If your business provides restoration services, you know how difficult it can be to keep a job moving smoothly from completed work to a paid invoice. You may have estimates to finalize, insurance requirements to meet, invoices to send, and payments to follow up on long after the work is done.
Restoration billing software helps make that process easier to manage. The problem is that no single type of software handles every part equally well.
In this guide, we'll explore the four best restoration billing software options and what you need to know to choose the right option for your business.
These are the top four restoration billing software solutions featured in this guide, each covering a different part of the billing and payment process:
Restoration billing software helps contractors manage the process of billing completed jobs and collecting outstanding payments. Depending on the software, that could start with preparing an estimate and continue through invoicing, payment tracking, or collections.
This matters because getting paid for restoration work isn't always as simple as sending an invoice. Insurance claims can require additional documentation and take longer to process. When payment is delayed, the company is left waiting for money from work it has already completed.
The Restoration Industry Association highlighted this problem, reporting that payment delays were among restoration professionals' leading frustrations when working with insurance carriers.
It also cited reports of commercial claims taking more than 100 days to pay and residential claims averaging more than 80 days.
That's a long time to wait when your business has already put money into completing the job. You still have employees to pay, materials and equipment to cover, and new restoration jobs that need funding.
The longer completed work sits unpaid, the more money remains tied up in receivables and puts pressure on your cash flow.
So getting the billing process right directly affects how quickly completed work turns back into cash your business can use. And because that process involves more than one stage, the software contractors use comes in several forms.
Restoration software used for billing generally falls into four different types based on the part of the billing process it handles. Here's everything you need to know about them to determine which of them fits what your business needs.
Estimating and billing software helps restoration contractors determine what to charge for a job before creating the invoice.
To arrive at that amount, you first need an accurate picture of the work the job requires. That can involve documenting the scope of the loss and breaking down the labor, materials, and other costs involved.
When insurance is involved, the estimate also needs to clearly show the restoration work and costs connected to the claim.
Estimating software is what helps you put that information together and apply the appropriate pricing and line items to improve accuracy when building the estimate.
Getting that estimate right is important specifically because it's what helps clarify and set the overall amount you'll eventually bill for the job.
Invoicing and accounting software helps restoration contractors create invoices and keep a financial record of what customers owe.
Once you finalize the amount you need to bill, you need to turn that amount into an invoice and send it to the appropriate payer. From there, you also need to record whether the invoice remains outstanding or has already been paid.
Invoicing and accounting software helps you manage those financial records so you can keep track of how much you've billed and how much money you're still waiting to receive.
This works well when your main concern is creating invoices and recording payments. However, knowing that an invoice remains unpaid doesn't necessarily help your team collect it.
If overdue invoices start piling up, you need to track who needs a follow-up and when to contact them again. At that point, you're dealing with accounts receivable (AR) and collections.
Accounts receivable and collections software helps you manage invoices that you've already sent but haven't collected payment for yet.
Once an invoice remains unpaid, someone on your team needs to follow up on it. They also need to keep track of previous conversations and know when they should contact the payer again.
That gets harder to manage as more invoices become overdue. Your team could end up checking spreadsheets, searching through emails, or relying on individual employees to remember which accounts still need attention.
Accounts receivable and collections software gives your team a structured way to manage that work. AR Workflow, for example, lets restoration companies see aging balances and review previous collection activity.
Teams can also use it to organize accounts and automate email or SMS follow-ups. This helps your team keep collections moving without having to manually keep track of every next step.
A restoration job management tool helps contractors manage the operational side of their work while keeping the information needed for billing organized.
Before your office can move a job through billing, it may need information collected as the work progresses. That could include job and photo documentation, costs, or details about the work completed.
Restoration management software helps restoration techs and office teams keep that job information organized in one system.
Some platforms also include billing features or connect with accounting software so the information needed for billing doesn't have to stay separate from the rest of the job.
This type of software makes the most sense when the billing problem starts with how your company manages information throughout its restoration projects.
Now that we've covered what each type of software handles, let's look at platforms that are great examples for these parts of the process.
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Name of the Platform |
Overview |
Key Features |
Pricing |
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AR Workflow |
Accounts receivable automation and payments platform for restoration companies |
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Xactimate |
Property claims estimating software for restoration contractors |
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Xero |
Cloud accounting and invoicing software for small businesses |
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DASH by Cotality |
Restoration job management software |
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No public pricing available |
AR Workflow is an accounts receivable automation and payments platform built specifically for restoration companies. It helps contractors manage outstanding invoices and the collection work required to turn those receivables into collected payments.
It also brings collection activity into one place. Your team can use its AR Health Dashboard and detailed reporting to see outstanding invoices, then create custom collection workflows for how those accounts should be followed up.
Those workflows can include scheduled emails and SMS messages, while tracked client communication gives your team a record of previous contact. AR Workflow also includes calling and call history, so your team can manage more of the collection process within a single system.
Because AR Workflow's main goal is to make payments easier, it includes a secure online payment portal and a scheduled payment planner.
Your team can send payment links by email or SMS, giving customers a direct way to pay after receiving a reminder.
It also offers an invoicing integration with QuickBooks. Businesses can load their QuickBooks invoices into the platform during setup, which means contractors don't have to replace their existing accounting system simply to add a more structured collections process.
Image source: xactimate.com
Xactimate is property claims estimating software that helps contractors prepare estimates for insurance-related work such as water damage restoration.
Its tools help contractors document the job site, build the scope of work, and apply pricing when preparing an estimate.
Image source: xero.com
Xero is cloud-based accounting software for small businesses. While it isn't built specifically for restoration companies, contractors can use it to create and send invoices, keep track of expenses, reconcile bank transactions, and manage their financial records.
Its invoicing tools let businesses customize invoices and send them by email, SMS, or PDF. Contractors can also see when customers open an invoice and record invoices as paid once payment comes in.
Image source: cotality.com
DASH is restoration job management software from Cotality. It helps contractors manage the operational information surrounding a restoration job, including job details, budgets, documentation, tasks, and workflows.
No public pricing available.
The right software should solve the specific problems you're dealing with in your current billing process. Here are the main factors you need to consider when weighing your options.
Workflow compatibility means the software should fit into the way your team already handles billing rather than forcing you to rebuild a process that already works.
To figure that out, look at how a job currently moves from completed work to payment. Identify where your team creates the invoice, where they record payments, and what happens when an invoice remains unpaid.
This helps you see exactly where the new software needs to fit. If your team already creates and sends invoices without a problem, for example, you don't need another platform to solve that part of the process. You need to focus on whatever happens next that's causing the issue.
Look at whether the software can improve that part of your workflow without forcing your team to manage the same information through multiple tools.
Restoration-specific functionality means the software accounts for the way restoration companies actually handle billing and payments.
This is important because many restoration companies handle insurance-related jobs such as water damage claims, which can involve different parties responsible for payment.
Your team may also spend weeks following up on an invoice after completing the work, especially when another party still needs to process or approve the payment.
Those situations affect what you need from the software. If collecting outstanding invoices takes up a large part of your team's time, for example, you'll want features that help them track aging balances and manage ongoing follow-ups.
AR Workflow focuses specifically on this part of restoration AR. It gives restoration teams a central place to see outstanding invoices and manage the collection activity connected to them.
Don't look at a feature simply because it sounds relevant to billing. Look at whether it supports the situations your team regularly deals with when trying to get restoration jobs paid.
Get a demo with AR Workflow and see why having restoration-specific functionality matters.
Software integrations allow your billing software to exchange information with other systems your team already uses.
This is important because billing information rarely stays within a single platform. Your accounting software may already contain your invoices and customer balances, while a customer relationship management (CRM) software or another platform handles a different part of the process.
But if those systems don't connect, your team may need to enter the same information again or manually move it from one platform to another. That creates more work and increases the chance of information getting missed or entered incorrectly.
Find out what information the systems actually share and what work the connection removes from your team's day.
AR Workflow provides a relevant example through its QuickBooks connection.
Restoration companies can bring their existing QuickBooks invoices into AR Workflow and manage the collection work around those outstanding balances without replacing QuickBooks as their accounting system.
Billing process coverage refers to how much of your billing process the software actually helps you manage.
Start by identifying which part of that process you need the software to cover. If restoration invoicing is where your team struggles, you'll need software that helps you prepare and send those invoices.
If the invoices already go out without a problem but remain unpaid for weeks or months, you'll need software that helps manage what happens after invoicing.
That distinction is important because even software with robust tools falls short if it doesn't cover the part of billing where your problems actually happen. Being able to create an invoice, for example, doesn't tell your team which overdue accounts need attention or when someone last followed up.
AR Workflow focuses on this post-invoice stage. Your team can use its AR reporting to track outstanding invoices, then use collection workflows to manage follow-ups through email and SMS.
Look at where the software starts and stops and make sure that matches the part of your process you need help managing.
Restoration billing software should make it easier for your team to manage their day-to-day work without adding unnecessary steps to the process.
So look at how easily employees can find the information they need and complete the tasks they're responsible for.
If someone handles collections, for example, they should be able to quickly see which invoices need attention and what follow-up has already happened. An owner or finance manager should also be able to check outstanding AR without digging through multiple reports.
You should also consider the learning curve your team will face when adopting the software. A platform might have all the features you need, but those features won't help much if employees struggle to find them or need a complicated process just to complete routine tasks.
By the time you send the invoice, your company has already spent money completing the restoration work. The longer you wait for payment, the longer you have to operate without money you've already earned.
The cost doesn't stop there.
When a customer doesn't pay on time, your team has to spend more time collecting the invoice. They have to check the account, contact the payer, document what happened, and follow up again when necessary.
Every additional hour your team spends chasing that payment takes time and money away from other work or efforts that could've otherwise been spent on efforts that move your business forward.
That's why you need to think beyond creating and sending invoices when choosing restoration billing software. Unless you consider the whole payment process, you'll keep wasting time collecting the money your team has already earned.
Finding the right restoration billing software starts with knowing which part of your payment process needs the most help.
So if your team already knows what to bill and gets invoices out on time, but you're still waiting too long to collect that money, creating the invoice probably isn't the problem.
It's what happens after you send it.
This is exactly what AR Workflow helps restoration companies manage. It gives your team a more organized way to keep track of outstanding invoices and follow up on payments without relying so heavily on manual collection work.
Once you've already put the time and resources into earning that revenue, collecting it shouldn't take more time and resources away from your business.
Schedule a demo with AR Workflow and spend less time chasing outstanding payments!
AR Workflow is the best software for restoration companies that want to improve how they manage accounts receivable and collect outstanding payments.
It was built specifically for restoration businesses and helps teams track aging invoices, organize collection activity, automate payment follow-ups, and give customers easier ways to pay.
The best billing software is one that handles the part of your billing process that's causing the most problems. If you already create and send invoices without an issue but struggle to collect them on time, look for software with dedicated accounts receivable and collections capabilities.
AR Workflow fits that need for restoration companies by helping teams manage outstanding invoices and the follow-up required to collect them.
Restoration companies can track payment status through billing or accounts receivable software that shows whether invoices remain outstanding or have already been paid.