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.
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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. 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. Whether a small job needs a written contract is in written contracts for small jobs.
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 goes on an Additional Works sheet, priced and signed for before you open the next tin.
What it has nothing to do with
It does not match colours, hold specifications or order paint. There is no scheduling side. What it handles is the paper around the painting: a quote with the prep shown as its own money, the customer's go-ahead, the extra coat when one turns out to be needed, and the invoice.
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 takes the deduction off the quote total less the materials figure you enter, so the paint and sundries you bought are left out of it. Whether a particular job is in scope is for you and HMRC to settle; 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. Start by 5 April and it’s £22.50 a month for your first 12 months.