Best plumbing software for UK plumbers

We compared six apps UK plumbers actually use, on £ price, gas safety records, merchant invoices and accounting links. Prices and ratings were checked on the vendors' pages on 12 October 2026.

What does a plumber need from software?

Plumbing work mixes two very different kinds of job, and good software has to handle both. There are short, urgent call-outs (a leak, a blocked toilet, no hot water) and long, materials-heavy jobs like a full bathroom install. Most plumbers also do some gas and heating work, which brings legal paperwork. Here is what matters, in order.

Fast call-out handling

A customer rings at 7am with water through the ceiling. You need to create the job on your phone in under a minute, slot it into the diary, and send a text to say you are on the way. Then you need to invoice on the doorstep and take a card payment before you leave. Every tool on this page does the basics, but some do it in fewer taps.

Quotes for bathroom installs

A bathroom quote can run to dozens of lines: suite, tiles, labour, waste removal, making good. You want saved price lists or "kits" (a bundle of items you can drop into a quote in one go), the option to send a quote the customer can accept online, and progress invoices (a deposit, a stage payment, then the final bill). Tradify includes online quote acceptance and progress invoicing from its Pro plan.

Materials and merchant invoices

This is where plumbers lose money without noticing. You pick up fittings from the merchant, the invoice arrives a week later, and nobody checks it against the job. Software that tracks materials costs against each job shows you which jobs actually made a profit. Fergus is strongest here, with job costing on both plans and automatic supplier integrations and purchase orders on Pro.

Gas safety records for plumbing and heating engineers

If you are Gas Safe registered, your software should produce a landlord gas safety record (often called a CP12) on site, email it to the landlord, and remind you (or them) when next year's check is due. That reminder is how you turn one-off customers into repeat work.

Recurring boiler services

Annual boiler services are steady income. Look for recurring jobs and automatic service reminders. Tradify has recurring jobs from Pro and service reminders on Plus. Fergus includes recurring jobs on both plans. Powered Now sends automatic annual reminders for its certificates.

Plumbing software compared: price, certificates, accounting and mobile

Our top picks for plumbers

Gas Engineer Software (for certificates only)

If you are happy with your current way of quoting and invoicing and just want gas paperwork on your phone, Gas Engineer Software starts from £18 a month on annual billing (£19 monthly), ex VAT. It covers CP12, boiler service records and oil certificates. Gas Certificate App is a similar option at £20 per user per month ex VAT on its own site. Our gas certificate app comparison covers these in more depth.

What does plumbing software cost? Two worked examples

List prices only tell half the story. Here is what each tool would cost for two typical plumbing businesses, using the prices we checked on 12 October 2026.

Example 1: sole trader plumber, Gas Safe registered, about 45 jobs a month

Verdict for a sole trader: Powered Now is the lowest-cost route if MTD matters to you (it becomes compulsory from 6 April 2026 for self-employed people with qualifying income over £50,000). Tradify is £5 a month more and gives you the stronger all-round app plus a Sage link. Running ServiceM8 and a separate gas app costs more and means two logins.

Example 2: plumbing and heating firm with 5 people

Say the owner, three engineers and one office person, doing about 140 jobs a month.

Verdict for a 5-person team: if most work is gas and heating, Tradify or Powered Now are worth the extra over ServiceM8, because one missing certificate costs more in admin than £100 a month. If you rarely do gas work and run lots of people, ServiceM8 is hard to beat on price. Commusoft only makes sense once you reach about 6 staff and want service contracts and dispatch.

Which features matter most for plumbers (and which can you skip)?

Worth paying for

• Named UK gas forms. A generic form builder is not the same as a ready-made CP12 with the right fields. If you do gas work, this is the first thing to check.
• Service reminders. Automatic reminders for annual boiler services and landlord checks bring back work you have already earned.
• Materials cost per job. If you spend more than a few hundred pounds a month at merchants, knowing the materials cost per job is worth more than any other feature.
• Online payments on the doorstep. Tradify, Fergus, ServiceM8 and Powered Now all offer card or link payments.
• Your accounting software link. Check it works with the package your accountant uses, especially if that is Sage.

Usually safe to skip

• AI add-ons such as AI bill capture or writing helpers. Handy, but they are on higher plans and rarely change your margins.
• Fleet tracking and dispatch boards if you have fewer than about 5 vans.
• Customer portals for domestic work. Many homeowners are happy with a text and an emailed invoice.
• Website add-ons. Tradify offers an Instant Website for £10 a month, but a proper site is usually a better investment.

What mistakes should plumbers avoid when switching software?

1. Not checking the gas forms first. Open the trial and fill in a full landlord gas safety record before you commit. If a form is missing a field you need, you will find out on a Friday afternoon in a tenant's kitchen.
2. Buying the cheapest plan, then finding certificates are not on it. Tradify Lite and Powered Now Business do not include certificates. Budget for Tradify Pro or Powered Now Professional.
3. Forgetting your service history. Export your customer list, boiler details and next service dates from your old system before you cancel it. Otherwise you lose next year's reminders.
4. Signing a long contract too early. Commusoft uses a 12-month contract. Tradify, Fergus and Powered Now let you pay month to month, so test properly first.
5. Ignoring per-user maths. A per-user tool that is cheap for one person costs £185 a month at 5 people on Tradify Pro, or £220 on Plus. Work out next year's team size, not just today's.
6. Trusting old price lists. Capterra UK still showed an older Tradify Pro price when we checked. Always check the vendor's own pricing page, or see our full guide to job management software for trades.