Quoting software for electricians.
A lot of electrical work gets priced twice: roughly, at the door, and properly later that evening. TradeDraft is for the second one. It handles the parts that are easy to get wrong on subcontract work, and shows you what the job leaves you before the price goes out.
CIS is worked out on the labour
Materials are excluded at direct cost. That is the HMRC rule, and it is the one most often applied loosely. Enter the materials figure and the deduction is calculated on the labour element at your verified rate, with the split printed so the contractor can check it against their own records. Our CIS guide for subcontractors covers the rule itself.
The reverse charge, only where it belongs
Both directions cost you. Charge VAT when you should not have and the customer cannot reclaim it; miss it when you should have and the liability sits with you. TradeDraft tests the conditions that decide it, applies the charge only when all of them are met, and prints the required wording on the quote and the invoice. Background is in the reverse charge guide.
Your own prices, reused
Board changes, rewires, EV chargers: work you do often enough to have a settled price for already. The rate book keeps those prices and pulls them into the next quote, so you are not rebuilding the same job from scratch every time. Nothing is generated or inferred on your behalf, which is the point when the figure you send is one you are held to.
The margin is on screen while you build
Your overheads come out of the price whether you allowed for them or not. TradeDraft recovers them across the days the job runs and shows the margin as you work, so a quote that does not pay is obvious before it goes rather than at the year end. The customer's copy stays clean, with no overhead line on it. The sums are in our guide to working out your day rate.
What it is not
It is not certification software. It will not issue an EICR, a minor works certificate or an installation certificate, and it does not read your test instruments. There is no scheduling, no timesheets and no team rota either. It is built for one or two people rather than a fleet.
Questions worth asking first
Can I quote from my own rates?
Yes. The rate book holds your own prices for the work you repeat, so a board change or an EV charger is priced from your numbers rather than a national average.
How much is it?
£39 a month or £390 a year, flat, with no per-user charge. There is a 14-day free trial and no card is needed to start.
Building a quote is free. The 14-day trial (no card) unlocks sending, downloading and online acceptance.