Editorial Standards

WrenchStack is an independent research publication covering the software and services that trades and field-service businesses buy. We are not a vendor, not a lead broker, and not for sale. These are the standards every page on this site is held to. If we ever fall short of them, email hello@wrenchstack.com and we'll fix it.

How we research

Every vendor goes through the same documented process before it's published, regardless of whether we have a commercial relationship with it:

1. Identify. Vendors enter the directory through editorial research, category sweeps, contractor requests, or vendor submissions — never by paying for placement.
2. Collect from primary sources. Pricing comes from the vendor's own public pricing page; features from official documentation and product demos; integrations from official integration directories.
3. Aggregate third-party signal. We pull user ratings from G2 and Capterra and read sentiment across Reddit, BBB, Trustpilot, and trade forums.
4. Score consistently. Every vendor is rated with the same published WrenchStack Fit Score™ formula and weights.
5. Write and review. Each review is drafted, checked against the standards on this page, and published with a verification date.

The full step-by-step timeline and the scoring weights are documented on our methodology page, which is versioned and carries a public changelog.

How we verify

• Pricing is dated. Every pricing figure carries a verified date and is re-checked quarterly. Anything older than 90 days is flagged for re-verification before it ranks.
• Primary sources win. When a vendor's claim contradicts its own public page, we publish what the public page says until the page changes.
• No fabricated signals. We do not invent review counts, ratings, or testimonials. Where we have no first-party reviews for a tool, we say so rather than manufacture them.
• Custom-quoted pricing is labeled. For enterprise tools without public pricing, we cite user-reported ranges from public sources and mark them as such — never a number we made up.

Our sources

Primary sources are vendor pricing pages, official product documentation, and integration directories. Third-party sources include G2 and Capterra (ratings), and BBB, the FTC, Trustpilot, Reddit, and trade forums (reputation and sentiment). When we attach a reputation warning to a vendor, we cite the documented basis for it.

How reputation flags work

Some vendors carry a reputation warning. We apply these based on documented patterns — FTC settlements or actions, class-action history, high BBB complaint volume, or consistent customer-reported problems (for example, lead-quality complaints or aggressive lock-in contracts). A flag is applied on the evidence alone. We flag vendors we earn commissions from, and we recommend vendors we earn nothing from, when that's where the evidence points.

Independence and how we make money

WrenchStack is reader-focused and affiliate-funded: when you sign up with some vendors through our links, we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. That funding pays for the research; it does not influence it. The same Fit Score formula, the same reputation standards, and the same editorial scrutiny apply to every vendor — affiliate partner or not. See our affiliate disclosure and the per-vendor affiliate ledger on the methodology page.

Corrections

If we get something wrong — a price, a feature, a claim — we correct it within 48 hours of confirmation, and the correction is noted on the page with a date. We never silently edit a substantive error away. Spotted one? Email hello@wrenchstack.com with the page URL and what's wrong.

Who is accountable

WrenchStack operates as a research desk with defined editorial roles — Editor-in-Chief, Methodology Lead, Data Operations, and Vendor Relations — even where those roles consolidate in early operations. Every review is held to the standards on this page; vendor relationships are managed separately from editorial scoring. Editorial questions and accountability go to hello@wrenchstack.com. Learn more about WrenchStack.

Keeping 120+ tools across 21 trades current

Coverage at this scale only stays useful if it stays fresh. We use data tooling and automation to track pricing and structure information across the directory, and a quarterly refresh cycle to re-verify pricing, re-pull ratings, and re-evaluate reputation flags. The standards on this page govern what gets published — the tooling helps us hold the line at scale, it doesn't replace the judgment.