DE
UK
US
In the digital world that we live in today, handwritten paperwork is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Mobile phone apps are becoming smarter and more useful for tradespeople, offering you every bit of assistance right at your fingertips. But how can you tell the great from the mediocre?
We’ve put together some of the top apps to help tradespeople in their day to day life on site.
Checkatrade
Checkatrade is one of the most popular apps, both for tradespeople and customers. It’s an online trade directory that you pay to be featured on so customers can find you and contact you for work. Whether that be an electrician in Portsmouth or a roofer in Ipswich. Customers can also leave you a rating which is viewable to the public.
What’s great about it?
- Easy to use
- Quick to set up – just complete an online form and you’ll get a call back where you’ll be asked a few questions and provide proof of your qualifications, references and insurance
- Easy for customers to contact you once you’re live
- Apart from a subscription fee, there are no other costs – regardless of how many jobs Checkatrade provides you
Rated People
Rated People works in a similar way to Checkatrade, but it is more focused on helping you find your own work rather than waiting for customers to contact you. You can proactively browse, search and filter job leads based on your preferences. Therefore, allowing you to decide what type of jobs you want to take on and where.
You pay £15 a month and then purchase job leads as and when you need work. So, if you’re quiet or have space in your dairy, buy the jobs leads and browse the website or app for jobs you wish to quote for in your area. But if you’re busy, then don’t buy job leads.
What’s great about it?
- There are two Rated People apps – one for tradespeople looking for jobs and one for customers looking for tradespeople
- You’re in control
- A great way to source work to fill in gaps in your diary on an “as needed” basis
- Access to member benefits, such as high street discounts
Payaca
When a tradesperson sends a quote to a customer and the customer requires finance, they must go to a third part to apply for a loan. However, Payaca removes the middle entity by allowing tradespeople to send quotes to customers with simple, fast finance options. Therefore, a faster and easier finance solution for the customer and the ability for tradespeople to provide a better service with no financial risk.
Customers can borrow between £1,000 and £35,000 as an unsecured loan or apply for a credit card with 0% interest on purchases for up to 2 years. And there’s no waiting around as decisions on finance are instant. In some cases, funds can even be processed the same day.
What’s great about it?
- 7 day free trial on all plans with access to all features
- Easy for tradespeople to manage payments and workflow
- Customers can pay for work the way that suits them
QuickBooks
Paperwork is unfortunately a necessary requirement when dealing with delivery note, invoices and receipts at the wholesalers. However, QuickBooks can make keeping track of everything an easy task. QuickBooks is a powerful and simple piece of accounting software that digitalises the process for you.
QuickBooks includes a Smartscan feature to scan receipts and log data in your phone. Therefore, helping you to keep on top of your expenses. You can even invoice your customers, file your VAT and compete your self assessment tax.
What’s great about it?
- The app suits everyone – from the independent tradesperson to the large business
- Helps you save time on bookkeeping and paperwork – it automatically handles some of the easy bookkeeping tasks
- QuickBooks online billing allows tradespeople to receive money quicker and for customers to quickly pay through credit or debit account transfers
- An affordable accounting software
Fixington
The Fixington Calendar app is designed for independent tradespeople which lets you keep track of all of your jobs and appointments. It also features a built-in invoice function and allows you to save information about your jobs and customer details to view later.
This app allows you to easily send bills through messaging apps, such as Facebook Messenger or iMessage. Plus, all of your data is synced and backed up to allow you to view it on any desktop or phone. So, that’s one less thing to worry about if you lose your phone.
What’s great about it?
- Reduces paperwork and helps tradespeople stay organised
- Syncs with your call list and phone app to show customer names but keeps contacts separate from your personal contacts.
- Suitable for any jobs of all sizes
- Free to use for 30 days with a small monthly or annual subscription after that
Do you use any of these apps listed? Comment below with your favourite tradesperson app.