Every card has the same four parts: who it suits, the published price, what it does for you, and one watch-out.
1
FieldHive
Suits: Sole traders and owner-run firms of up to about 3 people, where you do the quoting, booking and invoicing.
Published price
Free plan · Business £14.99 a month or £144 a year, one price for the whole business.
- The accepted quote becomes the invoice. Nothing is retyped on the drive home.
- Unlimited invoices on the free plan, as PDFs with your company logo.
- Stripe card payments on the free plan: a Pay Now button on every invoice.
- Xero and QuickBooks sync with CIS on the free plan. The books stay straight without a second login.
- Deposit invoices, progress claims and automated quote and invoice reminders on Business.
- Stop paying any time and you keep the free plan. Your quotes and invoices stay yours to export.
Watch-out: One login, for the person who runs the admin: staff don’t get their own accounts. And it syncs with Xero and QuickBooks only, not Sage. If each engineer needs a login or your accountant works in Sage, Tradify will suit you better.
Start freeFree plan, no card needed. £14.99 a month flat for the whole business when you need more.
2
Zoho Invoice
Suits: Sole traders sending fewer than 500 invoices a year who don’t need accounting sync.
Published price
Free: up to 2 users, 3 projects and 500 invoices a year. No paid plan listed.
- Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices and automated payment reminders at no cost.
- Card payments through payment gateways, and a self-service customer portal.
Watch-out: It carries “Powered by Zoho Invoice” branding, and if a user is inactive for over 180 days their data is deleted. Its pricing page lists Zoho’s own apps (CRM, Analytics, Books) for integration, not Xero or QuickBooks.
3
Xero
Suits: Businesses that want invoicing inside full accounts, or whose accountant already works in Xero.
Published price
Ignite £18, Grow £39, Comprehensive £55 or Ultimate £70 a month.
- Quotes, invoices and online invoice payments on every plan.
- Subcontractor CIS calculations on every plan; submitting contractor CIS returns is an optional £5 a month.
Watch-out: Ignite lets you send quotes and 20 invoices. Unlimited invoices start on Grow at £39 a month, so check your volume before you pick a plan.
4
FreeAgent
Suits: Sole traders who want invoicing and their Self Assessment in the same app.
Published price
Sole trader £19 a month (£9.50 for the first 6 months) · free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle business account · 30-day trial.
- Invoices, estimates and automatic payment reminders, with MTD for Income Tax and Self Assessment.
- Online payments through Tyl, Stripe, GoCardless and PayPal; CIS invoices and deductions tracked.
Watch-out: Priced by business type: partnerships pay £27 and limited companies £33 a month. The free deal lasts only as long as you keep the qualifying bank account.
5
Powered Now
Suits: UK trades that want forms and certificates in the same app as quotes and invoices.
Published price
Business £28 a month for one user · Professional £32 and Premium £40 per user a month · 14-day trial.
- Forms and certificates built in, from the Professional plan (£32).
- Pay-now links on invoices and a mobile card reader for payments on site.
Watch-out: The £28 plan is for one user. Teams, Xero and QuickBooks sync, and forms start on Professional (£32 per user); the customer portal is on Premium (£40 per user) only.
6
Tradify
Suits: Small teams of 2 to 10 where each person needs their own login.
Published price
£34, £37 or £44 per user a month · 14-day trial.
- Xero, Sage and QuickBooks on every plan, including Lite (£34).
- Built for electrical, plumbing, gas and HVAC work.
Watch-out: The bill grows with every user. No customer portal found on its site; customers get emailed links.
