Guide for contractors
Google Review Software
Google review software has one job: get you to ask every customer for a review, right after the job, without it eating your evening. For a contractor, the right tool writes the request with your direct review link, sends it from your own phone, and shows you who clicked. Everything else is a nice-to-have.
Here is what to look for, where we fit, and what we deliberately don’t do.
Updated October 2, 2026
What the software should do
Most contractors don’t have an unhappy-customer problem. They have a forgot-to-ask problem, or an asked-two-weeks-later problem. Good software fixes that and stays out of the way:
- Build the request in seconds, from the driveway, with the customer’s first name already in it.
- Use the direct review link, the one that opens the review box on your Business Profile, not a Google search the customer has to scroll through.
- Keep a record: who you asked, when, and who clicked. Otherwise follow-ups are guesswork, or they don’t happen.
- Cover the ways you already talk to customers: text, email, WhatsApp if they use it, and a QR code for the customer standing in front of you.
How to choose
It sends from your number
A text from an unknown short code reads like spam. A text from the number the customer called when the AC quit gets opened. Check what number or address the message really comes from.
You stay in control of every send
Auto-blasting your customer list from a platform number brings consent rules into play and takes the timing out of your hands. Prefer a tool where you tap Send yourself.
Tracking is simple
Sent, clicked, review in. If you need a ten-column report to know who to nudge, you won’t nudge anyone.
It follows Google’s rules
Google prohibits paying for reviews and selectively asking only happy customers (Google’s policy). A tool that screens customers before showing them the Google link puts your profile at risk.
It works on your phone
You’re on a roof or in a crawl space, not at a desk. A real iPhone and Android app beats a web dashboard you have to log into.
The price is plain
A clear monthly price, a trial without a credit card, no per-text fees buried in the terms.
Where Own Your Ratings fits
Own Your Ratings is an app for tradespeople: plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, roofers. Enter the customer’s first name, pick a channel, and your phone opens Messages, WhatsApp or Mail with the request already written and your Google review link in it. You tap Send, so it comes from your number or your email.
Then you see, per customer, whether the request went out and whether the link was clicked. New reviews come in from Google. For a customer in front of you, a QR code made for that customer shows you whether they scanned it.
Pricing: the Free plan covers one review request a month. Pro is $35/mo or $350/yr, with a free 14-day trial and no credit card. iPhone, Android and web.
What Own Your Ratings doesn’t do
Better you hear it here:
- It never sends anything automatically or from a server. You send it.
- It doesn’t reply to reviews for you, and there is no chatbot.
- It doesn’t screen customers by how happy they are. Everyone gets the same Google link.
- It’s Google only. No Yelp, no Facebook, no Angi.
- It can’t remove bad reviews. Nobody honest can promise that.
If all you need is your review link, our free Google review link generator gives you the link and a QR code, no sign-up.
Frequently asked questions
Is review request software allowed by Google?
Yes, as long as it just asks. Google itself suggests sending customers a link or showing a QR code (Google’s tips). What’s prohibited is incentives and asking only the happy ones.
Do I need software, or is my review link enough?
The link is enough to ask. Software is for not forgetting, sending in seconds with the right name, and knowing who to follow up with. If you only run a few jobs a month, start with the link.
Does the customer need to install anything?
No. They get a text, a WhatsApp or an email with a link, or they scan a QR code. The link opens Google directly.
Does Own Your Ratings text customers in my name?
No. Your phone opens Messages with the text ready, and you tap Send from your own plan.
