Comparison

Nearby Now vs TMS Flat Rate Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Nearby Now

This app helps contractors expand their local presence and gather customer reviews. It uses AI to assist in writing job descriptions and displays real-time service area maps on your website. Privacy is maintained by showing approximate geolocations.

Highlights
  • Location updates for techs
  • AI-powered job descriptions
  • Customer review requests
  • Real-time service area maps
  • Social proof building
  • Privacy-protected geolocations
Features
Read full description

Nearby Now is the easiest way for contractors to extend their local reach, and get more customer reviews. Whenever your techs and sales people arrive at a customer’s house or business, they simply press a button on their iPhone, and Nearby Now will update their location on the Nearby Now map. And now, with the power of AI, we help you write amazing job descriptions so that you can maximize the value of the content you are creating. New customers who need your services can see that you’re working nearby, and also that you frequently work in their neighborhood. Your frequent visits to customer’s neighborhood automatically build social proof that you’re a reputable company who is already trusted by their neighbors. Make getting local reviews from happy customers part of your daily routine - each time you check in at a customer’s location, click a button and the Nearby Now app will send a customer satisfaction survey to your customer via email or sms. Nearby Now can embed custom real-time service area heat maps on your website, so you can show your website visitors an exciting, interactive, real-time map of your service area for each area you feature. Your privacy and your customer's privacy is always protected - Nearby Now only shows approximate geolocations for your safety.

About

TMS Flat Rate Reader

This app provides an electronic version of flat rate repair books for HVAC, plumbing, and electrical professionals. It allows users to quickly find repair information, generate professional quotations with customer signatures, and integrate with mobile work order apps.

Highlights
  • Electronic flat rate book
  • Professional quotation generation
  • Customer signature capture
  • Integration with mobile work orders
  • Powerful search utility
  • View material requirements
  • Multiple price column display
Features
Read full description

You can now have an HVAC, Plumbing and/or Electrical Flat Rate book available on your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch! The TMS Flat Rate Reader (FRR) is the perfect companion to the award winning ACORATE – Flat Rate Made Easy! software program (designed specifically for the HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical professions). Instead of looking up Flat Rate Repairs in a bulky printed book, the FRR lets you do it electronically and will even let you prepare a professional looking quotation, where the customer can approve or decline the recommended repairs with a signature. The approval can then be e-mailed or printed if you so desire. Imagine eliminating calculation errors or the expense of re-printing your flat rate books every time you decide to make a change. If you are using the TMS ACOTRUCK Mobile Work Order app, the repairs selected in the FRR can be easily pasted into the mobile invoice. - Portrays professional image - Electronic version of paper book - Works on iPhone, iPad or iPod - Eliminates calculation errors - Creates professional looking quotations - Ability to e-mail or print quotations - Ability to capture customer’s signature - Powerful search utility for finding repairs - Ability to view material required for repair - Can display up to 6 different price columns - Eliminates printing costs of paper books - Saves quotations for future retrieval - Reduces your impact upon the environment - Can integrate with TMS ACOTRUCK Mobile Work Order app For decades, Team Management Systems has been the preferred software provider for thousands of HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Mechanical and other service contractors throughout the country. To learn more, please visit http://www.acorate.com NOTE – The FRR works in conjunction with ACORATE and/or the Flat Rate Reader Data Manager.

Screenshots

Nearby Now4 screens
TMS Flat Rate Reader1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: TMS Flat Rate Reader at 4.0 against Nearby Now's 2.8. TMS Flat Rate Reader also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 16.0). Nearby Now's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (16 vs 3). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

TMS Flat Rate Reader holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nearby Now has 16 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of Nearby Now's written reviews are positive against 50% of TMS Flat Rate Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nearby Now ships an update monthly, TMS Flat Rate Reader every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nearby Now versus TMS Flat Rate Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNearby NowTMS Flat Rate Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.8 (16 ratings)4.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews50.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings16 — better3
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.08.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNearby Now, LLCTeam Management Systems, LLC

Customer experience

Nearby Now

All ratings16 ratings
Positive43.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative56.3%
Written reviews22 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative54.5%

TMS Flat Rate Reader

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

In-app purchases

None

Nearby Now

No in-app purchases

None

TMS Flat Rate Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nearby Now free?
Nearby Now is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is TMS Flat Rate Reader free?
TMS Flat Rate Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nearby Now or TMS Flat Rate Reader?
TMS Flat Rate Reader is rated higher. Nearby Now averages 2.8 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while TMS Flat Rate Reader averages 4.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Nearby Now or TMS Flat Rate Reader have ads?
Neither Nearby Now nor TMS Flat Rate Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nearby Now or TMS Flat Rate Reader?
Nearby Now ships an update monthly, and TMS Flat Rate Reader every 3 months. Most recently, Nearby Now was updated on October 29, 2026 and TMS Flat Rate Reader on October 23, 2026.

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