The #1 CRM for Hydro Excavation Companies in 2026
Per-hour and per-foot pricing tiers, satellite property and utility-corridor measurement, hydro vac material inventory, per-job costing on every daylight, utility and oil & gas pipeline tracking, and AI tools — built for vacuum excavation operators by contractors who actually run trucks.
If you operate a hydro vac fleet — daylighting utilities, slot trenching for fiber and gas, potholing for utility verification, exposing valves and water-main connections, cleaning catch basins, or supporting oil and gas crews on pipeline projects — you already know that generic field service software was not built for vacuum excavation. The QuoteIQ platform was. It is the #1 CRM for hydro excavation companies in 2026 because every feature, from Options Estimates with hourly and per-foot tiers to MapMeasure Pro satellite trench layout to debris-tank job costing, was designed for how vacuum excavation contractors actually operate in the field.
Hydro excavation is a high-equipment, high-margin trade with brutal scheduling complexity. A single Tuesday route can include a 20-pothole utility verification job for a fiber contractor at $325 per pothole, a 180-foot slot trench at $42 per linear foot for a gas main extension, an emergency daylight on a water main strike at portal-to-portal hourly billing of $385/hr with a four-hour minimum, and a frozen-ground winter dig requiring boiler heat at $475/hr. Each one needs different documentation, different inventory checks, different OSHA confined-space and excavation paperwork, and different invoicing terms. Generic CRMs treat them all the same. QuoteIQ does not.
Co-founders Mike Vidan (YouTube) and Justin Rogers (YouTube) are real service business operators who built QuoteIQ from the ground up because the existing CRMs forced contractors to either pay enterprise pricing or accept consumer-tier limitations. The result is the only CRM that handles per-hour and per-cubic-yard hydro vac billing, satellite utility-corridor measurement, debris dumpster and water-fill tracking by ton and gallon, multi-truck dispatching, and oil and gas pipeline pipelines as core features instead of paid add-ons.
A CRM for hydro excavation companies needs to handle the realities of vacuum excavation work. It needs tiered Options Estimates for standard hydro digs versus boiler-heated digs versus spoils-haul-included packages. It needs inventory tracking for vacuum hose, lances, water tank levels, debris tank capacity, and PPE. It needs job costing that breaks down truck-hours, water consumption, dump fees, and crew labor on every dig. It needs Pipelines CRM separating utility prime contractors from oil and gas operators from municipal and DOT customers from emergency leak-response calls. QuoteIQ delivers all of it on one platform starting at $29.99 per month while Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan force you into expensive integrations or sales calls.
Vacuum excavation is also a safety-critical trade. According to OSHA’s excavation standards (29 CFR 1926 Subpart P), every dig over 5 feet requires protective system selection, daily competent-person inspection, and atmospheric monitoring in confined-space entries. Documentation matters. QuoteIQ Cam with timestamped 4K photos, Inspection Forms for daily safety checks, and Contract Attachments for utility locate confirmations bind every photo, ticket, and 811 confirmation to the job permanently — protecting the contractor against utility-strike disputes and supporting Common Ground Alliance damage prevention best practices.
The trade is growing fast. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on construction labor shows that excavation, utility, and trenching work has outpaced overall construction employment growth, driven by fiber buildouts, gas-main replacement programs, and aging-utility rehabilitation. Operators with proper software win the contracts. Operators with notebooks and spreadsheets lose them. That gap is what this guide is about.
Below you will find the exact features that make QuoteIQ the #1 CRM for hydro excavation companies, a day-in-the-life workflow from morning truck checkout to end-of-week analytics, a fair comparison against Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan, a crew structure that scales from single-truck owner-operator to multi-fleet enterprise, three growth strategies with annual revenue math, full pricing, and answers to every question hydro vac owners ask before switching platforms.
The Short Version: QuoteIQ is the #1 CRM for hydro excavation companies in 2026, with per-hour and per-foot Options Estimates, satellite utility-corridor measurement via MapMeasure Pro, debris and water inventory tracking, per-truck job costing, oil and gas pipeline pipelines, and 35+ AI tools — all starting at $29.99/month while Jobber runs $448+/mo, Housecall Pro $750+/mo, and ServiceTitan $1,800+/mo. Built by contractors, not tech executives.
12 Features Every Hydro Excavation Contractor Needs
Every CRM for hydro excavation companies claims to support utility contractors, but only QuoteIQ ships these twelve features as core functionality on a single platform. No add-ons, no integrations, no per-user fees buried in the fine print. This is what a vacuum excavation operator actually needs to quote, schedule, document, and bill jobs from the cab of the truck.
Per-Hour and Per-Foot Options Pricing
Present Standard at $325/hr portal-to-portal with 4-hour minimum for routine daylight and potholing, Upgraded at $385/hr with boiler heat for frozen ground or hardpan, and Premium at $475/hr including spoils haul-off and dump fees. For slot trenching, present $32/LF basic, $42/LF mid-depth (24″–36″), and $58/LF deep trench with shoring. Every CRM for hydro excavation companies needs three-tier presentation because utility primes and gas operators expect Good/Better/Best on every bid.
Learn more →Satellite Utility Corridor Measurement
MapMeasure Pro measures linear footage along utility corridors, calculates trench-run distances from existing pole to handhole, estimates excavation cubic yards, and identifies access routes for the hydro vac truck and water-fill point — all from satellite imagery before the crew leaves the yard. Arrive on-site with pothole counts, trench length, and water-tank planning already done.
Learn more →Hydro Vac Materials & Equipment Inventory
Track vacuum hose by diameter and length, hydro lances and tips, water tank gallon levels, debris tank cubic-yard capacity, boiler propane, anti-freeze, hydraulic fluid, traffic cones and signage, confined-space monitors, tripods and harnesses, and PPE across every truck and the yard. Low-stock alerts so a hydro excavation company never starts a 12-pothole utility verification with half a load of clean water.
Learn more →Per-Truck Job Costing
Track truck-hours at fully loaded cost ($95–$135/hr including depreciation, fuel, and insurance), water consumption at $0.06/gallon if hauled, dump fees at $85–$175 per ton of spoils, and crew labor via Time Tracker Pro. A 6-hour job billed at $1,950 with $810 truck cost, $90 water, $340 dump, and $480 crew shows $1,720 total cost for 11.8% margin — visible before the foreman pulls the truck back into the yard.
Learn more →Daylight + Restoration Upsell Packages
Bundle hydro daylighting with cold patch restoration at $125 per square yard, asphalt sawcut and concrete restoration at $185 per square yard, and aggregate backfill compaction. Build Complete Pothole + Restore packages at $475 per pothole. Every hydro excavation company that bundles restoration adds 25–40% to project values because the truck is already on-site and the prime contractor wants one invoice, not three.
Learn more →AI Before/After Site Previews
Show a utility prime or gas operator the bare ground transformed into clean, exposed-utility daylight holes with cones, signage, and restored cold patch — rendered from a single site photo. Visual proposals close commercial bids 30%+ more often because the project manager can show the operations team exactly what the finished work product will look like.
Learn more →Multi-Truck Fleet Scheduling
Block jobs by truck, color-code by job type (daylight, slot trench, emergency, frozen-ground), and dispatch crews with the right rig for the dig. Drag-and-drop reschedule when a utility-locate ticket is delayed and watch downstream jobs auto-shift. Critical for any hydro excavation company running 3–10 trucks across a metro.
Learn more →4K Site & Utility Documentation
QuoteIQ Cam timestamps every photo: pre-dig site condition, 811 paint marks, utility-locate ticket, exposed utility (depth-of-cover photo), spoils tank fill, restored surface. Photo evidence ends utility-strike disputes before they start and supports billing on damage-claim work.
Learn more →AI Autopilot (35+ Tools)
Control the CRM from the truck. Tell AI Autopilot to create an estimate for 14 potholes at the Memorial Drive fiber project at $325 per pothole portal-to-portal, attach the 811 confirmation, and send to the prime with e-signature. Built in seconds while the operator is staging at another site. No competitor has anything close.
Learn more →AI Virtual Call Team (24/7)
Emergency leak calls and gas-strike daylights happen at 2 a.m. on Sundays. The Virtual Call Team answers instantly, captures location, asks about utility type and exposure depth, and books the rig before the next contractor’s voicemail picks up. Capture 3–5x more emergency revenue than a hydro excavation company relying on after-hours voicemail.
Learn more →Utility, Oil & Gas, and Municipal Pipelines
Visual Kanban tracks every opportunity from RFQ through Estimate Sent, MSA Signed, PO Received, Scheduled, Daylight Complete, Restored, and Paid. Separate pipelines for utility primes, oil and gas operators, telecom and fiber GCs, municipalities, and emergency response so a hydro excavation company sees exactly which channels are growing.
Learn more →Review Multiplier for Commercial Customers
Every paid invoice triggers a Google review request. For a hydro vac operation that lives on B2B word-of-mouth among project managers and superintendents, a 4.8-star Google profile with 80+ verified reviews wins the next prequal package against operators with 12 reviews.
Learn more →A Day in the Life: How a Hydro Excavation Company Uses QuoteIQ
Here is how a typical day looks for a hydro excavation company using QuoteIQ. This workflow covers everything from morning truck checkout and water-fill to closing a $14,500 pipeline daylight package, upselling $4,200 in cold-patch restoration, tracking debris-tank costs against margin, and landing a six-figure utility-prime MSA. Every step shows why operators in this trade trust QuoteIQ to run their business.
1Morning — Yard Setup & Dispatch (6:30 AM)
Open QuoteIQ on the iPad in the yard office. The dispatch board shows three trucks rolling out: Truck 1 to a 20-pothole utility verification at the Old Mill Road fiber project, Truck 2 to a 240-LF slot trench for a gas main extension on Highland Avenue, Truck 3 to a 7:30 AM emergency daylight on a struck water service at a residential subdivision. Each crew gets the dispatch on their phone: scope, address, 811 ticket number, prime contact, water-fill point, and dump location. Inventory tracking confirms each rig is loaded with 1,200 gallons of clean water, debris tank at 0%, hose and lances staged, boiler propane topped, and confined-space monitors charged.
2Mid-Morning — Active Dig & Documentation (9:00 AM)
Truck 1’s operator opens QuoteIQ Cam at the first pothole. Photos of the 811 paint marks. Photo of the dig hole at depth showing the exposed 4-inch gas main with a clean depth-of-cover measurement. Photo of the cold-patched hole post-dig. Each photo timestamps to the GPS coordinates of the pothole. Twenty potholes documented in 5.5 hours. Time Tracker Pro logs the truck-hours. The prime’s superintendent gets a same-day photo packet — proof that turns this into the operator’s third repeat job from the same fiber GC this quarter.
3Late Morning — On-Site Estimate Close ($14,500) (10:45 AM)
An oil and gas operator calls about a 6-pipeline daylight package at a tank battery — needs the work next week. The owner pulls up MapMeasure Pro on the satellite view, traces the corridor, and confirms 6 daylight locations across 0.4 miles. Options Estimate generates Standard at $11,400 (6 daylights at $325/hr × 6 hrs each, no restoration), Upgraded at $14,500 (boiler heat included for hardpan, spoils haul, restoration), and Premium at $18,250 (full multi-day mobilization with confined-space crew). AI Before/After renders the cleared, exposed-pipeline visual. The operator e-signs the Upgraded tier on the spot. 811 ticket attached as a contract document.
4Afternoon — The $4,200 Restoration Upsell (2:30 PM)
Truck 2 finishes the 240-LF slot trench. The gas crew identifies they will need permanent restoration — sawcut, concrete, and asphalt — across the trench length. The hydro vac foreman opens Package Estimates, builds a Restoration Add-On at $185 per square yard for sawcut and asphalt patch on 22.7 SY ($4,200), shows the prime, and gets approval right there. Same crew, same mobilization, four extra hours of revenue. Without Package Estimates this upsell never happens — it goes to a separate paving sub. With QuoteIQ it is captured before the truck leaves.
5End of Day — Job Costing & Margin Check (5:15 PM)
Back at the yard, the owner reviews job costing on the day’s three jobs. Truck 1 fiber pothole: $6,500 revenue, $4,180 cost (truck-hours, water, dump, crew), 35.7% margin. Truck 2 slot trench + restoration upsell: $14,280 revenue, $8,920 cost, 37.5% margin. Truck 3 emergency daylight: $1,540 revenue, $920 cost, 40.3% margin. The owner sees the emergency call delivered the highest margin per truck-hour and flags the after-hours channel as a growth lever. No spreadsheet. No CompanyCam. No second phone line. No hydro excavation business spreadsheet.
6End of Week — Review Multiplier & Pipeline Review (Friday 4 PM)
Every paid invoice from the week triggers Review Multiplier. Twelve project managers and supers get a one-tap review request on Google. Three more 5-star reviews land by Sunday — bringing the company’s total to 89 verified reviews at 4.9 stars, the highest review count among hydro vac contractors in the metro. The owner reviews Pipelines CRM: 4 RFQs from utility primes, 2 MSA renewals from oil and gas operators, 1 emergency-response retainer from a municipality. Each pipeline shows where revenue is sticking and where it is moving. Business Analytics shows the week closed at $112,400 across 18 jobs averaging 36% margin.
No hydro excavation spreadsheet. No CompanyCam subscription. No second phone line. No third app for invoicing. The entire operation — quoting, satellite measurement, dispatch, documentation, costing, pipeline tracking, review automation, AI estimating, and analytics — runs on one platform that costs less than a single trip to the dump. This is what a real CRM for hydro excavation companies looks like when it is built by contractors instead of repurposed from a generic field service template.
“Same day. Not tomorrow morning — same day. Whoever sends a clear, specific estimate first is the one the customer starts comparing everyone else to. That’s a psychological anchor, and it’s real.”
— Mike Vidan, 20+ year home service business owner · Full insights →
How It Works With QuoteIQ — Hydro Excavation Workflow
- Receive RFQ & Pre-Measure with MapMeasure Pro — Trace the utility corridor, count potholes, calculate trench length, and identify water-fill points from satellite before the truck rolls.
- Build the Options Estimate — Present per-hour and per-foot Standard, Upgraded (boiler-heat), and Premium (haul + restore) tiers; attach the 811 ticket and MSA paperwork via Contract Attachments.
- Schedule the Truck & Dispatch the Crew — Assign by rig and crew via EmployeeHub, send GPS-routed dispatch with 811 ticket and dump location, monitor truck-hours via Time Tracker Pro.
- Document with QuoteIQ Cam & Inspection Forms — Capture pre-dig, exposed-utility, and post-restore 4K photos timestamped to GPS; complete daily competent-person and confined-space inspection forms.
- Invoice, Collect Payment, Trigger Review Multiplier — E-sign change orders, send branded invoices, accept ACH or card payment, and auto-request Google reviews from the project manager once the invoice clears.
QuoteIQ vs. Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan for Hydro Vac Operators
Every hydro excavation company eventually compares the three big names. Here is the head-to-head against current monthly billing — no annual promo discounts, no “as low as” tricks, no inflated user counts. QuoteIQ Pro at $149.99/month is the recommended tier for most operations running 1–4 trucks. The Elite plan at $299/month adds the inventory and self-quoting tools for larger fleets.
| Feature | QuoteIQ Pro | Jobber Grow | Housecall Pro MAX | ServiceTitan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiered Options Pricing (Good/Better/Best) | ✅ Options Estimates — all plans | ⚠️ Quote Options (Beta, desktop only) | ⚠️ Sales Proposal Tool (add-on or MAX) | ⚠️ Pricebook Pro add-on |
| Satellite Property & Corridor Measurement | ✅ MapMeasure Pro — included | ❌ No native integration | ⚠️ GoiLawn integration ($67–$255/mo) | ❌ Not available |
| Inventory Management | ✅ Elite and above | ⚠️ Ply integration ($13.49/user/mo) | ⚠️ Ply integration ($13.49/user/mo) | ✅ Included |
| Per-Job / Per-Truck Job Costing | ✅ Included | ⚠️ Limited; deeper costing on Plus tier | ⚠️ Basic; full visibility on MAX | ✅ Included (enterprise) |
| Multi-Truck Fleet Scheduling | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
| Live GPS Truck Tracking | ✅ Included (no per-vehicle fee) | ⚠️ Action-based / FleetSharp $29+/vehicle | ⚠️ $20/vehicle/mo dashcam add-on | ✅ Included |
| 4K Photo & Job Documentation | ✅ QuoteIQ Cam — included | ⚠️ CompanyCam $59+/mo add-on | ⚠️ CompanyCam $59+/mo add-on | ✅ Included |
| AI Before/After Image Generator | ✅ All plans (IQ Credits) | ❌ Not available | ❌ Not available | ❌ Not available |
| AI Natural-Language CRM Control | ✅ AI Autopilot — all plans | ❌ Not available | ❌ Not available | ❌ Not available |
| 24/7 AI Inbound Call Answering | ✅ Virtual Call Team | ⚠️ AI Receptionist (inbound only) | ⚠️ HCP Assist (custom pricing) | ⚠️ Phones Pro (~$300–$800/mo) |
| Customer Self-Scheduling (24/7) | ✅ InstaSchedule — Elite and above | ⚠️ Online booking (limited) | ❌ No native equivalent | ❌ Not available |
| Pipelines / Deal Tracking | ✅ Included | ⚠️ Limited | ⚠️ Pipeline (custom pricing) | ✅ Included |
| Free Trial | ✅ 14 days | ✅ 14 days | ✅ 14 days | ❌ No free trial |
| Month-to-Month / No Contract | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ❌ 12+ month contract |
| Recommended Plan Cost | $149.99/mo (Pro) | $448+/mo (Grow + CompanyCam) | $750+/mo (MAX equivalent) | $1,800+/mo |
For a hydro excavation company running 2–4 trucks, that is roughly $300 versus $448 versus $750 versus $1,800 per month for equivalent capability — and only QuoteIQ ships AI Autopilot, AI Before/After previews, satellite corridor measurement, and InstaSchedule as core features. Jobber and Housecall Pro require add-ons or upper tiers to hit feature parity, and ServiceTitan requires a sales call, an annual contract, and an implementation budget that most utility-trade contractors cannot justify against margin. The category difference shows up on the truck the day after the trial ends.
Managing Your Hydro Excavation Crew
A vacuum excavation operation is a crew-driven business. The truck is expensive, the dump fees are real, and the difference between a 38% margin and an 18% margin is whether the operators and laborers know exactly what is on the ticket and where the dispatch is taking them. QuoteIQ’s EmployeeHub is built for that. Role-based permissions let owners give the dispatcher full scheduling access while restricting financials, give operators photo-documentation and time-tracking access without estimate visibility, and give the office full back-office control. Here is how a typical hydro vac roster maps onto QuoteIQ.
How a Hydro Excavation Roster Looks in EmployeeHub
Three role-based crew structures, scaled from owner-operator to multi-fleet enterprise. Each role gets the right access and nothing more.
Crew A — Premium Pipeline Crew
3-person crew on a $475/hr Premium-tier rig — boiler-heat capable, spoils haul included. Operator (CDL, confined-space certified), helper, and laborer. Dedicated to oil and gas operators and pipeline primes. Documents every dig with QuoteIQ Cam. Tracks confined-space entry on Inspection Forms.
Crew B — Volume Daylight Crew
2-person crew on a Standard $325/hr rig running utility-prime potholing routes. 15–25 potholes per day. Dispatched by zone via Route Optimization. GPS-tracked truck-hours flow into per-truck job costing automatically.
Sales / Estimator + Office Manager
Estimator runs MapMeasure Pro pre-quotes, builds Options Estimates, and works the Pipelines board. Office manager handles invoicing, expense tracking, payroll exports, and Review Multiplier follow-ups. EmployeeHub Manager role restricts crew payroll visibility while allowing full estimate and customer access.
Growth Strategy: Three Channels for a Hydro Excavation Company
A hydro excavation company hits revenue ceilings for the same reasons every trade does — too much owner time on the truck, not enough channels generating predictable volume, and no system for converting one-off jobs into recurring contracts. The three channels below are where the top-performing hydro vac operators are scaling in 2026, with rough revenue math attached.
Channel 1 — Utility Prime & Fiber GC Pothole Programs
Sign one fiber-buildout prime contractor onto a recurring pothole-verification program at 80–120 potholes per month. At a $325 average per pothole, that is $26,000–$39,000 per month or $312,000–$468,000 annually from a single relationship. Most metros have 4–8 active fiber GCs. Use Pipelines CRM to track every prime from RFQ through MSA-signed and quarterly QBR. The contractors who win these MSAs are the ones who deliver same-day photo packets — which QuoteIQ Cam plus Review Multiplier delivers without any additional admin work.
Channel 2 — Oil & Gas Pipeline Daylighting
Pipeline operators have an aging-asset problem. Per PHMSA data on the U.S. transmission pipeline network, integrity-management programs have driven sustained demand for daylight verification, anomaly digs, and ILI tool-run support. A single-pipeline operator running 2 daylights per month at a $14,500 average package equals $348,000 per year per operator, with 36–42% gross margins on the package once boiler heat and restoration are included. Use Pipelines CRM with a dedicated O&G channel and Package Estimates with restoration bundling to lock in margin.
Channel 3 — Emergency Leak Response & Strike Daylight
After-hours and weekend leak calls — gas, water main, or telecom strike — are the highest-margin work in the trade because the customer is not shopping price. AI Virtual Call Team captures every emergency call 24/7 and books the rig before the next contractor’s voicemail picks up. A hydro excavation company answering 4 emergency calls per month at a $1,800 average ticket and 45%+ margin generates $86,400 per year on what used to be voicemail. Most operators leaving voicemail are leaving roughly 70% of after-hours leads on the table. AI answering closes that gap.
“If you’re losing two jobs a month because follow-up falls through the cracks, and each job is worth $300, that’s $7,200 a year from one failure point. Most $150,000-plus businesses have four or five failure points like that running simultaneously.”
— Justin Rogers, serial entrepreneur & co-founder of QuoteIQ · Full insights →
Every Tool a Hydro Excavation Company Needs — Built In
Generic field service software forces vacuum excavation operators to bolt on a CompanyCam subscription, a separate route-optimization app, a CRM, an inventory system, a phone answering service, and a survey tool. QuoteIQ ships every one of these as a core feature. No marketplace, no integration fees, no per-user surcharges. Every chip below is a live feature page. Every link is a verified URL on myquoteiq.com — the kind of all-in-one stack any CRM for hydro excavation companies should ship by default.
QuoteIQ Pricing for Hydro Excavation Companies
Five plans, no per-user fees, no contracts, 14-day free trial on every tier. Most hydro vac operations running 1–4 trucks land on Pro at $149.99/month. Larger fleets ($1.5M+ revenue, 5+ trucks) move to Elite for inventory tracking and InstaQuote/InstaSchedule. Max is for enterprise utility contractors with 10+ trucks, multi-yard operations, and unlimited users. Pricing is a fraction of Jobber, Housecall Pro, or ServiceTitan for equivalent or superior feature coverage.
Essentials
$29.99/mo · 1 userSolo owner-operator. Estimates, scheduling, invoicing, payments, MapMeasure Pro starter, AI Estimator, Review Multiplier basic.
Beginner
$74.99/mo · 2 usersOwner + 1 operator. Adds team scheduling, more IQ Credits, Property Street View, Mass Campaigns starter.
Pro
$149.99/mo · 4 usersBest for most 1–4 truck hydro excavation companies. Options Estimates, full QuoteIQ Cam, Job Costing, Pipelines, ClientHub, AI Autopilot, EmployeeHub.
Elite
$299/mo · 7 usersFor multi-truck fleets. Adds Inventory Tracking, InstaQuote, InstaSchedule, Time Tracker Pro, Route Optimization & Density, full Virtual Call Team.
Max
$699/mo · UnlimitedEnterprise utility contractors. Unlimited users, max IQ Credits, full feature stack, priority support.
All plans include a 14-day free trial. No contracts. Cancel anytime.
Compare to the alternatives: Jobber Grow plus CompanyCam runs $448 per month minimum and still ships Quote Options as a desktop-only Beta with no satellite measurement and no AI Autopilot. Housecall Pro MAX equivalent capability runs $750+ per month once you stack the Sales Proposal Tool, GoiLawn for property measurement, dashcam GPS, HCP Assist for call answering, and CompanyCam for documentation. ServiceTitan starts at $1,800 per month, requires a 12-month contract, demands a sales call before pricing, and charges $5,000–$50,000 in implementation fees before a single estimate ships. None of those platforms ship AI Before/After image generation. None ship a 35-tool natural-language AI command layer. Only QuoteIQ does, and it is built into Pro at $149.99 per month.
For a hydro excavation company doing $750,000–$1.5M in annual revenue, the 14-day free trial is the lowest-risk way to validate that QuoteIQ’s quoting, dispatching, costing, and pipeline tools actually work for vacuum excavation. Most operators see Options Estimate close-rate lift and Package Estimate upsell capture within the first two weeks, which alone covers the annual subscription cost many times over.
FAQ — QuoteIQ for Hydro Excavation Companies
Is QuoteIQ really the best CRM for hydro excavation companies?
Yes. QuoteIQ is the #1 CRM for hydro excavation companies because it ships per-hour and per-foot Options Estimates, satellite utility-corridor measurement via MapMeasure Pro, debris and water inventory tracking, per-truck job costing, oil-and-gas pipelines, and AI Autopilot as core features at $149.99/mo on Pro — features Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan either lack entirely or charge add-ons for.
Does QuoteIQ handle per-hour portal-to-portal billing for hydro vac jobs?
Yes. QuoteIQ supports per-hour and per-foot pricing across Standard, Upgraded, and Premium tiers, with minimum-charge logic, after-hours rates, and boiler-heat upcharges. Time Tracker Pro logs truck-hours from clock-in at the yard through clock-out — supporting the portal-to-portal billing model most utility primes expect.
Can QuoteIQ track hydro vac inventory like vacuum hose and water-tank levels?
Yes. QuoteIQ Inventory Tracking on the Elite plan manages vacuum hose by diameter and length, hydro lances and tips, water-tank gallon levels, debris-tank cubic-yard fill, boiler propane, anti-freeze, hydraulic fluid, confined-space monitors, and PPE across every truck and the yard. Low-stock alerts fire before a truck rolls underloaded.
How does QuoteIQ price compare to Jobber, Housecall Pro, and ServiceTitan?
QuoteIQ Pro is $149.99/month vs. Jobber Grow + CompanyCam at $448+/month, Housecall Pro MAX equivalent at $750+/month, and ServiceTitan at $1,800+/month. QuoteIQ also ships AI Autopilot, AI Before/After previews, MapMeasure Pro, and InstaSchedule that the others lack or charge add-ons for.
Does QuoteIQ work for oil and gas pipeline daylighting?
Yes. QuoteIQ Pipelines CRM tracks oil and gas operators, midstream companies, and pipeline integrity-management programs in dedicated channels. Package Estimates bundle daylight + boiler-heat + spoils-haul + restoration into a single sellable package, and Contract Attachments bind 811 tickets, MSA paperwork, and confined-space documentation to every estimate.
Can QuoteIQ document utility strikes and protect the contractor in disputes?
Yes. QuoteIQ Cam captures 4K timestamped photos with GPS coordinates of the 811 paint marks, the dig-hole condition, the exposed utility with depth-of-cover measurement, and the restored surface. That photo trail is the gold standard in utility-strike dispute resolution and supports Common Ground Alliance damage-prevention documentation.
Does QuoteIQ offer a free trial for hydro excavation companies?
Yes. QuoteIQ offers a 14-day free trial on all plans. No contracts. Cancel anytime. Hydro excavation companies typically activate Options Estimate close-rate lift and Package Estimate upsell capture within the first two weeks of the trial.
How does QuoteIQ handle multi-truck dispatch for a hydro vac fleet?
QuoteIQ Scheduling assigns jobs by truck, color-codes by job type (daylight, slot trench, emergency, frozen-ground), and dispatches via EmployeeHub with GPS routing. Drag-and-drop reschedules cascade downstream when 811 tickets or permits delay a job. Route Optimization (Elite) sequences potholing routes for minimum windshield time.
Will QuoteIQ work for emergency leak response and after-hours daylight calls?
Yes. QuoteIQ Virtual Call Team answers calls 24/7, captures location, asks utility type and exposure context, and books the rig before the next contractor’s voicemail picks up. Most operators relying on voicemail leave roughly 70% of after-hours emergency leads on the table — the AI answering closes that gap.
Does QuoteIQ integrate with QuickBooks for hydro excavation accounting?
Yes. QuoteIQ syncs invoices, payments, and customers to QuickBooks Online out of the box. Expense Tracking captures truck fuel, dump fees, water purchases, and equipment costs by job for accurate per-truck job costing and end-of-quarter financials.
Key Takeaways for Hydro Excavation Operators
Eight things every hydro vac owner should know before choosing software.
Options Estimates with per-hour and per-foot tiers lift average project values 30–50% on every utility-prime bid.
MapMeasure Pro pre-measures utility corridors from satellite — no other CRM gives a hydro excavation company this pre-visit prep capability.
Per-truck job costing shows real-time margin on every dig — the difference between 38% and 18% margin is visibility, not pricing.
Package Estimates bundling daylight + restoration capture 25–40% in upsell revenue that otherwise goes to a separate paving sub.
AI Virtual Call Team answers emergency leak calls 24/7 — capturing 3–5x more after-hours revenue than voicemail.
Pipelines CRM separates utility primes, oil and gas operators, telecom GCs, and emergency response — exposing which channels are actually growing.
QuoteIQ Cam 4K timestamped photos end utility-strike disputes before they start — protecting the contractor’s insurance and reputation.
QuoteIQ Pro at $149.99/mo undercuts Jobber ($448+), Housecall Pro ($750+), and ServiceTitan ($1,800+) for equivalent or better feature coverage.
“From quoting to scheduling to measuring—every tool my service business needs.”
— Echevarria Roney · App Store · 5★“The map measure pro function has made it very easy to close deals and accurately quote jobs.”
— Ashad Siddiqui · App Store · 5★“InstaQuote and InstaSchedule are a game changer for any business that is serious about scaling to the next level!”
— Mavidan · App Store · 5★Ready to Run Your Hydro Excavation Business on QuoteIQ?
Join 40,000+ contractors using the #1 CRM for hydro excavation companies. Quote faster, dispatch smarter, document every dig, and keep more margin on every truck-hour.
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