How to get more tiling jobs in Australia

Win more tiling and waterproofing jobs by responding to enquiries the same day, keeping your Google Business Profile loaded with finished bathroom and wet-area photos, documenting AS 3740 compliance at every stage, and making sure your licensing is right for the state you work in. Speed and documented quality beat price for most residential clients.

Updated 16/09/2026

How fast should I be responding to tiling enquiries?

Speed is the single biggest lever. Businesses that respond to new enquiries within one hour are nearly seven times more likely to qualify the lead than those that wait longer¹. Most tilers take two to five days to return a quote, so responding the same day already puts you ahead of the field.

A homeowner renovating a bathroom typically calls three tilers and books the first one who sends a clear quote. The other two never hear back. If you are on site laying tiles and cannot answer, a missed-call text-back holds the enquiry until you are free. For how that works in practice, see our guide on missed-call text-back for tradies.

Quote from templates where you can. A standard bathroom re-tile (floor and walls to 1800 mm, waterproofing, adhesive, grout, silicone) has a predictable scope. Build a line-item template in your job management app so you can price it on site from your phone and send it before you drive home.

Why is waterproofing compliance your strongest sales tool?

Waterproofing is the number one building defect category nationally, and that fact is your competitive edge if you document it properly.

• The defect scale. 42 percent of serious defects in NSW Class 2 apartment buildings in 2023 were waterproofing related². 85 to 97 percent of multi-residential insurance claims involve water-related defects, with balconies the most frequent failure point³.
• What AS 3740 requires. AS 3740:2021 is the Australian standard for waterproofing domestic wet areas. It sets mandatory requirements for membrane materials (tested to AS/NZS 4858), surface preparation, installation method, and inspection. The NCC 2022 raised the shower-wall waterproofing height to a minimum of 1800 mm above the finished floor level or 50 mm above the shower rose, whichever is higher.
• How to use it. Photograph every stage: substrate prep, primer application, membrane coats with overlap measurements, flood testing, and the final tiled surface. Timestamped, geotagged photos taken through a digital compliance form (ServiceM8 has purpose-built forms for this) create an evidence trail that protects you if a defect claim lands years later, and that sets you apart from the tiler who has no records at all.

When you show a homeowner your compliance folder from the last three jobs, you are not selling price. You are selling proof that the work will not leak. That is why documented waterproofing compliance is a sales tool, not just a legal box.

What licensing do I actually need as a tiler?

Licensing rules for tiling vary significantly by state, and getting them wrong exposes you to both fines and misleading-conduct risk under the Australian Consumer Law.

The common trap is bundling waterproofing into a small tiling job and assuming the job-value threshold exempts the waterproofing. In QLD, waterproofing is licensed at effectively any value (QBCC). In NSW, the threshold is $5,000. A $4,500 tiling job that includes $2,000 of waterproofing is a $6,500 job that crosses the threshold.

Before advertising as "licensed", check that you hold the right class for both tiling and waterproofing in every state you work in. Advertising a licence you do not hold is a false representation under ACL section 29. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission notes that a business must not make false or misleading claims about goods or services, including representations about the standard, quality, or grade of those services.

How do I make my Google Business Profile work harder?

For local tiling searches, a well-maintained Google Business Profile consistently outperforms paid advertising. Three things matter most.

1. Photos of finished work. Upload before-and-after photos of every completed bathroom, laundry, and splashback. Google rewards profiles with fresh, relevant images, and homeowners shortlist the tiler whose portfolio looks like the job they need done.
2. Real reviews, asked at the right moment. Send a text with your direct Google review link on the afternoon you finish, while the homeowner is still admiring the grout lines. Never offer a discount or gift in exchange: incentivised reviews breach the ACL and Google's policies, and a breach can result in reviews being removed or your profile being suspended.
3. Accurate service area and categories. Set your primary category to "Tiler" (or "Tiling contractor") and add secondary categories for waterproofing and bathroom renovation if you do that work. Keep your service area tight to the suburbs you actually cover, because Google ranks proximity heavily for local results.

For a walkthrough of setting up and optimising your profile, see our Google Business Profile guide for tradies.

How do I stop losing jobs to slow invoicing and admin?

Tiling is a finishing trade with tight margins, and slow admin compounds the squeeze. The typical Australian tradie spends 8 to 12 hours a week on admin, with 2 to 3 of those hours on invoicing and chasing payments alone⁴. Only 58.6 percent of construction SME invoices are paid within 30 days⁵.

The fix is invoicing on site, the day the job finishes, not from the kitchen table three weeks later.

• On-site invoicing. Use your job management app to convert the accepted quote to an invoice in one tap when the client signs off. ServiceM8 and Tradify both do this from a phone.
• Automated reminders. Set payment reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days overdue. The reminder chases the money so you do not have to send an awkward text.
• Progress claims on larger jobs. For jobs over a few thousand dollars, structure the quote with a deposit, a mid-point claim (after waterproofing), and a final on completion. This keeps cash flowing and matches the natural stage gates of a bathroom renovation.

For more on chasing invoices without damaging the relationship, see our guide on chasing unpaid invoices.

What job management software suits a tiling business?

The right tool depends on your team size and how you quote.

All three integrate with Xero or MYOB for your accounting. For a deeper comparison, see our job management app comparison. For tiling-specific pricing and quote templates, see our tiling quoting guide.

Where should I look for tiling work beyond word of mouth?

Word of mouth is the backbone, but it plateaus. These channels compound on top of referrals without cannibalising them.

• Builder relationships. Most new-home and renovation tiling comes through a head builder. Deliver on time, document your waterproofing, and the builder books you again. Our waterproofing quoting guide covers the evidence and pricing steps in detail. One reliable builder relationship can fill half your calendar.
• Google Ads for local searches. A tightly targeted Google Ads campaign on terms like "tiler near me" or "bathroom tiler [suburb]" puts you in front of homeowners who are ready to hire. Keep the budget modest and the service area tight so you are not paying for clicks in suburbs you do not cover. For tips on running ads without wasting money, see our Google Ads guide for tradies.
• Property managers and strata. Apartment buildings and rental properties need regular tiling and waterproofing repairs. A standing relationship with a property manager gives you steady work between larger renovation jobs.
• Your own website with before-and-after galleries. A simple one-page site with your licence number, service area, a portfolio gallery, and a click-to-call button converts local searchers who find you through Google.