showhq.com

What It Is

ShowHQ is a crew management and production operations platform built specifically for event production companies. It aims to replace spreadsheets, email, text messages, QuickBooks, and multiple disconnected tools. It covers the full workflow from show scheduling, crew dispatch, and equipment inventory to quotes and invoices, timesheet approvals, and logistics coordination. This is clearly not a generic project management tool, but a vertical SaaS product for the live production industry.

Core Features and Integrations

Its core modules include multi-day show scheduling, role and department management, crew profiles for skills/certifications/availability, QR-code equipment tracking, pick orders, maintenance records, quote-to-invoice workflows, a client portal, GPS/QR check-in, overtime calculation, and timesheet approval. On the finance side, the main integration is with QuickBooks Online: it can sync crew as 1099 vendors, clients as customers, and push invoices and payment status. It also provides email capabilities related to Gmail, Outlook, and Resend. Pro and Enterprise support APIs and webhooks, while the Enterprise plan adds more granular permissions, audit logs, SSO SAML, and white labeling.

Pricing and Service

Pricing is fairly clear: Starter at $99/month, Pro at $299/month, and Enterprise at $599/month, with 20% off for annual billing. A key highlight is that none of the plans charge by crew member, contractor, vendor, or client portal user; limits apply only to admin/project manager seats. This makes it suitable for production companies with large freelance networks. However, the website also indicates that the product is still in development, with a public launch planned for summer 2026. Self-service signup is not available, and users need to book early access and go through guided onboarding.

Pros and Cons

The main advantage is its strong fit for industry-specific workflows, covering real production scenarios such as load-in, show day, strike, call sheets, W-9, and 1099 contractors. It also discloses security capabilities including SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, AES-256-GCM encryption, MFA, audit logs, and cross-region backups. The downsides are that its maturity and real-world delivery still need to be proven, and publicly available customer case studies are limited. Lower-tier plans may have restrictions around inventory, the client portal, APIs, and other features. Its business and tax design is also clearly oriented toward the U.S. market.

Who It’s For and Access from China

ShowHQ is better suited to U.S.-based event production, staging, lighting, audio, and trade show execution companies, or teams that use QuickBooks and a 1099 contractor model. For Chinese teams that only need scheduling, a personnel database, and equipment records, local tools such as Feishu/Lark or DingTalk multidimensional tables, Mingdao Cloud, Huoban, or Jiandaoyun may be easier to localize. Access from China and supported payment methods have not been disclosed, and network availability is marked as unknown. If you rely on features such as QuickBooks and W-9 workflows, substantial alternatives would be needed for mainland China’s local accounting and tax processes.