Quoting software for plumbers.
Plumbing splits into two kinds of pricing. Callouts and small works, where the quote needs to go out in minutes or the customer rings someone else. And installs, where the money is real, the materials are ordered up front, and the VAT rate is not always the obvious one. TradeDraft is built for both ends of that.
The VAT rate is the expensive bit to get wrong
Most repair and maintenance work is standard-rated, but not all heating work is. Installing qualifying energy-saving materials in a home is zero-rated across the UK until 31 March 2027, and 5% after that. Certain conversions and long-empty renovations sit at 5% too. Get it wrong upwards and you have overcharged someone who may well find out later. Get it wrong downwards and the shortfall is yours to make up.
TradeDraft will not decide which rate applies, because that turns on conditions and evidence only you can confirm. It carries the rate you choose through the quote, the invoice and every total, so the figure never drifts between documents. The conditions themselves are set out in our VAT and CIS guide.
Deposits, before you order the boiler
On an install you are out of pocket from the moment the order goes in. A deposit can be set as a percentage or a flat amount, and on domestic work the customer can pay it by card at the moment they accept, which is when they are keenest. It lands in your own Stripe account rather than passing through us. On CIS or reverse-charge jobs that card step is not available, so you would collect it the usual way. Whether to ask at all is covered in should I take a deposit.
Staged payments that match the work
A bathroom or a full heating system does not deserve one invoice at the end. Payment can be split into stages against the work, so you are paid as you go rather than funding the job yourself and hoping.
The extras that quietly eat the job
A floor up that was not supposed to come up. A stopcock seized solid that has to be replaced before you can isolate anything. A boiler sited where nobody has to reach it but you. None of it felt worth stopping the job over, and together it is a day you never charged for. Variations are priced and recorded before the work happens, so the customer agrees the cost at the time instead of debating it at the end.
What it has nothing to do with
It has nothing to do with Gas Safe. It does not notify installations, produce a Building Regulations compliance certificate, or hold your registration details for you. There is no scheduling or timesheet side either. It quotes, gets the job accepted, prices the changes and invoices it.
Before you sign up
Does it handle the reduced and zero VAT rates on heating work?
You choose the rate the job qualifies for and the quote, the invoice and the totals all follow it. TradeDraft will not decide whether a job qualifies for you, because that depends on evidence and conditions only you and your accountant can confirm.
Can I take a deposit before ordering a boiler?
On domestic jobs, yes. A deposit can be set as a percentage or a fixed amount and the customer can pay it by card when they accept, straight into your own Stripe account. On CIS or reverse-charge work card payment on acceptance is not available, so you would collect the deposit yourself.
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.