UK. Electricians, plumbers, builders and small teams
Compare job management software for UK trades
A one-van business and a six-van business buy this software for opposite reasons, and the pricing shape matters more than the feature list. Some of these charge per user, some per business, one is free until you hit thirty jobs a month. This table records what eight suppliers publish on their own pages: what it costs to start, what happens when you put a mate on it, and whether the certificates and the accounts sync are included or an upgrade.
| Option | supplier's own page, checked 15 Aug 2026 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 A sole trader who wants to start at nothing | Free plan at £0 a month for 1 user and 30 jobs a month, with 10 AI uses a day and SMS at 5p | Nothing. Every paid plan from Starter at £25 a month carries unlimited users; you pay for jobs per month instead (50, 150, 500, then 1500 plus at £119 and £269) | Electronic forms described as completing any report, procedure or certificate on site and generating a professional PDF. Asset management and recurring maintenance scheduling are listed on the paid plans | Card payments through the app or a pay-online link, Tap to Pay on iPhone, online bookings, quoting and invoicing on every plan | Accounting integrations on all plans, syncing clients, items, invoices and payments | 14 day free trial, and the Free plan continues indefinitely. The pricing page describes the mobile app as iOS and refers throughout to iPhone and iPad; it does not mention Android |
| Gas Engineer Software Gas and heating engineers who live in certificates | The page's pricing FAQ states plans start from £18 per user per month on an annual plan, £19 monthly, for the Starter plan aimed at sole traders. Prices exclude VAT | Per user, so a second engineer is another licence. The page's plan builder prices a 4 user Core team at £100 a month, being 4 users at £25 each on monthly billing | The core of the product: gas records and certificates including CP12 landlord gas safety records, oil records, job sheets, full certificate history, an AI certificate validator, and air source heat pump records listed as coming soon | Quotes and estimates, invoices and payments from the Core plan; the Starter plan does not include them | Direct integrations with QuickBooks, Xero and Sage, on the Pro plan at £30 per user per month | 14 day free trial with no card and no feature restrictions. The page states all plans are month to month with no contracts and no setup fees |
| Powered Now A UK trade business that wants VAT and MTD in the same app | Business £28 a month or £280 a year. Pricing is stated as per user, VAT excluded | Per user. Adding your team is a Professional plan feature at £32 a month per user, so the second user costs both a licence and a tier | Forms and certificates from the Professional plan, with automated certificate reminders. Drawings and annotations on Premium at £40 | Quotes, invoices, deposits and part payments, online payments, a mobile card reader, and automatic invoice and quote chasing on Premium | Making Tax Digital compliance on every plan, with Xero integration and VAT return submission from Professional | 14 day trial. Annual billing is described as two months free every year |
| YourTradebase Quoting and getting paid, without the rest | £29 per month, described as the whole price. Prices subject to VAT | £15 per month per additional user, the clearest published second-user price here | Not named on the pricing page. The product is presented as quotes and estimates, job scheduling, invoices and card payments | Quotes and estimates, invoicing with reminders, and card payments | Connections to QuickBooks and Xero are listed in the site's own feature navigation | 30 day free trial with no card, the longest here. No long-term contracts, and the page states an account downgrades to a free account with usage limits rather than being cut off |
| Tradify A small team that wants everything on one per-user price | Lite £34 per user per month. VAT treatment is not stated on the pricing page | Another £34 to £44 depending on tier, straight linear per user. A Custom tier for large teams is sold by phone | Forms and certificates from the Pro plan at £37, with oil and gas safety certificates and electrical safety certificates named separately in the site's own feature list | Quoting and invoicing, online and credit card payments and email tracking on Lite; progress invoicing, quote options with online acceptance and automated quote and invoice chasing from Pro | Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online sync on every plan including Lite | 14 day free trial described as including all features. Add-ons priced separately: instant website £10 a month, text messages 10p each |
| Okappy Firms that push work out to subcontractors | £39 plus VAT per user, quoted as a monthly equivalent paid yearly in advance, on the Growing plan with a minimum of 5 employees. The Established plan is cheaper per user at £29 plus VAT but has a minimum of 10 | Per user, but subcontractor licences are included rather than charged: 5 on Growing, 10 on Established, 1,000 on Enterprise | Standard templates and check sheets on every plan, custom templates and custom check sheets on the higher tiers, plus daily check sheets | Raise and receive invoices, take payment, create quotes | Export to accounting software listed on all plans | Free trial offered, and the page states contracts are monthly rolling with 14 days written notice. Training from £250 and configuration from £100 are priced separately |
| Joblogic A trade firm growing into contract maintenance | Standard from £45 per user per month billed annually, with a worked example of a 5 user team at £225 a month | Per user, and the page states per-user pricing scales linearly up to 50 users, above which it becomes a custom commercial agreement | Electronic Forms (Standard) on the entry plan, with a custom form builder held back to Enterprise. Gas certificates and F gas compliance appear in its industry pages | Quotes and invoices plus Stripe integration on Standard; purchase orders and invoicing move up to Premium | Accounts integration is listed among its features, and the marketplace is described as carrying 70 plus apps and integrations | Standard has a free trial with no card. The page states most customers commit to 24 or 36 months and that a 12 month term can be structured instead, which is the longest tie-in here |
| Fergus Job costing and profit per job | The UK page states plans starting from 53 a month for Basic and 75 for Professional, with a dollar sign and no currency stated anywhere on the page. We have reproduced the figures rather than converting them | Timesheet users are quoted from 26 a month, in the same unstated currency. Enterprise is a custom plan for more than 10 staff | Job cards are the named on-site document. The plan comparison does not name UK trade certificates | Quoting and estimating, price books, invoicing and credit card and on-site payments | Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB listed in the plan comparison | 14 day free trial with no card, monthly billing described as having no lock-in contracts, and a free one hour onboarding session |
How we chose these, and how they are ordered
These are job management apps aimed at UK trade businesses, whose own pricing page we could read on 15 August 2026, that are sold to the sort of firm that has between one and about twenty people on the tools. Products sold mainly to facilities management contractors and national maintenance operations are not here: they are a different purchase, and we cover them on our sister site for larger field service operations.
The order is by the cheapest published way for a sole trader to get started, from free upward, because that is the question a one-van business actually asks first. It is not a quality ranking and the order would change completely if you sorted by anything else, which is exactly why the table is sortable. Column by column, the useful comparison is usually the second one: what a second and third user cost, because that is where a per-user product and a per-business product diverge sharply.
Every price is copied from the supplier's own page on 15 August 2026, with its VAT treatment as the supplier states it. Where a supplier states nothing about VAT, we say so rather than assuming. Fergus is included with a caveat rather than a price: its UK page quotes plans with a dollar sign and states no currency anywhere on the page, so we have reproduced the figures and not converted them. simPRO and Jobber are excluded entirely, because both refuse our checks with a 403 at every path including their own home pages and we do not publish a row we cannot source.
What this table does not tell you: which one you will actually enjoy using. There are no scores, ratings or review counts here, because we have not run these products on real jobs and neither has anyone else who publishes a scored table of eight of them in an afternoon. It records what each supplier states about its own product on a named page on a named date. Use it to build a shortlist of two, then spend the trial period on the thing that decides it: how long it takes you to send a quote from a van in the rain. We take no commission from any supplier here and carry no paid placements.
- ServiceM8 servicem8.com UK pricing
- Gas Engineer Software gasengineersoftware.com pricing
- Powered Now powerednow.com pricing
- YourTradebase yourtradebase.com pricing
- Tradify tradifyhq.com UK pricing
- Okappy okappy.com pricing
- Joblogic joblogic.com pricing
- Fergus fergus.com UK pricing
Compare Trade Software is an independent site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to any software supplier named here, nor with HMRC or any certification body, and nothing on it is tax, legal or accounting advice. We take no commission from any supplier in this comparison and carry no paid placements. Prices and features change without notice: every figure carries the date we read it on the supplier's own page, and you should confirm the current position there before you buy.
What it costs to put a UK trade business on job management software, and what the second user costs
Last updated
The headline price of trade software is almost never the number you end up paying, because the pricing shapes are not comparable. Per user, per business, per job and per band all look similar on a pricing page and behave completely differently as soon as you hire someone. This table reduces eight UK products to the two numbers that decide it.
Every figure is copied from the supplier's own pricing page on 15 August 2026 and reproduced rather than estimated, with the VAT treatment as that supplier states it. Where a supplier does not state VAT treatment, the row says so. Where a supplier's cheapest plan carries a minimum number of users, that minimum is shown, because a per-user price with a minimum of five is not an entry price for a sole trader. Fergus is shown with its figures as published, in a currency its UK page does not state. simPRO and Jobber are absent because both refuse automated checks at every path including their home pages, so we could not read their prices at source. No product on this page pays us and no placement is paid.
| Product | Cheapest published start | What a second user costs | VAT stated? |
|---|---|---|---|
| ServiceM8 | £0 a month, 1 user, 30 jobs a month | Nothing: paid plans from £25 a month carry unlimited users and charge by jobs per month instead | Not stated on the page |
| Gas Engineer Software | £18 per user per month on an annual plan (£19 monthly), Starter tier | Another licence at the same rate; the page prices a 4 user Core team at £100 a month | Yes, prices exclude VAT |
| Powered Now | £28 a month (£280 a year), Business tier | Another licence, and adding your team is a Professional feature at £32 per user per month | Yes, per user and VAT excluded |
| YourTradebase | £29 a month | £15 a month per additional user | Yes, subject to VAT |
| Tradify | £34 per user per month, Lite tier | Another £34 to £44 depending on tier | Not stated on the page |
| Okappy | £39 plus VAT per user monthly equivalent paid yearly, minimum 5 employees | Another licence, but 5 to 1,000 subcontractor licences are included by tier | Yes, plus VAT |
| Joblogic | £45 per user per month billed annually, Standard tier | Another licence; the page states pricing scales linearly to 50 users | Not stated on the pricing page |
| Fergus | 53 a month, Basic tier, in a currency the UK page does not state | Timesheet users from 26 a month, same unstated currency | Not stated on the page |
- Of eight UK trade job management products, the cheapest published entry is £0 a month (ServiceM8's free plan, 1 user and 30 jobs a month) and the cheapest paid entry is £18 per user per month excluding VAT (Gas Engineer Software Starter, annual), checked 15 August 2026.
- Only one product publishes a distinct second-user price: YourTradebase at £15 a month per additional user, against £29 a month for the first.
- ServiceM8 is the only product here that charges by jobs per month rather than by user, so its paid plans carry unlimited users from £25 a month.
- Free trials run from 14 days on most products to 30 days on YourTradebase, and Gas Engineer Software, Okappy and Fergus all state there is no minimum term.
- The longest tie-in belongs to Joblogic, whose pricing page states most customers commit to 24 or 36 months, with 12 months available if it suits the business better.
Cite this page
“What it costs to put a UK trade business on job management software, and what the second user costs”, Compare Trade Software, https://comparetradesoftware.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). Every figure is copied from the supplier's own pricing page on 15 August 2026 and reproduced rather than estimated, with the VAT treatment as that supplier states it. Where a supplier does not state VAT treatment, the row says so. Where a supplier's cheapest plan carries a minimum number of users, that minimum is shown, because a per-user price with a minimum of five is not an entry price for a sole trader. Fergus is shown with its figures as published, in a currency its UK page does not state. simPRO and Jobber are absent because both refuse automated checks at every path including their home pages, so we could not read their prices at source. No product on this page pays us and no placement is paid.
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Go deeper
Sourced, dated, kept current.
- What job management software costs a UK trade business
Published UK prices for trade job management apps, from free to £45 per user a month, and why the pricing shape matters more than the headline number.
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: what it asks of a trade app
MTD for Income Tax started for sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000 in April 2026. What HMRC requires, and which trade apps say they handle it.
- Certificates and forms: which trade apps include them
Electrical and gas certificates, job sheets and check sheets are the feature most likely to sit one tier above the price you were quoted. What each supplier includes.
Questions, answered directly
What is the cheapest job management software for a UK sole trader?
Of the eight products we compared on 15 August 2026, the cheapest published start is ServiceM8's free plan at £0 a month, limited to one user and 30 jobs a month. The cheapest paid start is Gas Engineer Software's Starter plan at £18 per user per month on an annual plan, excluding VAT, aimed at sole traders and single-engineer businesses. YourTradebase is £29 a month with additional users at £15, and Powered Now's Business tier is £28 a month per user excluding VAT.
Does trade job management software include electrical or gas certificates?
Sometimes, and usually one tier above the entry price. Gas Engineer Software is built around gas and oil records including CP12 landlord gas safety records. Tradify includes forms and certificates from its Pro plan at £37 per user per month, and names oil, gas and electrical safety certificates separately. Powered Now includes forms and certificates from its Professional plan at £32. ServiceM8 and Okappy provide general electronic forms and check sheets. YourTradebase does not name certificates on its pricing page.
How much does it cost to add a second user?
It depends entirely on the pricing shape. On per-user products (Tradify, Gas Engineer Software, Powered Now, Joblogic, Okappy) a second user costs another full licence at the same rate. YourTradebase charges £15 a month per additional user against £29 for the first. ServiceM8's paid plans from £25 a month include unlimited users and charge by jobs per month instead. On Powered Now, adding your team is itself a Professional plan feature, so the second user can cost a tier as well as a licence.
Which trade apps handle Making Tax Digital?
Powered Now lists Making Tax Digital compliance on every plan and VAT return submission from its Professional tier. Most other products in this comparison sync to accounting software that does the submitting: Tradify to Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online on all tiers, YourTradebase to QuickBooks and Xero, Gas Engineer Software to QuickBooks, Xero and Sage on its Pro plan, and ServiceM8 to your accounting package on all plans. Ask a supplier which part of the chain it is before you assume.
Do I have to sign a long contract?
Not at this end of the market, mostly. Gas Engineer Software states all plans are month to month with no contracts and no setup fees. Okappy states contracts are monthly rolling with 14 days written notice. Fergus states monthly billing with no lock-in contracts. YourTradebase states no long-term contracts and a 30 day free trial. The exception is Joblogic, whose pricing page states most customers commit to 24 or 36 months, with a 12 month term available if it suits the business better.
Why are simPRO and Jobber not in this comparison?
Both are well known in this market and both returned a 403 to our automated checks at every path we tried, including their own home pages, so we could not read a current price or feature list at source. We do not publish a row we cannot verify. Fergus is included but without a currency: its UK pricing page quotes plans with a dollar sign and states no currency anywhere, so we have reproduced the numbers rather than converting them.
Will these apps work on an Android phone?
Check this specifically, because it varies and it is easy to miss. ServiceM8's UK pricing page describes its mobile app as iOS and refers throughout to iPhone and iPad, and does not mention Android. Powered Now states compatibility with PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android phone and tablet. Gas Engineer Software lists mobile apps for Android and iOS on every plan. If your engineers are on Android handsets, confirm it on the supplier's own page before the trial, not during it.
Compare the price, then compare the second user
Eight UK trade job management apps, what each publishes as a starting price, and what happens to the bill when you put someone else on it.