Get paid without drowning in paperwork
Most sole traders and micro builders lose hours every month formatting invoices, chasing balances and guessing who still owes money. An invoicing app for builders should match how UK trade work is priced: labour, materials, VAT where it applies, and clear status so you know what is draft, sent, viewed or paid.
Tradeways keeps invoicing next to the job and the client. You raise an invoice from the work you already logged, send it from the same place you manage quotes, and see payment status without opening a second tool. Tier 1 starts at £24 a month (£19.20 for your first three months with the introductory offer), with no long-term contract.
Branded invoices that look the part
Clients take a tidy invoice seriously. Tradeways lets you send branded invoices with your business details, line items for labour and materials, and a clear total. You can enable VAT and set your VAT rate so invoices match how you trade — whether you charge standard VAT or keep things simple as a non-VAT registered sole trader.
Each invoice sits against a client and, where relevant, a job. That means your history stays useful when the same customer books you again, and your accountant can see the same numbers from their included seat without taking a staff seat.
- Customisable invoice templates with your branding
- VAT enabled with a configurable rate
- Line items for labour, materials and other costs
- Preview before you send
Reminders and status tracking
Unpaid invoices are rarely about awkward clients alone — they are about follow-up that never happened because you were on site. Tradeways tracks payment status so you can see what is outstanding at a glance, and send payment reminders without rewriting the same chase email every Friday night.
When a client pays, the status updates so cash flow is not a guess. Pair invoicing with the finance tools if you want a clearer view of what is coming in across the month.
Card payments with Stripe
UK buyers increasingly expect to pay by card. With Stripe connected, clients can pay from the invoice itself. Card payments only charge the amount due, which matters when you have already applied payments on account or part payments against a job.
You stay in control of whether Pay now is offered. Bank details can still appear on the PDF and portal when you want a BACS option alongside card.
CIS and VAT — what Tradeways does and does not do
If you work under CIS, you still need accurate labour records. Tradeways can show a CIS labour reference on job costs (display only) so you and your accountant can see the labour slice of a job. It does not submit CIS returns or replace HMRC’s online services.
There is no domestic reverse-charge VAT engine in the app today. Set your VAT rate for standard invoicing, keep clean records, and export or share data with your accountant. For CIS process detail, see our guide on CIS for small builders.
Built for busy, dyslexic and ADHD brains
Invoicing should not be a wall of grey forms. Tradeways is designed to be calm and clear, with speech to text, screen tints, dyslexia-friendly font options and a simplified layout when you need less noise. That is why many of our customers are dyslexic, have ADHD, or simply hate admin.
If accessibility is the main reason you are looking, start with our neuro-inclusive trade software pillar page, then come back here when you are ready to send your first invoice.