Software for UK Tradespeople: Our Guides by Job

Every guide on this page is written for UK trades and small firms: prices in pounds, checked on the vendor’s own pricing page, and UK rules such as VAT, CIS and Making Tax Digital. Start with the question you’re trying to answer.

Running jobs: job management apps

Job management software handles quotes, scheduling, job sheets and invoices in one app. The big three for UK trades are Tradify, ServiceM8 and Jobber, and the right one mostly comes down to team size, phone type and how many jobs you run a month.

• Best job management apps for UK tradespeople
  start here if you haven’t chosen yet
• For plumbers and heating engineers
  gas certificates and boiler servicing
• For electricians
  EICR and EIC certificates
• Free job management apps
  which free tiers are genuine and which are trials

Already down to two? The head-to-heads compare pricing, quoting, scheduling and UK compliance side by side.

• Tradify vs ServiceM8
  per-user pricing against job-capped plans
• Tradify vs Jobber
  including CIS and US-dollar billing
• ServiceM8 vs Jobber
  iPhone-only against Android support

Checking what you’ll actually pay, or looking to switch:

• Tradify pricing
  every plan and the extras
• ServiceM8 pricing
  the five tiers, SMS credits and job overages
• Jobber pricing
  what the US-dollar plans cost in pounds
• Tradify alternatives
  seven rivals for growing teams
• ServiceM8 alternatives
  including Android options
• Jobber alternatives
  UK-billed tools with CIS and Gas Safe support

Quoting, invoicing and getting paid

• Best quoting software for tradespeople
  branded estimates from your phone
• Best invoicing software for tradespeople
  FreshBooks, QuickBooks and Xero
• Best card payment terminals
  fees, payout speed and tills
• SumUp vs Zettle vs Square
  what each costs on your card takings, with our fee calculator
• SumUp vs PayPal card readers
  which is cheaper at your turnover

Books, tax and business structure

• Best accounting software for tradespeople
  VAT, CIS and payroll
• Sage vs FreeAgent
  including the free FreeAgent route with some bank accounts
• Receipt scanner apps
  when a dedicated app beats your accounting software’s scanner
• Corporation tax software
  filing your CT600 now HMRC’s free service has closed
• Limited company vs sole trader
  what each structure really costs

Winning work

• Google Business Profile for tradespeople
  step-by-step setup, free
• Does a small business need a website?
  and what it should do for you
• Best website builders
  if you’re building it yourself
• Social media for UK business
  which platforms bring enquiries
• Marketing tools for small businesses
  five worth paying for
• Email marketing software
  pricing, free plans and GDPR
• CRM software
  keeping track of customers and leads

Staying organised

• Scheduling software
  let customers book themselves in
• Calendar apps
  for sole traders and small teams
• Project management software
  for longer jobs with several stages
• Cloud storage
  keeping documents and photos safe

Kit

• Best laser measures for tradespeople
  for quicker, more accurate quotes
• Best laptops for small business
  for the office side of the business

How we choose what to recommend, and how we make money, is set out in How we review.