StreamsApp compared with ServiceM8
ServiceM8 runs the van. StreamsApp runs the process
ServiceM8 is built around getting people to jobs. StreamsApp is a different shape: it does not schedule anyone. It holds the process a job, or anything else, goes through, in stages you write yourself, and it can refuse to let the job move on until the thing that stage produces is actually there. This page is about which of those two problems is yours.
Side by side
Product features change. Check anything here against ServiceM8 before you decide. ServiceM8 prices and limits checked on 20 October 2026.
Can I design the stages a job goes through?
- ServiceM8
- Jobs have four fixed statuses (Quote, Work Order, Completed, Unsuccessful) that cannot be changed. Queues track jobs waiting on something.
- StreamsApp
- Yes. Each stream has its own stages, named and ordered by you, as many as the process needs.
Can a stage refuse a job until a field is filled?
- ServiceM8
- The stages are the four fixed statuses, so there is no stage of your own to put a rule on.
- StreamsApp
- Yes, where you switch it on. Mark a field required at a stage and the job stays put until it has a value, and the person is told what is missing.
Can it run things that are not jobs?
- ServiceM8
- It is built for jobs: quotes, work orders, scheduling and invoicing.
- StreamsApp
- Yes. Staff onboarding, safety inspections, warranty claims or a sales pipeline each get their own stream with their own stages and fields.
Scheduling, dispatch and GPS?
- ServiceM8
- Yes. Dispatch board and map, staff GPS, arrival notifications.
- StreamsApp
- No. There is no calendar, dispatch board or GPS tracking.
Phone app?
- ServiceM8
- Native iPhone and Android apps that work offline.
- StreamsApp
- Any phone browser, nothing to install. Needs a connection; no offline mode.
Quotes, invoices and accounting?
- ServiceM8
- Built in, with online quote acceptance, card payments and accounting sync.
- StreamsApp
- Built in, with GST, online quote acceptance and sync to Xero or QuickBooks. No card payments on invoices.
Can customers follow their own job?
- ServiceM8
- Online bookings, arrival notifications and live invoice statements.
- StreamsApp
- A customer portal with no password: a private link in your emails shows each customer their own jobs step by step and only the fields you choose, and they can reply from the page.
How is it priced?
- ServiceM8
- By jobs a month, not by user. Free for one user and 30 jobs. Starter $29 (50 jobs), Growing $79 (150), Premium $149 (500), Premium Plus $349 (1,500+), AUD a month including GST.
- StreamsApp
- By users, not jobs. Free for two users and 500 records. Basic $29 for 5 users and 2,000 records, Standard $79 for 20 users and 10,000 records, Pro $199 for 50 users, AUD a month.
Two different questions
ServiceM8 answers: where is everyone, and which job is next.
StreamsApp answers: has this job actually done what it was supposed to. The compliance certificate attached before the job closes. The photos uploaded before it goes to invoicing. The variation signed before the extra work starts. Each of those is a field marked required at a stage, and the job cannot move on until it is there.
And because it is not limited to jobs, the paperwork-heavy processes around them, like compliance, claims or onboarding new staff, run in the same account.
The pricing is shaped differently
ServiceM8 does not charge per user, which is generous. It charges by jobs a month instead, so a busy small team pays for volume. StreamsApp charges by users and total records, so a small team doing a lot of jobs pays less, and a large team doing few jobs pays more.
Work out which way round you are before you compare the two headline prices. ServiceM8's numbers are from its own pricing page on the date shown above.
How much of this you switch on is up to you
Nothing here is required until you say so. A new stream starts with no requirements at all, and a stage that asks for nothing lets a job straight through.
Most businesses end up running both kinds side by side. A compliance job can insist on the slab certificate, so it cannot reach the frame stage without one. A sales enquiry in the same account can have nothing required at all, because chasing a lead is not a process and a rule there is only friction.
That is the real difference. Not that the software is strict, but that you get to decide where it is, one stage at a time, and change your mind later without starting again.
See the difference
Did the tech finish the job? When job sheets live on paper in the van, the office finds out what happened days later, if at all. Here is how Brindle Creek Electrical runs service jobs as a stream: Booked → On site → Complete → Invoiced, and nothing moves on until each step is done.
Questions
- Can StreamsApp replace ServiceM8?
- StreamsApp does not include scheduling, dispatch, offline phone apps or card payments on invoices. It does include stages you design, required fields, quotes, invoices with GST, accounting sync and a customer portal.
- Can I use both?
- StreamsApp runs alongside other tools: it imports CSV and has an inbound API. It suits the processes that need to be enforced: compliance, claims, warranty work, staff onboarding.
- Can I bring my ServiceM8 clients across?
- Export them to CSV and import them into Contacts, mapping the columns to fields. Jobs can be imported the same way into a stream.
See it for your kind of work
Other comparisons
Try it against your own process
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