Questions, answered straight
The things owners ask before they switch — and the things they wish they'd asked. No runaround.
- What is dispatch software?
- Dispatch software takes the calls, texts, and messages coming into a service business and turns them into jobs — with an address, a price, and a technician assigned. Instead of a whiteboard, a group chat, and a stack of paper invoices, everything from the first ring to the final receipt lives on one screen. If you send techs to customers' homes, that's the job it does.
- I run one or two trucks. Do I really need this?
- If you've ever been under a sink when the phone rang and never heard back from that caller, yes. Small shops lose jobs at the exact moment they're doing jobs. Dispatch software doesn't replace you — it catches what you can't while your hands are full: the job details, the customer's history, the receipt at the end. The free plan exists precisely for one- and two-truck shops, so the answer doesn't cost anything to find out.
- What exactly is BH Dispatch?
- BH Dispatch is dispatch software for home-service trades, born inside a real, working service company that answers calls every day. It turns every call, text, email, and web chat into a job, dispatches it to the right technician as a normal text with the address, price, and notes, sends estimates and receipts, and settles with your subcontractors. An AI assistant handles the busywork — but nothing reaches a customer without your approval.
- How is it different from ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or Jobber?
- Two ways. First, the free plan actually exists — $0, ad-supported, in writing, no demo required to know what it costs. Most competitors' 'free' is a trial with a clock on it. Second, BH Dispatch runs live service calls every day inside the working shop that shaped it, so it does the dispatch job deeply — one inbox for calls and texts, plus two-sided subcontractor settlement most platforms make you bolt on — instead of doing ten things shallowly.
- Is the free plan really free? What's the catch?
- It's really free, and the catch is printed right on the pricing page: the plan is ad-supported, and calls & SMS — the phone system — live on paid plans. That's the whole arrangement. No credit card, no trial that expires, no feature that quietly locks after 14 days. Job tracking, your team, customer records, estimates & receipts, and the live website chat widget are all included at $0.
- Will my technicians actually use it?
- Your techs don't have to learn a new app to get work — jobs arrive as a normal text with the address, price, and notes, and they can close a job by replying. The heavy lifting stays on your screen, not theirs. That's usually the difference between software that sticks and software that gets abandoned in week two.
- Does the AI assistant send things to customers on its own?
- No. The assistant drafts replies, books appointments, and prepares job closures, but nothing reaches a customer until you approve it. Your customers talk to your people — you just get there faster.
- Can I keep my phone number? How do calls work?
- Yes — on paid plans, your business line lives inside the app. You answer, call back, and text customers and technicians from one inbox, and every conversation is tied to the job it belongs to, so the next person who picks up the thread has the full story. On the free plan, you keep working your phone as you do today while BH Dispatch runs jobs, customers, and paperwork.
- We're on another platform (or paper and spreadsheets). How painful is switching?
- Less painful than staying is. You can start on the free plan alongside whatever you use today — no credit card, nothing to cancel first — and move at your own pace. Bring your customer list and job history with you; the shop this software was born in brought five years of job history with it — so imports are a first-class feature. If you get stuck, we help. You're not handed a login and left alone.
- Who owns my data? Can I take it with me if I leave?
- You do, and yes. Your jobs, customers, estimates, and receipts are your business records — BH Dispatch stores them for you, it doesn't own them. If you ever leave, you can take your data with you. We'd rather keep you with software that works than with an exit fee.
- Is my business data kept separate and secure?
- Yes. Each business runs in its own isolated workspace. Your jobs, customers, and phone line are never shared with or visible to any other company on the platform.
- How long does it take to get started?
- Fast. Request access on this page and we set up your workspace — usually the same day — then you add your team and start putting jobs on the board; there's no credit card and nothing to install on your techs' phones. Accounts are set up by us rather than an open signup form, so every business starts with a workspace that's configured right. Moving to a paid plan? We connect your phone line with you, not around you.
- What does it cost?
- The Free plan is $0, ad-supported, forever — job tracking, team, customers, estimates & receipts, and live website chat included. Calls & SMS are on paid plans, which are in early access pricing right now — so learning that price does take a conversation. But it's a price conversation, not a demo you have to sit through, and we don't print numbers we're not ready to stand behind.
- Which trades do you support, and where?
- Locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, HVAC, garage door, appliance repair, junk removal, handyman — anyone who dispatches technicians to jobs. BH Dispatch works in all 50 states: wherever your trucks roll, the software rolls with them. Support hours are Eastern Time.
- What if I need help?
- You're not handed a login and left alone. We help you get set up and get your first jobs flowing — and we're reachable when you need us. Real people, Eastern Time hours.
Still have a question?
The fastest answer is seeing it on your own work. Start free — no credit card — or book a demo and ask us anything.