Alternatives to paper based job management
Alternatives to Paper Based Job Management
Alternatives to paper based job management for UK trades, compared on what each one costs and what it replaces. Paper is free until a sheet goes missing. FieldHive is free to start and £14.99 a month flat, one account run from your phone.
Alternatives to paper based job management: six options compared
Alternatives to paper based job management fall into three groups: a spreadsheet, a job management app, and better paper. For a sole trader doing the admin at the kitchen table, FieldHive fits: free to start, £14.99 a month flat, one account on your phone. If two or three engineers each need their own login today, ServiceM8 is the closer swap.
FieldHive
Free, then £14.99/month flatBest for: Sole traders who want the quote, booking, invoice, payment and customer history on one record instead of a pad in the glovebox. One account, run from your phone, one price per business. The free plan has unlimited customers, bookings and invoices, five active quotes, CIS support, card payments and Xero or QuickBooks sync.
Start free →
ServiceM8
Free (30 jobs, 1 user), then £25–£269/month by job volumeBest for: Teams where several people need their own login. ServiceM8 charges by jobs completed, so every paid plan includes unlimited staff. If you are dispatching two or three engineers day to day, ServiceM8 does that now and FieldHive does not — FieldHive is one account per business.
ServiceM8 vs FieldHive →
Powered Now
£28–£40 per user/monthBest for: UK trades who want CIS paperwork and certificates handled inside the app, from a UK company with UK support. Priced per user, so the bill climbs with the team.
Powered Now vs FieldHive →
Tradify
£34–£44 per user/monthBest for: Established small teams who want a mature, well-supported product and do not mind paying per seat. The cost climbs with every person you add.
Tradify vs FieldHive →
A spreadsheet
Free with Excel or Google SheetsBest for: A trade business that wants to search and total what paper cannot, at no cost. A sheet holds the job list and what is owed. It does not quote, invoice or take payment, and it lives on one laptop unless you keep it in the cloud.
Staying on paper
The cost of the padsBest for: If you do several small jobs a day, take payment on the spot and the book has never lost you money, keep it. Paper works in a loft with no signal and a signed docket settles arguments. Change it on the day you cannot say what is unpaid without reading the pile.
Prices are the competitors' own published figures, checked 6 October 2026. Vendors change pricing — check before you decide.
Why UK trades look for an alternative to paper
One copy. The top copy goes to the customer and the yellow copy to the glovebox. A pad left in the rain, or in a stolen van, takes the record with it.
Nothing is searchable. Working out what is unpaid means reading every sheet, so it gets done when something feels wrong rather than every week.
Everything is written twice. Once on site, and again into the invoice at the kitchen table. The two do not always agree, and the second write is the one that gets put off.
What Both Platforms Do
Built for trade businesses
Connected workflow platform
Quotes and estimates
Jobs and scheduling
Invoices and payments
Customer records
Job history
Mobile access on site
Both are designed to replace spreadsheets, paperwork, and disconnected apps with one central system.
What is paper based job management?
Paper based job management is running jobs from a duplicate book, a diary and a folder of invoices. The job is written on a sheet on site, the customer signs the top copy, and the yellow copy comes indoors to be invoiced later.
It costs the price of the pads and works without signal or battery. If you want to keep a paper-shaped sheet but print it properly, the free job sheet generator makes an A4 PDF with a customer sign-off you can email instead of handing over a carbon copy.
Where They Differ
Where paper is the better choice
You do several small jobs a day and take payment on the spot.
You work where there is no signal, in lofts and plant rooms, and the sheet has to be filled in there and then.
The book has never lost you money and the admin takes an hour a week.
Where a small business needs something different
You cannot say what is unpaid without reading the pile.
A customer rings about last year's job and the sheet is in a box in the loft.
You write every job twice, once on site and once into the invoice.
The Growth Question
One engineer, one van
The pad is in the glovebox and the invoicing is a Sunday job.
Ten customers a week
Repeat customers ring about last time. On one customer record the history is already there, not in a box.
Fifty customers a month
If you now need a second login, ServiceM8 or Tradify earn their money. If not, you are still one business paying one flat price.
This is where structure becomes increasingly valuable.
Paper vs FieldHive at a glance
Fact | Paper | FieldHive |
|---|---|---|
Starting price | The cost of the pads | Free |
Paid plan | None | £14.99 a month, or £144 a year |
Priced per | Pad | Business |
Copies of the record | One, plus a carbon | Stored in your account, not in the van |
Searchable | No | Yes, by customer and job |
Quote to invoice | Written twice | Written once; the job becomes the invoice |
Payment status | In your head | On the job, with card payments on the invoice |
CIS deductions | Worked out by hand | Yes, on the free plan |
Competitor prices on this page checked 6 October 2026 on each vendor's own site.
Today vs As Workload Grows
Paper
Today
Nothing to learn and nothing to charge.
As workload grows
Every extra job is another sheet to find, retype and chase.
FieldHive
Today
Free to start. One customer record from quote to payment.
As workload grows
Still one price per business.
Which One Fits Your Business?
Who should stay on paper?
Trades doing several small, paid-on-the-spot jobs a day
Anyone working mostly where there is no signal
Businesses whose admin genuinely takes an hour a week
Who should choose FieldHive?
Sole traders and subcontractors writing every job twice
Anyone who wants one customer record from quote to payment
Anyone who wants to start free and pay one flat price later
Neither platform is wrong — they are built for different stages of growth.
Who FieldHive Is For
FieldHive is built for trade businesses that want practical job management, connected records and less rebuilding as workload grows.
This Is For You If You Are…
Self-employed trades
Subcontractors
Sole traders
Small trade businesses moving off paper
This Is Not For…
Firms dispatching several engineers who each need a login
Enterprise ERP environments
Corporate procurement teams
AT A GLANCE
FieldHive In 30 Seconds
THE CORE
Job management software built specifically for UK trade businesses.
THE FIT
Subcontractors, sole traders and small trade businesses.
THE DIFFERENCE
Customer records, quotes, bookings, invoices and payments stay connected.
THE GOAL
Help businesses grow without rebuilding systems later.
Comparing a few options?
See how FieldHive stacks up against the other systems UK trades look at.
Tradify Alternatives
Looking to move off Tradify? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the Tradify alternative →Jobber Alternatives
Looking to move off Jobber? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the Jobber alternative →ServiceM8 Alternatives
Looking to move off ServiceM8? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the ServiceM8 alternative →Fergus Alternatives
Looking to move off Fergus? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the Fergus alternative →Simpro Alternative
Looking to move off Simpro? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the Simpro alternative →Powered Now Alternatives
Looking to move off Powered Now? See how FieldHive compares for UK trade businesses.
see the Powered Now alternative →Common Questions
Everything you need to know about FieldHive
Start free. One record from quote to paid.
FieldHive is an alternative to paper based job management for UK sole traders: quotes, bookings, invoices and payments on one customer record, from one account on your phone. Free to start, £14.99 a month flat when you grow.
