Guides
Guides
Longer pieces on the decisions that cost real money. Paying your first employee, and choosing software without buying a platform you’ll never open.
Every guide here answers the same questions. What does it cost for a business your size, which features matter at this stage, who should buy it, who shouldn’t, and what the cheaper option is.
Payroll
Payroll for your first employee
What has to happen when you put someone on a W-2. Registrations, deposit deadlines, the penalty ladder, and a straight answer on when payroll software earns its money.
ReadField service
Connecteam vs Housecall Pro
These two get compared constantly and they solve different problems. One manages your people, the other manages your jobs. Broken down at two, five, and ten employees.
ReadComparison
Jotform vs Google Forms
Google Forms is free and fine for crew job sheets. It cannot take a payment or a signature, and for a service business that is usually the whole decision.
ReadPricing
Jotform pricing
Which limit you actually hit first, why it is almost never the submission count, and how to work out your real monthly usage.
ReadData
Home-Service Software Cost Index
What software actually costs at 1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 employees, computed from published vendor pricing with the full method shown.
ReadData
SUTA wage base and new employer rate by state
All 51 jurisdictions in one table for 2026, with every row flagged where published sources disagree with each other.
ReadPricing
Gusto pricing for a small service business
What Gusto costs at 1 to 10 employees, including the March 2026 price rise, with yearly totals and the cases where something cheaper makes more sense.
ReadComparison
Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll
Pricing is close enough to ignore, so the decision comes down to one question. Do your books already live in QuickBooks?
ReadPricing
Housecall Pro pricing
Why the advertised $59 is misleading once you have a crew, what you’ll really pay, and the seat count where upgrading actually saves money.
ReadPricing
Connecteam pricing
Free for life up to 10 employees, which covers most readers here outright. What the paid tiers cost, and when you’d actually need one.
ReadAlternatives
Connecteam alternatives
Under 10 employees the realistic options are both free, so it comes down to whether you have one address or crews spread across sites.
ReadAlternatives
Housecall Pro alternatives
Jobber is cheaper to start and we earn nothing on it. Priced head to head at one, three, and five users.
ReadStacks
Software stack for a 3-person cleaning company
Three stacks at three price points for an owner plus two cleaners, and a clear answer on which one to pick.
ReadNot sure where to start?
The tools answer narrower questions faster, and two of them will happily tell you to buy nothing.