Best apps for tradesmen in the UK (2026)

"App for tradesmen" means two different things: apps that help you run the business (quotes, jobs, certificates, invoices, tax) and apps that help you find work (Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People). This guide covers both, separately, with real £ prices and app store ratings checked on 12 October 2026.

Which five apps do most sole traders need?

You do not need fifteen apps. Most UK sole traders need one app from each of these five jobs, and the first one often covers two or three of the others:

The rest of this page goes through each category in turn, then adds it all up for a sole trader and a five person team.

Which job management apps are best for tradesmen?

A job management app is the hub. It holds your customers, quotes, diary, job notes and photos, and turns finished jobs into invoices. Pick this first, because it decides what else you need. Our full ranking of 12 apps is in our job management software comparison.

Fergus and YourTradebase: when are they the better choice?

Fergus (from £39 a month list price, £45 on Pro) suits plumbers and builders whose margins depend on materials. It shows what each job cost against what was charged and adds purchase orders on Pro, so you can see whether each job made money. It has a UK office in Manchester and stores EICRs and gas safety certificates with the job. The catch: a "90% off til December" promotion with unclear terms, and the pricing page does not say whether the base price is per user. Get your post-promotion price in writing.

YourTradebase (£29 a month ex VAT plus £15 per extra user) is a UK-built app for small builders, decorators, landscapers and other trades who want quotes, job sheets and invoices without the extras. It has the longest trial here (30 days, no card) and Xero and QuickBooks links. We found no UK certificates, so it is not the right fit for electricians or gas engineers. Trustpilot 4.8 from 62 reviews (checked 12 Oct 2026).

Which quote and invoice apps are best?

If you only want to send professional quotes and chase invoices, you do not need the full job management bundle. But in practice, every app above already does quotes and invoices on its cheapest plan, so a separate quote app is rarely worth it.

• Tradify Lite (£34 per user): quotes and invoices with online and card payments on every plan. Online quote acceptance and automatic invoice reminders start on Pro.
• Powered Now Business (£28 ex VAT): quotes, estimates, invoices with payment links, supplier invoices and purchase orders, plus MTD, for one user.
• YourTradebase (£29 ex VAT): quotes, lead tracking, job sheets and invoicing with automatic reminders. Paying yearly gives 2 months free.
• ServiceM8 Free (£0): on-site quotes and invoices for up to 30 jobs a month.

The feature that wins most money is automatic chasing: a polite reminder text or email when a quote has had no answer for a few days, and when an invoice passes its due date. We compare quoting tools in depth in our quote and invoice software guide.

Which certificate apps are best for electricians and gas engineers?

If you are an electrician or gas engineer, certificates are not optional, and they are where general apps differ most. You can either get them inside your job app (Tradify Pro, Powered Now Professional, Fergus) or use a dedicated certificate app alongside it.

Our view: a sole trader electrician who already uses Tradify or Powered Now should use the certificates built in, rather than paying twice. If you use ServiceM8 (no named UK certificates), a cheap add-on such as Sparkcerts at £12 a month fills the gap. For the detail, see our guides to electrical certificate software and gas certificate apps.

Which accounting and Making Tax Digital apps should tradesmen use?

Your job app handles customers and invoices. Your accounting app handles the books, VAT and tax returns. Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC's rule that records are kept digitally and sent through compatible software.

We have not quoted QuickBooks prices because Intuit's own UK pricing page did not show them when we checked. Check the current price on Intuit's site before you buy.

Our pick for most tradespeople is Xero: it links to every job app in this guide, and its UK prices are confirmed on its own pricing page. Pick Sage if your accountant already uses it, and make sure your job app links to it (Tradify does on every plan; ServiceM8 and Fergus do not list Sage). Our accounting software for tradesmen guide compares them in full.

Which job sheet and form apps are worth it?

Job sheets record what was done, the time, materials, photos and the customer's signature. All the job management apps above include them, so a standalone form app only makes sense if you need unusual forms or already have a job system you like.

• ServiceM8: PDF forms, certificates and reports, with photos and signatures on site.
• Tradify: custom-branded forms from Pro, and job service reports on Plus.
• Fergus: job cards on both plans; checklists and forms on Pro.
• GoCanvas: a standalone form app at $29, $39 or $49 per user a month billed annually, with a 3-user minimum. Prices are in US dollars only.

See our digital job sheet apps guide for a checklist of what a good job sheet should capture.

Are apps for finding work (Checkatrade, MyBuilder, Rated People) worth it?

These are a different kind of app. Checkatrade, MyBuilder and Rated People are marketplaces where homeowners post jobs or search for trades. They sell you leads or a listing; they do not help you run jobs. MyBuilder, for example, is a site for hiring a tradesperson, not a business tool.

We could not confirm current membership or lead prices on these sites when we checked, so we have not quoted any. Instead, use this test before you sign up:

1. Ask for the full annual cost in writing, including any joining fee, monthly fee and per-lead charges.
2. Work out your average profit per job (not the invoice value).
3. Divide the annual cost by your profit per job. That is how many jobs you must win just to break even.
4. Ask how many leads a typical member in your trade and area gets, and assume you win only a fraction of them.

Our verdict: worth trying when you are new, moving area, or your diary has gaps. Not worth it if you are already booked up from word of mouth. Either way, you still need a job management app to handle the work they bring in.

What does a full app stack cost each month?

Here is what two typical UK trade businesses would pay at list price. Introductory offers (such as Xero's 90% off for 6 months) are ignored so you can see the real ongoing cost.

Sole trader electrician

Option A is the safest long-term fit. Option B is the lowest-admin choice if you are happy with one app for everything. Option C is cheapest while you are small, but you will move to a paid ServiceM8 plan once you pass 30 jobs a month (Starter is £25 for 50 jobs).

Five person plumbing and heating team

For a five person team, Option C shows how per-user certificate apps cancel out ServiceM8's unlimited users. If your team issues gas certificates on most jobs, Tradify Pro or Powered Now Professional is simpler and similar in cost. Add VAT where prices exclude it; Tradify and ServiceM8 do not state VAT treatment on their pricing pages.

How can you cut the monthly bill?

• Pay yearly where it saves money. Powered Now gives two months free on annual billing (Professional is £320 a year per user instead of £384). YourTradebase also gives 2 months free if you pay yearly. Tradify's pricing page shows month-to-month billing only.
• Use intro offers, but budget on the full price. Xero and Sage were running 90% off for 6 months when we checked (a similar QuickBooks offer is reported by third parties but was not confirmed on Intuit's page). After the offer ends you pay the full price, so do not choose an app because of a discount.
• Do not pay twice for certificates. If your job app's plan already includes certificates, cancel the separate certificate app.
• Match the plan to your job count. On ServiceM8, check your real monthly job count each quarter. Dropping from Growing (150 jobs, £59) to Starter (50 jobs, £25) saves £34 a month if your volume has fallen.
• Remove leavers. On per-user apps such as Tradify, Powered Now and Joblogic, every login costs money. Remove people when they leave.

iPhone or Android: does it matter?

For most of the apps here, no. Tradify, ServiceM8, Fergus, Powered Now and YourTradebase all have iPhone and Android apps. Two exceptions are worth knowing. ServiceM8's Android app lacks a few features (room scan and AR measuring, drawing diagrams, editing PDFs from previews, full photo tagging, and first-time Tap to Pay setup). Some certificate apps are Apple only or Apple first: iCertifi Cloud Pro is Apple only, even though the main iCertifi app also runs on Android. If your team uses a mix of phones, check each app on both before you commit.