Matt Horner is a co-founder of Hey Jodie, where he leads the AI and engineering behind the product. That runs from the conversational AI that lets Jodie hold a natural phone call to the systems that put every captured job detail on your phone seconds after the caller hangs up. His focus is taking the kind of AI that normally sits inside big technology companies and making it genuinely useful for everyday businesses.
He has spent his career building software and technology companies. He is the founder of a SaaS group whose platforms handle bookings, scheduling, invoicing, and payments for businesses around the world, and earlier held senior technology roles, including leading technology and ecommerce for a B2B retailer. He started out as a Microsoft-certified engineer and has been shipping production software ever since.
A career spent building the tools businesses rely on every day is what drew him to Hey Jodie. He writes about AI, call handling, and the practical side of running a busy operation without losing the work that pays for it.
Guides by Matt Horner
Best accounting practice management software in 2026: an Australian firm's buyer guide
An honest, vendor-neutral comparison of accounting practice management software for Australian firms: the main tools weighed by firm size, what to check before you buy, and the front-of-house job none of them do - answering the phone.
Best pest control software in 2026: an Aussie operator buyer guide, by job
A neutral, operator-written guide to the pest control tech stack - scheduling, CRM, invoicing and treatment reporting, and call handling - organised by the job each tool does, with state pest management licensing and APVMA product records in mind.
How to get more pest control jobs: a lead-gen and conversion playbook
A practical playbook for Australian pest control operators to generate more leads and actually convert them - local search, reviews, referrals, paid leads, and the missed-call leak that sends after-hours jobs to the operator who answers first.
How to get towing contracts in Australia: auto clubs, police work and private accounts
A practical playbook for winning towing contracts in Australia: the four contract types, who to approach for each, what they require, and the 24/7 answer rate and response time that win the work and keep it.
How to start and grow a locksmith business in Australia
A practical, setup-to-steady-work playbook for starting an Australian locksmith business: qualifications and licensing, kit, pricing, winning leads, and never missing an emergency lockout call.
Locksmith hourly rates in Australia: pricing and real earnings
An operator's guide to setting locksmith rates and reading real earnings in Australia: standard, city and after-hours pricing, plus take-home once the van, tools and insurance are paid.
What does a tow truck business earn in Australia?
What does an Australian towing business actually clear? A run through revenue per truck and per job, the costs that quietly eat the margin, and why an unanswered call is an unbilled tow that caps your profit.
Best auto repair shop software in 2026: a fair-dinkum buyer guide
An independent buyer guide to auto repair shop software for Australian workshops. Compare the real options by job, see pricing in dollars, and find the one layer every vendor leaves out: how the shop answers the phone.
How to set your mechanical workshop labour rate in 2026
Working out what to charge per hour? Run the break-even maths, nail your effective labour rate, and see what the market pays so every job turns a profit.
Best property management software in Australia (2026)
A vendor-neutral roundup of the best property management software for Australian property managers and portfolio landlords in 2026, picked by the job it does: tenancy management, rent and trust accounting, maintenance, compliance and owner reporting, plus the one job none of them do.
Home care marketing in Australia: channels and tools that fill your books
How an in-home care provider really wins private clients - referral networks, local SEO, paid search, and the software stack - plus the conversion step nearly every marketing guide overlooks.
How much to charge for cleaning: an Australian pricing guide for operators
What to charge for house, deep, end-of-lease, office and Airbnb cleaning in Australia - real rate bands in dollars, hourly vs flat vs per-room methods, and how to quote so you win the job.
How to start an in-home care business in Australia: a step-by-step guide
An independent, start-to-finish playbook for starting an in-home care business in Australia: business plan, provider registration with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, key personnel, policies, police checks, insurance, recruitment and first clients.
After-hours call handling for property managers: the triage playbook
The after-hours system most vendors will not spell out: a triage decision tree for tenant emergencies, when to dispatch a tradie, how to script the message, and why night-time call capture wins you landlords.
The best electrician software for Australian sparkies in 2026
There is no single best electrician software. This is an honest, vendor-neutral roundup of the job management tools Australian electricians actually run, compared on scheduling, invoicing, compliance certs and free tiers, plus the call-handling layer none of them cover.
The best HVAC software for a small business
A small-operator-first roundup of HVAC and air conditioning software for Australian trades, with real dollar price ranges, plain pros and cons, and the layer the vendor lists skip: who answers the phone.
The best landscaping business software in 2026
There is no single best landscaping business software. Here is an honest, vendor-neutral roundup of the tools Australian landscapers and gardeners actually run, compared on scheduling, CRM, quoting and payments, plus the call-answering layer none of them cover.
How to get more salon clients without wasting the demand you pay for
A straight-talking playbook for keeping your salon chairs full - the marketing tactics that actually work, plus the step every listicle skips: making sure someone answers when the new client calls.
How to start a landscaping business in Australia: the owner-operator playbook
A practical playbook for starting a landscaping or garden maintenance business in Australia: getting an ABN, public liability insurance, the green-waste and licensing rules that apply, the gear you actually buy on day one, landing your first clients, pricing for profit, and the step most guides skip - answering the leads you paid to generate.
What an air conditioning answering service costs (and what one missed call costs you)
Every provider hides the price behind a "get a quote" button. Here is the real cost model in dollars, a realistic monthly range, and what missing one after-hours call actually costs your business.
The best plumbing invoicing and job-management software for getting paid on time
A vendor-neutral buyer guide to plumbing invoicing and job-management software for Australian trades: what each tool is best for, how the per-seat pricing really works, and the booking-and-call layer the vendors all leave out.
Best practice management software for Australian therapists in 2026
A vendor-neutral, named-author comparison of practice management software for a solo or small Australian therapy practice: how scheduling, notes and billing compare, what each tool costs, Medicare rebate handling, and the call-and-booking layer that sits alongside it.
Best roofing software for Australian operators (and the layer everyone forgets)
A no-spin, priced buyer guide to the roofing software stack an Australian operator actually needs, from measurement and estimating to CRM and scheduling, plus the front-of-funnel layer the directories ignore: who answers the call.
Best veterinary practice management software in 2026: an Australian buyer's guide
A vendor-neutral guide to veterinary practice management software for Australian clinics: a real comparison table of the main PIMS by practice size, cloud vs on-premise, how the pricing works, and the one job every system leaves to your front desk - answering the phone.
The chiropractic front desk playbook: calls, scripts and no-shows
The operator playbook every answering-service vendor leaves out: a new-patient intake script, an after-hours and overflow protocol, the no-show tactics that genuinely shift the rate, and what to measure so no booking gets away.
Chiropractic marketing costs in Australia: what actually books patients
A numbers-first breakdown of chiropractic marketing spend by channel in Australian dollars, a realistic cost per new patient, and the leak no agency mentions: the calls your spend pays for but the front desk misses.
Dental Answering Services Compared: The Honest Options Table
A real side-by-side of every way to answer your practice phone - voicemail, in-house reception, a live answering service, and AI - with indicative pricing and the new-patient maths, so you choose on merit instead of marketing.
What a dental front desk really costs (and the price of every missed call)
The wage on the job ad is the small number. Here is the true cost of a dental front desk - salary, superannuation, payroll tax, leave and absence cover - set against the new-patient calls that drop to voicemail.
How to get more therapy clients and keep your books full
A grounded playbook for getting more therapy clients: the directory and referral fundamentals that genuinely fill a caseload, plus the leak nobody fixes - missing the first call while you are in session.
How to start a plumbing business in Australia in 2026: the operator guide
What it takes to start a plumbing business in Australia: the licence and registration to get right, sole trader versus company, setting rates that pay, the ute and tools you actually need, and how to win your first customers.
What missed calls actually cost a roofing business
Roofing leads cost real money, and you are up on the roof when they ring. Here is what every missed call costs you in Australia, and how to stop burning the spend.
Best Answering Service for Law Firms (2026)
An honest ranking of the best answering services and intake teams for Australian law firms, with real monthly costs in Australian dollars, how each handles client intake and practice-management integrations, and where each wins.
Real estate call handling: answering service vs voicemail vs receptionist
Voicemail, an in-house receptionist, a traditional answering service, or an AI receptionist. An even-handed look at how each option handles a real estate agency phone, what it costs, and what it misses.
How to get more listings: a practical playbook for real estate agents
A complete playbook for winning more listings: get found locally, book more appraisals, turn appraisals into signed listings, and stop leaking enquiries to the agency down the road.
After-hours and emergency plumbing calls: a practical playbook for Aussie plumbers
A burst pipe at 11pm will not wait for opening time. Here is how to cover nights and weekends, triage the genuine emergencies, and capture every after-hours job without running yourself into the ground.
Best AI Receptionist Australia (2026): tried, compared and ranked
An honest, Australian ranking of the best AI receptionists and virtual receptionists in 2026, with real monthly prices in Australian dollars, who each is best for, and the trade-offs nobody mentions.
How to get more plumbing jobs: a practical marketing playbook
A no-nonsense playbook for winning more plumbing work in Australia: get found on Google, build reviews, earn referrals, use lead sites wisely, mine repeat customers, and answer fast.
The real cost of missed calls for an Aussie plumbing business
Most plumbers never tally up what a ringing phone with nobody on it is actually worth. Here is the simple maths, in dollars, and how to stop the leak.