Mobile Sandblasting and Media Blasting Invoicing App (2026)
Blasting is quoted by square foot or per piece, but the real costs are mobilization, containment, and media consumption — none of which the customer thinks about. ShowTheReceipts ($15/mo) saves those as separate lines, takes a deposit on large mobilizations, and lets you invoice from the job site with before-and-after photos attached.
How we picked
Entry-plan prices as published in 2026, taken from each vendor's own pricing page or a recent third-party summary. Judged on the solo contractor's real workflow — square-foot and per-piece quoting, mobilization and containment lines, media consumption, and on-site invoicing — not on industrial coating inspection reporting, blast-booth scheduling, or fleet dispatch.
| Software | Starting price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| ShowTheReceipts That's us | $15/mo | Solo blasters: square-foot and per-piece rates, mobilization and containment lines, on-site invoicing |
| Joist | Free / $8/mo | Cheapest estimate-and-invoice pair |
| Invoice2go | $9.99/mo+ | Basic mobile invoicing |
| Kickserv Flex | $19/mo | Budget scheduling with invoicing |
| Jobber | $29/mo (Core) | Companies running several crews |
The blasting is the cheap part
Mobilization, containment, and cleanup routinely take longer than the actual blasting. A customer sees a nozzle and a surface; the real job is a compressor, a pot, tarps, media, PPE, and hours of recovery afterward.
Quoting square feet alone is how blasters end up busy and unprofitable at the same time.
1. ShowTheReceipts — $15/mo
Square-foot and per-piece rates, mobilization, containment, and media as saved lines, deposits on large jobs, on-site invoicing with photos.
2. Joist — Free / $8/mo
Cheap estimate-and-invoice pair.
3. Invoice2go — $9.99/mo+
Basic mobile invoicing.
4. Kickserv Flex — $19/mo
Budget scheduling with invoicing.
5. Jobber — $29/mo (Core)
Scheduling for a company with several crews.
The lines a blasting quote needs
- Mobilization — equipment transport and setup, per job
- Blasting — per square foot or per piece, by coating type
- Media — consumed, by type and volume
- Containment — tarping, plastic, screens, sized to the site
- Recovery and disposal — including regulated waste where applicable
- Surface prep after blasting — degreasing, profiling
- Priming or coating — if you offer it, as its own line
- Test patch — charged on unknown coatings
Test before you quote anything old
A test patch costs an hour and can prevent a catastrophe. It tells you the media, the pressure, the production rate — and whether the coating contains lead, which turns the job into a regulated one with containment requirements and liability you need to price for.
Mobilization is the line that saves small jobs
A single railing an hour away costs the same setup as a full day on site. A stated mobilization fee makes small remote jobs either worthwhile or politely declined — both far better than driving two hours to lose money on the job.
Frequently asked questions
How should blasting be quoted?
By square foot for structures and surfaces, per piece for parts and railings, with mobilization, containment, and media as separate lines. Coating type and thickness change the rate dramatically — a single layer of latex and forty years of lead-based paint are not the same job.
Should mobilization be a separate line?
Yes. Getting a compressor, pot, media, and containment to a site is hours of loading, driving, and setup before any work happens, and it's identical whether the job takes one day or three. Bundled into a square-foot rate, small remote jobs lose money every time.
How do I bill containment and cleanup?
As its own line, sized to the site. Tarping, plastic, and recovering spent media can equal the blasting labor itself, and on lead or coating-regulated work the containment requirements are legally specified rather than optional.
Should I test the coating before quoting?
On anything old, yes — a test patch tells you the media, the pressure, and the hours. It also tells you whether you're dealing with lead, which changes the job into a regulated one with entirely different pricing and liability.