Most invoicing apps were not designed for a plumber quoting a boiler replacement from the van. Some are UK-only, which matters if you ever cross the Irish Sea. Some have no knowledge of trade VAT rates. Here is an honest assessment of what actually works.
Free during Early Access. No credit card. Ready in 2 minutes.
Standard rate is 20% on most plumbing work. The 5% reduced rate applies to certain domestic energy-saving installations - heat pump fitouts, qualifying insulation work. Generic apps make you enter the rate manually. Trade-specific apps pre-set the right rate for the job type.
A plumber quoting a bathroom installation on site needs to produce a professional, itemised quote fast - before the customer calls someone else. If your app takes 20 minutes to fill in a form, you are losing jobs. If it generates a complete quote from a plain English description in 30 seconds, you are winning them.
A boiler replacement or bathroom fit can run to thousands of pounds. Late payment on a job like that damages your cash flow badly. An app that helps you send a professional, polite but firm payment reminder - without it feeling personal - makes a real difference to how quickly you get paid.
Built for sole trader tradesmen in the UK and Ireland. PayReady AI quote from plain English in 30 seconds. UK VAT (20%/5%) handled automatically. WhatsApp send. PayReady AI writes payment chasers. Free to start.
UK-only mobile invoicing app for tradespeople. Voice-to-quote, CIS tracking, MTD support, job calendar. Good value for UK-only plumbers. No Ireland or EUR support. No AI quote generation.
UK quoting and invoicing app for tradesmen. Template-based quote building - faster than a blank form but slower than AI. No AI quoting, no WhatsApp send, no Irish VAT or EUR support.
All-in-one job management for trade businesses. Good feature set but per-user pricing and desktop-first design. Built primarily for Australia and New Zealand. No AI quoting.
Generic invoicing form app. Fast for basic invoices. No AI quoting, no trade-specific VAT knowledge, no WhatsApp send, no payment reminders. Works anywhere but knows nothing about the trades.
| Feature | PayReady | Billdr | Wedge | Invoice Simple |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PayReady AI quote from plain English (30 sec) | ||||
| WhatsApp send | ||||
| UK VAT (20% / 5%) built in | ||||
| PayReady AI payment reminders - 3 tones | ||||
| Mobile-first (no laptop needed) | ||||
| Works in Ireland too | ||||
| Stage invoicing / deposit + balance | ||||
| Built for sole traders specifically | ||||
| Starting price | Free (Early Access) / £25/month | £9/month | ~£20/month | ~£8/month |
Nearly 1 in 2 UK small business invoices are paid late. Late payments cost the average UK tradesman £22,000 a year.
FreeAgent 2024 / UK Department for Business and Trade 2024
PayReady AI writes your payment chaser in the right tone - Friendly, Firm, or Final Notice. The amount owed, days overdue, and your bank details are already filled in. You tap send. Reminder sequences like this reduce overdue invoices by up to 67% and cut average collection time by 35%.
PayReady AI quotes in 30 seconds. UK VAT automatic. WhatsApp send. PayReady AI payment chasers. Built for sole traders in the UK and Ireland. Free to start - no credit card, no catch.
Free during Early Access. No credit card. Ready in 2 minutes.
