Quoting software for decorators.
Decorating is the trade where the visible work takes a day and the invisible work takes three. TradeDraft is built so the prep is on the quote as its own money, rather than absorbed into a price the customer thinks is for painting.
Prep is the job, so it is priced as the job
Filling and sanding, stain block, anti-mould, burning off, stripping paper, making good. Each is its own item in the rate book, priced per square metre or per room from your own rates.
That is not paperwork for its own sake. A customer who sees prep on the quote as a separate figure understands what they are paying for, and a customer who does not assumes the whole price was for two coats.
Rooms you have priced a hundred times
Mist and two coats to walls. Ceilings. Woodwork by the metre. Paper by the roll. The rate book keeps your prices for the work you repeat, so a three-bed repaint is mostly written before you start typing.
Working for a contractor
Painting and decorating for a main contractor usually falls within the Construction Industry Scheme — which surprises decorators more often than any other trade. Where it applies, the deduction is worked out on the quote total less the materials figure you enter, so it comes off the labour rather than the whole amount.
Where the reverse charge conditions are met, no VAT is charged and the legal wording is added to the document automatically. Both are set out in CIS for subcontractors.
The extra coat nobody agreed to
A colour that will not cover in two. A ceiling that turns out to be distemper. Work that was not on the list when you priced it becomes an Additional Works sheet with its own price and signature, agreed before you do it.
What it has nothing to do with
It does not match colours, hold specifications or order paint. There is no scheduling side. It prices the job, gets it accepted, prices the changes and invoices it.
Questions worth asking first
Does CIS apply to painting and decorating?
Decorating for a contractor generally falls within the Construction Industry Scheme, which catches a lot of decorators out. Where it applies, TradeDraft works the deduction out on the quote total less the materials figure you enter. Whether a particular job is in scope is for you and HMRC — our CIS guide sets out the conditions.
Can I show prep separately from the painting?
Yes, and the starter rate book already separates them. Prep, stain block, anti-mould, stripping and making good are their own items, so the customer sees what they are paying for.
How much is it?
£45 a month or £450 a year, flat, with no per-user charge.
The 30-day trial needs no card. Sending, downloading and online acceptance are all included.