The Alori blog

Renting software vs owning it: why monthly SaaS can trap small service companies, what owning your software really means, and when renting is still fine.

Build your own scheduling software for a service business: assign who goes where, set up recurring visits, design the day view, and make it work on a phone.

Go from quote to job to invoice without retyping anything. Keep one connected record, catch jobs that never got billed, and track unpaid invoices each week.

Signs your service business has outgrown spreadsheets and the office whiteboard, and a step-by-step plan to replace them without disrupting your team.

How to describe your business to an AI app builder in plain owner language. See weak vs strong examples and copy a fill-in template for your first prompt.

What to put in a client portal for a service business: quote approval, booking, invoices and job photos. What customers use, what to skip, what to build first.

How to get more reviews for your service business: when to ask, who should ask, short message examples, one follow-up, and tracking who has been asked.

What to do before you cancel a software subscription: export your data, check contracts and auto-renewals, run both tools in parallel, and plan the cutover.

Build recurring revenue for agencies by turning one-off projects into monthly fees for client apps you host, support and improve for local service businesses.

A list of discovery call questions for service businesses, why each one matters, and how to turn the owner's answers into a first app description for Alori.

Deliver a client app in a week with this day-by-day plan: discovery, a first build on the call, revisions, staff onboarding and launch on the client's domain.

The best local niches for agencies selling custom apps: cleaning, landscaping, HVAC, plumbing, roofing, auto repair and salons, and what makes each a fit.

A guide to maintaining client apps: scoping change requests, logging them, testing on a copy, publishing safely, rolling back and handling support for clients.

Alori vs Lovable compared: a general-purpose AI app builder versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, starting with HVAC.

Field service software vs building your own app: how off-the-shelf tools like Jobber compare in approach to an app shaped around your service business.

Alori vs Jobber compared: rented field service software versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, and an honest look at when each one wins.

Alori vs Housecall Pro compared: home service software with booking and payments versus an app you shape, and when each one is the better pick.

Alori vs ServiceTitan compared: enterprise field service software versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, and when each one wins.

Alori vs Bolt compared: a general-purpose builder versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, and when each one fits.

Alori vs Softr compared: no-code portals and internal tools versus modules for quotes, jobs and invoices, and when each one wins.

Alori vs Founding.dev compared: a hosted app for service companies versus a custom build you own, and when each approach wins.

Alori vs Odoo compared: an all-apps business suite versus an app built for service companies, with an honest look at when each one fits a trades business.

Alori vs QuickBooks compared: what accounting software does for a trades business, what an app for quotes, scheduling and jobs does, and when you want both.

Alori vs Claude Code compared: a coding agent for developers versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, and who each one is for.

Odoo vs Zoho for a service business, with Alori as a third option: compare broad suites, connected products and one app shaped around your shop.

Alori vs Zoho compared: Zoho CRM, Zoho FSM and Zoho One versus the all-in-one app for service businesses, and when each one fits a trades company.