Karya Falak vs ServiceM8

Who each one suits

ServiceM8 suits a trade business that runs its day from iPhones, wants text messages included, and does a fairly steady number of jobs each month. A solo operator doing up to 30 jobs a month can use the free plan, which is hard to beat on price.

Karya Falak suits a team where enquiries arrive in several places and more than one person in the office answers them. Every enquiry becomes a card, and the card carries the quote, the visits and the invoice. Because Karya Falak does not count jobs, a busy month costs the same as a quiet one. It also suits businesses outside the trades, such as IT services and office teams.

Karya Falak and ServiceM8 side by side

Where ServiceM8 is stronger

• A free plan. A solo operator with up to 30 jobs a month pays nothing for the software. Karya Falak has a free trial but no free plan.
• Text messages included. Paid plans come with an SMS allowance, and customers can reply. Karya Falak’s SMS is a paid add-on.
• Taking payment on the spot. ServiceM8 offers Tap to Pay on iPhone. Karya Falak has no tap to pay; customers pay from the invoice link.
• MYOB. ServiceM8 connects to MYOB Business. Karya Falak works with Xero and QuickBooks only.
• A mature iPhone app and a long history. ServiceM8 says it won Xero’s Global Innovation App of the Year award. Karya Falak is a newer Australian product.
• A phone system. ServiceM8 Phone is an add-on. Karya Falak does not include a phone system.

Where Karya Falak is different

• No job caps. Your price does not climb when you get busier. You pay for the plan and for each field member, whatever the number of jobs.
• The whole office in one inbox. Email and web form enquiries arrive in one shared inbox, each conversation becomes a card, and you can see who replied and when. ServiceM8’s Email Inbox turns forwarded emails into jobs; Karya Falak treats the conversation itself as the work.
• Boards with your own columns. Lay out your process the way you work, with a table view, saved views and limits on how many cards sit in a column.
• Booking without an add-on. Online booking is part of every plan, works out free times from business hours and calendars, and can close on state public holidays.
• A client hub for each customer. One link, no password, showing their quotes, visits and invoices, where they can accept a quote, pay or ask for more work. See client hub.
• Profit per job. Record expenses with receipts and each person’s hourly cost, and see profit per job in the job costing report.
• Hosted in Sydney. The Karya Falak application and its database run on servers in Sydney, Australia.

When per-job pricing is cheaper, and when it is not

ServiceM8’s price follows your job count. Karya Falak’s follows your team. The table shows the plan each business would need. ServiceM8 prices are from its Australian pricing page; Karya Falak prices are shown as plan plus field members, all GST included.

Reading the numbers fairly

For a solo operator, ServiceM8’s free plan is cheaper, and nothing on this page changes that. For a small team doing a steady number of jobs, the two land in a similar range. Where they part ways is growth: on ServiceM8 your plan moves up as job numbers rise, and on Karya Falak the bill moves only when you add field members or pass the Starter office limit.

Remember the extras. ServiceM8 includes an SMS allowance on paid plans, while Karya Falak’s SMS is an add-on at A$19 a month plus carrier cost. Card fees on ServiceM8 are set by plan; on Karya Falak, Stripe’s own fees apply to your Stripe account.

Moving from ServiceM8 to Karya Falak

Export your clients, materials and jobs from ServiceM8 as CSV files. No API key is needed. In Karya Falak, open Settings, choose Import and pick the ServiceM8 preset. Every row is previewed before anything changes, and the whole import can be undone for seven days.

The preset was built from sample exports, so start with a small file and check the preview. Keep ServiceM8 running while you test. If ServiceM8 sends invoices to Xero, switch that off before connecting Karya Falak to the same Xero organisation. More on the import page.