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    Kaldr Tech Research

    Industry Research for the Trades

    Original data on the home service industry — contractor earnings, software spending, missed calls, and the hidden costs nobody else is counting.

    Free to cite. Methodology published with every report. Press inquiries: press@kaldrtech.com

    Published 2026-04-10

    U.S. Contractors Spent $4.2B on Field Service Software in 2025

    A national audit of per-user pricing, add-on fees, and software-as-a-percent-of-revenue across 1,247 home service businesses reveals the fastest-growing line item on the contractor P&L.

    $4.2B

    Total U.S. contractor software spend in 2025

    $347/mo

    Average monthly software spend per contractor

    1.9%

    Software as a percent of contractor revenue

    Read the full report →

    Published 2026-04-10

    Hidden Transaction Fees Cost the Average Contractor $8,400 a Year

    When monthly platform charges, interchange markup, and stacked processing fees are converted to an effective rate, home service contractors pay far more than the advertised 2.9 percent.

    $8,400

    Average hidden fee cost per contractor per year

    2.9% + $0.30

    Advertised processing rate

    4.31%

    True all-in effective rate

    Read the full report →

    Published 2026-04-10

    What Home Service Contractors Actually Earn Per Hour in 2026

    Once windshield time, unbillable admin, and burdened labor costs are stripped out of the invoice rate, the real take-home per working hour tells a very different story.

    $189/hr

    Average billing rate across all trades

    $42/hr

    Actual take-home per working hour

    61%

    Percentage of the workday that is billable

    Read the full report →

    Published 2026-04-10

    Home Service Businesses Miss 38 Percent of Their Phone Calls

    A nationwide audit of inbound call handling finds that more than one in three customer calls to contractors go unanswered, costing the average business more than $78,000 a year in lost revenue.

    38%

    Share of calls missed by the average contractor

    $78,400

    Annual lost revenue per business from missed calls

    29%

    Calls missed during business hours

    Read the full report →

    Published 2026-04-10

    Contractor Software Satisfaction Index 2026: Features Used vs. Features Paid For

    The average contractor uses just 31 percent of the features they pay for, and overall platform satisfaction has fallen for the third consecutive year.

    31%

    Average share of paid features actually used

    +11

    Industry-wide NPS for field service software

    42%

    Share of contractors actively considering a switch

    Read the full report →

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