Who to keep track of
- Repeat homeowners. Their name, their house, what you did last time and what they said they want done next.
- Past customers worth a check-in. People you did a big job for who might need seasonal service or know someone who does.
- Referral partners. Property managers, landlords, real estate agents and home inspectors who send work your way, and who you send work to.
- Suppliers and reps. The counter staff and supply house reps who look out for you when stock is tight.
- Other trades. Subcontractors and other contractors you trade jobs and referrals with.
What to write down
- One personal detail from the visit, like a new baby or a dog that needs to stay inside
- Anything coming up for the house, like an aging system or a project planned for next season
- Anything you promised, with a reminder to follow up
Keep scheduling, estimates, invoices and payments in your job or accounting software, and keep alarm codes, lockbox codes and payment details out of BlackBook. BlackBook is for the personal notes that help you pick up where you left off.
Phone contacts vs personal CRM
| Phone contacts | BlackBook | |
|---|---|---|
| What you talked about last time | A notes field, if you remember to use it | Notes on each person’s own page |
| History | None | Interaction history on each person’s page |
| Follow-up reminders | Separate app | Reminders per person, with notifications |
| Who to check in with next | Up to you to notice | Pulse suggests who to reach out to next from your notes, history and reminders |
| Account | Your phone’s contacts account | No BlackBook account; data on your iPhone and in your own private iCloud |
A simple routine
Back in the truck after a job, take thirty seconds to add a note while it’s fresh, and set a reminder for anything you promised, like a quote or a follow-up visit. Before you head to a repeat customer’s house, read your last note so you remember what they asked about. Once a week, open Pulse and reach out to one or two people you haven’t talked to in a while, like a property manager who sent you a job last season or a past customer who mentioned a project for later.
The free plan covers 25 people, which is enough to start with your best repeat customers, referral partners and go-to suppliers.
More on this: a personal CRM for property managers, a personal CRM for real estate agents, and a personal CRM for small business owners.
BlackBook facts
- Platform: iPhone, iOS 17.6 or later
- Price: free download; optional BlackBook Pro subscription (prices shown in the app)
- Free plan: 25 people, 2 notes per person, 30 days of interaction history
- Pro: optional subscription with VIP reminders and insights, relationship notes with tags, duplicate detection, BlackBook AI
- AI: on-device via Apple Intelligence (Pro, iOS 26, compatible iPhone)
- Privacy: data lives on your iPhone and in your private iCloud, no account, no ad SDKs, data never sold
- Developer: Preston Earnest / Earnestly Studios LLC
Frequently asked questions
Is BlackBook job management or field service software?
No. BlackBook doesn’t do scheduling, dispatch, estimates, invoices, payments or job tracking. Keep those in the tools you already use and use BlackBook for the relationship side: notes, history and follow-up reminders.
Who should I keep track of?
Repeat homeowners and past customers, property managers and landlords who send you work, real estate agents and home inspectors who refer you, suppliers and supply house reps, subcontractors and other trades you work with, and neighbors who asked about a job you did down the street.
What should I write down after a job?
One or two lines: what you did, anything they mentioned for later (a water heater getting old, a deck they want next spring), and anything you said you’d do, like send a quote or check back after a storm. Keep alarm codes, lockbox codes, payment details and other sensitive information out of your notes.
Is my data private?
BlackBook needs no account. Your people and notes live on your iPhone and in your own private iCloud, not on a BlackBook server. There are no ad SDKs, and your data is never sold.
Is BlackBook free?
BlackBook is free to download with a free plan of 25 people, two notes per person and 30 days of interaction history. BlackBook Pro is an optional subscription: in the US it’s $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and the annual plan includes a 1-week free trial. Prices are shown in the app.
What iPhones does it run on?
BlackBook requires iOS 17.6 or later. On iOS 26 with a compatible iPhone, BlackBook Pro adds on-device Apple Intelligence features.
Remember the people behind every job. Start with 25 people.
BlackBook is free to download for iPhone (iOS 17.6+). Start with 25 people, no account needed.
Get BlackBook – Personal CRM