Best invoice app for tradesmen
Job management suites against invoicing and tax apps
A trade business needs quotes on site, an invoice before you leave and the money chased afterwards. Some apps run the whole job; others do the invoice and the tax. Here is which suits which kind of trade, with every price checked on 7 October 2026.
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See what you would owe for the year, then file the real figures with TapTax in a couple of taps.
Total turnover before expenses
Under £1,000 we use the trading allowance automatically
Estimated tax bill
£6,872
15.3% effective rate for 2026/27
- Income tax
- £5,286
- Class 4 NI
- £1,586
Take-home pay
£32,128
after tax, NI and expenses
This is an estimate using GOV.UK rates for 2026/27, not your official tax calculation. TapTax is MTD-compatible, so you can connect to HMRC and file the real figures in a couple of taps.
A trade business invoices differently from an office one. You quote on site, buy materials on the way, finish the job and want the invoice sent before you are back in the van. Then you want the money chased without making an awkward call.
There are two kinds of app for that. Job management suites such as Tradify and Powered Now run the whole job, from quote and schedule to invoice. Invoicing and tax apps such as TapTax do the invoice, the receipts and the tax, and leave the scheduling to you. This page compares both, with every price checked on 7 October 2026.
£4.99/mo
TapTax Starter
£28 + VAT/mo
Powered Now Business
£34/mo
Tradify Lite, per user
Side by side
| TapTax | Powered Now | Tradify | SumUp / Square | Invoice2go | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free; £4.99/mo Starter | £28, £32, £40/mo ex VAT | £34, £37, £44 per user/mo | £0 | £7.99 to £44.99/mo |
| Quotes | Free web quote generator | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduling and jobs | No | Yes | Yes, full job management | No | No |
| Trade invoice layout | Trades template and rate card | Not stated | Not stated | Standard | Not stated |
| Payment reminders | Yes, plus statutory interest | Not stated | From Pro | Yes | Not stated |
| Card payments on site | No | Payment links | Online and card payments | Yes, 2.5% UK cards | Yes, 2.4% + 20p to 1.9% + 20p |
| Receipt reading | Every plan | AI scanning on Premium | SmartRead for Bills on Plus | No | Expense tracking |
| Making Tax Digital | Quarterly updates, sole trader and property | MTD for Income Tax on all plans | Sync to Xero, Sage, QuickBooks | SumUp: sole trader only | No |
| HMRC finder | Listing pending | Listed | Not listed | SumUp Accounting listed | Not listed |
Sources: Powered Now pricing, Tradify pricing, SumUp Invoices, Square Invoices, Invoice2go and HMRC's find software service, checked 7 October 2026. Tradify's pricing page did not say whether its prices include VAT.
Best all-in-one for a small trade business: Powered Now
Powered Now is built for UK trades and has done its homework on tax. Every plan includes quotes, invoices, scheduling and payment links, and MTD for Income Tax. Business is £28 a month excluding VAT for one user, Professional £32 and Premium £40, with two months free on annual billing and a 14-day trial with no card. MTD for VAT starts on Professional and AI receipt scanning on Premium.
HMRC lists Powered Now for MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates, covering sole trader, UK property and foreign property income.
Powered Now
£28 + VAT/mo Business, £32 Professional, £40 Premium(checked 7 October 2026)
- Free version: no
- Android; Apple iOS: yes
- Sole trader income: yes
- UK property income: yes
- Foreign property income: yes
- Keeps digital records: yes
0/16 tax-return items ready, 12 more in development.
HMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 2 October 2026. Feature flags are vendor-declared. Vendor site
Quotes, scheduling, invoices and MTD for Income Tax on every plan; receipt scanning on Premium only.
HMRC lists what each vendor declares. Feature flags, mobile-app support in particular, are vendor claims rather than verified facts, and listings change. Check with the vendor before you buy. Data: HMRC find-MTD-software service (tax.service.gov.uk), scraped 2 October 2026.
Best for a team that runs on jobs: Tradify
Tradify is a full job management system: quotes, job scheduling and management, invoices, online and card payments, and sync to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks. Lite is £34, Pro £37 and Plus £44 per user a month, with a 14-day trial. Reminders start on Pro, AI bill capture ("SmartRead for Bills") on Plus, and text messages cost 10p each. Tradify did not mention Making Tax Digital and is not on HMRC's finder; the filing happens in the accounting software it syncs to.
For a firm with a few engineers and a van each, Tradify's job management is the point. For a sole trader it is a lot of system, and per-user pricing adds up.
Best for a sole trader who wants invoices and tax in one app: TapTax
TapTax does not schedule jobs. What it does is the money side of a trade, quickly. The Trades template lays your invoice out for trade work, and a rate card holds the jobs you do at your prices, so an EICR or a call-out goes on the invoice in a tap. Invoices go from your business name with the PDF attached, repeat themselves for regular work, and chase late payers before, on and after the due date. For business clients, such as letting agents and main contractors, it can add statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate and £40, £70 or £100 fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act.
It reads the receipts for materials you buy, checks the VAT, matches them to your bank statement and files your quarterly update. Starter is £4.99 a month or £49 a year. See how an invoice looks for your trade on the electrician, plumber or builder templates.
- Rate card
- A saved list of the jobs you do and what you charge for each, so an invoice line is a tap rather than typing the description and price every time.
Best for taking a card on the doorstep: SumUp or Square
If your customers are householders who want to pay by card before you leave, a payments company's invoicing is the simplest answer. SumUp and Square both invoice for free, both charge 2.5% on a UK card payment, and both have card readers if you want them. Neither runs jobs or, apart from SumUp's sole-trader MTD product, files your tax.
Construction: CIS and retentions
If you work for contractors under the Construction Industry Scheme, your invoice shows labour and materials separately, and the contractor deducts tax from the labour before paying. None of the apps here removes the need to understand that. Our guides to CIS invoice requirements and retention payments in construction cover what the invoice must show, and the CIS invoice template lays it out. If you supply construction services to a VAT-registered contractor, check the domestic reverse charge wording too.
Getting paid before you leave the job
The quickest way to be paid is to send the invoice while the customer is still standing in front of you. Have your usual jobs priced on a rate card, take a photo of any materials receipt as you buy them, and finish the invoice on your phone as you pack up. Put a due date on it rather than "on receipt", so a reminder has something to count from.
Which to choose
- Sole trader, quotes by message, wants invoicing and tax done: TapTax.
- Small trade business wanting quotes, diary and MTD in one: Powered Now.
- A team of engineers running on scheduled jobs: Tradify, with accounting software for the tax.
- Paid by householders' cards on the spot: SumUp or Square, with separate MTD software.
- One invoice for one job: the free invoice generator.
The bottom line
“If you need a diary, buy a job management app. If you need the invoice out and the tax done, you do not.”
Powered Now is the strongest all-in-one for a UK trade business that wants scheduling and MTD together, and Tradify the fullest job management system for a team. For a sole trader whose jobs live in their head and their messages, TapTax does the invoices, the receipts and the quarterly update for £4.99 a month.
People also ask
What app do most UK tradesmen use for invoicing?
There is no published market share for UK trades. Job management apps such as Tradify and Powered Now are built for trades, and many sole traders use accounting software, a payments app such as SumUp, or an invoicing and tax app such as TapTax.
Can I send an invoice from my phone on site?
Yes, with any of the apps here. TapTax’s rate card puts your usual jobs on the invoice in a tap, and the invoice is sent from your business name with the PDF attached.
Is Powered Now on HMRC’s list for MTD?
Yes. On 7 October 2026 HMRC listed Powered Now for MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates, covering sole trader, UK property and foreign property income.
Can I charge interest when a contractor pays late?
Yes, for business-to-business invoices: statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate and fixed compensation of £40, £70 or £100, unless your contract says otherwise. TapTax can add both to reminders.
Useful tools and guides
Other comparisons
Frequently asked questions
What is the best invoice app for a tradesman in the UK?
For a sole trader who wants invoices, receipts and Making Tax Digital in one app, TapTax at £4.99 a month. For quotes, scheduling and job management with MTD included, Powered Now from £28 a month excluding VAT. For a team that needs job management and syncs to Xero, Sage or QuickBooks, Tradify from £34 per user a month. Prices checked 7 October 2026.
Which trade apps file Making Tax Digital?
Of the trade-focused apps we checked on 7 October 2026, Powered Now was on HMRC's find-software service for MTD for Income Tax, for quarterly updates, on all of its plans. Tradify did not mention MTD and syncs to accounting software instead. TapTax files quarterly updates and is HMRC-recognised, with its directory listing pending.
Do I need a job management app or just an invoice app?
If you schedule several jobs a day, send quotes on site, manage staff or track materials per job, a job management app such as Tradify or Powered Now earns its price. A sole trader who quotes by message and invoices when the job is done usually needs only invoicing, receipts and their tax.
How should a tradesman invoice under CIS?
A subcontractor working for a contractor under the Construction Industry Scheme invoices the full amount and shows the materials separately, and the contractor deducts tax from the labour. Our CIS invoice guide covers what the invoice must show, and our CIS invoice template lays it out.
Is TapTax on HMRC's software directory?
Not yet. TapTax is HMRC-recognised, with its directory listing pending, so it does not appear on GOV.UK's find-software service today. Powered Now does.
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