Plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops, general contractors and remodelers who sell big tickets on site, run crews, bill in stages and may do prevailing-wage work.
Growing trade service businesses across HVAC, electrical, plumbing, garage door, locksmith, fire and security and more, including commercial and franchise operations that want custom workflows, asset management and fleet tracking.
At a glance
| Topic |   | FieldPulse |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is built for | Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, GCs and remodelers | HVAC, electrical, plumbing, garage door, locksmith, property management, fire and security, contractors and more |
| AI receptionist | Books on the call, emergencies to on-call, callback when unsure | Operator AI answers after-hours, declined or overloaded calls 24/7 and books into the calendar |
| AI for the office | Switch on every screen; drafts, a person approves | Maverick, described as the AI assistant for your office, included on all plans |
| Online booking | Booking page, web chat and lead forms | Booking portal and customer portal |
| Estimates | Good/Better/Best with live margin; Job Walk | Estimates and invoices; custom pricebooks |
| Workflows and forms | Checklists and safety checks that come first | ClearPath custom workflows and custom forms |
| Fleet | Live map of techs from the phone app | Fleet tracking dashboard |
| Agreements | Maintenance plans that renew and book visits | Maintenance agreements and asset management |
| Payroll | State overtime, certified payroll hours report | See their site |
| Accounting | QuickBooks Online sync | QuickBooks integration listed |
Competitor details are from FieldPulse's public website, checked November 11, 2026. Products change; check their site for the latest.
The short version
FieldPulse is a field service platform for what it calls growing trade service businesses. Its site lists modules for scheduling and dispatch, work orders, job and project management, estimates and invoices, job costing, inventory, reporting, a customer portal and a booking portal, plus named products: Maverick, an AI assistant for the office included on all plans; Operator AI, an AI receptionist; ClearPath workflows; custom forms; a pricebook; Engage for communication; and fleet tracking. It serves residential, commercial and franchise businesses across many trades.
SWITCHBOARD was built inside a working plumbing shop and focuses on plumbing, HVAC and electrical shops, general contractors and remodelers.
AI receptionists, compared
Per FieldPulse's Operator AI page, it answers calls that are after-hours, declined or overloaded, around the clock, captures the time, location and service type, books into the FieldPulse calendar in real time, and alerts techs by text or email. Live agents get priority and the AI steps in when nobody answers, with custom phone trees.
The SWITCHBOARD AI receptionist answers in your shop's name, books the job while the caller is on the line, asks what a good CSR would ask, runs a phone menu and can send emergencies to the on-call tech. Every time, price and name it says comes from your own data through code, and when it does not know something it takes a name, number and issue for a callback. Calls, texts, email and Facebook messages land in one inbox with web chat and lead forms. The way to choose between two AI receptionists is to call both demo lines with the same real scenario and listen.
AI in the office
FieldPulse's Maverick is an AI assistant for the office. SWITCHBOARD's Switch is on every screen and follows one rule: it drafts and explains, a person approves. Route plans, prices and payroll in SWITCHBOARD are worked out by code, and Switch explains them in plain words.
Selling the job
Both have a price book. SWITCHBOARD adds Job Walk, which builds Good, Better and Best options from your Price Book during the walk-through, shows live margin against your target, and lets the customer sign and pay the deposit on the tech's phone, with or without signal.
Contractor work and payroll
For remodelers and GCs, SWITCHBOARD has room-by-room project estimates, bids to subs by private link, staged invoicing on one job number and signed change orders. Payroll is clocked from the job with state overtime, and certified payroll fills the weekly hours report for prevailing-wage work. FieldPulse lists project management and job costing; check its site for payroll details.
Switching
The SWITCHBOARD import takes any CSV or Excel export with a dry run, a row review before anything is written, and Undo. Setup is done with you on a call, phones are forwarded first and ported later if you want, and you can run a shadow week next to your old system. The goal is to be live in about one to two weeks. More in the switch-over.
Questions people ask
Does FieldPulse have an AI receptionist?
Yes. Its Operator AI answers after-hours, declined or overloaded calls 24/7 and books jobs into the FieldPulse calendar, per its site.
Which is better for commercial or franchise businesses?
FieldPulse lists commercial and franchise segments and asset management. SWITCHBOARD is aimed at residential and light commercial plumbing, HVAC, electrical and contracting shops.
Which is better for remodelers and general contractors?
SWITCHBOARD, if you want room-by-room estimates, sub bids by private link, staged invoicing and signed change orders on one job.
How is SWITCHBOARD priced?
Pricing is quoted per shop on a 30-minute walkthrough, with unlimited users and every feature included. For FieldPulse pricing, check its site.
Sources
- FieldPulse home page (modules, Maverick, Operator AI, industries) (checked November 11, 2026)
- FieldPulse Operator AI receptionist (checked November 11, 2026)