Short answer: for a South African home automation, AV, CCTV or networking installer, QuotingHub is the option built for local installers — room-by-room quotes with kits, distributor price lists in rand, a device register, handover packs and support contracts that invoice themselves. International system-integrator software is more powerful for very large projects but is priced in US dollars per user. This guide compares the realistic options.
What installers need that general quoting tools miss
- Room-by-room quotes — the lounge, the cinema, the driveway cameras — with cost, markup and margin on each line.
- Kits: your standard 4-camera CCTV system or Control4 starter package dropped into a quote in one click.
- Good / better / best options and optional extras the client can choose between.
- Distributor price lists imported from CSV or Excel and updated each month without duplicates.
- A device register per site: serial, MAC, IP, firmware, warranty and login details for every device.
- A handover pack the client receives at the end of the job.
- Support contracts that bill monthly or annually and show which clients cost more than they pay.
The options
1. QuotingHub — best for South African installers
QuotingHub has a dedicated installer product, built in South Africa for home automation (including Control4), AV, CCTV and networking installers. It covers room-by-room quoting with kits and good/better/best options, distributor price-list import, projects with variation orders and progress claims, job cards with GPS clock-in and separate programming hours, a barcode-scanned device register with encrypted logins, handover pack PDFs, and support contracts with automatic recurring invoices. Claims and support invoices push to Sage Business Cloud Accounting.
Pricing (ZAR, monthly):
- Installer — R2,999: quoting, projects, Sage, job cards, GPS clocking, device register and handover packs, up to 20 staff.
- Installer Pro — R4,499: adds support contracts, automatic recurring invoicing and renewal reminders.
Extra staff over 20 are R40/month each; setup and training is R2,500 once-off. 30-day free trial, month-to-month.
Best for: home automation, smart home, AV, CCTV, alarm and networking installers with a small to mid-sized team.
See QuotingHub for installers →
2. D-Tools System Integrator — the international heavyweight
D-Tools is the long-established system-integrator platform used by AV and security integrators worldwide. It has a large product library, dealer-specific pricing from partner brands, and deep proposal, engineering and project tools.
Drawbacks for SA installers: D-Tools publishes its System Integrator tier from US$150 per user per month, aimed at larger projects, which is a significant cost in rand for a small team. The product library is weighted to brands and pricing outside South Africa, so local distributor price lists still need managing.
Best for: large integrators doing high-value projects who need full engineering and drawing workflows.
3. General trades apps (Tradify, ServiceM8 and similar)
These handle quotes, scheduling, job cards and invoicing well for service work. They are not built around rooms, kits, device registers or handover packs, and support contracts usually need a separate process.
Best for: installers whose work is mostly service callouts rather than designed systems.
4. Sage plus spreadsheets
Many installers quote in Excel and invoice from Sage. Sage is excellent for the books, but it isn't a quoting or project tool: there are no rooms, no kits, no device register, and support contracts usually go untracked — which is often where installers lose the most money. A common setup is to keep Sage for accounting and let quoting software handle everything before the invoice.
How to choose
- Small to mid-sized SA installer quoting designed systems and selling support: QuotingHub.
- Large integrator on big commercial projects needing engineering drawings: D-Tools.
- Mostly service callouts: a general trades app may be enough.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my distributor price lists?
Yes. Upload the CSV or Excel file from your distributor, match the columns once and set a markup. Items keep their SKU and brand, and next month's list updates prices rather than creating duplicates.
Does it work for CCTV and alarm installers, not just home automation?
Yes. Home automation, AV, CCTV, security and networking installers share the same model — quote the equipment by area, install it, register each device and hand it over — which is what the installer product is built around.