For excavation contractors
Excavation software that's actually free
One good rain shuts a dig site for three days, the GC's slipped schedule lands on yours, and the machines cost money whether they're moving dirt or parked. The software, at least, should cost nothing.
Free forever. No credit card. Set up in minutes.
Free forever. No monthly plan, no seat fees, no trial clock.
Built for excavation
What an excavation contractor gets, for $0.
By the hour and the load
Excavator, skid steer, and operator per hour; trucking per load; fill per yard; mobilization flat.
QuotingRain and frost flags
A dirt-work rule checks rain on the day, a dry day after for compaction, and the high in the frost months.
SchedulingDigs as visits
Multi-day jobs scheduled as visits, each with its own forecast and team.
SchedulingChange orders for rock
Ledge on day two goes on the invoice as its own labeled section.
Invoicing & paymentsPhotos to the GC
Send photos from the cut; the GC gets an email and the portal keeps them with the date.
Customers & portalACH invoices
Card and bank-transfer pay links on big tickets, with automatic overdue reminders.
Invoicing & paymentsApproval from a link
The GC or homeowner taps approve on a phone.
QuotingTeam colors
Each team has a color on the calendar, so Monday reads at a glance.
Scheduling
What changes with MakeHay
Quote, schedule, get paid, come back.
Schedule around the weather, not despite it
Excavation runs on dry ground: trenches flood, mud won't compact, and frozen ground fights the bucket. MakeHay pulls the forecast for every job site's address, so you see the shutdown coming days out, resequence the week, move the machines to the site that stays workable, and call the GC before they call you.
- Rain warnings per site, days ahead of the wash-out
- The week's weather against every open job, on one calendar
- Shift machine time to the ground that stays dry
Quote it before you leave the site
Price it the way you build it: machine hours, operator time, trucking, and disposal as line items, and dig only, dig and backfill, or dig, backfill and grade as packages side by side for the GC or homeowner to approve in one tap. No retyping the bid after dark.
Get paid without chasing
Invoices go out the day the grade's approved, with card and ACH pay links and automatic reminders behind them. The machine payments don't wait on the mail. Your receivables shouldn't either.
Keep every customer for the re-do
The GC who liked your grade has the next site, and the septic dig leads to the driveway cut. MakeHay keeps every customer, site, and invoice in one place, so the repeat work finds you before the bid ever goes public.
Give every customer a portal
One private link per customer: messages with photos, documents you request, a heads-up on any contract waiting for their e-signature, and invoices they pay. No app, no password, free.
Want a website too? Our team of experienced web developers builds one from your account: a page per service in your price book, a page per town you serve, your photos, and your request form as the contact page, so every lead lands in Requests. Optional, $197 a month, your domain free for the first year. See the Website add-on
Set up in ten minutes
What a excavation business puts in on day one.
A starting point that matches how the trade bids and runs. Every item, rule, and follow-up is yours to rename, reprice, or switch off.
Price book
- Excavator, per houreach
- Skid steer, per houreach
- Operator, per houreach
- Trucking, per loadeach
- Fill or gravel, per yard deliveredeach
- Rock or ledge, per yardeach
- Mobilizationflat
Weather rules
- Digging and grading: rain under 30% on the day
- Compaction and backfill: dry the day of and the day after
- Frost months: high above 35°F, so the bucket isn't fighting frozen ground
Follow-ups that run themselves
- Quote follow-up three days after a bid goes unanswered
- Visit reminder the day before, so the site is staked and clear
- Overdue reminders on big tickets, then a review request when it's paid
The honest math
Compare the bill, not the brochure.
MakeHay
$0/mo
Free is the plan, not a trial of one
- Every feature, every user, from day one
- No per-seat pricing, no feature gates
- No credit card to sign up, nothing to cancel
The usual field-service subscription
$29 to 399/mo
plus per-user fees on top
- Per-seat pricing that climbs as your crew grows
- The features you actually need gated to higher tiers
- An annual bill whether it rained all month or not
FAQ
Excavation questions, answered straight.
Is it really free for excavation contractors?
Yes. Unlimited customers, sites, quotes, scheduling, and invoices, free forever, not a trial. No monthly plan, no seat fees, and no credit card to start.
What's the catch for an excavation company?
No catch. The software costs us almost nothing per contractor to run, so it's free. Online card and ACH payments carry processing costs, as they would with any provider.
Can it warn me before rain shuts a site down?
Yes. Every scheduled job carries the National Weather Service forecast for its own address, flagged on the calendar, so a wet stretch shows up days early and you can resequence machines and crews before the site's underwater.
Can an excavation company take its data if it leaves?
It's yours. Ask and we'll export everything (customers, sites, quotes, invoices, payment history) and we delete what's left as laid out in our privacy policy.
Do I need a credit card to start quoting excavation jobs?
No. Sign up with an email and send your first excavation quote the same day. No trial period, no tier ladder.
See every trade we build for on the industries page, browse the full feature list, check pricing (it's free), or measure your next job on the free satellite measurement tool, no account needed.
Move dirt, not money. The software's free.
Machine-hour quoting, per-site rain warnings, and online payments for excavation contractors. Free forever.
Free forever. No credit card. Set up in minutes.