Why pay when the information is free
The information is free. The path is not obvious.
State websites publish the rules. Contractor Lane organizes the order: what applies to your trade, what to verify, what to set up first, and how to move toward your first paid job. This page is the long version of that argument, including where we stop.
Why the free rules are still hard to follow
Every state publishes its own rules through different licensing, revenue, workforce, city, and county agencies, plus separate bond, insurance, and trade-specific programs. Those sites are built to publish rules, not to walk a first-time contractor from idea to first paid job. Nothing on them tells you which of the filings applies to your trade, which board you also answer to, or which one has to come first.
Contractor Lane does not replace them, and it is not a shortcut around them. It organizes verified state requirements, links the official source on every one so you can check it yourself, and tells you what to do next. If you would rather read all of it yourself, you can, and the free state check will still tell you which agencies to read.
How that compares to what else you could use
They file. We organize.
Your state's agencies publish the rules and accept the filings. They do not tell you which of those filings apply to your trade, which board you also answer to, or which one has to come first. That ordering is what we do, and every step links back to their page.
They sell. We tell you when and why.
An agent quotes you a bond or a policy. We tell you what your state actually requires, at what point in the process it is required, and what to have ready before you call, so you are not buying coverage you did not need yet or missing one you did.
They manage jobs. We come before jobs.
Jobber, Housecall Pro, and QuickBooks are built for a business that is already running and already has customers. Contractor Lane is the layer before that: getting legal, getting priced, and getting to the first customer.
| Option | What it is good for | What it does not solve | Where Contractor Lane fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| State licensing, revenue, workforce, and federal agencies | Official rules, forms, filings, and source-of-truth requirements. | They do not give one combined first-job sequence across agencies, bond, insurance, Google, website, payments, and outreach. | Contractor Lane organizes the order and links back to the official source. |
| LegalZoom / ZenBusiness / Northwest Registered Agent | Entity formation, registered agent services, and some license-report style research. | They are not built around each state's contractor sequence, bond wording, first-job setup, or contractor operating steps. | Use them if you want formation help. Use Contractor Lane for the contractor-specific path after and around formation. |
| Bond broker / insurance agent | Quotes and policies for bond and general liability. | They usually do not tell you the whole startup order or how the bond fits with state registration, Google, payments, and first job. | Contractor Lane tells you what to ask for before you call. |
| Jobber / Housecall Pro / QuickBooks | CRM, scheduling, invoicing, dispatch, and bookkeeping once the business is operating. | They assume you already know what business you are building and what must be set up first. | Contractor Lane is the order-of-operations layer before software decisions get expensive. |
| Angi Leads / Porch Pro | Paid lead flow after you are ready to take customers. | They do not make you legally ready, priced correctly, findable on Google, or prepared to respond professionally. | Contractor Lane gets the foundation in place before buying leads. |
| SCORE / free small-business mentoring | Broad free business mentoring and general startup advice, at no cost. | Not state-and-trade-specific and not built around contractor licensing, bonds, trade categories, or job-one setup. | Contractor Lane is the state-and-trade-specific checklist and sequence where coverage is available. |
What that actually looks like
- Official information, but spread across many sites
- State licensing, revenue, workforce, IRS, city, county, bond, and insurance sources
- Hard to know which step comes next
- No connection to Google, website, pricing, payments, or first customer
- No chart of accounts template
- No Google Business Profile setup help
- No website setup help
What you get instead
- One startup roadmap
- Plain-English order of operations
- Official source links included
- Verified state contractor requirements organized by step
- Business basics: bank, payments, Google, website, pricing, outreach
- Starter chart of accounts download, with money basics explained
- Google Business Profile setup playbook
- One-page website playbook
- Built around getting to first paid job
Free versus paid, in full
The free plan is not a locked preview of a better answer. It is the real list. The paid roadmap is for when knowing the list is not the same as getting through it.
Your state startup plan
Tells you WHAT APPLIES.
- The license or registration path for your state and your work
- Extra credentials your trade carries, where they apply
- Bond and insurance requirements
- The order of first steps, so you do not pay for the wrong one first
- What is still missing before you can take Job #1
- An official source link on every requirement
The Startup Roadmap
Helps you COMPLETE IT, IN ORDER.
- Walks you through each requirement step by step instead of handing you a list
- Sets up the business itself: structure, EIN, registrations, tax accounts, bank and payment setup
- Builds your pricing off real break-even math, not a guess
- Gets you findable and ready to answer: Google Business Profile, a simple site, a quote process
- Takes you through your first customer and your first invoice
- Saves your progress so you can stop and pick it back up
The free plan identifies the setup path and the major requirements. It stops before the guided completion, pricing, marketing, and Job #1 tools. It does not verify that you are legally established, and neither the free nor the paid product files anything on your behalf.
What is in the paid roadmap after checkout
No mystery about what you are buying. In supported states you log in and work these in order, with your state's requirements and official sources attached to each one.
- The startup roadmapYour guided plan from idea to job one, in the right order.
- Business name & domain availability checkYour state's business-name availability before you file, plus a domain check.
- Entity filing & trade classificationPick the right business structure, file it, and confirm the exact trade classification your work falls under.
- State requirement checklistLicensing, registration, bond, insurance, and tax-account steps with sources.
- Tax registration & accountsThe state and federal tax accounts to open, and the order to open them in.
- Employee & subcontractor setupWorkers' comp, W-2 vs 1099 rules, and what changes the moment you hire.
- Contracts, deposits & consumer noticesWhat your contracts and deposit terms need before you collect a dime.
- Permits & first-job checklistWhat has to be true before you can advertise, bid, or accept payment.
- Bond & insurance next stepsWhat to ask for before you call a bond or insurance agent.
- Printable startup reportYour trade, bond amount, secondary warnings, and next steps in one report.
- Saved progressYour account keeps your answers, so you can pick up where you left off.
- Google Business Profile setup guideThe number-one free lead source, step by step.
- Simple website setup guideGet a basic web presence up fast.
- Pricing worksheetPrice your first offer on real break-even math.
- First-job outreach scriptExactly what to say to line up job one.
- Invoice & payment setup checklistCreate a payment account and get paid.
- Bookkeeping starter & chart of accountsCopy-and-use chart of accounts, software or paper options, receipt retention.
- Every future roadmap updateIncluded, with no subscription.
The six steps you walk through
Confirm your business structure
Sole proprietor, LLC, or corporation, filed in your state, with your EIN and business registrations in place.
Verify your licenses and registrations
The exact state contractor credential and any trade registration your work requires, each with the official source to check it against.
Set up insurance and bonding
What your state requires, what to ask for, and what to have in hand before you call a bond or insurance agent.
Build your pricing foundation
Break-even math first, then a rate for your first offer that covers overhead instead of guessing at the going rate.
Prepare your first-customer system
Google Business Profile, a simple page, and a quote-and-response routine, so you are ready when the first call comes in.
Complete Job #1
Your contract and deposit terms, the permits that apply, the invoice, and getting paid, in the right order.
What Contractor Lane does not do
We would rather be honest than oversell. Here is where the product stops today.
- It does not replace an attorney, CPA, insurance agent, or licensing agency.
- It does not file your paperwork or make legal or tax decisions for you.
- It does not verify that you are legally established. It identifies what applies and links the source; confirming it is done is on you and the agency.
- It is not a full CRM, or a scheduling and dispatch system.
- It is self-serve. There is no coaching, mentoring, or done-with-you service attached to it.
- The paid roadmap is not available in every state yet. Your state's own page shows what it can do today.
Start with the free state check.
Find out what actually applies to you before you spend a dollar. No card, no account required to see your plan.
Build my free startup plan See pricing