to the quote. If your scope genuinely doesn't move, a revised quote covers the rare change and you don't need anything else.
Tradify and ScopeLock together
Jobs where extras turn up while you're on site. Quote it in Tradify, and when the customer asks for something on the day, price and sign it in ScopeLock instead of absorbing it.
ScopeLock on its own
One or two people, jobs already tracked somewhere simple, and the only real leak is unpaid extras. A per-seat subscription is a lot to carry to solve that one thing.
Straight answers
Questions people actually ask
Does ScopeLock replace Tradify?
No. Tradify runs enquiry through to invoice. ScopeLock covers the moment extra work comes up and needs to be priced and signed. They're used together.
Tradify already lets me revise a quote — isn't that enough?
Revising a quote handles a change the customer has formally requested. It doesn't help with the informal addition made on site, which is where most unbilled work comes from — nobody stops to revise and resend a quote for two extra downlights. A purpose-built variation that takes under a minute on a phone is what makes that one billable.
What does Tradify do better than ScopeLock?
The entire job workflow — scheduling, job tracking, invoicing, payments, Xero and QuickBooks sync, online quote acceptance, progress invoicing and timesheets. We do none of that.
How much is Tradify?
On Tradify's Australian pricing page it's A$48, A$52 or A$62 per user per month excluding GST across Lite, Pro and Plus, with a 14-day free trial and no card required. Online quote acceptance requires Pro. Tradify's global page quotes US dollars — make sure you're reading the AU page.
Does ScopeLock add another per-seat cost on top?
No. ScopeLock is free under A$500 a variation, then A$10 or A$25 per approved variation, and only when the customer actually approves it. The A$49/month Business plan is optional and isn't priced per seat.
Last verified 5 August 2026. We re-check every comparison on this site quarterly; an out-of-date comparison page is worse than none.
Compare something else: ScopeLock vs DocuSignScopeLock vs FergusScopeLock vs ServiceM8ServiceM8 vs TradifyAll comparisons
Try it on the next one
Keep the job. Add the bit that's missing.
No card, no trial clock. Price the next bit of extra work, hand over your phone, and keep the signed PDF. If it's under A$500 it costs you nothing, ever.
Works in the browser on the phone already in your pocket. Your customer doesn't need an account.