ServiceM8 help in Australia: support, partners, consultants and ongoing admin, honestly compared

We run one of the services on this list. DotVA places offshore VAs who do ongoing office admin inside a trade or service business’s ServiceM8 account, from 10 hours a week. We do not sell one-off ServiceM8 setup, clean-up, integration or training packages, and we are not ServiceM8’s support desk. If you have a how-to question, need a new account built, want a badly set-up account fixed, or need quote templates, forms or an integration built once, other rows in this table are the right place to look and we are not. That is the most useful thing we can tell you, so it comes first.

The method is the same as our comparison of Australian VA agencies. Every claim about another provider comes from its own website, checked on 11 November 2026 and linked in the table. Where a figure is not published we write “not stated publicly” rather than guess, and where a site does not say where its people are, we do not assume. A provider is only here if its own site names ServiceM8 in text.

ServiceM8 runs an official Partner Directory, which says its partners “are external businesses who charge for their services”. Its partner program page says partners complete a self-paced training and certification, set their own rates, and can earn a referral bonus and up to 20% ongoing revenue share from clients they set up with ServiceM8. Where a row below says Gold, Silver or Certified, that is the business’s own description on its own site.

The services at a glance

Provider	What kind of help	Published price	Where the people are	One-off setup or clean-up?	Ongoing admin in ServiceM8?	Terms
DotVA ServiceM8 virtual assistant (that’s us)	Managed offshore VA: one dedicated person who works in your ServiceM8 account to your direction	$12-17/hr admin, $18-25/hr specialist, AUD ex GST, from 10 hrs/week	Philippines, working Australian business hours	No. We do not sell setup, clean-up, integration or training packages	Yes: job cards, scheduling, quotes at your rates, quote follow-up, invoices and overdue follow-up	No lock-in contract; stop any time in the first 14 days, then 30 days’ notice; free replacement any time
ServiceM8 support	The software company’s own chat and email support, plus a Getting Started Guide, help videos and the Learning Roadmap	Support is included: 24/7 email and chat on paid plans, self-serve on the Free plan. Plans are $0, $29, $79, $149 and $349 a month, AUD incl GST	Not stated on the pages we checked	Not by ServiceM8 itself on the pages we checked: its contact page sends consultation, setup and training requests to a ServiceM8 Partner	No done-for-you admin service on the pages we checked; support answers questions about the software	No lock-ins on plans; upgrade or downgrade at any time. Its contact page says it does not handle enquiries or support over the phone; its pricing page shows a number to call with questions
Bell Curve Solutions	ServiceM8 consultancy that calls itself a “ServiceM8 Certified Gold Partner”: setup, account reviews, training and form design	Essentials Set Up from $2,100 + GST for 1 to 5 team members; account review, support and form creation $139 + GST an hour	Operates from Port Melbourne, Victoria; works virtually Australia-wide	Yes: the setup includes up to five 1-hour sessions and 30 days of priority support; new customers with an existing account get a free review, with the 1-hour walkthrough charged at the hourly rate	Not listed on the pages we checked; ongoing 1-hour catch-ups and general support	Its home page says no lock-in contracts or long-term commitments; its terms say a session changed inside 24 hours may incur a fee of up to 50%
Exceptional Tradie Solutions	Trades systems and operations business that calls itself a Gold Certified ServiceM8 Partner: project work plus an ongoing operations retainer	Not stated publicly; a proposal follows a free discovery call	Australian-based team	Yes: setup, account audits and clean-ups, custom forms, integrations and training; says most full setups run four to eight weeks	Yes: calls answered, jobs booked, invoices sent and payments chased	No lock-in contracts; notice not stated publicly
Office Shed	Tradie admin, reception and bookkeeping service that calls itself a ServiceM8 Gold Partner	Admin packages $435 a week + GST for up to 5 hours; $620 for 7.5; $760 for 10; $1,050 for 15; onboarding $375 + GST a week for 1-2 weeks. ServiceM8 setup price not stated publicly	Client-facing staff in Australia; four Philippines-based staff do back-end tasks only	Yes: a standard ServiceM8 setup with basic training, or a bespoke project for more complex needs	Yes: job management software work is listed in all admin packages	Change package any time; opt out with 2-6 weeks’ notice
Tradie Admin Solutions	Virtual admin for trade businesses, plus ServiceM8 set-up, training and consultation	ServiceM8 consultation $198/hr incl GST; virtual admin $68.70/hr incl GST for a team member, $99/hr incl GST for the director or office manager	Office on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; staff location not stated publicly	Listed as ServiceM8 set up, training and consultation; the one price shown is the hourly consultation rate, plus $0.88 a kilometre for onsite travel	Yes, but the pricing page said VA support was full when checked	Not stated publicly
Just Ask Tash	Gladstone-based operator; the FAQ says “I’m a ServiceM8 Certified Partner. I set up, clean up, train and support businesses using ServiceM8”	Not stated publicly; weekly hours are prepaid or booked as needed	Gladstone, Queensland; works remotely	Yes: setup, clean-ups, quote templates and one-on-one training	Yes: enquiries entered, quotes sent and followed up, jobs booked, invoices sent and overdue invoices followed up	Prepaid time is used within the week and does not carry over; work is invoiced weekly
Tradies Rescue	ServiceM8 consultant that calls itself a ServiceM8 Gold Partner: set-up, customisation, forms and training	”Pre Paid Support Hours” listed at A$150.00 in its shop; the page does not say how many hours one unit buys (GST basis not stated). Setup price not stated publicly	Onsite support in Brisbane, Logan, Redland, Moreton Bay and Gold Coast; phone, email or screen share elsewhere; staff location not stated	Yes: set-up and training of a new account, remote support by the hour for add-ons, job templates and custom invoicing, and custom forms	Not listed on the pages we checked	Prepaid hours can be used at once or over several months
Behind the Boots	Admin, bookkeeping and systems support for tradies; its ServiceM8 page shows Silver partner status	Not stated publicly; a ServiceM8 Health Check is quoted on request	Not stated publicly; it describes itself as a remote team	Yes: setup after a 2-hour scoping session, a Health Check for existing accounts, custom forms, integrations and one-hour training sessions	Email management and VA support, on a page that does not name ServiceM8; ongoing ServiceM8 support is listed with training	Not stated publicly
CCP	Perth IT firm that describes itself as a “ServiceM8 partner in Perth”: implementation, training, integrations and custom add-ons	Not stated publicly; a written recommendation with an indicative price range follows a free scoping call	”Local engineers in Perth, WA. Zero offshoring.”	Yes: implementation with data migration and staff training (four to eight weeks for a single business), audits of an existing setup, integrations and custom add-on development	Not office admin: a ServiceM8 support retainer for the platform	Not stated publicly
Carbon Group	Virtual assistant service for tradies and construction businesses	From $150 a week plus GST; its pricing flyer (February 2025) lists 2.5 hours for $150, 5 for $275, 10 for $500 and 20+ from $900 a week (GST basis not stated on the flyer)	Perth-based team, serving Australia-wide	No ServiceM8 package listed; its FAQ says “If you’re not using any tools, we can help set them up”	Yes: job scheduling, client invoicing, data entry and supplier communications; says it is experienced with ServiceM8	No long-term contract; notice not stated publicly
StaffPilot	Offshore VA placements; says its trades VAs are “pre-trained” on ServiceM8 and other job management platforms	From $1,958 a month, $90 a day or about $11.25 an hour for full time, incl GST and indicative; part time is 20 hours a week at roughly half	Offshore, in its own words; Filipino VAs on Australian time zones by default	Not a service it lists on the pages we checked	Yes: job management in ServiceM8, quote follow-up, scheduling and invoicing	Its trades page says 14 days’ notice to cancel and no lock-in contract; its terms say ending a placement is governed by the placement agreement; replacement at no additional cost

Checked on each provider’s own pages on 11 November 2026. “Not stated publicly” means we could not find the figure on the provider’s public pages; it is an observation, not a criticism.

Two more of the businesses we checked name ServiceM8 setup or training. HeffCo, based in Queensland, says its ServiceM8 setup “starts at $2,500” (GST basis not stated), with 50% upfront and 50% before go-live, and that Xero integration is scoped and priced separately. TradiePad, which describes itself as an independent ServiceM8 Certified Partner with staff across Australia and New Zealand, sells a ServiceM8 Discovery session: a 30-minute introductory call and a 2-hour one-on-one training session. Its price is not stated publicly.

Our row in full is on pricing. If a 30-minute call beats ten tabs, book a discovery call, and if another row fits your business better we will tell you on the call.

Three products share one label

Searches for ServiceM8 help, a ServiceM8 consultant and a ServiceM8 virtual assistant land on three different products.

1. Software support (ServiceM8). How to use a feature, why something is not working, what a setting does. ServiceM8’s pricing page lists 24/7 chat and email support on paid plans and self-serve support on the Free plan. Its help videos cover account setup, adding staff, importing clients and items, templates and tidying up an account, and the Learning Roadmap is a self-paced series its Help Centre calls a free benefit. Support explains the software. Someone still has to run the office.
2. A one-off setup, clean-up, integration or training job (Bell Curve Solutions, Exceptional Tradie Solutions, Office Shed, Tradie Admin Solutions, Just Ask Tash, Tradies Rescue, Behind the Boots, CCP, HeffCo, TradiePad). Someone builds or repairs the account around how your business works: templates, job categories and queues, staff access, forms, and the link to your accounting software. ServiceM8 itself sends this work to Partners. Its Setup & Training Rebate gives a new subscriber up to $2,000 in account credit for first-time setup and training by a listed Partner, applied at 50% of the plan’s base price each month, and it says the offer ends once funds are exhausted. The rebate only covers Partners listed in ServiceM8’s directory, and it replaces any other ServiceM8 discount, so check the listing and the terms first.
3. Ongoing admin done by a person inside your ServiceM8 account (DotVA, Office Shed, Exceptional Tradie Solutions, Tradie Admin Solutions, Just Ask Tash, Carbon Group, StaffPilot). Enquiries turned into job cards, the schedule, quotes, quote follow-up and invoices, every week.

They are not interchangeable. A VA is not a shortcut to a clean-up project, and a clean-up project does not follow up last month’s quotes.

What the options cost

These figures use each provider’s published price. Where we have multiplied or divided, that is our arithmetic, not the provider’s quote.

Option	Published price	What that buys
ServiceM8 support	Included in paid plans	Chat and email answers 24/7, plus the Getting Started Guide, help videos and Learning Roadmap
ServiceM8 Setup & Training Rebate	Up to $2,000 in account credit	For a new subscriber who pays a listed Partner for first-time setup and training and claims within 60 days of subscribing and of the Partner’s invoice
Bell Curve Solutions setup	From $2,100 + GST for 1 to 5 team members	A one-off setup with up to five 1-hour sessions and 30 days of priority support
HeffCo setup	From $2,500 (GST basis not stated)	A one-off setup with training; Xero integration priced separately
Bell Curve Solutions by the hour	$139 + GST an hour	Account review walkthroughs, support and form creation
Tradies Rescue prepaid support	A$150.00 for its “Pre Paid Support Hours” product; hours per unit not stated (GST basis not stated)	Remote support, customisation or problem solving
Tradie Admin Solutions consultation	$198 an hour incl GST	ServiceM8 consultation; about $180 an hour before GST
Office Shed	$760 a week + GST for up to 10 hours, plus onboarding at $375 + GST a week for 1-2 weeks	Ongoing admin; the 5-hour package is $435 a week + GST
Tradie Admin Solutions admin	$68.70 an hour incl GST	10 hours would be $687 a week incl GST, about $625 before GST (VA support was full when checked)
Carbon Group	$500 a week for 10 hours on its February 2025 flyer (GST basis not stated there); from $150 a week + GST (2.5 hours, per the flyer)	Ongoing admin from a Perth-based team
StaffPilot	From $1,958 a month incl GST, full time (indicative)	One full-time offshore VA; about $1,780 a month before GST
DotVA admin VA	$12-17/hr ex GST, from 10 hours a week	10 hours a week for $120-170 a week, about $520-736 a month

ServiceM8’s pricing page says “we don’t charge per user” and that the only plan which limits users is the Free plan, at one user. So on a paid plan an assistant’s login adds no ServiceM8 fee, whichever provider you choose. Job numbers are the thing to check: the same page says every new job card uses a job credit (50 a month on Starter, 150 on Growing, 500 on Premium) and that a quote changed to a work order does not use a second one. If an assistant will be creating job cards from enquiries, check your plan’s job credits first. With us, a $500 deposit is credited to your first invoice.

How to compare them

1. Question, project or weekly work? A question goes to ServiceM8. A project has an end date and a handover. Weekly work needs the same person back every week.
2. New account or an old one? ServiceM8’s rebate covers first-time setup and training for new subscribers. Fixing an account that is already running is ordinary paid work: Exceptional Tradie Solutions lists account audits and clean-ups, Just Ask Tash lists clean-ups, Behind the Boots sells a Health Check, and Bell Curve Solutions reviews an existing account before a paid walkthrough.
3. Is training in the quote? The Learning Roadmap is free. Bell Curve Solutions’ setup includes up to five 1-hour sessions, Exceptional Tradie Solutions lists live sessions and a recorded video library, CCP trains field and office staff in separate sessions, and TradiePad sells a 2-hour one-on-one session.
4. Do you need an integration or custom build? CCP builds integrations and custom add-ons, Exceptional Tradie Solutions builds integrations with n8n, and HeffCo prices Xero integration separately from setup. ServiceM8’s pricing page says custom forms, built by you or by a Partner, need the Growing plan or higher.
5. How many hours? Under 10 hours a week, Office Shed’s 5-hour package, Carbon Group’s entry package or Just Ask Tash’s prepaid weekly hours fit. We start at 10. StaffPilot prices a full-time person, with part time at 20 hours a week.
6. What are the exit terms? Only two other providers in our table publish a notice period: StaffPilot (14 days) and Office Shed (2 to 6 weeks, per its terms). Ours is 30 days after the first 14 days. Read the terms page as well as the marketing page.

Access and privacy: set this up before anyone logs in

ServiceM8’s Help Centre explains its Security Roles, and they apply to every provider on this page, us included.

• A role for each person. A staff member’s role is set under Account > Settings > Staff.
• The Staff role for office admin. ServiceM8’s overview says the Staff role has access to all jobs, job history and clients and can quote and invoice, with no access to costing or profit, settings or reports.
• Margins stay with you. The same overview gives costing and profit to the Finance role and full access to the Business Owner role. If none of the standard roles fit, the Help Centre shows how to create a custom security role.

Your ServiceM8 account holds customers’ names, addresses and phone numbers. If the Privacy Act applies to your business, giving an overseas assistant access to client information is, in most cases, a cross-border disclosure under APP 8 of the Australian Privacy Principles: you must take reasonable steps to make sure the overseas recipient handles the information in line with the APPs, and you generally remain accountable if they do not. The OAIC says most small businesses with an annual turnover of $3 million or less are not covered, with exceptions, so check with your adviser whether you are. Where it applies, the obligation sits with the business disclosing the information, and it applies to our VAs as much as to any other provider on this page whose people are overseas. This is general information, not legal advice. Our guide to hiring an offshore VA legally covers the obligations.

Our own practice, which is a policy and not a legal requirement: the VA works in your ServiceM8 account on the Staff role unless you set a different one, credentials are shared through a password manager, and a confidentiality agreement is signed before day one. The detail is on our data security page. Where a provider does not say where its people are, ask before you grant access.

Who should pick whom

• A how-to question, or something is not working: ServiceM8 support first. On a paid plan, chat and email support is included and runs 24/7, and the answer comes from the people who make the software.
• Setting up a new account yourself: ServiceM8’s Getting Started Guide and Learning Roadmap. Both are free.
• A new account set up for you: a ServiceM8 partner or consultant, not us. Bell Curve Solutions publishes a setup from $2,100 plus GST for 1 to 5 team members and HeffCo from $2,500 (GST basis not stated). Exceptional Tradie Solutions, Office Shed, Tradies Rescue, Behind the Boots and CCP do not publish a setup price. If you are a new subscriber, read the rebate terms before you pay anyone: it only covers Partners listed in ServiceM8’s directory.
• An account that was set up badly and needs fixing or tidying: Exceptional Tradie Solutions, Just Ask Tash or Behind the Boots, which all name that work, or a paid review walkthrough with Bell Curve Solutions. Not us.
• Quote templates, forms or other one-off build work: an hourly consultant such as Bell Curve Solutions at $139 plus GST an hour or Tradies Rescue’s prepaid hours. Not us.
• An integration or a custom add-on: CCP in Perth, or Exceptional Tradie Solutions. Not us.
• Training for you or your team: ServiceM8’s Learning Roadmap first, then one-on-one training from Just Ask Tash or TradiePad, or an online team session with Behind the Boots.
• A few hours of admin a week from an Australian business: Office Shed from $435 a week plus GST for up to 5 hours, with client-facing staff in Australia, or Carbon Group’s Perth-based team from $150 a week plus GST.
• Setup and ongoing operations from one Australian-based team: Exceptional Tradie Solutions.
• A full-time offshore VA at a published indicative monthly price: StaffPilot, from $1,958 a month including GST, which it puts at about $11.25 an hour.
• 10 to 30 hours a week from one dedicated person in your ServiceM8 account, at a published hourly rate: that is the business we built DotVA for. You meet a shortlist of matched VAs before you choose, so ask each about their ServiceM8 experience. If your account is not set up yet, or needs a clean-up, do that first with one of the options above. See what the work looks like on our ServiceM8 and trades pages, and if the phone is the bigger problem, on our virtual receptionist for tradies page.

Run your own numbers

Price your hours on the VA cost calculator and check our tiers on pricing. Our comparison of admin support for tradies covers answering services, AI receptionists and providers that work in simPRO, AroFlo and Tradify as well. If the right answer for your business is one of the other names in the table, we would rather you find that out now than in month two.