Free guides for UK trades
Free guides for UK trades on pricing, getting paid, CIS, VAT, tenders and using AI. We check every one against GOV.UK and HMRC, and add new guides every week.
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196 guides.
Running the firm
What construction accounting software has to handle that a general bookkeeping app may not (job costs, CIS, the VAT reverse charge, retention and stage payments), a checklist to use before you pay, and when a small firm can manage with what it has.
30 Oct 2026, 11 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Tendering and estimating
Roof tenders are won and lost on the rate per square metre and the risks hidden behind it. This guide prices a 420 m² flat roof line by line, gives you a quick check for per m² or per day, a calculator and a qualifications list to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Electrical tenders are priced point by point, but the money is lost in what the points leave out. This guide works through a 1,200-point take-off, a quick check on design responsibility, a price-per-point calculator and clarifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Drylining tenders are priced per m² of partition, but the risk sits in the system spec. This guide prices a 380 m² partition package, gives a quick check on substituting the specified system, a calculator and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Heating tenders look like equipment lists, but the risk sits in design, commissioning and kit lead times. This guide prices an eight-house heating package, gives a quick check on design-and-install, clarifications to copy and a tender handled over WhatsApp.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Air con tenders are priced unit by unit, but they're lost on heat loads, pipe runs and planning. This guide prices a three-room office install, gives a quick check on planning for the external unit, a pre-pricing checklist and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Groundworks tenders are won on the bill rates and lost in the ground. This guide works through dig and cart away with bulking, a quick check on who carries the ground risk, qualifications to copy and a bill of quantities handled over WhatsApp.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Scaffold tenders are priced on the face area and lost on the hire period. This guide prices a terrace scaffold and shows what a five-week overrun does to it, with a TG20 quick check and hire terms to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Brickwork tenders are priced per thousand and lost on openings, attendances and winter. This guide counts and prices a pair of semis from the elevations, with a quick check on labour-only or supply and fit and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Carpentry tenders are priced from the door schedule, and lost where it disagrees with the ironmongery schedule and the fire strategy. This guide prices a 12-flat second fix, with a quick check on fire doors, a schedule checklist and clarifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Decorating tenders are priced per m² from a finishes schedule, and lost on prep, mist coats and return visits. This guide measures and prices an office floor, with a quick check on pricing from the schedule alone, a calculator and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Render tenders are priced per m², but the money goes on beads, weather and warranty conditions. This guide prices a 650 m² render package, gives a quick check on approved-installer status, a calculator and render qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Flooring tenders are won on the m² rate and lost on the subfloor. This guide prices a 480 m² surgery refurbishment, gives a quick check on who owns the subfloor, a calculator, a qualifications list and a look at a tender read by AI.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Window tenders go wrong on sizes, lead times and sign-off. This guide prices a 48-unit refurbishment from a window schedule, gives a quick check on whether the drawings or your survey set the sizes, the rules in figures, and clarifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Fire stopping tenders are priced per penetration, and lost on the ones nobody counted. This guide prices 180 penetrations, gives a quick check on higher-risk buildings, a tender cost calculator and fire stopping qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Cladding tenders carry fire, design and fixing risk that a m² rate hides. This guide gives the combustibility rules in figures, a quick check on regulation 7, a priced 420 m² rainscreen package and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Metalwork tenders are priced from a cut list, and lost on steel prices, finishes and connections. This guide prices a stair and balustrade package, gives a quick check on who designs the connections, qualifications to copy and a tender read by AI.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Landscaping tenders hide their risk in the ground and in the year after handover. This guide prices a 1,050 m² housing scheme, shows what Landfill Tax does to muck away, and gives a quick check on plant failures and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Solar tenders are cheap to lose and expensive to price. This guide prices a 50 kWp commercial roof, gives a quick check on G99, a calculator for what each win costs at solar win rates, and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Fire alarm tenders are priced per point and lost on the category, the cause and effect and the paperwork. This guide prices a 120-point care home system, gives a quick check on the category, a per-point calculator and clarifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Demolition tenders are priced on tonnes and days, and lost on asbestos and unknowns. This guide prices a 1,200 m² soft strip, gives a quick check on the asbestos survey, the key notice periods in figures and qualifications to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
If every question on site ends with a call to you, the business stops when you do. This guide gives you a 20-minute head audit, a one-page rules template and the order to hand things over in.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A worked cost for a 20-hour admin on the 2026 minimum wage, a bookkeeper's monthly fee and an AI tool, set against what your own evenings cost. Use the calculator to put your own numbers in.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
Figures from 54 sales and onboarding calls with 28 trade firms between July and October 2026: how many hours admin takes, which tasks eat them, and a calculator to put a price on yours.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A setup any trade firm can do in an afternoon: route every channel to one place, send an instant reply, and call back on a fixed rule. Includes copy-ready auto-replies and the cost of a missed lead worked out.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A five-part voice note script, a same-day confirmation message to send the customer, and a priced worked example of two extra radiators, so extras get agreed and paid instead of argued about.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
What the free WhatsApp Business app gives a small trade firm, how to set up job groups and a receipts chat that don't turn into chaos, and a quick check on whether a message counts as marketing.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
Make reporting take less effort than avoiding it. A 30-second job report script, a minimum job record, and a worked example of what missed half-hours and fittings cost a three-engineer service firm in a year.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A reminder schedule built on the landlord gas safety rules, a worked date example, three copy-ready reminder messages and a weekend plan for cleaning up an old customer database.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A four-folder system you can set up in an evening, with a worked example of where the time goes on a 30-email day, filter rules for Gmail and Outlook, and an auto-reply you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
The admin you take on when you incorporate, set out as a first-year deadline table, a worked example of where £40,000 of company profit goes, and a quick check of whether it's worth an accountant's time.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A one-page quote layout, the details the law expects on it, a worked three-option quote that avoids sticker shock, and a cover-letter template you can copy into Word or Google Docs.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
Four ways to run the diary, from a paper book to job management software, with a worked yearly cost for a four-engineer firm, a quick check to choose, and the booking rules that stop double-booking whichever tool you use.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A six-week plan for getting away, a worked example of the team's holiday days and notice periods, a copyable handover note and auto-reply, and what to do about the jobs only you can do.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A five-minute morning check built around six numbers, with a worked example from a five-person heating firm, a calculator for the cash your work ties up, and what to do when each number goes the wrong way.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A four-week rollout plan for a small trade firm, a worked example of what a half-used system costs, a message to the team you can copy, and the warning signs that the rollout is stalling.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A copyable job folder template, a naming rule that sorts itself, a worked example of how long to keep a job's records, and how to share folders with clients and subbies without exposing everything.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
Landlords with dozens of properties are steady work if you run them as a register, not a diary. Here's the legal timetable for gas and electrical checks, a register you can copy, and a 12-month example for a 40-property landlord.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
Between 5 and 15 people, admin grows faster than the team. Here's what an office manager really costs, what your evenings cost now, which tasks to systemise first, and a calculator for your own hours.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A buyer pays for profit they can check and a business that runs without you. Here's the records checklist, how long the law makes you keep them, a worked tax example under the 2026 rules, and what transfers with your staff.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
The questions you ask before signing are your best protection. Here are the questions to put to any coach, a payback check showing how much extra work a fee needs, and the subsidised and free options to look at first.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Most quoting time goes on looking up prices and retyping the same lines. Here's a five-step flow from voice note to sent quote, a rate card checklist, and a worked example of what slow quoting costs a heating firm.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Every day on site has to pay for the van, the insurance and the days you don't work. Here's how to put a number on it, with a worked example from a six-person roofing firm and a calculator for your own.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Markup and margin use the same profit but divide it by different numbers. Here's the conversion table, a worked example of what mixing them up costs on a £20,000 job, and calculators for both.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Main contractors want a rate per square metre; you know what a day costs. Here's the conversion, with a worked example for a three-person roofing gang, a table showing what output does to the rate, and a calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A quote with options should make it easy to say yes to one of them. Here's how to lay one out, a worked good-better-best example for a boiler swap, and a template you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A variation is extra work, and it should earn the same margin as the rest of the job. Here's how to price one, with a worked example for an extra rooflight and a confirmation message you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Ringing round merchants eats a morning per quote. Here's a written method that gets comparable prices back the same day, with a request template to copy and a worked example of what stale prices cost.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Exclusions say what your price doesn't cover; assumptions say what it relies on. Here's wording you can copy, a quick check for which lines a job needs, and the lines the law won't let you use.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A percentage is easy to quote, but it should cover the hours you'll spend. Here's how to set a project management fee on an extension, with a worked example on a £120,000 build and a calculator to test your own.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Air con quotes go wrong on the pipe run, the electrics and the paperwork, not the unit price. Here's how to build one, with a worked example for a two-room domestic install and the survey questions to ask first.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Most boiler quotes lose money on the extras: the flue, the flush, the controls and the paperwork. Here's what to include, with a worked combi swap priced line by line and a quick check on the efficiency rules.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Roofing prices go wrong on output and extras, not on tiles. Here's how to price a pitched re-roof and a flat roof from your own gang rate, with two worked examples and a per-m² calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Marking up materials pays for buying, collecting, storing and guaranteeing them. Here's how to set a markup that covers those costs, with a worked example, a markup-to-margin table and a calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A price per point is only as good as the minutes and labour rate behind it. Here's how to build one from your own numbers, with a worked example for a kitchen and utility rewire, a rate table by point type and a calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Most quotes that go quiet haven't been turned down; they've been forgotten. Here's a follow-up schedule, five messages you can copy, and where the marketing rules start to apply.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A copy-ready quote template with the lines UK trades need: scope, exclusions, VAT, the domestic reverse charge and a CIS note. Two worked examples show the totals for a homeowner and for a main contractor.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Material prices move between the quote and the invoice, and on a fixed price the rise comes out of your profit. Here's how to catch it on every invoice, with a worked example using the government's own price index and a quick check on whether you can pass it on.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Extensions and lofts are big enough to make your year and big enough to sink it. Here's how to price one stage by stage, with a worked example for a dormer loft conversion and a checklist of what to settle before you price.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A £48,000 extension can earn less per day than a £3,000 bathroom. Here's where the margin goes, with a worked example comparing the job as quoted and as built, a calculator for your own last job and the fixes that work.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Every extra step between 'that looks fine' and a booked job loses some customers. Here's how to cut acceptance to one click, take a deposit the same day, and handle the 14-day cancellation period, with copy-ready wording and a deposit calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
Win rate only means something next to what each quote costs you. Here's how to measure yours, what a few firms told us theirs was, a worked example of the cost per job won and a calculator for your own leads.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
What the law holds you to once a customer says yes, when you can charge more, and how cancellation rights change things for work agreed at the kitchen table. With a quick check, a worked example and wording for your quotes.
29 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
What a take-off is, how to do one from a set of drawings, and how to check it before you price. With a worked example for a single-storey extension and a take-off sheet you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
What AI take-off tools can and can't read on a drawing, and a test you can run on your own last job before trusting one on a tender. With worked answers for a roof, a wall and a socket count, and what two firms found.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Which drawing tells you what, how to read the scale and title block, and what to pull out before you price. With a worked scale example, a pricing checklist and what one young roofer told us.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
What SSIP and the Common Assessment Standard mean, which scheme to buy first, and what each costs as of October 2026. With a quick check, a price table and the real yearly cost one Kent contractor was paying.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
How to price work you can't see without gambling the margin: split the risk into what's drawn, what's assumed and what's unknown. With a worked example for a small commercial fit-out and qualification wording to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
How to price a client's tender spreadsheet or schedule of rates line by line without breaking it, building rates that pay, and checking it before it goes. With a worked rate build-up for 100 mm blockwork and a pre-submission checklist.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
How to turn the measured quantities in a bill or take-off into a list your merchant can pick, without over-ordering or running short. With a worked example for a re-roof and ceiling, and a material order sheet to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Main contractors give work to firms already on their supply chain list. This guide covers the documents they check, a pack checklist, and an introduction email you can copy and send to a supply chain manager this week.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
The rules for public sector work changed on 24 February 2025. This guide covers what a small builder or trade firm needs to know, with a quick check to see which rules cover a contract and a 2026 threshold table.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Commercial work pays in arrears, holds back retention and runs on paperwork. This guide sets out what changes, with a worked cash-flow example for a £60,000 subcontract package and a checklist for your first commercial job.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
In a 70/30 tender the quality answers carry more than twice the marks of the price. This guide works through a real-numbers scoring example with three bidders and gives you a checklist for the written answers.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
A place on a framework doesn't guarantee work, but most council and housing association repairs and small works go through one. This guide explains the rules, gives you a quick check for whether you can join now, and a readiness checklist.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
A price is only as safe as the assumptions behind it. This guide gives you a copy-ready qualifications and exclusions schedule, a worked example of what one missing line can cost, and when qualifying a public tender gets it thrown out.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Most of a tender pack doesn't decide whether you should bid. This guide gives you the ten minutes that do: a page-by-page checklist, a worked cost of bidding, and a calculator for what each won tender costs you.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Supplying the materials can earn you more on a job, or tie up your cash and leave you holding the waste. This guide compares the two on one real-sized package and gives you a quick check for which suits the job in front of you.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
A plain guide to the payment clause in a subcontract, with a dated worked timeline under the statutory Scheme, a quick check on pay-when-paid wording and a calculator for the cash you carry.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
A final account is the last number on a job, and the one most often left unsettled. This guide shows how to build one line by line, with a worked example for an electrical subcontract and a cover letter you can send.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Most spec problems are cheap to spot before you price and expensive after you start. Here is a checklist by Approved Document, a quick check on who signs the work off, and a worked example of a coverage error caught before ordering.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Most trade owners find out a job lost money months later, if ever. This guide shows the four costs to track per job, with a quoted-versus-actual worked example on a garage conversion and a calculator for your last job.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Receipts get lost in vans, pockets and WhatsApp chats. This guide compares the four routes into Xero, works out what lost receipts cost a three-engineer firm, and gives you a message to send your team today.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Supplier bills only tell you about a job if they're coded to it. This guide sets up job tracking in Xero, works through splitting one merchant invoice across three jobs, and gives you a weekly checklist.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
AI now does a lot of the data entry a bookkeeper used to. It doesn't take responsibility for your VAT return. This guide splits the work task by task, with a quick check for your firm and three real situations from trade owners.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
The bank says £38,000, Xero says something else, and neither tells you what you can spend. This guide shows the usual reasons, with a worked bridge from a bank balance to real free cash for a building firm, and a checklist to fix it.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A small trade firm can often get supplier bills into Xero without paying for Dext. Here's what each option costs and does, a quick check to decide, and the sum for what typing bills by hand costs you.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A step-by-step way to clear a pile of unbilled jobs in a weekend, with a worked triage of a real-sized backlog and a catch-up invoice email you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Commercial clients pay invoices that match a purchase order and bounce the rest. Here's how to match one, with a worked example of part-billing a PO and a checklist to run before you hit send.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
One row per job tells you what you're owed and what you haven't billed yet. Here are the tracker columns with formulas, and a worked example of three live jobs.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A forecast shows the week you'll run short before it arrives. Here are the rows to use, the HMRC dates people forget, and a worked eight-week forecast for a five-person firm that finds its own gap.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Retention is your money, held back until conditions are met. Here's how to work out when it's due, a quick check for whether it's overdue, a release letter to copy, and where the proposed ban stands in October 2026.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A full diary and an empty bank account usually come from three things: you pay out weeks before you're paid, some jobs lose money, and tax arrives in lumps. Here's how to tell which, with a calculator for the cash you're carrying.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A deposit should cover what you spend before the next payment, not the whole job. Here's how to size it, how to split the rest into stages, the consumer rules that apply, and a calculator for your own job.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A checklist of the overheads HMRC lets a trade business deduct, what it doesn't, and a worked example showing what £3,656 of forgotten receipts costs a sole trader roofer in tax.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A weekly invoice a main contractor's QS can pay without a phone call. Includes a copy-ready template, a worked CIS example for a bricklayer, and a quick check for reverse charge VAT.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
What a main contractor's QS needs to see, the payment dates the Construction Act gives you, a worked valuation for a £48,000 package, and a cover note to send with it.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Where the late payment bill has got to in Parliament as of October 2026, what each measure would change for a small subcontractor, and a worked example of what late payment interest is worth on a £12,000 invoice today.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Which way of getting paid suits which job, what each costs on the vendor's own October 2026 pricing, and a worked fee comparison on a boiler service and a bathroom deposit.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
You don't need to be an accountant to spot most P&L mistakes. Here's a 12-point checklist, the five errors we see most in trade firms' books, and a worked example showing what they add up to in Corporation Tax.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
How to invite an accountant or bookkeeper to Xero with their own login, decide what they can see, and take access away when they leave. Includes an email to send and a quarterly access check.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
The six columns that tell you which jobs made money, a worked dashboard for five real-sized heating and air con jobs that shows the one that barely broke even, and a calculator to check any job.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
A second company can make sense for design and build, property or a new trade, but it doubles the admin and shares some tax limits. Here's the deadline calendar for two year ends, a worked cost recharge and a recharge note you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
CIS decides how much of every subcontract invoice reaches the bank and how much goes to HMRC. Here's how it works from both sides, with a worked invoice and a calculator for your own figures.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
Five questions decide whether your invoice charges VAT or says "reverse charge". Run the quick check, then see four real-shaped trade invoices worked through and the wording to put on yours.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
Whether the client is a homeowner or a business doesn't decide the VAT rate. The type of work does. Run the quick check, then see a worked loft-and-solar quote split across two rates.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
If you're a self-employed tradesperson turning over more than £30,000, MTD for Income Tax starts for you on 6 April 2027. Run the quick check, see three worked examples, and use the checklist to get ready this winter.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
The £90,000 VAT threshold is a rolling 12-month test, not a tax-year one, and trades cross it mid-job. Run the quick check, see the dates worked through, and weigh what registering does to a homeowner's price.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
Xero handles CIS deductions and reverse charge VAT once both are switched on and each contact is set up right. Follow the steps, then check your first invoice and bill against the worked example.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
A quarterly update is four lines of totals, not a tax return, but a builder's receipts have to be in shape to produce it. Here are the dates, a worked update for a sole trader builder, and a monthly routine that keeps it to minutes.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
Which rate goes on the invoice for a heat pump, a solar and battery job or an EV charger, and what changes on 1 April 2027. With two worked invoices and a quick check you can run on any install.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
The three tests HMRC applies, how to apply, and how to keep the status at the annual review. With a quick check on whether you qualify and a worked example of what 20% deductions cost your cash flow.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
The exact wording HMRC accepts, a copy-ready invoice template, the end user letter your customer may send you, and a worked invoice showing how the VAT and CIS figures sit together.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
AI in the trades
An honest split of what a general AI chat tool does well for a small trade firm and where a tool built around your office takes over. With a side-by-side table, a monthly cost comparison and a quick check on which you need.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Why an AI chat tool's price for a building job is a guess, what that guess costs on a real bathroom refit, and a five-minute test and checklist to run before any AI-drafted quote goes to a client.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What UK GDPR expects when a trade firm connects AI to its email, Xero and customer records, what the main AI vendors say about training on your data, and a quick check and supplier checklist to run before you click connect.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Twelve pieces of office work AI can take off a small trade firm now, which ones a free AI chat tool handles and which need a connected tool, and what firms we spoke to saved. With an admin cost calculator for your own hours.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What the law requires on paper for a small builder, where AI saves hours on RAMS and construction phase plans, and where it can't replace you. With a prompt template, a sign-off checklist and a quick check on what this job needs.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Five trade firms, what their admin looked like before, what changed, and what didn't work. With a payback sum you can redo with your own hours.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What the law allows behind the wheel, what CarPlay, Android Auto and ChatGPT can do by voice, and a parked-up routine that turns a five-minute stop into sent quotes. Includes a quick check and a voice-note template.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What goes wrong when AI handles your quotes and messages, the approval rules that stop it reaching customers, and a correction message to send when something slips through. With a worked example of what one wrong line costs.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Ten questions to put to any AI supplier before your customer list, prices and Xero go anywhere near it. Includes a copy-and-send email and a three-year cost example.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What each kind of AI costs, as of October 2026, set against what it would replace: your evenings, a part-time administrator, a bookkeeper. With a worked cost of a 25-hour admin hire and a calculator for your own hours.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
A prompt library written for UK trades: give it your facts and it gives you a usable draft. With a before-and-after example and the checks every answer needs.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
A side-by-side of the three AI assistants trade owners use most: price, what each is good at, who it suits, and a five-task test you can run yourself in an evening. With a two-person cost example.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Where AI helps with building regulations, where it gets them wrong, and who is still responsible. With a quick check on whether you can rely on an answer, a checking prompt, and a real catch from a roofing firm.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
What 28 small UK trade firms told us on sales and onboarding calls between July and October 2026: who uses AI, for which jobs, and where it lets them down. With a tally of what came up and the official ONS numbers alongside.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
AI prices jobs badly because it doesn't know your numbers. Here's how to write them down once so it does, with a rate card template you can copy, a worked price per square metre and a calculator to check the AI's sums.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
Customers notice AI emails when they sound like a bank, not when AI wrote them. Here's how to make drafts read like you, with a style guide you can copy, the footer a limited company must carry, and a check before you hit send.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
An AI receptionist can stop enquiries going to voicemail while you're on a roof. Here's what it does well, where it falls down, what a missed call can cost, with a worked example, an answering script to copy and a quick check on whether you need one.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
AI in the trades
A customer's photo of a tripped consumer unit or a leaking valve can become a draft quote in minutes. Here's how an East Anglia electrician does it, where AI misreads photos, a photo checklist to send customers and a quick check on when you can price without a visit.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Winning work
A lead site is worth it when the cost of each job it wins is well below the profit on that job. Here's how to check, with Checkatrade's own prices and terms as of October 2026, a worked example from a London installer paying £1,200 to £1,800 a month, and a calculator.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Small trade firms tell us they pay agencies £300 to £750 a month and can't say what it earns them. Here's what that money should buy, a worked break-even example, a checklist to hold an agency to and a monthly report template you can send them.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
TikTok is where most of Nexley's own customers found us, so we've seen what it does for a trade business up close. Here's who it works for, a 30-second job video script you can copy, the permission checks before you film a customer's house, and what to do when the messages start.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
A new enquiry goes cold in hours, not days. Here's the one-hour rule, a worked example of what slow replies cost a heating firm, and holding messages you can set up today.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
You don't need to be a content creator to get work from social media. Here's a 20-minute weekly routine, caption templates that work for any trade, and what owners told us they pay to hand it off.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Every lead source quotes you a cost per lead. The number that matters is what each won job cost you. Here's how each channel charges, a worked example from a London boiler and air con firm, and a calculator for your own figures.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Enquiries arrive in five apps and the one you forget to open is where the good job was. Here's what each platform can and can't join up, a channel audit you can do in ten minutes, and a simple lead log.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Most local searches for a trade end on Google Maps. Here's how to set up a profile as a service-area business, verify it, and get reviews without breaking Google's rules, with a setup checklist and a review request to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
A site visit costs you half a day. Here are the eight questions to ask first, a message you can copy into WhatsApp, a worked example of what wasted visits cost, and a quick check on whether to go.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Job photos are your best marketing, but a customer's home, face or address is their personal data and some clients forbid photos entirely. Here's a quick check before you post, and permission wording for your quote.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Most client calls on a build are about four things: when, how it looks, what they need to decide and what they owe. Here's what a portal should show at each stage, a weekly update you can send without one, and what to check before you buy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
Most trade work already comes by word of mouth. This guide turns that into a habit: when to ask, what a thank-you should cost, the rules on texts and reviews, and a referral message you can copy.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
LinkedIn won't fill a domestic diary, but it is where the main contractors, facilities managers and buyers behind commercial work sit. This guide covers the profile, the people, the posts and a connection message you can copy, with a sum for whether the time pays.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Winning work
AI answers now sit above the search results, and they quote pages that answer questions plainly. This guide covers what Google and ChatGPT say they need, which posts are worth writing, a quick check on whether to bother, and what a blog costs against an SEO retainer.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Choosing software
Seven job management apps used by UK trades, with prices and contract terms from each vendor's own page as of October 2026, who each one suits, a year's cost worked out for a four-person heating firm, and a checklist before you sign.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Job apps and AI tools now overlap, and many owners pay for both. This guide sets out what each does well, a quick check on whether you still need a job app, and the yearly cost of three set-ups for a three-person firm.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Tradify suits a lot of small domestic firms. If it doesn't suit yours, here are the main alternatives with prices from each vendor's page as of October 2026, who each one suits, a cost comparison for a five-person team and a checklist for switching.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
From free PDF measuring tools to AI that counts symbols for you: the takeoff options that suit a small UK contractor, with prices from each vendor's page as of October 2026, a payback sum for one estimator, and a test to run on any trial.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Fergus suits many plumbers, electricians and builders. If you're weighing a move, here are the alternatives with prices from each vendor's page as of October 2026, a quick check on whether to switch, a year's cost after Fergus's offer ends, and what to check on the way out.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
ServiceM8 charges by jobs a month, the others mostly charge by user. Here's what each alternative costs as of October 2026, who it suits, and a worked example comparing a four-engineer firm on each.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Joblogic is built for maintenance contracts and bills annually. If you want to leave or avoid a long term, here are the month-to-month alternatives, what each costs as of October 2026, and a worked example of what a contract really commits you to.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Most job apps say they connect to Xero. What matters is what syncs, in which direction. Here's a sync table for five trade apps from the Xero App Store, a checklist to run on any trial and a quick check on whether you need the integration at all.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Before you sign up to job or accounts software, read three clauses: the term, the price change and what happens to your data. Here's what four real suppliers' terms say as of October 2026, a worked example of an exit cost, and a message to send any supplier.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Tradify runs the job: diary, job card, quote, invoice. Nexley does the office work around it over WhatsApp. Here's an honest comparison with October 2026 prices, a cost worked example for a five-person firm and a quick check to decide.
29 Oct 2026, 5 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
All three will do your VAT and Making Tax Digital. The differences for a builder are CIS, job costing, which trade apps connect, and price after the introductory offer. Here's a comparison as of October 2026, a first-year cost worked example and a checklist.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Commusoft is built for heating, plumbing and renewables firms but doesn't publish prices. Here are the alternatives with published prices as of October 2026, a cost worked example for a six-engineer heating firm and a checklist of what a heating business must test.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Gas Engineer Software is built for owner-led heating firms: certificates, jobs, quotes and invoices on the phone. Here's what it does as of October 2026, where it stops, a worked cost example for a three-engineer firm and the tools heating firms pair with it.
29 Oct 2026, 5 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
GoHighLevel is sold to trades mostly through marketing agencies. This guide shows what it does, what a year costs if you run it yourself, and a quick check on whether it fits a firm like yours.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Buildertrend is strong on client portals, selections and change orders, but it was built for American home builders. This guide sets out the fit for a UK firm, a comparison table and a checklist to take into the sales demo.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Choosing software
Free apps, accounting software and job management tools all send invoices. This guide compares six on UK prices and trade features, and works out what a year really costs a three-person electrical firm, card fees included.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Safety, certificates and compliance
Most of a RAMS is the same every time you do the same task. This guide shows how to split it into a master you write once and a one-page site sheet you fill in per job, with the master headings ready to copy.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Under CDM 2015, the builder writes the construction phase plan on most small jobs, before work starts. This guide gives a fill-in template based on HSE's own, a worked example for a kitchen extension, and a quick check on notification.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Installing split air conditioning means working on a refrigerant circuit, and that needs two certificates: one for the engineer and one for the business. This guide has a quick check for which you need, Refcom's fees worked out per year, and what electricians can and can't do.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Private landlords have until 1 October 2030 to bring rented homes up to EPC C, and work done since 1 October 2025 already counts. This guide sets out the rules, works through the £10,000 cap with a heat pump grant, and lists what electricians and heating engineers can offer.
29 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Most domestic air conditioning in England and Wales can go in without a planning application, as long as it's a heat pump that also heats and the outdoor unit meets a short list of limits. This guide has a quick check to run on survey, the limits in one table and the differences in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
What the Confined Spaces Regulations ask of a small groundworks firm, which qualification fits which job, and a permit-to-work template you can copy, with a quick check to tell whether the rules apply.
29 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Which BS 7671 form each job needs, what goes to the customer, the landlord and building control, and how long to keep it, with a quick check and a worked landlord timeline.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
The legal minimum for a 1 to 15 person trade firm, when paying a consultant or an app makes sense, and a worked comparison of what three set-ups cost a year, using figures from firms we spoke to.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
Where the annual service requirement comes from, what each check covers, who can do it, and a copyable reminder message to send customers before their guarantee lapses.
29 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
What BS 5534 and BS EN 1991-1-4 ask of a pitched roof or metal cladding job, why suction beats tile weight, and a template to get a free fixing specification from the manufacturer before you price.
29 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
What a variation is, how to price extra work the customer asks for mid-job, how to get it agreed in writing before you start, a variation form you can copy, and how to make sure the extras get paid.
28 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
CIS, VAT and MTD
How CIS deductions work in the UK: which rate applies to each subbie, what the deduction is taken from, a worked example you can follow, and the dates for the monthly return, statements and paying HMRC.
27 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Where to find construction tenders in the UK for free, how to set up alerts so the right jobs come to you, how to register when you want to bid, and a simple scorecard to decide which tenders are worth your evenings.
26 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Can you use AI to write a public sector tender? Yes. What PPN 017 says, what a buyer can ask you about it, a declaration you can copy, and the checks to make on AI-written answers before you submit.
23 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Getting paid
A step-by-step plan for chasing an unpaid invoice in the UK: what to check first, a polite reminder, a firmer follow-up, a final demand and a letter before action, with wording to copy and the formal routes after that.
22 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
A plain buying checklist for a small trade business choosing admin automation software: what it should handle, the questions to ask before you pay, the warning signs, and how Making Tax Digital and UK GDPR come into it.
21 Oct 2026, 11 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Running the firm
Seven practical ways to cut the evening admin after a day on the tools: voice notes, quote templates, one set admin slot, same-day invoices, scheduled chasing, receipt photos and one deadline list. Plus what Making Tax Digital for Income Tax means for you.
20 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
How AI reads a construction tender pack step by step, what it pulls out (scope, exclusions, provisional sums, dates, risks), where it slips up, and what you still have to check yourself. With a one-page summary to copy.
19 Oct 2026, 12 min read, Lorenzo Bandawe
Pricing and quoting
How builders measure PDF drawings for a tender estimate: setting and checking the scale, measuring lengths, areas and counts, the mistakes that cost money, and a worked example of one room.
18 Oct 2026, 12 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
How to price a job without leaving money behind: the costs small contractors miss, such as waste, access, travel, prelims and snagging, how to work out a true labour rate, a worked example and a checklist.
16 Oct 2026, 11 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
AI can draft a tender price in minutes, but it can miss work, use old prices and underprice the job. Here are the 8 checks to make before you submit, a worked example and a sign-off checklist.
15 Oct 2026, 13 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
What a bill of quantities is, who writes it, how a typical bill is set out line by line, and how a contractor or subbie prices one, with a layout to copy and a worked example.
15 Oct 2026, 13 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
What goes into a construction bid, how UK buyers score the written answers, a step-by-step way to answer quality and method statement questions, and a checklist to run before you submit.
14 Oct 2026, 11 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
How statutory late payment interest works in the UK, the rate as of October 2026, a simple way to work it out, the fixed compensation you can add on top, and a letter you can copy to claim it.
13 Oct 2026, 10 min read, Kade Dillon
Pricing and quoting
A plain-English guide to construction estimating software for UK builders and trades: what it does, the four main types, how it's charged for, what to check before you buy, and when a spreadsheet is still fine.
9 Oct 2026, 14 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
What the F gas regulations require in Great Britain: which equipment needs records, what to log for 5 years, how often to leak check, who needs qualifications and company certification, and a log book layout.
5 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
How to read boiler fault codes, why the same code means different things on different makes (with Vaillant, Ideal and Worcester Bosch examples), the safe checks anyone can make, and what is only for a Gas Safe engineer.
5 Oct 2026, 7 min read, Kade Dillon
Running the firm
The free voice to text tools already on your phone, how WhatsApp transcribes voice notes, what Otter and Wispr Flow cost, and what to say so a quote note comes out right.
4 Oct 2026, 6 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
What a RAMS is, what the law and HSE actually require, what to put in a risk assessment and method statement, and a free site-specific template for small contractors in Great Britain.
3 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Getting paid
Payment notices, payee's notices and pay less notices under the Construction Act, who sends which and when, the default deadlines from the Scheme, a timeline table, how to send a notice, and three free templates to copy or download.
2 Oct 2026, 9 min read, Kade Dillon
Safety, certificates and compliance
What a CP12 (landlord gas safety record) is, who needs one, how often, how long it is valid, what must be on it, who can issue it, and how to keep track across a portfolio of rented properties.
1 Oct 2026, 8 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
QS fees, lost evenings and opportunity cost. What one failed bid actually cost a subcontractor, and how the maths of bidding changes when pricing gets cheap.
15 Aug 2026, 5 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
An honest split: the measuring and drafting work AI estimating now covers, and the contractual work where a chartered QS is still worth every penny.
15 Aug 2026, 5 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
Frameworks can weight up to 70% of the score on quality and social value, the part most small contractors never prepare. How to build that evidence base once.
15 Aug 2026, 4 min read, Kade Dillon
Tendering and estimating
When the owner is the estimator, the QS, the buyer and the admin department, every growth plan stalls on the same person's evenings. What breaks the ceiling.
15 Aug 2026, 5 min read, Kade Dillon
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