Best invoicing apps for UK trades

For most UK trade firms the best invoicing app is the accounting software you already file VAT with: Xero (from £18 a month), QuickBooks (from £16) or Sage (from £20). A sole trader not registered for VAT can start free with SumUp Invoices. Firms that want quotes, jobs and invoices in one app add Tradify or Fergus at £34 to £45 per user a month.

What should a trade invoicing app do?

At the least, produce a legal invoice, take payment and get the numbers into your books. For a UK trade firm that means VAT invoices, CIS deductions where you work as a subcontractor, domestic reverse charge wording on subcontract work, and a sync with Xero, QuickBooks or Sage so your accountant isn't retyping.

VAT-registered firms invoicing VAT-registered customers must issue VAT invoices, which need more detail again. A good app fills all of this in for you once it's set up.

The six apps compared

Prices are from each vendor's UK pricing page in October 2026, excluding VAT. Intro discounts are left out so you can compare what you'll pay after the first few months.

Sources: each vendor's pricing page, October 2026. Xero's Ignite plan is limited to 20 invoices. Fergus was running a 90% introductory discount at the time; the list prices are shown.

SumUp Invoices is free for unlimited invoices and quotes, with a standard template and payment in pounds. Bank transfers on the free plan go to a SumUp Business Account, and online card payments cost 2.5%.

Xero is what most trade accountants use. Every plan automates subcontractor CIS calculations; submitting contractor CIS returns is a £5 a month add-on. Project tracking is only on the £70 Ultimate plan.

QuickBooks lists CIS calculation and submission on its plans and project profitability on Plus. Its UK pricing page wasn't showing live prices when we checked, apart from Simple Start at £16, so confirm the plan you want.

Sage Accounting Start covers invoicing and VAT for £20. CIS management is on Standard at £43.

Tradify and Fergus are job management apps: quotes, scheduling, job cards, timesheets and invoices, synced to your accounts. Both run month to month with 14-day trials. Fergus charges 1.6% plus 20p on card payments through its own payments service.

For the wider job software choice, see the best job management software for UK trades.

What does a year of invoicing cost a three-person firm?

More than the headline, once you count users and card fees.

Worked example

A year of invoicing for a three-person electrical firm

VAT-registered, three people sending invoices, about £5,000 a month paid online by card.

Set-up A: Xero Grow£39 × 12	£468
Set-up B: Tradify Lite for three users, plus Xero Grow(£34 × 3 × 12) + £468	£1,692
Set-up C: Fergus Essentials for three users at list price, plus Xero Grow(£39 × 3 × 12) + £468	£1,872
Card fees on SumUp at 2.5%£5,000 × 2.5% × 12	£1,500
Card fees on Fergus Pay at 1.6% + 20p, 40 payments a month(£80 + £8) × 12	£1,056
Set-up C with Fergus Pay card fees£1,872 + £1,056	£2,928

Two things stand out. Per-user pricing triples a job management app's cost for a three-person firm. And card fees can cost more than the software: on £60,000 a year paid by card, a 2.5% fee is £1,500. Ask for bank transfer by default and offer card as a choice.

Do you need a separate invoicing app at all?

Usually not, if you're VAT-registered. Your accounting software already sends invoices, takes card payments and sends reminders, and invoicing from it means one less sync to break. A separate app earns its place when it does something your accounts can't: turning a quote into a job and the job into an invoice, or recording time and materials on site.

The firms that struggle are rarely short of an app. The hours usually go on chasing receipts and job details, not on the invoice template.

What about Making Tax Digital?

If you're a sole trader, it will decide part of your choice. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applied from April 2026 to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 from April 2027, and to those over £20,000 from 6 April 2028. You'll need software that keeps digital records and sends quarterly updates to HMRC.

A free invoicing app won't do that on its own. Xero, QuickBooks and Sage all sell MTD-compatible plans, and HMRC keeps a list of compatible software. Limited companies aren't in MTD for Income Tax.

Which should you choose?

Pick by what you're short of.

• Sole trader, not VAT-registered, mostly bank transfers: SumUp Invoices free, until MTD applies to you.
• VAT-registered, invoicing from the office or the van: Xero Grow, or QuickBooks or Sage if your accountant uses them.
• Subcontracting under CIS: accounting software with CIS built in.
• Several engineers, service and small jobs: Tradify or Fergus, synced to your accounts.
• The owner is the bottleneck on all of it: look at taking the admin off your plate, not at another app.

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Where Nexley fits

Nexley is the AI back office for UK trade firms: five AI assistants run your tenders, quotes, buying, scheduling and invoicing. It connects to the tools you already work in, you run it all from WhatsApp, and you approve everything. £799 a month.

Nexley connects to the invoicing and accounts software you already use rather than replacing it. Tell it on WhatsApp that the Mill Lane rewire is done and it drafts the invoice from the quote and any variations, with the right VAT or reverse charge wording, for you to approve. It also files supplier bills against the job and chases overdue invoices. Nexley is £799 a month, month to month, with a 7-day free trial.

Start 7 days freeNexley vs job management software

Common questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Invoices, what they must include
2. Xero UK: Pricing plans
3. QuickBooks UK: QuickBooks Plus
4. Sage UK: Pricing
5. SumUp Invoices UK: Pricing
6. Tradify UK: Pricing and plans
7. Fergus UK: Pricing
8. GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords

Every rule, rate and date above was checked against these sources on the date shown at the top.