Name: Joist App for Contractors
Rating: 4.63776 (6896 reviews)

User Reviews for Joist App for Contractors

4.64 out of 5

6.9K Ratings

5 years ago, Lucius lucky

Joist now charges

Justin nailed it right on the head. Well said my friend. How can we trust a company who out of nowhere decides to charge me for something I've been using to run my small business for years? If I was never offered these amenedies from the beginning, I would not have a problem... In my eyes it's no different than this scenario. If I saw someone walking to work every day in the snow and I offered them a free car to use for 5 years, then at the start of the 6th year I said you can still use the car but you have to start paying me a monthly fee. If you don't like it, you can still use the car but I'm taking two of the tires, the steering wheel, and the headlights. This is what I feel is happening with the joist app right now. I asked numerous times when I first signed up " there will never be a fee in the future right"? Again and again I was told nope, this is totally free. I feel my business would look unprofessional if I uprooted my estimate and invoicing software out of the blue. I hope the joist team reconsiders this move as I've loved the app since day 1.

9 months ago, Dynamite John

Great app mostly

This is my favorite app for bidding and invoicing! The two reasons I gave it less than 5 stars are as follows: 1. Every time you navigate to a different app during estimate editing mode (example: to copy and paste from your notes), it closes the edit and doesn’t save any changes. The app refreshes each time you close a bid, etc. Makes for a lot of wasted time while it reloads ten times more frequently than needed. I have brought this up to the Joist team and they said they would look into it, but never fixed it. 2. The app keeps sending annoying messages to try to get me to sign up for PayPal payments, and no matter how often I decline, they keep throwing it in front of me each time I open the app. Like please stop wasting our time. We are paying for the subscription, and you’re interrupting our busy day. If we could clear up those two issues, I would change my rating to 5 stars, and recommend this app strongly! It still remains the best one out there, but I always feel disrespected by the constant bugging to set up payments (PayPal isn’t trustworthy) and always having to re-edit any time I forget to save changes before I go grab a copy to paste from another app. You should not charge money unless you give satisfaction. Looking forward to improvements and honesty on their end. Joist team, please read this and fix it! It used to be different. I know it is possible! Thank you!

4 years ago, Jeeper_98_TJ

Good app, terrible service

Joist has no business being in business. They can’t do ANYTHING right. You can’t actually talk to customer service, you can only chat with them. They never do anything they say they will do unless you ask several times over and over. When I wanted to set up payment receipts from joist, it took them 6 weeks to fix a problem in their end. Not only that, but I had to contact them 3 times to get it done. Every time I contacted them it was as if the previous person I “spoke” to never put in a request to have it fixed. Recently, the last straw. They advertised Joist Elite Pro as if it is available for all devices. It wasn’t until after I paid for it that I realized that it isn’t available for iOS or windows. They told me that AFTER I paid for it. I requested a refund and they said they would submit the request. More than one week later, still no refund. They have no idea what they are doing. When I requested the refund again today, I was told that the payment team only worked during business hours and that they would reach out to me on Monday. BS!! I’ll be disputing the charge with my credit card company and joist will never get another dime from me. Use the free version if you want, but DO NOT give them your money. They are dishonest and incapable of providing solutions to the problems they cause.

2 years ago, J&M Elite Contractors

Office Manager

Great CRM program. Could maybe have a few more features available to Elite pros. However we love the simplicity of their app and it’s user friendly. It saves us so much time with estimates and billing. We’re 100% satisfied with the product and even signed up for a year given the discount offered to us at the end of our payment process. Their customer service was tremendous and extremely helpful when we began looking into their product as we had tons of questions or concerns. Great product Great price. It’s the perfect CRM for our company. Does everything we needed and even more than what we expected. Signed up and then found out we now were able to offer our customers financing options for their projects which was HUGE to us. I would love it if Joist could add a spot so their pro elite contractors can request reviews from our customers. Maybe someday. 100% satisfied would 100% recommend.

5 years ago, Dustin F523

App creator getting overly greedy

I’ve been using this app for years. It’s a simple app to create invoice and estimates (not a lot of design options but I never wanted anything too fancy anyway) to send to customers as well as create a price book, customer log, etc. So it’s been extremely helpful. Recently however they’ve “upgraded” and locked me out of features such as the ability to take pictures and save them to the invoice or estimate, something I use almost every time!!! Also it appears I will not get notifications like I used to when customers opened my emails. It’s one thing to add to the app and charge for new features, it’s robbery frankly to lock me out of features I’ve always been able to use! On top of that they want to charge me $12/month for it!!! I could see paying $12 one time to unlock the features I’ve always had. But this is total BS. I’m not asking for something to be free. But $12/month is way too much to charge, I’m just a little fish and use this app for my side work. Even if I did a lot more work $12/month is way too much. Hope the app developers see this and get enough other poor reviews so they will change this. At least give me back my features that I already had and actually work to add new features to charge for.

5 years ago, Bing Bong Mah Ding Dong

Used to be a good app

The developers pulled a bait and switch tactic on everyone that’s been using this app for more than a few months. They created the free app, allowed people to get used to using it, and then decided to make you have to pay a monthly fee to continue using certain parts of the app that have been free up until this recent change. It’s incredibly unprofessional and low class. If you want people to pay for the app then add things to the app that weren’t already a part of the free app. Don’t take things away that have been a part of the app since it was first released and claim that it’s now part of the “Pro” package. If you want us to pay for the app then add features that make it worth paying for. Placing features that had previously been free behind a paywall is just laziness. Why bother being innovative and coming up w new ideas that people will want to pay for when you can just take things away that they’re used to using and make them pay $12/month to get them back. Unless it goes back to the way it was before, I’ll be finding another app to replace the Joist app and will no longer recommend the Joist app to all the contractors I know and work with. Such a shame when greed takes over.

5 years ago, Silence Dogoody

Payment Processing NIGHTMARE

I had used Joist for years as a convenient way to get invoices and estimates to my customers. I accidentally left the pay by echeck option open on a couple invoices and two customers paid 23k in payments through Joist payment processing. I can’t get my money from them. There is no phone support, all they have is live chat with support staff in India. They want all sorts of documentation to release my funds that is absolutely unreasonable and not in line with any other payment processing company we’ve ever used before. Going on three weeks now waiting for my money I’m about to ask my customers to cancel the payment and ask Joist to issue a refund, which will probably take another 2 weeks. Beware - This app will leave the pay through pay through Joist option checked and if you don’t uncheck and customers use it they will have your money for an unspecified amount of time, provide vague answers about when it will be released and ask you to keep supplying them with different documentation seemingly to lead you on a wild goose chase. An app that is purportedly here to help the small contractor actually causes enormous strain on a small business and just doesn’t seem to care.

7 years ago, CAZARES ELECTRIC LLC

LITERALLY MULTIPLIED MY BUSINESS

When I first started out it was just me. Didn’t know too much about anything although I always strived for professionalism. I use to do bids through text messages until somebody asked me for a “formal bid”....I freaked since I hadn’t a clue. To the day the least, I lost that job. Shortly after a buddy introduced me to Joist.....since I’m not tech savvy, I was skeptical but thought “why not?” Now looking back, I am truly grateful for my friend. This app single handedly taught me the entire process on how to do estimates, invoices, paid invoices,...it showed me the difference between those three, it also taught me in so many ways basic formats on how to bid projects for my business all the while looking extremely professional. Now days I get 90-95% of all bids that I submit all thanks to the joist app that literally takes me 5 min to complete from inside of my truck and from my phone. Thank you joist! MOST IMPORTANTLY, THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS ALL FREE OF NO COST!!!!!

6 years ago, Lalallsnsnsbsbs

Do not recommend

When I first installed the app and began using Joist, I thought wow what a great app. It is super handy for Estimates and invoices. However, I am fairly new to Joist and sent a invoice to a customer on a Sunday evening not paying attention to the fact that I had left the option to “pay” turned on. Long story short the customer paid my required deposit via Joist, even though at the time I had not linked my bank account to Joist!! As soon as I realized what had happened I reached by “live chat” to Joist customer service. I immediately linked my bank account and patiently waited for my money to be deposited. 9 days later I still do not have my money. I since learned that anything OVER 10,000 is held for a 7 day period. I have submitted bank statements and Square payments, described in detail my business, what we do, how far we travel, submitted the fact that I have commercial insurance, you name it, I’ve submitted it in hopes of having the 7 day hold lifted. Now on day 9 I have not received any of the deposit and cannot get a straight answer as to why or when I will have the money! There is no “live” person available to speak to me! I am highly disappointed with Joist. Not at all what I would expect.

5 years ago, kd7188

We pay is a nightmare

Love the app and I don’t mind to pay for a good system. I had a customer use the payment services they offer WHAT A BIG MISTAKE! My money has been in limbo over 7 days and still nothing! The customer service contacted me and told me how to write my own invoice(you believe that!). My business is between me and my customers, how I invoice is also between me and my customers! They needed more detail, I called them out on it didn’t change one thing then they said it was ok. 6,300$ that’s cash flow for my business that there investors are buying time to try and make money off my money and they charge you for it.👍 pretty good scam if you ask me also don’t forget to shut it off manually because they automatically turn the option on, on every invoice. Totally dissatisfied and if it happened 2 months ago it very well of could of put me out of business! Don’t tie up small business’s money we are not your personal bank get a better partnership for online payment offer there are better ones team up with Venmo or square, screw we pay.

5 years ago, Sun and holy

It was good 🤮

The app works and I purchased it more than a year ago with the ability to take pictures and to use the option of signature. Now the new app do not allow me to use the picture option and other functions that was before fully part of the app and in order to get back those functions the require that I pay more than $100 dollars anual or $12 dollars monthly when before I paid for all the functions. The new idea now that all the apps want to have you to pay not just once for any apps but to make you pay an monthly charge !!! I like to make money but this apps is not very important for me since I do not use the payments options also because this app make money from your clients payments in % to what you charge. Crazy is you make the work and they want a % of the income you recibe apart of the cost for use the app. I am now looking for other app and also to my custom estimate and invoice in my pc. Is not the charge is the way this apps developers want money$$$$ from you !! Your time, labors, and clients are yours Procter them. There is always a solution for each thing that does not feel right. We are Free to Chose now and Always we Are Humans !!!!

3 years ago, egresswindowguy

Great invoicing/estimating software for any independent contractor.

It has a couple quirks, limited offline capabilities and paying extra for the pro features is what it is but no contractor should be without Joist or a similar setup for basic invoicing and estimating needs. If you’re not ready to dive into full on accounting software and want something quick and basic for giving bids and sending bills to clients this works great on a phone, tablet or desktop computer. Set up your company info and your documents self format and you just add items (material or services) and rates/quantities and viola instant bid. Click a button and it turns your bid into an invoice. It’ll handle payments as well. Even the free version will accept E checks and credit cards. I’d give it a 4 1/2 stars total. I often push my less organized subs to use this app to get away from chicken scratch bids and bills and it benefits them in the end more than it does me.

3 years ago, apolomaz

Start small grow to do business right!

Hello there I been using the app for a very long time I think almost since the launch. I start using the app for my business when was very little to interface only items, company info and a minimum interaction they I was keep using it when I was contacted by them to discuss some details and ideas of how to improve the app integration I was more than happy to do so because we are looking forward to grow up as business so why not help by sharing my own ideas some of them are live right now in the app some didn’t make it, couple of employees from San Francisco base came to my house to discuss that option one of the options was taking credit cards as a payment back there was discuss to have a reader for cards because at the time everything works that way, I don’t recall getting the reader they jump in to web integration card processing another tiny bit was work order and change order the now are available so depending on what you do as business they got you covered. I don’t mind getting charged by upgrading the app hopefully they don’t raise the price a lot any time soon y remember the app was free then they request to purchase I’m not sure that’s what I recall but as a business owner I totally understand the charge we all need to adjust for the overhead so keep the good work. Please don’t raise the monthly fee to soon.

6 years ago, CAnt think of one111

I LOVE THIS APP!!!

I can’t say enough good things about the Joist app! I started out using it occasionally for estimates and invoices. Because of the amazing support team and the incredibly user-friendly interface, I have moved to using it exclusively for all of my estimates and billing. The app has been updated regularly, and each time they have added valuable services that only make it better for my business. I recently signed up for their credit card processing service, and I’ve been thrilled with the speed of payments. Customers can pay online with a credit card or electronic check as soon as they receive my invoice, and the money is quickly deposited directly to my account. **Please don’t tell the developers this, but I would have gladly paid for this app once I saw how insanely helpful it is.** It’s a must for any business, small or large. Thanks Joist!!! Keep up the great work!

5 years ago, Kimby_Web

Monthly/Annual fee for previously FREE app features

I have been using Joist since 2016 for my small business. Before selecting them I looked at many other options, all of which were free. I finally settled on Joist because I was more comfortable with the layout of their app. Several others invoice apps offered all of the same features, logo, photos, contract inclusion, client notifications, payment processing (fee for transaction of course) etc. Now years later I discover that with the roll out of their new “PRO” service, ALL of the features I listed above and possibly a few I am not noticing yet, have been removed from the free service and are now only provided for a $12 monthly fee. The free features offered now are no more than what you can create yourself using a simple Word document, but even on word you can include your logo. I am very dissatisfied with this update being a long time loyal user. I have also referred many small business owners to use Joist as well. I will be making a selection from the plethora of other invoice app options available and making the switch today. Joist messed up on this one, at least with their long time users.

5 years ago, VT DJC

Building contractor

I run a home construction / remodeling business and have used the joist program for the past 2-3 years. It is a very easy way to create and send invoices to customers or potential customers. Now that the times have changed and the hand delivered / hand written quotes and invoices are a thing of the past, the majority of my documents are sent to customers via e mail. Joist has made this very easy for me to do. And it must be easy if I could figure it out! It keeps track of when estimates/ invoices were created, sent, or even if viewed by the recipient. Easily attach photos of progress or completion of projects. Save customer information for future billing. And even allow them to pay through the program (something that I have not tried) but I suppose could be convenient for some. It’s a very worthwhile billing app if you want professional looking documents in an easy to create / easy to send program. I would definitely recommend.

1 year ago, Limitless Remodeling LLC

Quantity Label

Overall the app is great, easy to manage, and easy to edit different sections. Love the fact that if you buy the elite option, you can change the order. Love the fact you can set discounts and adjustments based on percentage or just flat out rate. However, I do feel like we should have the option to edit the quantity label.. maybe give us options of Sq Ft, Miles, Yards, Linear Ft, etc. Another thing that needs attention, is the fact that if we offer PayPal or credit car payment and set it up to where the customer pays that fee, it changes the total amount, I think you guys should try to set it up to where if they do choose that option, then they see the extra charge, and not straight from the get go. It confuses customers (who don’t always read the whole estimate) sometimes.

4 years ago, SaltySOB

Organize your bids

Joist is helpful in organization but there are some bugs on Mac computer where you can’t move line items up and I have to go into the iPhone app to modify it. I also would like to be able to modify estimates and revert them to a previous version as clients are often changing scope of work frequently. It is a bit inconvenient to create a new estimate for them, or have the worry of changing the current one only to have to revert it to a previous state once they realize they can’t afford the additional work. I have the pro version and attach a contact but I wish that you could move client notes to the end in order to have the contract printed on the estimate when double sided printing is used. It also would be nice to be able to have the date displayed on the contract by the signature section. It is amazing to see when clients view the estimate. Very valuable information to the contractor.

6 years ago, RobbyBaby!

Incredibly useful app

I wish I had found this app years ago! So incredibly easy to figure out, you’ll be up and running within a day. Good UI, “help” pages that actually help.... I can’t begin to say how much this has improved my being able to keep track of ALL invoices/estimates at a glance instead of each being a separate file. Very customizable as far as what info you want to include on each sheet. Having the ability to accept payments right from each invoice is just immensely helpful... basically this app changed EVERYTHING for me.. I’m now a one man show who looks like I work for a much larger company. Note to the developers: Thanks for making a great app that easily and quickly does everything I need (and things I didn’t know I needed) without being bloated and overly complicated.... greatly appreciated. Thank you!

6 years ago, PrecisionTrim

Great app IF you collect the payments outside of the app.

I have had Joist for about two years. At first it was pretty awesome. I could make up professional estimates and invoices and get paid online. Convenient right? Well, sometimes. If you have time to wait on YOUR money it’s not bad. But when you collect material deposits and you need access to the money to get your project started on time....not so hot. This is about the umpteenth time that they have held my funds longer than necessary and delayed start my project start dates. Now I’m calling everyone I had scheduled this week to reschedule. No fun. They charge 2.9% of what’s transferred. Doesn’t seem like much. Now figure a 15k dollar project they have now charged $435 to be a middle man. I don’t have time to pay 2.9% and have my funds held up for days upon days. If you choose to use this app I recommend utilizing the estimate/invoicing features. However, leave all payment options off and collect a check in person or use PayPal or Zelle. You will have a flawless experience in this way.

6 years ago, Arctu

A couple of requests.

First let me say this is a fabulous app, there are just a couple things that would make it even better. Please make it standard to keep a draft of an email when sending an invoice, right now if you close the email it is deleted. Please make an option for adding multiple email addresses to a client’s account. Please connect the address line, the BCC and CC lines in email to the contact list. The way it stands I have to remember a second email address as it won’t let me copy/paste email address into the address bar of an email. I frequently send two sometimes three different people a copy of an invoice: property managers, owners, husbands and wives. Edit: after updating an invoice and re-sending it, there is no option to write another email to explain the edits or additions, the email is just sent Directly from the invoice page. It would be heavenly if there were a Calendar drop down in the description of a line item to show the date of each line item in the invoice. And so I can search my invoices by line item/date. This would help me match up materials with receipts as well. And this is just pie in the sky but it would be so cool to have a Calendar where I write down the work I’ve done for the day, for a particular client, and then hit “send to Joist invoice” but that’s just me dreamin’. Keep up the good work!

2 years ago, sbeebe44

Makes my estimating and invoicing easy

I love everything about this app. It is perfect for my invoicing and estimating/bidding. The sections portion is great for dividing a job up by task or scope. The ability to send an email or text and the client has access without the need for paper is awesome. Several of my clients have said it’s really nice and very professional. I’ll give it a 5star rating when I can apply the markup feature to certain sections, like to the materials for the steam shower but not the labor for a steam shower. The customer service is great. Ive had questions and had them answered immediately and in a friendly manner. To me a good app is one you can use daily and it pretty much takes care of everything needed. I’m a new tile contractor who mostly works solo, and I feel like this app will be with me as my business grows. It’s worth every penny and for the price it’s a great deal.

5 years ago, Jordan T GA

Great on mobile, not on PC!

I’ve had the Joist app since very early on and it has always been easy to use. However, more recent updates have taken more and more free features away. That’s understandable as a developer you’ve got to make money. But, I don’t think that the way it operates on a PC should be effected. It has so many bugs on a PC I can’t even get through an estimate without refreshing 10 times. Also, on mobile app, it doesn’t give the option to name a project. For example, you may have the same client but different job addresses or projects that you do for that same person. It will allow an invoice number but not a name. Also, if you forget to finalize payment record it won’t let you back date the invoice (even with back dated payment record). That is proving an issue during tax season. I have loved the app for years and it’s getting harder and harder to stay with Joist. Seems it should be the other way around.

5 years ago, I amHammer

User-friendly modifications

The invoicing and estimator apps are great. Modification options would be a little more helpful, for instants the option to turn off quantity it is helpful for material items as well as billing by the hour but it would be nice to turn it off when billing by the job. Also the items list would be extremely helpful if was able to categorize my items generally by the task under of morgue general heading. Is it set up now and save the items with a description only it is more specific to each job and when I try to use it for issuing new invoices much of the information needs to be deleted and reentered, on account of the description staying with the item it would be nice to separate days on account of The variances of job to job. It would be more beneficial accommodating and time efficient if the items headings were able to be split from the descriptions but all in all it is useful and professional

4 years ago, Diah47

Good but don’t use the credit card processing feature

Good if you need professionally looking estimates but DO NOT USE the payment processing feature. If you happen to have a good sales week and cross the weekly sales amount threshold HOLD ON YO YOUR HATS because if you were expecting your money on Monday and then check Tuesday to see where it’s at and then tell you it exceeded your weekly amount and you won’t have it till Friday then you hoping to be there in the bank account first thing for payroll but then Friday comes and no money so you email tech-support and they can’t give you a solid answer when your money will be there. Apparently it got into guilty until proven innocent fraud review and you may have it in one or two business days past the date they told you they would have it, but there’s no clear resolution to when. The sizable chunk of money you were paid over a week ago floating in cyberspace and customer support can’t even give you a solid date when you’ll have it. Cool app but completely dropped the ball on the most important contractor feature.

6 months ago, The1handyman

Most effective business app

Joist, simply to best app on my phone. I began using this app several years ago as I launched my Handyman Business. A free app that did so much, wow life is good. Over the years I have received many compliments as to professional appearance of my estimates and invoices. Joist’s announcement of the Pro Version and an annual subscription fee came to surprise of many. My reaction was simply “No I’m good” and can be fine without the reduced features. However, the value Joist brings to my business, the level and quality of the support team is well worth the fee. I had an opportunity today to seek support on adding a Job Site to my estimate. A simple chat session with support walked me through setting up this feature. Glad I subscribe to this great app. IDT HANDYMAN SERVICES

4 years ago, anointed2013

Closed account

Well with so many scams out there now I was a little suspicious about this app. Before I had any of my clients send money to me I decided to do some test payments to my self. A couple of hours later I received an email saying I will no longer be able to use the payment option. Here is the reason why, “ Hey, This rarely happens and I'd like to take a moment to offer you a better understanding of what happened here and why. You will still be able to use the app for making invoices. However, the online payments part won't be available. Credit card payments of all kinds come with different levels of risk associated with them, and there are different models used to mitigate that risk depending on the type of business. I want to be clear, this has nothing to do with the quality of the business or the intentions of the business owner, it's just that some types of business are more susceptible to being the victims of certain types of fraudulent activity -- and in some cases it means that we can't reliably process payments without exposing that business to a level of risk that is unsafe for the business owner and their money. I hope that helps explain the situation a little better. I'm afraid I can't be any more specific than that without exposing security-level information that must be kept private to ensure the payments system remains secure, but if you have any further questions I will certainly do my best to help you. Thanks, Ajay

6 years ago, Brithogin

Customer service is on point! Brendan rocks!

I’m writing this review solely based on customer service. Brendan and I spoke several times over a 3 weeks period when we had a customer fraudulently chargeback 2 credit card charges. It was a fairly decent amount of money and Brendan not only explained the process of how to contest the chargebacks, he explained everything thing I needed to send in for backup. I truly believe that our issue was processed in such a timely fashion because of his help. It’s very rare for a company to have this level of service. 90% of the time I called in to support he answered, and if he didn’t I was easily transferred to him. I do marketing for several contractors/painters, etc and I recommend this app to them all solely based on my interactions with Brendan. 5 stars from JJ Specialty Paint!

6 years ago, Jayhandy

I really like this app. Makes estimates a breeze

I have a handy man business that’s been progressing into a home remodeling business . I’ve only been using this app for a couple of months and has been a time saver. It is very intuitive for the not so tech savvy people . You can “draw up” an estimate and invoice on the spot and when you email an estimate you get a notification when it is viewed. There are a lot of features that you’d have to see for yourself. The only issue I have is sometimes when trying to load an estimate that I’ve been working on is that it freezes in loading mode. But I found that by toggling between invoice and back to estimate mode will help to load invoices. I would highly recommend this app. Thanks Joist developers

5 years ago, 29720mac

Eating has droppped due to upgrade feature

I have had this app for years and use it to govern business matters. And as a photographer my contract is a very important part of my invoice. So to now be told I have to upgrade to add it to my invoices is like a slap in the face. Take for instance we breathe in oxygen for free and after all the years of life oxygen becomes an upgrade option on our lives. If you don’t pay it you will not have access to it. Now that wouldn’t be right would it. It would wrong on so many levels. But it could happen. That’s my point just because you can do it don’t really mean you should do it. I’m still on the app for now and I’m stapling a printed copy of the contract to the invoice now. But I am searching for a replacement app hopefully I will find one soon. I came to joist when my other invoice app started upgrade charges. So I’m familiar with moving. Have a great day.

5 years ago, AGJ82

Do not recommend

Well... I currently use QuickBooks for all my service and repairs. We currently service 600 customers a week for pool service. But I need a platform for the construction side of things. We also build pool swimming pools / backyards. I build about 20 pools per years and remodel pools as well. When I seen “the number 1 app for contractors” I thought of giving it a try. I need an app that can send estimates, contracts, payments schedules / invoicing / signing contract terms from phone, tablet etc. well it was all good until I got an email stating that I can’t take payments due to there company not being able to guarantee the protection of my funds????Hmm. I wish I would have known prior to signing up... This year I had a total of 3,747 credit card transactions... if I don’t have payments options. I would lose a tons of business. Not sure why they closed my account / incoming payments. I recommend checking to see if they can even except you for incoming payments prior of using their app.

6 years ago, PAremodeler

Everything To My Company

Joist has been the best thing to happen to my company. It was so hard to send professional bids and keep my remodeling company organized, things were everywhere and took so much of my time to keep it all organized. Since I have had joist I am able to link my phone, tablet, and computer. I am so thankful that this App is free and it’s way better than any app that charges money( I’ve done a lot of free trials) if you have been searching for an app that does it all for your estimates an book keeping look no further! All updates and improvements that joist makes just keeps the program accurate and more contractor friendly. I only wish they also had a time tracking app for free that I could use for my employees!

5 years ago, Mrjmm

Mrmejia

Been using for a few years now works well and continue improving as well. When I first signed up a and created an account there was not a paid version ? Now they have a paid version and some features I’ve had are no longer available to me anymore? Would have been fair if it had been more reasonable to me atleast. Continue review after response from developer. Thanks for your reaching back but it did take about 4 times of sending you guys response s to your upgrade option. I understand the upgrades and charging but you should have atleast considered giving some of your customers who started with you since the beginning. This is what I tried to mention. Not asking for free stuff or anything like that just good old fashion business. The app is good by the way and has improved since the beginning keep up the good work.

8 months ago, GodUhWar

Well Well Well

I think it’s just lovely. We always get compliments on the UI and ease of payment software. Keep improving please because every time you add something, I go “oh wow it’s so much better and I didn’t know I needed that!”. One suggestion, backwards invoicing. Meaning allow us to create an estimate based off of the invoice we are viewing. Be it for the same job twice or we accidentally create a full estimate under invoicing only to realize we have to redo the entire thing again. Thanks for hearing us out in the reviews! PS - We have the old logo still on our iPad even though it’s been updated to the latest version. Gotta say though, the older logo was a lot cleaner.

5 years ago, Hoosier'2012'

Really?!! Pro?!!

Been using joist since 2014 and loved it up until today when I was notified that everything I’ve been using for free for years is now going to cost $120 a year! I’ve recommended this app to hundreds of people but will no longer do so and will be taking my business elsewhere. I could see maybe if you were offering something new and improved and maybe charging a one time fee of $50 or $3-5 a month but this is ridiculous to charge this much for stuff that’s been free for years and no real upgrades. I’m sure I’ll get the response that big things are coming and it’ll be worth it because I’ll get more jobs but I don’t need anything else and don’t need their help landing jobs. People aren’t hiring me for an app, they’re hiring me for my craftsmanship so no thanks. Got greedy and decided it was time to screw all their faithful users so I’m out. Really?! Can’t even use my own logo anymore, this is so disappointing! I see people leaving in droves

4 years ago, Mickee B

Joist is my partner!

I learned about Joist a long time ago while working for a fence company that needed some organization. We never used it but I would use it to keep my own clients organized and it was free so why not.... 2 years ago, I started my own fence company and decided to give an old friend some business and went with their “system” . This was a new program for them and I kept telling the developers to look at Joist, that’s the way it should work! It was expensive and I cancelled after a year, loaded all my clients into Joist and have never looked back. I saw a complaint about the $10 a mont fee for the Pro version. Really? Look, if I can keep all my clients in one tidy place and serve up a professional estimate for my clients, $120 a year isn’t much to ask. Joist is the best app I’ve seen for contractors and it makes me look good and keeps me organized. If you’re not using it, you’re missing out. The financing feature is the best as it keeps me from having to do one more thing to complete the sale. We tripled sales from our first year and Joist made things so much easier. THANKS JOIST! Michelle Blancho Echo Fence Franklin, TN

3 years ago, ALQ homes

Building contractor 30 years multi million dollar level

This is a great app. Just the fact that it alerts you when the customer opens up their email proposal Is Worth it. Customer can sign on the phone. You can email easy. You can upload your docs. Give a discount for paying in like seven days.. Joist has a payment percentage schedule. Which is the most important part of your proposal by the way. For those of you starting out. You can do PayPal and now you’re saving there. They take credit cards through the system. Might as well get on some type of platform for Contractors because this app is just gonna keep evolving for the better.

7 years ago, Branch777

Finally!

This App of awesome, I've been looking for something like this for a while. As a new business owner just starting out and with not a lot of capital, I was searching for a free software that does what joist does. Well most of the other software out there and there is a lot of options are very expensive and I couldn't afford to get them just yet but joist is absolutely free, very user friendly and extremely professional looking. You only pay if the customer uses the pay with CC or electronic check feature and even then it's a nominal fee. Obviously it's missing some of the awesome bells and whistles of the other guys but I'm confident they are working to implement those features for future release. Either way joist is an great find and they now have a customer for life.

1 year ago, skydeanf

Great App for Flooring Contractors!

I’ve been using Joist for my flooring business for two years now. We upgraded to Joist Pro and really enjoy the customization features that offers. I’m happy with how professional the estimates and invoices look when I send them to customers. My only complaint right now is the addition of a Joist Payments ad that pops up when I am editing my estimates. I am not interested in offering my customers payment options and would like to be able to opt out of seeing this ad. It has changed the view of my estimates while I edit and adds clutter to my screen. One of my favorite things about Joist was how simple the view was.

4 years ago, Dave.1043

Amazing

This app was great when it first became online. We started using it shortly after it was introduced. I am CEO of Ultra Exteriors, Inc. I can’t rate the app highly enough. Every home improvement contractor should use it except my competitors. Our estimates look so professional Compared to theirs and that get me the job many times even if we are are charging more. It makes us look like we are more professional. The new features allows us to turn the estimate to an invoice is about 5 seconds and get a signature on the IPad. We can get our clients financed and collect the job all from the app. The money transferred directly into our bank. Thank you Joist team! Your are making it better every day!

6 years ago, lawn contractor

Great App!!

We have been using this app for a couple of years now for both of our businesses. We have a wide array of services and a growing clientele and must work from multiple locations. With the Joist app we can do billing, estimates, etc. in real time which allows us to all work on our own job responsibilities yet keep updated as to what others are doing without having to contact one another continuously throughout the day... I can see the estimates being done out in the field as well as they can see what billing I have done... and I really find the email opened notification useful - so when I send an invoice to someone via email, i am alerted that the client has opened it and received my invoices!

5 years ago, samcro asphalt

Disappointed

I’ve been using Joist since the past three years zero problems with it before and I just recently Updated the app and I discovered now that I am not able to take pictures and receive notifications when the customers opened th updated the app and I discovered now that I am not able to take pictures and receive notifications when the customers open estimates or invoices is very disappointing that they are asking for $144 a year/$12 a month for something I was using for free also was going to order the credit card reader from them but I am not doing that anymore this was a scam but two people pulled off if you gave us new features and charge those five or eight dollars a month would be different but I do not believe I should pay $12 for something that I was using for free will no longer be using this app I also recommended this to fellow contractors that I knew sorry that I did now

5 years ago, GDrennenLLC

Joist estimate and invoicing app

As a business owner this app is a great tool to help with writing and keep track of records for estimates and invoices especially for someone just starting to produce their own estimates and invoices and keep records of when the work or service was completed, what was done, the materials used and pricing (for future reference as well), the customers info., your business info. Appears (as you set it up to read) on each document, you can also record deposit and payment amounts. That’s just some of the features. I am a contractor and do many scopes of work as I am skilled in many things. This app is a great tool to have in one’s tool box and very helpful! GDrennenLLC. Gary Drennen

5 years ago, DudeBrooooo

Don’t fix something that’s not broken

I’m highly disappointed in the Joist team. There’s a reason Joist was the #1 estimating app which is because it’s been free and very easy to use. Charging contractors for things that require no skin off the Joist teams back is unheard of. It costs nothing to take pictures, have my logo on estimates and customize my contracts. I would understand charging an arm and leg for e checks but you already do that also. Being charged $12/month is not my biggest concern. What’s frustrating me is that I upgraded to “Joist Pro” over a month ago and I’m STILL not able to access what I’ve always been able to access for FREE! Very disappointed and unfortunately I don’t feel it’s necessary to be charging this much for something that was already free. The people who’ve been in should be grandfathered in and the new downloaders should need to purchase the app. Don’t try to fix something that was not broken.

5 years ago, Slapdic

To All The Cry Baby Contractors...

I love how contractors are lecturing an app developer about greed and charging for a service. It’s actually really funny but 1 Star review? Really? You’ve loved this app for years and now have to pay $10/mo and it’s 1 star? That messes with the integrity of the average rating. I guess I don’t expect you to be too bright. Great app. Definitely worth the small fee to run your business and to support bug fixes, updates, and maintenance. Makes perfect sense to release a quality app for free, gain exposure, and then scale the business to stay profitable. If having to pay $10 a month extra towards marketing costs is going to upset you, you’re not a real business. Get back to being lazy.

7 years ago, cadocado

Love It!...only two small problems

I have been using joist since 2014 and really love it. It is user friendly with everything i need to generate professional estimates and invoices to print or email to my clients. One of the only drawbacks for me is that you cannot make an adjustment to the final payment in the client's favor. I get around this by adjusting the labor cost, but it would be nice if you could just complete payment by listing a discount or credit. Also, if you generate an invoice and have and delete it, the next invoice is numbered as if the deleted one still exists. Obviously I still rated 5 stars as I use it all the time, but would be nice to have those little things fixed.

6 years ago, jblackey54

Amazing but one small change!

I love this app. I’ve used it for a very short time and heard nothing but positive feedback from my customers. One thing that would be nice to add is a “one time” product or service to add to the Line Items section for estimates and invoices. Being in an industry where I use a lot of different material, sizes, brands, etc I like to incorporate specifics into my estimates and invoices. That being said, a one time product or service that doesn’t save in my line items library would be nice so I don’t have to constantly organize the library by deleting the overflow of minor differences in products and services that had been saved. Amazing app! Thank you so much!

6 years ago, Xk796

Glitches and Unresponsive Customer Support

The app functions moderately well but has a couple glitches. One major glitch is invoices I sent my clients were not being delivered. In one instance I didn’t realize this until weeks had past and I still hadn’t received payment. I have reached out to customer support twice to resolve what I consider to be very important issues. Once involving security, where I was continually notified that my invoices were being open over and over at all hours of the night. The second time was to resolve the issue mentioned above. Customer support was completely unhelpful. Nothing was resolved and they seemed ok with that, meanwhile I’m seriously questioning the app security and dependability. Many apps provide excellent, caring customer service like Hurdlr and PayPal. They work for my subscription. Joist does not. I’m exploring an alternative app to do business because I need dependable support and security

5 years ago, nroseo15

Thieves. They will destroy your company if you get "too" successful.

The joist app works well for estimates, but for payments they hold on to money for weeks on end (indefinitely) apparently from all your customers if all the payments in one week are over a certain amount. This is destroying our company. I can't buy materials for jobs so that we can continue them. I can't pay my employees(they have bills to pay too) or company bills, my customers who are on strict timelines are livid because we can't make progress. I just had a meeting with all my employees to let them know what's going on and Many are now looking for other jobs. Joist is single handedly bringing my company to a complete halt and destroying our reputation of prompt quick service that we have worked so hard to build. Tomorrow I will be out of gas money and will no longer be able to go to a jobsite to work myself. Thank you joist for destroying us.

6 years ago, 43Beth

Financing

This app used to be wonderful. Recently they’ve added a finance option for small monthly payments for the home owner only it comes out of my pocket after I’ve bought their materials and supplies. I am not a bank. I cannot afford someone’s home project on top of running my business and my personal bills. I added a note to my email and my estimate also states the payment schedule and that I do not offer financing. I did that in the beginning of starting my business and never received payment on the job. I suppose Joist wants you to go bankrupt with your business. If I do a 2 story and it takes me a month to finish and I don’t get paid until it’s finished I can’t go a month without pay then get a small payment while I pay for someone else’s materials. What are you guys thinking? Maybe give the contractor that option and stop changing my note on my email that says I do NOT offer financing.

Description

Create quick, professional estimates and invoices, accept payments, and manage projects from anywhere! Joist is a specialized app for contractors that helps you save time, stay organized, and win jobs. ———————— ► CONTRACTORS LOVE JOIST • SAVES TIME - Complete work at the jobsite or on-the-go, rather than spending your evenings and weekends catching up on paperwork after a long day • WIN MORE JOBS - Send your client an estimate before you leave. Be the first to get an estimate in their hands, and give them the opportunity to say YES on the spot • REMOVE THE BOTTLENECK OF ESTIMATING & INVOICING - Build estimates and invoices quicker by creating and selecting from your list of commonly used materials and labor rates • ACCEPT PAYMENTS FROM CLIENTS - accept Credit Card and PayPal payments from your clients directly through Joist, so you can stop wasting hours driving around to pick up checks and deposit them at the bank • EASILY MANAGE CLIENTS - Create, organize, and store valuable client info, so you can access their info anytime, on the go • LOOK PROFESSIONAL - Show your clients that you’re the contractor they should trust for the job; with customized, professional looking estimates and invoices ———————— ► FEATURES - Customize your estimates & invoices with your company info, logo, etc - Attach a client contract and collect a signature directly on the spot - Accept Credit Card and PayPal Payments directly through the app - Build a list of commonly used items/services/materials - Attach photos to your estimates and invoices - Preview estimates & invoices before you send - Print or email estimates & invoices on the spot - Create a personal message for your clients - Convert estimates into invoices - Keep track of customer payments and how much you're owed - Manage and save your clients information - Set your tax rates - Export everything into your accounting program (reduce bookkeeping costs) *Access all your info from any device or the web - Joist is a cloud application ———————— ► WHO USES JOIST All types of contractors, estimators, and service companies use the app, such as: general contractors, handymen, electricians, plumbers, builders, landscapers, roofers, painters, carpenters, heating and air conditioning, flooring, siding, tile, concrete, paving, bathroom and kitchen remodeling, renovators, deck builders, drywallers, pest control, and more! ———————— ► WHAT OTHER CONTRACTORS ARE SAYING "Now I can do quotes on the fly I don't have to walk through the job and write everything down its all programmed in to my iPad right from material cost to cost per square foot! This app is so awesome." ———————— ► IN-APP PURCHASES You can subscribe to Joist Pro Monthly for $13.99 (US) or Joist Pro Annual for $139.99 (US), Joist Elite Monthly for $31.99 (US) or Joist Elite Annual for $319.99 (US) Subscription payments will be charged to your iTunes Account at the purchase confirmation. Monthly and annual subscriptions will automatically renew after 30 or 365 days for the prices listed above, respectively, and account will be charged within 24 hrs of the end of the current subscription period, unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hrs before the end of the current subscription period. Subscriptions can be managed in App Store or iTunes account settings after subscribing. Unused portions of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. ———————— Joist is FREE to Download and FREE to try! Available on iPhone, iPad, & desktop computer. Get support FAST! Our support staff are responsive and care about helping you run the best business possible: [email protected] www.joist.com In-app live chat Customer support is available 7 days a week. ———————— Terms of Service: https://www.joist.com/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://www.joist.com/privacy-policy/