Run multiple jobs, subs, and draws without desktop accounting software. Expense tracking by client, contractor payment records, progress invoicing, and mileage — all from your phone, with categorized expenses that stay tax-ready all year. Made for solo GCs and small crews.
Card required, no charge until day 15 · Schedule C ready · iOS app included
A general contractor's week is three jobs in three stages, subs to pay on two of them, a lumberyard run, a dump run, and a change order the client texted at 9pm. By the time you sit down to "do the books," you can't remember which supplier receipt belonged to the kitchen remodel and which sub invoice was for the deck job — or where the money on that kitchen remodel actually went.
Fast Pay Books is mobile-first accounting software made for exactly that. You log income, materials, sub payments, and mileage from your phone in the moment, tag each one to a job, and your expenses stay categorized and tax-ready all year. No QuickBooks file to wrestle with, no spreadsheet you're always three weeks behind on.
Track materials, subs, permits, and dump fees by category and client, so your costs are captured as you spend.
Log every payment to subs and see each sub's running total, so you know who crossed the $600 threshold that requires a 1099-NEC.
Invoice for draws and phases, collect deposits, and get paid by card or ACH — Stripe payments built in, no add-on.
Snap receipts from the lumberyard, supply house, or big-box run and categorize each one on the spot.
Trips between job sites, suppliers, and inspections logged at the 2026 rates of 72.5¢/mi through June 30 and 76¢/mi after for your Schedule C.
Export a clean categorized income and expense summary as PDF or CSV for your return or your CPA.
Side-by-side on the things general contractors actually use. Pricing verified 2026.
| Feature | Fast Pay Books Basic | QuickBooks Online | Jobber | Housecall Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $24.99/mo | $38/mo Simple Start — job costing needs Plus at $90/mo | From $39/mo (solo) | From $59/mo |
| What it's built for | Accounting + invoicing for owner-operators | General-ledger accounting | Field-service scheduling & CRM | Field-service scheduling & dispatch |
| Expense tracking by client & category | ✓ Tag from your phone | Plus tier only | Job tracking, light on accounting | Limited |
| Automatic mileage tracking | ✓ Background, 72.5¢/76¢ 2026 | Add-on | No | No |
| contractor payment records & running totals | ✓ | Manual | No | No |
| One-tap tax-ready expense reports | ✓ PDF + CSV | Custom report build | No — exports to accounting software | No — exports to accounting software |
| Invoicing + online payments | ✓ Stripe + ACH built-in | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Setup time | Minutes | Hours (chart of accounts) | Hours | Hours |
| Free trial | 14 days | 30 days | 14 days | 14 days |
To be fair: Jobber and Housecall Pro are excellent scheduling and dispatch tools — but they are not accounting software, and most GCs who use them still pay for QuickBooks on top. Fast Pay Books replaces the accounting layer for solo GCs and small crews at a fraction of the combined cost.
If you pay an unincorporated sub $600 or more during the year by cash, check, or bank transfer for services, you're required to issue a 1099-NEC in January. With tile setters, framers, plumbers, and electricians rotating across your jobs, those totals are easy to lose track of. Fast Pay Books logs every sub payment all year and tells you exactly who needs a form. Our 1099-NEC guide walks through who gets one and who doesn't.
GCs don't bill once — you collect a deposit, invoice a draw at rough-in, another at drywall, and the balance at final walkthrough. Fast Pay Books lets you send those invoices from your phone at each phase and get paid by card or ACH through built-in Stripe payments, so cash flow keeps up with the job instead of trailing it by a month.
Bouncing between active jobs, the lumberyard, the permit office, and inspections puts serious miles on the truck. At the 2026 rates (72.5¢ per mile through June 30, 76¢ after), a GC driving 12,000 business miles split evenly across the year has roughly an $8,910 deduction — money most contractors leave on the table because they never logged it. The iOS app can detect and log trips automatically. Run your own numbers with our mileage deduction calculator.
Most solo GCs file a Schedule C with their personal return. Every expense you tag in Fast Pay Books maps to a Schedule C line, so the form is essentially done before you start it. Materials, sub payments, vehicle costs, insurance, tools, phone, and licensing all land where the IRS expects them.
A solo GC is fully covered on the Basic plan at $24.99/mo — income and expense tracking, job costing, mileage, sub tracking, invoicing, and tax-ready reports. Running a bigger crew or multiple entities? Compare plans to find the right fit. Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. Still weighing options? See our full QuickBooks alternatives guide built for the trades.
General contractors need software that costs jobs across several projects at once, tracks payments to subs for 1099s, invoices for deposits and draws, and produces tax-ready expense reports. Fast Pay Books is built mobile-first for solo GCs and small crews who don't want to run desktop accounting software.
No. Solo general contractors and small crews mostly need job costing, invoicing, contractor payment records, and a clean Schedule C — not a full general ledger. QuickBooks Online puts real job costing behind the $90/mo Plus tier. Fast Pay Books covers what a GC actually uses for $24.99/mo, from your phone.
No. Jobber and Housecall Pro are field-service tools built for scheduling, dispatch, and CRM. Most contractors using them still pair them with separate accounting software. Fast Pay Books covers the accounting side — job costing, expenses, mileage, contractor payment records, and tax-ready expense reports — in one app.
Categorize every expense as it happens and tag it to the client. Fast Pay Books lets you snap a receipt at the lumberyard, log a sub payment, or record dump fees and permits from your phone, so your costs are captured accurately instead of reconstructed from a shoebox at year-end.
Record every payment you make to subs by cash, check, or bank transfer in Fast Pay Books, so you can see at a glance who is approaching the $600 threshold that requires a 1099-NEC. In January you have a clean list of who needs a form and the exact totals to put on it — no scramble.
Yes. Fast Pay Books supports deposits and progress invoicing, so you can bill a draw at the end of each phase and get paid by card or ACH through built-in Stripe payments. Send the invoice from the job site and see the payment land before you order the next round of materials.
Fast Pay Books tracks job costs, subs, draws, and mileage from your phone — and keeps your expenses categorized and tax-ready all year. Super easy to use and track your business finances.
📱 Take it on the go with our iOS app
