Carpentry software built for job-by-job work

The chippie's real admin problem

A carpentry business is rarely all one type of work. You're a head contractor on a renovation one month and a subbie on someone else's build the next. Materials range from a full timber-and-fixings list on a deck to a labour-only rate on a framing job. Crews shift — your own hands plus subbies pulled in as needed. And because you're on the tools all day, the quoting, scheduling and invoicing has to be quick enough to do from the ute, not a night-time chore. The software's job is to keep each job's scope, materials, hours and money joined up so nothing's forgotten at invoice time.

Shape the app to how you work

A solo chippie doing insurance repairs works differently from a carpentry business running fit-outs with subbies. My Apprentice lets you switch whole features on and off from settings — so the app fits your business:

• Materials and inventory
• Supplier invoices
• Scheduling
• Timesheets
• The client portal
• Messaging
• Evidence photos

Every feature is available to every business; nothing's locked to a higher plan. Keep it lean if you're subcontracting labour-only; switch on materials and inventory when you're running full-scope jobs.

Quoting: scope, materials and margin

Carpentry quotes vary from a detailed materials-and-labour breakdown to a straight day rate. My Apprentice builds quotes from your line items and materials — timber, sheet, fixings, hardware, labour — with the margin visible as you go, so you price to profit. The client gets a professional quote and a portal link to accept it; acceptance becomes a job in one click. The sent quote is stored as an immutable record, which matters when scope creep sets in and someone "doesn't remember" what was agreed. Because the job stays live, variations get captured rather than lost.

Scheduling the crew and subbies

Carpentry scheduling is about coordinating your own hands and any subbies across jobs that move around. My Apprentice lets you assign shifts to the right people, run recurring shifts for ongoing site work, and keep unassigned work visible so nothing's dropped. Crew and subbies see only their assigned jobs and shifts through scheduling, and — importantly — you can keep your cost prices and margins hidden from them with role permissions, so a subbie sees the work without seeing your numbers. (Honest note: no GPS vehicle tracking.)

Materials: timber, sheet and fixings

For full-scope jobs, My Apprentice keeps a materials library, tracks stock as a ledger, and writes materials used back to stock on job completion, so what went on the job comes off stock and onto the invoice. When the timber yard or hardware account arrives, built-in AI supplier-invoice scanning reads it, matches lines to your suppliers and materials, flags uncertainties, and updates stock or costs the job — learning your suppliers over time. Included at every seat, it clears the monthly reconciliation. (No purchase orders or supplier-catalogue feeds — for most carpentry businesses the library plus AI scanning covers it.)

Documentation and customer communication

Carpentry is visual and detail-driven — the client wants to see progress and sign off on the finish. My Apprentice attaches photos and notes to each job and shift, and the no-login client portal lets the client track the job, approve quotes, view invoices, message you and — once you've connected Stripe — pay by card. For renovation clients living in the middle of the job, that portal cuts down the daily "how's it going?" interruptions and gets invoices paid faster. A full audit trail and immutable quote/invoice snapshots sit behind it.

Timesheets and getting paid

Your hours and your subbies' hours flow into weekly timesheets via clock in/out, ready for approval and payroll or subcontractor reconciliation. Invoices come off the job — materials, labour and variations already attached — so billing is send-and-track, with card payment through the portal and Xero push (paid/outstanding syncing back).

Where My Apprentice fits a carpentry business — and where it doesn't

It fits:

• The sole-trader chippie who wants professional quotes and less night-time admin.
• The carpentry business (up to around 20 staff) running fit-outs, decks, renovations and subcontract work who needs quoting, scheduling, subbie permissions, materials and a client portal in one configurable app.
• Any carpenter who wants to run the job from a phone.

It's less of a fit if:

• You're a large-scale builder needing multi-phase progress billing and formal project management — see our builder software page for where that line sits.
• MYOB is a dealbreaker.

My Apprentice's sweet spot is the carpenter and small carpentry business that works job-by-job and wants one adaptable, mobile-first system.

A real-world example

A carpenter running a two-hand business plus an occasional subbie takes on a deck build and, at the same time, some subcontract framing on a builder's site. He quotes the deck from the materials list — hardwood, joists, fixings, labour — with margin visible, and the homeowner approves it through the portal. It becomes a job; the subbie is assigned to help but sees only the job and shift, not the pricing. Progress photos go on the job. On the framing gig, hours are tracked against that job at a labour rate. When the timber yard's account arrives, AI scanning reconciles the deck materials to stock and the job. The deck's completed, photos attached, invoice sent from the job, homeowner pays by card through the portal. Everyone's hours flowed to the timesheet. The quoting and invoicing happened from the ute.

Pricing for carpentry businesses

My Apprentice is per seat in Australian dollars, dropping as you grow: $39 per seat per month for a sole trader, dropping to $27 per seat for larger teams, with 20% off annual billing. Your first 2 months are free, there's no setup fee and no lock-in contract. Every feature is included — switch on what you use — so a solo chippie and a carpentry crew get the same toolbox at a price that falls per head as the team grows. See the full pricing for where your team lands.

FAQ

→ Start a free trial, or see pricing for carpentry businesses.