Guides
Guides for trades businesses
Sourced, plain-English answers — every number links to where it came from.
Compliance
- GDPR and Your Customer List: What Small Trade Businesses Must Know
A sourced guide to whether GDPR applies to a trade business's customer list, ICO fees, lawful basis, and marketing consent for texts and WhatsApp.
- Do Landscapers Need a Waste Carrier's Licence for Garden Waste?
A landscaper's guide to when removing a customer's garden waste needs Environment Agency waste carrier registration, and when it's free to register.
- Do I Need Gas Safe, NICEIC or Part P to Trade Legally?
A plumber, heating engineer or electrician's guide to which work is legally restricted to Gas Safe engineers, Part P notifiable work, and NICEIC's role.
- When Do I Have to Register for VAT as a Small Trade Business?
A gov.uk-sourced guide to the £90,000 VAT threshold, the rolling 12-month test, registration deadlines, penalties, and voluntary registration for trades.
- Do I Need to Register for CIS? Contractor and Subcontractor Rules
A gov.uk-sourced guide to who counts as a CIS contractor or subcontractor, whether you must register, the 20% and 30% deduction rates, and how to register.
- CIS Deductions Explained: What Gets Taken From Your Invoices
A gov.uk-sourced walkthrough of Construction Industry Scheme deduction rates, verification duties, monthly returns and late filing penalties for 2026.
Cost
- What Does Gas Safe Registration or NICEIC Certification Cost?
A 2026 breakdown of what Gas Safe registration and NICEIC certification actually cost each year, taken from the schemes' own fee pages and pricing guides.
- What Should You Charge for an Emergency or Out-of-Hours Callout?
A 2026 look at what UK plumbers, electricians and heating engineers add for emergency call-outs, and how a national firm prices the same job.
- One-Off Boiler Service Cost vs a Monthly Care Plan (UK 2026)
A 2026 comparison of one-off UK boiler service prices against monthly care plan totals over a year, including what breakdown cover and priority booking add.
- AI Receptionist or Answering Service: What's the UK Cost?
A 2026 price comparison of UK AI receptionists and telephone answering services, covering per-minute, per-call and flat-fee plans and what each includes.
- How Much Should a Small Trade Business Website Cost in the UK?
A 2026 UK pricing guide for trade businesses: real costs for DIY builders, freelancers and agencies, and whether a Facebook page is enough instead.
- How Much Does a Boiler Care Plan Cost in the UK in 2026?
A 2026 check of what UK boiler care plans cost today, comparing national providers' promo pricing with independent heating engineers' flat monthly fees.
- What Day Rate Should a UK Tradesperson Charge?
A 2026 look at what UK builders, electricians and plasterers actually charge per day by region, and how a day rate differs from a fixed quote.
- What Is a Normal Call-Out Fee for a UK Tradesperson?
A 2026 look at what UK plumbers, electricians and locksmiths actually charge for a call-out, whether the fee is waived, and how to explain it to customers.
Compare
- QuickBooks vs Dext for Builders' Bookkeeping: Which Saves Time?
QuickBooks is accounting software and Dext is a receipt-capture add-on. Compare receipt capture, CIS handling and UK pricing for a small building firm.
- Dext vs Xero for a Pest Control Business: What Each Does
Comparing what Dext adds to Xero's own receipt capture and bank feeds, plus current UK pricing, for a one-to-two person pest control business.
- Commusoft vs BigChange for Garages & MOT Centres: Cost Compared
Comparing Commusoft and BigChange on UK pricing, online booking, reminders and job history for a garage or MOT centre choosing job management software.
- ServiceM8 vs Tradify for Plasterers: Quoting, Cost & Ease of Use
Comparing ServiceM8 and Tradify on UK pricing, quoting speed and ease of setup for a one-to-three person plastering business picking job management software.
- Fergus vs Commusoft for Builders: Job Costing & Pricing Compared
Comparing Fergus and Commusoft on UK pricing, job costing, subcontractor management and invoicing for a builder running multiple jobs and subcontractors.
- Simpro vs ServiceM8 vs Tradify: Which for a UK Trades Firm?
Comparing Simpro, ServiceM8 and Tradify on UK pricing, quoting, invoicing, Xero sync and mobile apps for a 2-5 van electrical, building or roofing firm.
How to
- How to Send Quotes Faster So You Win More Jobs
How to get a professional quote out the same day: reusable templates, standard line-item pricing and mobile quoting tools, with the evidence and its limits.
- Missed-Call Text-Back: Is It Worth It for a Tradesperson?
What missed-call text-back is, how the auto-SMS works, and what evidence exists that it saves small service businesses lost work. Vendor claims flagged.
- Should a Trade Business Use WhatsApp Business? Setup Guide
What WhatsApp Business adds over personal WhatsApp for UK trades: catalogue, quick replies, labels, away messages, and how to move your number over.
- How to Get More Google Reviews Without Breaking the Rules
What Google's review rules ban for UK trades: incentives, review gating and fake reviews, and how to ask customers for reviews legitimately.
- Set Up Your Google Business Profile and Keep Your NAP Consistent
Set up a Google Business Profile as a tradesperson: verification, categories, service areas, and why your name, address and phone must match everywhere.