Ask ten electricians what CRM they use and most will say “my phone”.
Contacts in the phone. Quotes in the email. Job notes in a notebook on the dash. Follow-ups in your head.
It works until it does not. A quote never gets chased. A good lead gets buried in the inbox. A customer rings back and nobody remembers what was promised.
This guide explains how to pick the best CRM for electricians in Australia. We cover what it should do, how it differs from job management software, and the questions to ask before you pay for anything.
What a CRM does for an electrical business
CRM stands for customer relationship management. In plain terms, it is the list of everyone who has asked you for work, what they asked for and what happens next.
For an electrician, a CRM should do four things well.
Catch every enquiry. Calls, web forms, Facebook messages and emails land in one place. Nothing lives only in someone’s personal inbox.
Reply fast. The first business to respond usually wins. A good CRM answers straight away, even when you are on the tools.
Book the visit. The customer picks a time that suits your diary. Reminders go out automatically.
Chase the quote. Follow-ups run on a schedule until the customer says yes or no. This is where most electricians leave money on the table.
CRM versus job management software
This is the most common point of confusion, so it is worth getting clear.
Job management software runs the work once you have won it. Tools like ServiceM8, simPRO and AroFlo are built for scheduling, job cards, timesheets, materials, compliance forms and invoicing. They are good at it.
A CRM wins the work in the first place. It handles the enquiry, the first reply, the booking, the quote follow-up and the review request after the job.
Think of it as two halves of the same business:
| Stage | Tool that does it best |
|---|---|
| Enquiry comes in | CRM |
| First reply and qualifying questions | CRM |
| Site visit booked | CRM |
| Quote sent and chased | CRM |
| Job scheduled and completed | Job management |
| Invoice and payment | Job management or accounting |
| Review request | CRM |
Many electrical businesses use both. That is fine. Just make sure a won job does not have to be typed in twice.
If you also do solar and batteries
Solar adds a third tool to the mix: proposal software. OpenSolar and Pylon are the two big names in Australia. Both include a CRM layer that tracks proposals through to sale.
They are good at design and proposals. Where they stop is the conversation. A proposal viewed three times overnight is a strong buying signal, but the proposal tool will not ring the customer or send the follow-up text.
That is the gap a sales CRM fills. It sits alongside your proposal software, not instead of it. When a homeowner accepts a Pylon proposal, the job should move forward in your pipeline without anyone re-typing it.
If you are still setting up a solar business, our guide to launching a solar and battery business in every Australian state covers licences, accreditation and the systems to put in place first.
Seven questions to ask before you choose
1. Does it reply when I cannot?
This matters more than any other feature. If the CRM only stores contacts, it will not win you more work. Look for instant SMS replies, a website chatbot and ideally an AI voice agent that answers calls.
2. Is it set up for electrical work?
A generic CRM arrives blank. You have to build the stages, fields and messages yourself. One built for trades should arrive ready, with stages like enquiry, site visit booked, quote sent, won and complete.
3. Who sets it up?
Be honest about your time. If you will not spend weekends configuring software, pick one that is set up and managed for you.
4. Does it follow up quotes automatically?
Most quotes are not lost to a competitor. They are lost to silence. Automatic follow-up that stops when the customer replies is worth more than most other features combined. Read more in our guide to automated quote follow-up.
5. Does it work with what I already use?
Check calendar sync with Google or Outlook. Check accounting with Xero. If you do solar, check it works with Pylon. If you run ServiceM8, simPRO or AroFlo, ask how a won job gets across.
6. Does it ask for reviews?
Reviews win local search. A CRM should send a review request when a job is marked complete. It should go to every suitable customer, with no incentives and no filtering, in line with ACCC guidance.
7. Can I see the price before I talk to sales?
If a CRM company hides its pricing, expect a sales process built around their quota, not your needs. Published pricing is a good sign.
Red flags to watch for
Long lock-in contracts. You should be able to try it before committing for a year.
Set-up fees with no set-up. If you are paying for onboarding, ask exactly what gets done and by whom.
Support you cannot reach. When the booking calendar breaks on a Monday morning, you want a real person who answers.
Feature lists with no workflow. Fifty features means nothing if nobody has connected them into a process that replies, books and chases.
What to expect to pay
CRM pricing for Australian trades usually sits in three bands.
Basic contact managers. Low monthly cost. They store contacts but do not reply, book or chase on their own.
Do-it-yourself platforms. Mid-range cost and powerful, but you or a consultant has to build everything.
Managed trade CRMs. A monthly fee that includes set-up, automations and support, often bundled with a website, chatbot and voice agent.
LYD Solar Suite sits in the third band. It is built by Sharktech Global for electricians, solar installers and battery installers, and our Australian team sets it up and runs it. See the solar and electrical CRM and current pricing.
How to switch without losing work
Switching does not need to be painful.
Start with new enquiries only. Point your website form and missed calls into the new CRM. Leave old jobs where they are.
Bring across open quotes. Any quote still waiting on a decision goes in, so follow-up can start straight away.
Run both for two weeks. Then retire the spreadsheet.
Check the numbers after 30 days. How fast are you replying now? How many site visits got booked? How many quotes got a yes or a no instead of silence?
Who builds LYD Solar Suite
LYD Solar Suite is built by Sharktech Global, an Australian company building trusted AI deployments for tradies through Launch Your Dream.
Every AI agent we deploy works inside clear limits. It answers, books and follows up. Your licensed team keeps the advice, the pricing and the final say. Our team in Liverpool, NSW sets it up, watches it and fixes it when something needs changing.
The bottom line
The best CRM for electricians is not the one with the most features. It is the one that answers when you cannot, books the visit and chases the quote until you get an answer.
If your phone is still your CRM, start there.
See the solar and electrical CRM or start a 30-day free trial.
