Sending invoices from your phone while sitting in the van, getting paid before you’ve driven home. That’s what a decent invoicing app makes possible. The right tool cuts the admin time between finishing a job and seeing money in your account.
Invoicing apps are different from full accounting software. They’re built for speed: create a quote, send it to the customer, flip it into an invoice when the work is done, and track whether it’s been paid. Some include job scheduling and CIS support too, but the core job is getting invoices out fast.
Here’s how the best options compare for UK tradespeople in 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Tradify is the most complete app for tradespeople — quotes, jobs, invoicing, and CIS all in one place, from £29/month
- Invoice Simple and Zoho Invoice are solid free options for sole traders who just need to send invoices quickly
- Kletta is built specifically for UK contractors and handles CIS deductions automatically
- Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax starts April 2026 for sole traders earning over £50,000 — your invoicing app should be MTD-compatible
- All the apps listed can be used from your phone, which matters when you’re on-site
- If you’re using an invoicing app but clients can’t easily find you online, you’re leaving work on the table — a professional website helps the two work together
What to Look for in a Trade Invoicing App
Not every invoicing app is built with tradespeople in mind. These are the features that actually matter on the tools:
Quote-to-invoice conversion. You need to be able to create a quote, get approval, and turn it into an invoice with one tap. Not retype everything from scratch.
CIS support. If you work as a subcontractor on construction projects, the Construction Industry Scheme requires 20% (or 30% if unregistered) to be deducted from your pay. A good invoicing app shows CIS deductions on invoices and helps you track them. Full CIS return filing is usually handled by accounting software like QuickBooks or FreeAgent, but your invoicing app should at least understand CIS.
MTD compatibility. Making Tax Digital for VAT is already mandatory for VAT-registered businesses. MTD for Income Tax launches April 2026 for sole traders earning over £50,000, expanding to lower thresholds by 2027. Your app should be compatible now.
Mobile-first design. If the app isn’t easy to use on your phone, you won’t use it. Look for quick invoice creation, camera-based receipt capture, and instant sending.
Payment links. The best apps let customers pay directly from the invoice using a card or bank transfer — no bank details to share, and payment shows up in your account automatically.
Best Invoicing Apps for Tradespeople UK 2026
| App | Best For | Price | CIS Support | Free Plan? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tradify | All-round trade app | From £29/month | Yes | 14-day trial |
| Kletta | UK contractors | From £15/month | Yes | No |
| Invoice Simple | Sole traders, basic use | From £8/month | No | Yes (limited) |
| Zoho Invoice | Free invoicing | Free | No | Yes (full) |
| ServiceM8 | Field service businesses | From £9/month | No | 14-day trial |
| Jobber | Larger trade businesses | From £39/month | No | 14-day trial |
Tradify — Best All-Rounder for Tradespeople
Tradify is built specifically for trade businesses. It covers the full job lifecycle: quoting, scheduling, job management, invoicing, and payment collection. It integrates directly with Xero and QuickBooks for accounting, and handles CIS deductions on invoices.
Pricing: From £29/month for one user (billed monthly). Multi-user plans available.
What it does well: You can create a quote on-site, get a customer to sign it digitally, assign the job, and send the invoice when it’s done. All from the app. The scheduling view lets you manage a team without needing separate calendar software.
Limitations: It’s overkill if you’re a sole trader sending five invoices a month. It’s priced for businesses that want to manage jobs properly, not just send invoices.
CIS support: Yes. Tradify calculates CIS deductions on invoices and flags them clearly.
According to Tradify’s 2025 user survey, tradespeople using job management software spend on average 6 fewer hours per week on admin compared to those using spreadsheets or paper.
Kletta — Built for UK Contractors
Kletta is a UK-focused app designed specifically for contractors and tradespeople. It handles CIS deductions automatically, supports Making Tax Digital, and lets you send quotes and invoices from your phone in minutes.
Pricing: Plans start from around £15/month. A free trial is available.
What it does well: Kletta’s standout feature is CIS automation. It calculates deductions, applies the correct rate (20% or 30%), and keeps a record for your end-of-year returns. If you regularly work as a subcontractor, this alone saves hours.
Limitations: Smaller user base than apps like Tradify or Jobber, which means fewer integrations and community resources.
Invoice Simple — Best Free Option for Sole Traders
Invoice Simple is exactly what it sounds like. Create an invoice or quote from your phone in under a minute, send it by email or WhatsApp, and track whether it’s been viewed and paid. The free plan lets you send a limited number of invoices per month.
Pricing: Free plan available (limited invoices). Paid plans from around £8/month for unlimited invoicing.
What it does well: Speed and simplicity. You don’t need to set up any accounting integrations. New users can send their first invoice within five minutes of downloading the app.
Limitations: No CIS support, no job management, no scheduling. It’s purely for invoicing and quoting. That works perfectly for some sole traders and falls short for others.
Zoho Invoice — Best Completely Free Option
Zoho Invoice is one of the only professional invoicing tools that’s entirely free. No invoice limits, no upgraded tier required. It’s a full invoicing platform: estimates, invoices, payment reminders, and basic client management.
Pricing: Free. Fully free, with no hidden limits on invoices or clients.
What it does well: If you need a professional invoicing tool and want to spend £0, Zoho Invoice is the answer. The interface is clean, it works on mobile, and it supports payment collection via Stripe.
Limitations: No CIS support. No job management. You’ll need separate accounting software for VAT returns and tax. It’s also part of the wider Zoho product suite, and some people find the interface cluttered compared to dedicated trade apps.
ServiceM8 — Good for Field Service Businesses
ServiceM8 is designed for businesses with recurring customers and predictable service patterns: boiler servicing, electrical maintenance contracts, that kind of work. It handles scheduling, dispatching, job notes, and invoicing in one app.
Pricing: From £9/month for solo users. Pricing scales with the number of jobs you run per month.
What it does well: Client history and repeat job management. If you have regular maintenance customers, ServiceM8 lets you see the full history of a property — previous jobs, notes, photos, and what was invoiced — before you arrive.
Limitations: No CIS support. Not built specifically for UK tradespeople (it’s Australian in origin), so some features don’t map perfectly to UK business practices.
Jobber — For Growing Trade Businesses
Jobber is a step up in sophistication — it’s designed for businesses with multiple employees, complex scheduling needs, and a larger customer base. The invoicing is polished, with automatic payment reminders and card processing built in.
Pricing: From £39/month. Significantly more expensive than the other options.
What it does well: Client management, team scheduling, and follow-up automation. It’s a proper business management platform for tradespeople who’ve grown beyond a one-man band.
Limitations: Expensive for smaller operations. No specific CIS support. Best suited to businesses with five or more employees.
Do You Need a Separate Invoicing App and Accounting Software?
Many tradespeople use both. The invoicing app handles the day-to-day — creating quotes on-site, tracking open invoices, collecting payment. The accounting software (FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Xero) handles the annual tax return, VAT submissions, and CIS monthly returns.
Tradify and Kletta integrate directly with accounting software, so data flows through without manual entry. If you’re using Invoice Simple or Zoho Invoice, you’ll need to enter the figures into your accounting software separately — or use a bookkeeper.
If you’re just starting out and earning under £50,000 per year, a free invoicing app combined with a simple spreadsheet for expenses is often enough until you need to register for VAT. Once you cross the VAT threshold (currently £90,000 turnover in the 2025/26 tax year), you’ll need MTD-compatible software.
Getting Paid Faster: Tips That Apply to Any App
The app matters less than the habits. These small changes make a bigger difference than which software you choose:
- Invoice the same day the job finishes. Every day you wait adds days to when you’ll receive payment.
- Include a payment link. Apps that let customers pay by card from the invoice itself tend to get paid significantly faster — most app providers report customers settling within 24–48 hours versus 7–14 days for bank transfer-only invoices.
- Set payment terms clearly. State them on the invoice — “Payment due within 14 days” — not just in your head.
- Send automatic reminders. Most apps can chase overdue invoices automatically, so you don’t have to.
- Take a deposit on bigger jobs. 25–50% upfront covers materials and filters out unreliable customers before you start.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best invoicing app for tradespeople in the UK? Tradify is the best all-round option for most UK tradespeople — it handles quotes, job management, CIS deductions, and invoicing in one app from £29/month. For sole traders who just need to send invoices quickly, Zoho Invoice is free and reliable.
Do invoicing apps support CIS deductions? Not all of them. Tradify and Kletta both handle CIS deductions on invoices and are designed specifically for UK contractors. Invoice Simple, Zoho Invoice, and ServiceM8 don’t include CIS support — you’d need to manage those calculations separately.
Is there a free invoicing app for tradespeople? Yes. Zoho Invoice is fully free with no invoice limits. Invoice Simple has a free plan but limits the number of invoices you can send each month. Most other apps offer a 14-day free trial before you need to pay.
What is MTD and does it affect my invoicing app? Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC’s requirement for digital record keeping and tax submission. MTD for VAT is already mandatory if your turnover exceeds £90,000. MTD for Income Tax starts in April 2026 for sole traders earning over £50,000. Your invoicing software should be MTD-compatible — check the HMRC list at gov.uk before choosing.
Can I use an invoicing app instead of accounting software? For basic invoicing and payment tracking, yes. But invoicing apps don’t replace accounting software when it comes to VAT returns, CIS monthly returns, or Self Assessment. Most tradespeople use both — an invoicing app for day-to-day work, and accounting software (like FreeAgent or QuickBooks) for tax.
The Bigger Picture
Sorting your invoicing is one piece of running a professional trade business. The other big one is how customers find you in the first place. If someone searches for your trade online and can’t find a professional website, a lot of work goes elsewhere before you ever get the chance to send an invoice.
Digital Tradies builds professional websites for UK tradespeople from £49 per month — no upfront cost, live in 3 days. It’s the kind of setup that means customers find you, trust you before they call, and pay you properly once the job’s done.
Related reading: What Your Tradesman Website Should Include | Getting Paid on Time as a Tradesperson | Setting Up as a Sole Trader
