When to quote in ServiceM8, and when in QuoteCloud
ServiceM8 has good quotes of its own, and most jobs should stay there. QuoteCloud earns its place on the bigger ones. Here's an honest way to split the work, and what you give up when a quote leaves ServiceM8.
- 5/5 on G2
- 4.2 on Capterra
- Building QuoteCloud since 2013
Quote in ServiceM8 for call-outs, repairs and fixed-price jobs you price from your ServiceM8 price list: the quote stays on the job and acceptance updates it. Send a QuoteCloud proposal for replacements and installs with real choices, photos and plans, several signers or a deposit paid in the document, and let a Zap create the ServiceM8 job when it's signed.
Last reviewed by the QuoteCloud team
Two overlapping panels with sample data. Behind, Ridgeline's QuoteCloud proposal RT-4127 with three hot water systems to choose from and a marked-up photo of the leaking unit. In front, an illustration of the ServiceM8 job 2071 it started from, at Quote status.
Does a ServiceM8 business need QuoteCloud at all?
Not for every job. ServiceM8 quotes from your preset labour rates, standard parts and bundles, in the office or on the app. Clients can view and accept online from an email or text link, ask a question first, and choose between quote options, with the job restored to the option they accepted. For a lot of trade work that's the whole job.
QuoteCloud is for the quotes that are really proposals: a hot water replacement with three systems, a split-system install with a plan of where the units go, a security system for a business with two people to sign and a deposit before you order the kit. Those are the jobs where presentation, choice and a paid deposit change the answer.
Which jobs go where?
A starting point, by kind of job. Adjust it to your trade and your price points.
| The job | Quote it in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Call-outs and diagnostic visits | ServiceM8 | Priced from your call-out rate and done on the day. The quote, if there is one, belongs on the job. |
| Repairs and like-for-like swaps | ServiceM8 | One clear answer from your price list. ServiceM8's online acceptance is quick, and the accepted quote stays on the job. |
| Small fixed-price jobs with a couple of options | Either: your call | ServiceM8's quote options handle it. Use QuoteCloud if you want photos, a deposit or add-ons the client ticks. |
| Replacements with good, better and best systems | QuoteCloud | Options with what each includes, add-ons in one price table and the totals following the client's choices. See one. |
| Installs that need photos, a plan or warranties | QuoteCloud | A designed document from a template: job photos, a marked-up photo, a plan page and the warranty attached. |
| Jobs with two signers or a business client | QuoteCloud | Several signers, each signing online, with a certificate of authenticity on the signed document. |
| Jobs you only book once a deposit is paid | QuoteCloud | The client pays the deposit in the document after signing, through Stripe or PayPal, and a Zap can create the job then. |
| Big quotes that need a second pair of eyes | QuoteCloud | An approval workflow before the quote goes out, on the Business plan. |
ServiceM8's features are as servicem8.com describes them (read 30 Oct 2026). Check your own ServiceM8 plan and add-ons.
What do you give up when a quote leaves ServiceM8?
Worth knowing before you move a kind of job across.
The quote isn't on the job
A QuoteCloud proposal lives in QuoteCloud. A Zap can put its reference on a new ServiceM8 job, but it can't update the job you started from or attach the PDF. Status, notes and files.
No accepted-option restore
ServiceM8 restores a job to the quote option the client accepted. With QuoteCloud, the chosen option is in the signed proposal, and the Work Order job carries its reference.
Two price lists to look after
Your ServiceM8 materials and your QuoteCloud product library are kept separately: ServiceM8's Zapier app has no material or product step.
Another subscription and some fees
QuoteCloud Essentials or higher, a Zapier plan, and a per-document fee for proposals a Zap or the API creates. Work out the cost.
A simple rule for the team
Three questions the tech asks on site. Two yeses, and it's a QuoteCloud proposal.
Are there real choices?
Two or three systems or packages worth comparing, or add-ons the client should decide on.
Does it need showing?
Photos of the problem, where the new unit goes, a plan or the warranty.
Do you want money first?
A deposit before you order equipment or block out the day.
How do the two work together?
The tech decides on site. Quick quotes stay in ServiceM8. For a proposal, the tech puts the job in a queue such as 'QuoteCloud proposals', and a Zap drafts it from the right template.
When the client signs, or pays the deposit, another Zap creates the Work Order job in ServiceM8, where it's scheduled, worked and invoiced like any other.
Data items filled by the Zap
ServiceM8 job number- 2071From ServiceM8 · Job Queued
Job address- 18 Kestrel WayFrom ServiceM8 · Job Queued
What the client asked for- HWS leaking at baseFrom ServiceM8 · Job Queued
Technician- Mia TranFrom ServiceM8 · Job Queued
Activity
- Draft created by a Zap from ServiceM8 job 2071Tue 13 Oct, 9:03 am · Job Queued
- Photos and the marked-up photo addedBy Mia Tran, on her phone
- Heat pump, 270 L chosenOption 2 of 3 · safe tray ticked
- Signed on siteCertificate of authenticity attached
- Deposit paid$1,523.94 by card through Stripe
- Work Order job 2072 created in ServiceM8By a Zap · Document Signing Complete
Try it on your next big job
Start a free 14-day trial of QuoteCloud and send one options proposal for a job that's already in ServiceM8.
Questions about quoting in both
Should I stop quoting in ServiceM8?
No. Keep call-outs, repairs and fixed-price jobs in ServiceM8, where the quote stays on the job and online acceptance updates it. Use QuoteCloud for the bigger jobs with real choices, photos and plans, several signers or a deposit paid in the document.
Can ServiceM8 quotes include options and photos?
Yes, as ServiceM8 describes them: its quotes offer quote options with online acceptance, and its proposals can include images and multiple choice options. Teams add QuoteCloud for designed proposals from templates, add-ons in one price table, several signers and a deposit paid when the client signs.
Does QuoteCloud share my ServiceM8 price list?
No. ServiceM8's Zapier app has no material or product step, so your ServiceM8 materials and QuoteCloud's product library are kept separately. Most teams put only their proposal items, such as systems, packages and install labour, in QuoteCloud.
Is QuoteCloud an alternative to simPRO for bigger jobs?
It isn't job management. QuoteCloud quotes, proposes, signs and takes deposits; ServiceM8 or simPRO runs the jobs. Larger contractors running projects often use simPRO, which also connects to QuoteCloud through Zapier and Make. Small trade teams on their phones tend to use ServiceM8.
More on QuoteCloud and ServiceM8
Six use cases with the exact Zapier steps, then how to connect, the limits and the cost.
- Draft QuoteCloud proposals from ServiceM8 jobsPut a job in a ServiceM8 queue from your phone and a Zap drafts the proposal from your QuoteCloud template.
- Good, better, best proposals for ServiceM8 jobsThree systems to choose from, add-ons to tick, job photos and a plan, signed with a deposit: the quote a big job needs.
- Turn a signed quote into a ServiceM8 Work OrderWhen every signer has signed, a Zap creates the ServiceM8 job at Work Order with the client, address and chosen option.
- Create the ServiceM8 job when the deposit is paidWait for the money: the Work Order job appears in ServiceM8 only once the client has paid the deposit in the quote.
- Keep ServiceM8 clients and QuoteCloud contacts matchedNew ServiceM8 clients found or created in QuoteCloud, and new QuoteCloud contacts created as ServiceM8 clients.
- Job status, notes and the signed PDF on the ServiceM8 jobWhat Zapier can and can't write back to the job you started from, and how teams close the gap.
- Connect ServiceM8 to QuoteCloud, step by stepCheck the plan, connect QuoteCloud and ServiceM8 in Zapier, build the Work Order Zap, test it and fix the usual snags.
- ServiceM8 to QuoteCloud field mapEvery field the ServiceM8 Zaps on this site pass, which way it travels and a sample value.
- What QuoteCloud with ServiceM8 can and can't doWhat the Zaps do, where ServiceM8's Zapier app stops, Zapier or Make, and what we haven't confirmed.
- What the ServiceM8 connection costsEssentials and up for Zapier, plus a fee per document a Zap or the API creates.
- FAQAnswers to the questions trade businesses ask before connecting QuoteCloud and ServiceM8.
Quick quotes in ServiceM8. Big ones in QuoteCloud.
Start a free 14-day trial of QuoteCloud and try it on the next job that deserves a proper proposal.