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How It Works

Trades

Pricing

Guides

About

Features

How It Works

Trades

Pricing

Guides

About

Features

How It Works

Trades

Pricing

Guides

About

Free guides

Practical guides for running a trade business

Plain-English guides on pricing, quoting, CIS, VAT and getting paid — written for UK trades, free, and no sign-up.

5 min read

Is a Quote Legally Binding?

Is a quote legally binding? Yes, once your customer accepts it. When your quote binds you, how it differs from an estimate, and what to put on it so it protects you when the job changes.

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6 min read

How to Price Electrical Work

How to price electrical work: set a rate that covers your costs, time each task, mark up materials and bill the testing. With a worked consumer unit example.

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6 min read

How to Price Painting and Decorating Jobs

How to price painting and decorating jobs: measure every surface, time the prep and the coats, mark up materials and quote a fixed price. Worked example included.

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5 min read

How to Price Plumbing Jobs

How to price plumbing jobs: your rate from real costs, call-outs for small repairs, fixed prices for installs, and a price book for repeat work.

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5 min read

How to Price Landscaping Jobs

How to price landscaping jobs from the ground up: measure, cost the dig-out, materials, plant and crew days, then add access and weather. With a worked patio example.

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5 min read

How to Price Roofing Jobs

How to price roofing jobs: measure the true roof area, cost materials with wastage, price scaffold and skips separately, then add labour, weather and margin.

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6 min read

How to Price Building Work

How to price building work from the ground up: quantities, labour by task, subbies and attendance, prelims, PC sums, overheads and profit, with a worked garden wall example.

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6 min read

CIS for subcontractors: how the scheme works

CIS for subcontractors, explained: what gets deducted from your invoices, at what rate, what stays out of it, and how you get the money back.

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6 min read

How to register for CIS

Register for CIS as a subcontractor or a contractor: what you need before you start, how to do it online, and what happens if you don't.

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5 min read

CIS verification: how to verify a subcontractor

CIS verification tells you what rate to deduct before you pay a subcontractor. What HMRC needs, what it tells you back, and when you have to do it again.

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6 min read

CIS monthly return: how to file it

Your CIS monthly return is due by the 19th of every month following the last tax month. What goes on it, how to file it, and what late filing costs.

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5 min read

Gross payment status: how to apply

Gross payment status means contractors pay you in full with no CIS deduction. The three tests, the turnover thresholds, and how to apply.

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6 min read

How to apply the VAT reverse charge on an invoice

The VAT reverse charge means you don't charge VAT on the invoice. The exact wording HMRC accepts, when it applies, and the end user exemption.

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5 min read

How to claim back CIS deductions

You claim back CIS deductions through Self Assessment as a sole trader, or through payroll as a limited company — not Corporation Tax. The two routes differ.

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5 min read

How to write a method statement

A method statement sets out how a job will be done safely, step by step. What to put in one, how it pairs with the risk assessment, and a worked example.

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6 min read

Pay Less Notices Explained

A pay less notice is how a payer cuts your payment on a construction contract. What makes one valid, the deadline it has to hit, and what happens when it misses.

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7 min read

Construction Act Payment Terms

Construction Act payment terms are rules you can't be contracted out of: stage payments, notice deadlines and no pay-when-paid. What applies, and when it doesn't.

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6 min read

How to write a payment application (application for payment)

A payment application is what starts the payment clock on a construction contract. What goes in it, when to send it, and why the wording decides whether it works.

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6 min read

How To Charge Late Payment Interest

How to charge late payment interest on commercial invoices: the statutory rate, the fixed compensation fee, and how to work out exactly what you're owed.

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6 min read

How To Chase An Unpaid Invoice

How to chase an unpaid invoice calmly: an escalating sequence from the first reminder to a letter before action, and what you're entitled to add on top.

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5 min read

How Long You Can Chase An Unpaid Invoice (Statute Barred Debt)

How long you can chase an unpaid invoice comes down to a six-year limit in England and Wales. But the clock can restart, and waiting costs you long before it runs out.

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5 min read

Invoice Payment Terms For Trade Work

Payment terms for trade work are whatever you agree in writing before work starts — what you can set, what applies if you set nothing, and the clauses worth having on domestic and commercial jobs.

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Built for UK trades

The guides explain the rules. FieldHive does the admin.

Reading up on CIS, VAT and getting paid is one thing — doing it on every job is the grind. FieldHive builds the quotes, invoices and statements for you, and keeps every job connected.