Search for pool software and you get a mixed bag. Some results are programs for running service routes. Some are for building pools. Others draw a backyard in 3D, run a retail store, write inspection reports, or tell a homeowner how much chlorine to add. They are all pool software, and they do very different jobs. This guide sorts the kinds, says who each one is for, and helps you work out which one your pool company needs.
PoolStack publishes this blog. PoolStack is two of the kinds below in one product: pool service software and pool construction software. We say plainly where it fits.
What does pool software mean?
It is a loose term for any program made for work with swimming pools. There is no single product behind it. The phrase covers at least six kinds of software, sold to different people for different jobs.
The fastest way to sort them is to ask two questions. Who uses it: a pool company, a store, an inspector or a pool owner? And what is it for: running the business, selling a job, or managing the water?
The table lists the six kinds. The sections after it take them one at a time.
| Kind of pool software | What it does | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Pool service software | Routes, recurring visits, water readings, invoices and payments | Companies that clean and maintain pools |
| Pool builder software | Bids, build schedules, permits, change orders and draws | Companies that build and remodel pools |
| Pool design software | 2D plans and 3D pictures of the pool and the yard | Designers and builders selling a new pool |
| Pool store software | Point of sale, inventory and water tests at the counter | Retail stores, often with a service department |
| Pool inspection software | Checklists, photos and a written report | Pool inspectors and home inspectors |
| Water testing apps | Turn test results into a dosing plan | Pool owners, and some techs and stores |
Pool service software: for running routes
This is what most people in the trade mean by pool software, and it is what most of the search results are about. It runs a weekly service business: who gets serviced, on which day, by which tech, what was done, and what is owed.
The core parts are recurring visits, routes and route optimization, and a phone app for the techs. At the pool there is a checklist, with water readings and dosing. After the stop the customer gets a service report, and each month an invoice they can pay online. Most products also keep the equipment on each pool and handle quotes for repairs.
You may see it called pool route software, pool cleaning software, pool maintenance software or pool business software. Review sites group it with field service software, the wider family of programs for companies that send techs out to do work.
You need it if you service pools on a schedule, whether you run one truck or twenty. The thing that sets it apart from a general field service app is the water. Each pool keeps its own readings and chemical history, and the program does the dosing math for the tech.
Pool builder software: for running builds
This kind is also called pool construction software or pool contractor software. It runs a build as a project, from the first estimate to the last payment.
The core parts are proposals, a schedule with phases and dependencies, and a list of subs and their bids. Then come permits and inspections, homeowner selections and change orders. Daily logs with photos record the site, and a payment plan sets a draw at each milestone. Most products also give the homeowner a portal to follow the job.
Some builders use general construction software for this. It can hold the schedule and the paperwork. It is usually not built around the order of a pool build, or around the service a pool needs once the water is in.
You need builder software if you build, remodel or replaster pools and you are past the point where a spreadsheet and a group text can keep up. The usual signs are a missed inspection, a change order nobody wrote down, or a draw that went out late because nobody knew the phase was done.
Pool design software: for drawing and selling the pool
Design software is a drawing tool, not a business tool. A designer lays out the pool and the yard to scale, then shows the homeowner a 3D picture of the finished job. The same file can produce the plans the crew builds from.
General CAD programs are used for pool plans too. The difference that makers of pool design software point to is that theirs comes with pool equipment, water features, materials and landscaping ready to place.
Design software is about the picture and the plan. It does not schedule the dig, track the permit or bill the draw. A builder who sells with 3D design still needs something to run the job, and a service company does not need it.
Pool store software: for retail
A pool store sells chemicals, parts and equipment over a counter, and many stores test customers' water and recommend what to add. Store software is built for that. It is a point of sale system with inventory and customer accounts. It links to the water testing station, so the test result and the sale land on the same customer.
Many stores also run service trucks, so some retail products include scheduling and service jobs. Check how deep that service side goes before you rely on it for a full route.
If the store is the heart of your business, start here. If you run routes and keep a small stock of chemicals in the shop, pool service software is the place to start, and the register can stay simple.
Pool inspection software and water testing apps
A pool inspection is a one time look at a pool's condition and safety, often when a house is being sold. What the customer buys is the report. Inspection software gives the inspector a checklist to walk through, a place for photos, a rating for each item, and a finished PDF with the company's name on it. It is used by pool inspectors, by home inspectors who add pools, and by service companies that sell inspections as an extra. It does not run routes or monthly billing.
A water testing app takes test results and tells you what to add. The user enters readings from strips, drops or a digital reader. Some apps read a photo of a test strip instead. The app then returns the chemicals and the amounts for that pool. Many are made for pool owners.
For a service company, that job is normally built into the service software. The tech enters the readings at the stop and gets the dose there, and the readings stay on the pool's history. A standalone testing app does not hold your customer list or bill anyone.
Public pools are a separate case. Pools at hotels, apartment complexes, gyms, schools and water parks fall under state and local pool codes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, its Model Aquatic Health Code is guidance for those venues. It is not a federal law, and it only becomes law where a local, state, territorial or tribal jurisdiction adopts it. If you service commercial pools, ask your health department what records it expects, then check that your software can produce them.
Which pool software does a pool company need?
Match the software to the work that pays your bills. Buy for the business you run today, and check that the product can handle the work you plan to add.
Almost every company also keeps accounting software for the books. That is not pool software, but whatever you buy should be able to send invoices and payments to it.
Product pages do not always say which kind they are, so look at the screenshots. A map with stops on it is service software. A Gantt chart is builder software. A drawing of a backyard is design software. A register screen is store software.
Here is the short version by type of company.
- Service only. Pool service software. Nothing else on the list is required.
- Builder only. Pool builder software to run the jobs. Add design software if you sell with 3D pictures.
- Build and service. Either one system that does both, or a builder tool and a service tool side by side. One system saves retyping when a finished pool goes onto a route.
- Retail store with service trucks. Store software first. Check whether its service side is enough for your routes, or whether you need pool service software next to it.
- Inspections only. Inspection software.
- Commercial pool service. Pool service software, plus whatever log your health department asks for.
Can one program do it all?
No. Design is its own craft, and so is retail. What you can find is a product that joins two kinds that sit next to each other in a real business: service with construction, or retail with service.
Joining kinds is worth it when the same customer passes through both. A homeowner whose pool you built and now service is the plain example. One record means the equipment, the warranty dates and the history are already there on the first service visit. Where the customers do not overlap, separate tools are fine.
PoolStack is the first pairing. It is pool service software and pool construction software in one system, and the finished pool stays on the same customer record for weekly service.
What does pool software cost?
It depends on the kind, and on how the product charges. Some charge a flat monthly price. Others charge per user, per technician or per pool, or sell the product in tiers.
For pool service software, Tech.co, a business technology site, gives a range of $20 to $300 a month in an article last updated on May 19, 2023. Capterra, a software review directory, says most products in that category are priced per user, per month.
Builder software and design software are priced in their own ways, and some makers do not publish a price at all. Ask for the total at your size before you compare.
PoolStack is $79 a month, all access. Pool service and pool construction are both in that one tier. Early adopters lock that rate for life.
Is there free pool software? Some products have a free plan or a free trial. A free plan usually caps something, such as the number of pools, the number of users or the features. A trial is the better test, because you can run real work on the whole product before you pay.
Whatever the kind, ask the same three things. What is in the price? How does the price grow as the company grows? And can you leave with your data?