What switching field service software really costs: the line items nobody puts on the pricing page

What does it cost to switch from Jobber?

The new software's monthly price is the smallest part of the bill. A switch has seven cost lines, and only one of them appears on a pricing page: the unused term on the old plan, a period of paying for both systems, the import itself, history that will not come across, saved payment cards, the phone number, and the website or booking links customers already use. This guide puts a source on each one, read on the vendors' own pages in October 2026, so you can price a move before you announce it to the crew.

Jobber is the most common starting point, so we use it as the worked example, then show where Housecall Pro, ServiceTitan and GorillaDesk differ. The same lines apply leaving any of them. For the step-by-step move itself, see how to switch CRMs without losing data and the CRM migration checklist.

Line 1: will you get money back on the plan you are leaving?

Usually not. Jobber's pricing FAQ answers the annual refund question in five words: "your initial payment is non-refundable". Separately, the terms of service say Jobber bills in advance, that "fees are non-refundable", and that partial months get no refund or credit, and that an annual plan has to be cancelled at least 30 days before it renews. A month-to-month Jobber plan can be cancelled "at any time" and stays open to the end of the billing cycle.

Housecall Pro's terms rule out prorating or refunding subscription fees unless the agreement itself provides for it, and say subscriptions renew automatically. Its billing help article describes a 30-day money-back guarantee on the monthly subscription fee only if it was offered at sign-up. ServiceTitan's Form 10-K describes annual or multi-year agreements for most new customers, usually 12 to 36 months long, that renew automatically unless cancelled in advance.

The practical rule: time the switch to the renewal date, and set a calendar reminder for the notice deadline. On a prepaid Jobber annual plan, leaving in month four means the remaining eight months are already spent. Our contracts and cancellation guide lists the terms side by side.

Line 2: how long will you pay for two systems?

Plan on at least one full billing cycle of overlap, and often two. You need the old system open while you export, check the import, and finish jobs that were already scheduled. You also need it while customers still pay invoices that were sent from it.

The overlap cost is simple to work out from list prices. Leaving Jobber Grow for 5 users on monthly billing ($299 a month as listed in October 2026) for Housecall Pro Essentials on monthly billing ($189 a month on its pricing page) means two months of overlap cost $598 on the Jobber side alone. If you are on an annual plan you cannot exit early, the overlap is already paid for, so use it: run both for the last month of the old term.

Line 3: is there a Jobber data import fee, and what does importing cost elsewhere?

Jobber's pricing page lists "Data Import" with the note "$499 Value" and the description "Import your data quickly, so you can get started in Jobber with confidence." The page does not say which plans include it or what it costs if a plan does not. Read that as a figure Jobber puts on the service, not a fee you will be charged, and ask in writing before you sign.

Sources: Jobber import jobs and import quotes; Housecall Pro prepare to import your data and customer import options; GorillaDesk pricing. All read October 2026.

The cost of a capped import is your time. Ten thousand past jobs at Jobber's 1,000-per-import limit is ten separate runs, each checked for errors. A spreadsheet that has one invoice spread over several rows will fail Housecall Pro's import until someone merges the rows.

Line 4: what history will you lose?

Expect the customer list to move cleanly and the history to move partly. GorillaDesk says plainly that imports cover contact details, addresses for service and billing, notes and an opening balance, not complete past service or billing history. Jobber's job import article covers visits and invoicing settings but does not mention photos. On the way out, Jobber's close-account article offers CSV for reports but only single PDFs for each quote, job and invoice, and warns that once an account is permanently closed "Any information that you had in your account will no longer be retrievable." Its client export works in files of 1,500 rows and "is available on select plans", which it does not name.

The cost here is what you lose access to: warranty dates, past prices for repeat customers, notes on gate codes and dogs, and photos that settle disputes. Decide which of those you need, export them while the old account is live, and store the files somewhere you own. Our page on data ownership by vendor covers what each one promises.

Line 5: can you move your customers' saved cards?

Not by CSV, and not to just anyone. Card numbers sit with the payment processor, not in the field software's export. Stripe's payment data export page says it "can only transfer your card data to another PCI DSS Level 1-compliant payment processor", that it needs the new processor's attestation and encryption key, that cards saved through Link are excluded, and that it does not export payment history or subscriptions. Whether you can request such a transfer depends on whose processor account holds the cards, which is a question to ask your current software vendor before you cancel.

If the cards cannot move, the cost is a round of asking every autopay customer to re-enter a card, and the payments that lapse in between. For a lawn or cleaning business with hundreds of recurring customers, this can be the largest line on the list. Our card processing fees guide covers how each vendor handles payments.

Line 6 and 7: what about the phone number and website?

Section 5.3 of Jobber's terms gives Jobber ownership of the company-specific numbers it provides, bars you from transferring them, states no duty to port them to another carrier, and lets Jobber take back any such number once no active subscription uses it. Housecall Pro's terms keep its notification number on hold for 90 days after cancellation and warn that it may not be transferable. If customers have been texting a vendor-owned number, you will need to tell all of them the new one. If your own number was only forwarded to the vendor, you change one forwarding rule. See how to port a business phone number.

Websites work the same way. Jobber's Core plan lists "Create a professional website", and its close-account article says the client hub becomes unavailable once an account is permanently closed. Expect a site made in a vendor's builder, and any booking link printed on a door hanger, to stop working when the account closes, and confirm with the vendor what stays. Our guide on what happens to your website when you cancel walks through it.

What are the hidden costs of switching field service software?

The time costs, which no vendor prices. Add them up in hours using your own numbers: the office's time exporting, cleaning and checking files; each technician's time learning the new app; a week of slower dispatching while the office learns new screens; and re-entering recurring schedules, price books, automations and message templates that most imports skip. Write each line down with an hour count and your loaded hourly rate, and the total usually explains why owners put off a switch that the subscription math says to make.

1. Check the renewal date and notice period on the plan you are leaving.
2. Export everything while the account is open, including reports, PDFs and photos you care about.
3. Ask the new vendor in writing what the import costs and which records it will not bring over.
4. Ask the old vendor who holds the saved cards and whether they can move.
5. Move the phone number first if it is yours, so calls never depend on either system.

How do you avoid paying these costs twice?

Most of these lines exist because a vendor holds something you need: the term, the data, the cards or the number. Keeping the number and domain in your own name cuts the biggest ones whatever software you use. A custom CRM goes further: we set up the database, code, domain and phone numbers in the client's name, and clients keep everything if they leave, as our facts page states. We publish no price list, charge no per-user fees and quote each build in writing. A build takes time and needs upkeep, so it suits shops with a stable workflow. See custom CRM builds, or compare options on Jobber vs Housecall Pro vs ServiceTitan and Jobber vs Service Fusion.

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