Getting paid, without the hassle

Winning the work

Where jobs actually come from, what each source costs you, and whether the directories are worth it.

• Where trade work actually comes from: the four kinds of source

  Every route to work is one of four kinds — the ones you own, the ones you're granted, the ones you rent, and the ones other people control. Which mix suits you comes down to one number: what your average job is worth.

• Where electrical work comes from, and the channel you're already paying for

  Scheme registers, Local Services Ads, the lead platforms, EV charging and landlord EICRs — what each source costs an electrician, and why the five-year compliance clock is the one worth organising.

• Where plumbing work comes from, and why call-outs and installs need different sources

  Emergency repairs and boiler installs are two different businesses sharing a van. What each lead source costs, which one suits which half of the work, and the recurring channel most plumbers never work.

• For builders, leads are cheap and quotes are expensive

  Architects, the FMB register, planning data and the lead platforms — where extension and renovation work comes from, and why the number that actually hurts is the three days you spent pricing a job you didn't win.

4 more on winning the work in the blog →

Quoting and pricing

Putting a number on the work so it holds up when the customer reads it back to you.

• Quoting electrical jobs so you actually get paid

  A practical checklist for sole-trader electricians: what to put in a quote, when to take a deposit, and how to set payment terms that get you paid on time — without the awkward conversations.

• Taking a deposit: the simplest way to stop no-shows and non-payers

  A deposit at booking is the single cheapest fix for wasted call-outs and customers who vanish when the invoice lands. Here's how much to take, how to ask for it without feeling awkward, and why the people who object are usually the ones you're glad to lose.

• "It didn't take you long" — when a customer wants to pay less than you quoted

  You quoted a price, did the job well, and now the customer reckons it was too quick to be worth that much. Here's why you price the result not the hour, how to stop the argument before it starts, and what to say when it happens anyway.

• How much should an EICR cost? Honest numbers, and what moves them

  Most domestic EICRs cost £100–£350, with a typical 3-bed house at £150–£250. What the inspection involves, why circuits — not bedrooms — drive the price, what the C1/C2/C3 codes on the report mean, and the one price that should make you suspicious.

2 more on quoting and pricing in the blog →

Getting paid

Invoices that get paid, and what to do about the ones that don't.

• Sending invoices and getting paid online

  The gap between finishing a job and the money landing is where most sole traders lose time — chasing bank transfers, waiting on cheques, wondering if it's crossed the post. Here's what actually closes it: a payment link on the invoice, and reminders that chase themselves.

• What you can actually automate about invoicing, and what you can't

  The parts of getting paid that genuinely run themselves — numbering, payment links, chasing, reconciling — and the parts that still need you. Plus the bit that costs trades the most money, which isn't typing the invoice.

• When a customer won't pay: a UK sole trader's guide to getting paid (and not getting caught out again)

  Late payment and no-shows are part of working for yourself in the trades. Here's what your rights actually are in the UK, how to chase money without losing the plot, and the booking habits that stop it happening in the first place.

• Unpaid for a job? When small claims is worth it — and how it works in the UK

  A customer's gone quiet on an invoice and you're wondering whether court is worth the hassle. For UK tradespeople: the free step that settles most of it, how small claims actually works (it's different in Scotland), and when to let it go.

1 more on getting paid in the blog →

Tax and the money side

The bits that catch people out, usually about nine months too late.

• The VAT threshold trap: why turning down work in October might be the right call

  The £90,000 VAT threshold makes some traders' best year their most expensive one. How the rolling 12-month test actually works, what crossing costs when your customers are homeowners, and how to decide deliberately instead of drifting over.

• Going self-employed as a tradesperson: the first-90-days admin checklist

  You've got the tools and the first jobs booked. Nobody teaches the admin. The checklist for your first 90 days self-employed: registering with HMRC, insurance, records, the tax you need to set aside, and the payments-on-account surprise nobody warns you about.

• Do you need planning permission for a house extension? The 2026 rules

  Most single-storey rear extensions don't need planning permission — up to 4m deep on a detached house in England, 3m otherwise, with different numbers in Scotland and Wales. The actual limits per nation, what strips your rights, and the two bits of paperwork you need even when planning isn't one of them.

• BS 7671 Amendment 4: what actually changes on your certificates

  Amendment 4 was published on 15 April 2026 and the previous version is withdrawn on 15 October 2026. What changes on the EIC, the EICR and the minor works certificate, what you need in place before October, and why you probably don't need the update course you're being sold.

Running the week

Software, scheduling, and whether any of it is worth paying for when it's just you.

• Is job software worth it when it's just you?

  The money question is easier than it looks — £25 a month is about half an hour of billable time. The harder question is whether you'll actually use it, and there are four situations where the answer is no.

• What job software actually costs, and the four ways it's priced

  The monthly figure on the website is the least useful number in this decision. The four pricing models, how to work out what you'd really pay, the costs that aren't in the sticker price, and when someone else is the cheaper buy.

• How to choose job management software, and what actually differs between them

  Most of these products do the same things, and the feature lists are written to be compared favourably. Six things genuinely differ — where it starts, how it charges, what's on the tier above, and three more — plus how to run a trial that tells you anything.

• Job management software for electricians: what it actually means

  "Job management software" is a vague phrase. Here's what it actually does for a sole-trader electrician — and, just as usefully, what it doesn't, and how it fits next to Checkatrade, MyBuilder, and your accountant.

4 more on running the week in the blog →