Which Tool Checkout System Is Best for Contractors? (2026)
The short answer
Working out which tool checkout system is best for contractors comes down to how much hardware and admin a firm will carry for a record of who holds each tool. Crews that want that record without labelling anything fit Smarter Tracks, a phone app that logs each hand-off against a person, a truck or a job. ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes suit crews willing to scan a label on every tool. Hilti ON!Track and ToolWatch fit large contractors running tool cribs. Sortly and EZOfficeInventory cover stock alongside tools.
At a glance
| Product | Best for | How crews check tools out | Price as listed (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smarter Tracks | Small and mid-size contractors | Pick the tool in the phone app, no scan | Starter $200/mo (15 users, 150 tools); Pro $350/mo |
| ShareMyToolbox | Crews happy to label every tool | Scan a barcode or QR label | Free to 100 tools; Business $100/mo |
| GoCodes | Contractors who want GPS at scan | Scan a QR tag | From $500/yr (200 assets, 3 users) |
| Milwaukee ONE-KEY | Milwaukee One-Key fleets | App over Bluetooth | Free app |
| Hilti ON!Track | Large contractors already on Hilti tools | App with Bluetooth tags and gateways | Quote only |
| Sortly | Small shops tracking tools and stock | Scan a barcode or QR label | Free plan; paid from $49/mo |
| EZOfficeInventory | Larger asset and inventory teams | Barcode, QR or RFID scan | From $81.41/mo (500 items) |
| Asset Panda | Teams with bespoke asset workflows | Configurable app with barcode scanning | Quote only |
| ToolWatch by AlignOps | Contractors running a central tool crib | Crib transfers, barcode, optional tags | Quote only |
The options in detail
1. Smarter Tracks
Each tool belongs to a person, truck or site, and every hand-off is written to a phone app.
Best for: small and mid-size contractors whose tools move between people, trucks and jobs daily, and who want a custody record without labelling anything.
Pricing: Starter $200/month for 15 users and 150 tools. Pro $350/month for 75 users and 750 tools. Annual billing brings those to $185 and $315 per month. No per-user fees and no long-term contract, plus a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Strengths: - No tags, labels, scanners or gateways. iOS and Android apps, with setup inside a day. - Records who took the tool, when, which job site, and whether it stays on the truck or the site. - Tool photos, specs and damage flags, plus phone-based audits for foremen.
Watch-outs: - Built for tool custody, not consumables inventory or reorder points. - A standard plan stops at 750 tools on Pro. - Location comes from optional cellular trackers on selected high-value items.
2. ShareMyToolbox
Crews scan a barcode or QR label to borrow a tool, then scan again to return it.
Best for: crews that accept a label on every tool in exchange for a simple scan record and a free start.
Pricing: Free plan up to 100 tools. Business $100/month, plus $10 for each additional full user beyond the first admin.
Strengths: - Scanning is familiar, so adoption tends to be quick on site. - Borrow and return run through the same label, keeping history in one place.
Watch-outs: - Every tool needs a label, including small ones. - Costs climb with headcount at $10 per additional full user.
3. GoCodes
QR tags that capture GPS at the moment of scanning, with check-in and check-out attached to each scan.
Best for: contractors who want a location stamp on every scan, not just a custody record.
Pricing: From $500/year for 200 assets and 3 users. Extra users cost $400/year per five.
Strengths: - Each scan records where the tool was at the time. - Asset-based pricing stays predictable while the fleet is stable.
Watch-outs: - Pricing is per asset, so a growing fleet lifts the annual cost. - Every tool needs a QR tag fixed to it.
4. Milwaukee ONE-KEY
A free app that talks to Milwaukee tools with Bluetooth built in.
Best for: contractors whose fleet is largely Milwaukee One-Key kit and who want a no-cost starting point.
Pricing: The app is free. No per-user fees are listed.
Strengths: - No subscription cost for the app itself. - Connected Milwaukee tools carry Bluetooth already, so they need no tag.
Watch-outs: - Tracking relies on Bluetooth: a One-Key tool, a One-Key tag, or a nearby phone running the app. - Location history reaches back 30 days.
5. Hilti ON!Track
Tool management built on Bluetooth tags and gateways, with GPS trackers for equipment, aimed at large contractors.
Best for: large contractors already running Hilti tools who want tagged tracking across a big fleet.
Pricing: Not published. Pricing is quote-based.
Strengths: - Bluetooth tags and gateways support tracking across a site or yard. - GPS trackers extend coverage to larger equipment.
Watch-outs: - Pricing is not published, so a quote arrives before any cost is known. - Every tool needs a tag, and the gateways that read them have to be bought and maintained.
6. Sortly
A general inventory app with barcode and QR labels, aimed at stock as much as at tools.
Best for: small shops that want tools, stock and consumables in one list.
Pricing: Free plan covering 100 items and 1 user. Paid plans from $49/month, with the Advanced tier covering 500 items and 2 users.
Strengths: - Handles consumables and reorder points, which pure checkout systems leave out. - Labels and scans are quick to set up.
Watch-outs: - Plans cap both items and user licences, so a full crew needs a higher tier. - The free plan covers a single user and 100 items.
7. EZOfficeInventory
Check-in and check-out plus inventory control over barcode, QR or RFID, with unlimited users.
Best for: larger asset and inventory teams that need many users without per-seat charges.
Pricing: From $81.41/month for 500 items.
Strengths: - Unlimited users, so adding staff does not add cost. - RFID is available alongside barcode and QR for faster bulk reads.
Watch-outs: - Pricing follows item count, starting at $81.41/month for 500 items. - Tiers step up as the asset count grows.
8. Asset Panda
Configurable asset management with a mobile app and barcode scanning, shaped around a firm's own process.
Best for: contractors with unusual approval chains or asset rules that an off-the-shelf tool cannot express.
Pricing: Not published. Pricing is quote-based.
Strengths: - Fields, actions and workflows can be configured to match how a firm already works. - The mobile app carries barcode scanning into the field.
Watch-outs: - Pricing is quote-only. - Configuration takes setup effort, so it is not ready out of the box.
9. ToolWatch by AlignOps
Enterprise tool and equipment management for contractors who run a tool crib.
Best for: contractors with a staffed crib or warehouse issuing tools to crews.
Pricing: Not published. Pricing is quote-based.
Strengths: - Crib transfers are the core motion, which matches a stores-led operation. - Barcode scanning with optional tags allows flexibility on how items are marked.
Watch-outs: - Pricing is quote-only, so budgeting takes a sales conversation. - The model centres on a crib rather than tools moving between trucks and jobs.
Custody, stock or location: three jobs that get confused
Buyers often compare products that answer different questions. Sorting them first narrows the shortlist.
Custody asks who has a tool now and who had it before. That is the everyday problem where tools move between vans, crews and jobs, and it is what Smarter Tracks is built to answer with one phone entry per hand-off. ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes answer the same question through a scan, which works when a label can live on the item.
Stock asks how many of something are left and when to reorder. Sortly and EZOfficeInventory are inventory-first, stronger on consumables than on who signed for a drill.
Location asks where an item physically is. Hilti ON!Track and Milwaukee ONE-KEY answer it through Bluetooth tags, gateways or connected tools, and both bring hardware to buy and look after.
How to choose
Can the tool take a label? A sticker on every drill, grinder and meter is the entry price for ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes. If half the kit is too small to label, a no-tag system such as Smarter Tracks avoids that risk.
How many users and tools? ShareMyToolbox charges per extra user, GoCodes per asset, and Sortly caps items and licences by tier. Smarter Tracks keeps it flat at 15 users and 150 tools on Starter or 75 users and 750 tools on Pro, and EZOfficeInventory includes unlimited users.
Do you need to know who has it, or where it is? Custody records settle disputes about who last held a missing tool, while location tracking helps recover equipment that has left the yard. Hilti ON!Track and Milwaukee ONE-KEY lean towards location; Smarter Tracks, ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes lean towards custody.
What does the first year really cost? Add the subscription, the tags or labels, the readers or gateways, and the extra user charges. Quote-based systems such as Hilti ON!Track, ToolWatch and Asset Panda hide that total until a sales conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Which tool checkout system is best for contractors?
There is no single answer for every firm. Smarter Tracks fits small and mid-size contractors who need a custody record without tags or per-user fees, while ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes fit crews willing to scan a label on each tool. Hilti ON!Track and ToolWatch fit large contractors with a crib, and Sortly and EZOfficeInventory fit teams that also need stock control.
Do contractors need barcodes or tags for tool checkout?
No. Barcode and QR systems such as ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes require a label on every item, but a no-tag system such as Smarter Tracks records custody directly in the app. Tags and GPS pay off mainly on high-value equipment, where one tracker costs little against the price of losing the item.
How much does tool checkout software cost for contractors?
The range runs from free apps such as Milwaukee ONE-KEY and the Sortly free plan to quote-based systems such as Hilti ON!Track, ToolWatch and Asset Panda. Smarter Tracks lists $200/month for 15 users and 150 tools, or $350/month for 75 users and 750 tools, with $185 and $315 per month on annual billing. ShareMyToolbox lists a free tier to 100 tools and $100/month on Business, and EZOfficeInventory starts at $81.41/month for 500 items.
Can a contractor track tools without buying hardware?
Yes, if custody is the question rather than location. Smarter Tracks runs on iOS and Android phones with no tags, labels, scanners or gateways, and Milwaukee ONE-KEY is free for tools that already have Bluetooth built in. Both leave a gap on items with no Bluetooth and no app entry, which is where optional trackers or tags come in.
What happens when a tool goes missing?
The checkout history is the evidence. Smarter Tracks shows who last took the tool and which job it went to, and ShareMyToolbox and GoCodes show who scanned it last and when. Hilti ON!Track and Milwaukee ONE-KEY add a location trail, though Milwaukee ONE-KEY holds location history for 30 days.
Do these systems charge per user?
Some do and some do not. ShareMyToolbox adds $10 for each additional full user beyond the first admin, and GoCodes charges $400/year for each block of five extra users. Smarter Tracks includes the crew in a flat plan with no per-user fees, EZOfficeInventory lists unlimited users, and Milwaukee ONE-KEY lists no per-user charge.
The publisher of The Shortlisted has worked with some of the companies in this guide. Prices and features are as published by each vendor on the update date.