How to migrate from BuildOps to TradesWork: who should, and how

Start with the honest filter. BuildOps is a commercial platform with project management, fire and life safety inspections and construction accounting integrations.¹² TradesWork has none of those. If they're part of how you work, moving to TradesWork would be a step backwards, and you should compare commercial platforms instead.

This guide is for the other case: a residential-first HVAC, plumbing or electrical shop that bought BuildOps for a commercial push, uses a fraction of it, and wants homeowner tools, published pricing and free office seats. For that shop, here's the plan, with the import shown on real TradesWork screens. BuildOps facts come from its own site and terms, checked October 15, 2026.

Is TradesWork the right destination?

If the first three rows describe your week, close this page and look at commercial options. Our TradesWork vs BuildOps and TradesWork vs ServiceTrade pages say so directly.

The whole move on one page

1. Week -4

   Fit check and export request

   Confirm TradesWork fits. Read your Order for the term end. Send BuildOps the written export request.

2. Week -2

   Files in hand

   Exports opened and checked. Inspection, project and agreement records archived. Phone ports requested.

3. Week -1

   Sandbox import

   Customers and price list into a sandbox company. Every commercial site checked. Leftover rows fixed.

4. Weeks 1–2

   Rebuild and residential pilot

   Import into your real company. Commercial terms, service agreements and memberships set up. One residential crew live.

5. Weeks 3–4

   Office and payments

   Office on TradesWork. Payment re-collection starts. Accounting cut-over date set.

6. Weeks 5–8

   Commercial accounts move

   Agreements tested on real visits, then commercial accounts move.

7. Within 30 days after term end

   Written notice, if needed

   Only if you still need BuildOps to produce data under §5(d).

What moves, what stays, what you rebuild

BuildOps doesn't publish export instructions, so ask your BuildOps contact in writing which records you can export, from where, and in what format. Our BuildOps export guide has the full request list and a request you can copy. Then mind the clock: BuildOps' terms say it will make Customer Data available for export if it receives written notice within 30 days after expiration or termination, and that after those 30 days it has no obligation to keep the data (§5(d)).³ Your subscription term is in your Order (§10(a)).³ Get everything before the term ends.

Bring it into TradesWork

Start a 14-day TradesWork trial with no card. Open Settings, Integrations and go to the import page; you need the Owner or Admin role.

1Choose Another system or a spreadsheet2Confirm what each file is3Match the columns4Import into a sandbox first5Fix the rows that didn't import

1. Choose Another system or a spreadsheet

The source buttons sit across the top of the import page; press Another system or a spreadsheet. Drop CSV, Excel or a ZIP, up to 50 MB per drop. TradesWork never logs in to BuildOps.

app.tradeswork.app · TradesWork importer with another system or a spreadsheet selected

Real TradesWork screen, sample export files.BackNext step

For commercial customers with many sites, check that each site came through with the right address, and add any that didn't by hand before you build agreements on them. Keep the BuildOps customer and site IDs as a column in your spreadsheet. When someone asks about a job from two years ago, that ID is how you find it in your archive.

What you set up by hand

• Commercial terms. On each commercial customer, turn on PO required, set a not-to-exceed limit and net terms, and add billing and site contacts. Blocking invoices without a PO is a setting that's off by default; turn it on if your customers require POs.
• Service agreements. Pick the sites and covered equipment, the PM visit plan, SLA response hours and billing cadence. Visits become jobs ahead of time and billing consolidates to one invoice per customer per month. SLA tracking is a countdown on the job; it won't escalate on its own.
• Residential memberships. For homeowners, set up membership plans with member pricing.
• Assets. Add equipment for agreement sites first.

The side-by-side run, and re-importing newer exports

Move residential work first, where TradesWork is strongest. Put one crew on it for two to four weeks while BuildOps runs everything else. Move commercial accounts once their agreements and terms are set and tested on a few real visits.

If the office adds customers or sites in BuildOps during the run, export again and drop the file. Customers are matched by the Customer ID column you mapped, or by name and address, so a re-drop updates rather than duplicates, and it never deletes anything.

Accounting, payments and phones

Accounting. TradesWork syncs with QuickBooks Online. BuildOps lists Vista, Spectrum, Sage Intacct, NetSuite and QuickBooks.²

• Already on QuickBooks Online: pick a cut-over date. Invoices before it stay as they are and are collected where they were billed. Invoices after it come from TradesWork; imported customers never post. Turn off BuildOps' sync on that date and watch for duplicate customers.
• On another accounting system: moving to QuickBooks Online is its own project. Talk to your controller first; for many commercial shops this alone rules TradesWork out.

Payments. BuildOps lists a Payments+ add-on.² Card and bank details stay with the processor. Send homeowners a secure link to save a card in TradesWork, and ask commercial customers who pay electronically to set up payment again.

Phones. Port business numbers from Settings, Phones, Numbers, Routing and Texting, Bring your numbers. Ports take one to two weeks; keep old service active until each port shows done.

What switching costs

The bottom line

For a commercial-first contractor, BuildOps is the better tool and this migration isn't worth it. For a residential-first shop carrying more platform than it uses, TradesWork can be a simpler, published-price fit, as long as you're on QuickBooks Online and your commercial accounts need terms and agreements, not inspections and projects. Use the buyer's guide to check.