Every invoicing app demos beautifully and dies in the van. Nine real options for UK tradies — prices checked on each company’s own site — and where each one is genuinely the better choice.
19 July 2026 · 9 min read · Updated 13/10/2026
Search "invoicing app" and you'll drown in options. But for a tradesperson the real question isn't which app has the most features — it's which one still gets used in November. Below are nine real options with prices checked on each company’s own website on 13/10/2026, then an honest look at the three routes and who each suits.
| App | Price per month | Free trial | CIS | Voice | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GraftG | Solo £14 · Pro £24 · Team £34 (incl. VAT, intro prices, per business) | 14 days (card taken at sign-up) | Yes (Pro) | Yes — runs in WhatsApp | Yes — voice notes | Sole traders and small crews invoicing from the van |
| Tradify | Lite £34 · Pro £37 · Plus £44 per user | 14 days | Via its Xero integration | Not stated | Not stated | Teams that schedule and dispatch jobs |
| Powered Now | Business £28 (1 user) · Professional £32 · Premium £40 per user, plus VAT | 14 days, no card | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Quoting, invoicing and job management in one trade app |
| YourTradebase | £29, plus £15 per extra user, plus VAT | 30 days, no card | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Small firms wanting quotes, jobs and invoices at one price |
| Xero | Ignite £18 · Grow £39 · Comprehensive £55 · Ultimate £70, plus VAT | One month free | Yes (contractor returns +£5/mo) | Yes — quotes via its JAX assistant | Not stated | Full bookkeeping, VAT returns, working with an accountant |
| QuickBooks | Sole Trader Plus £10 · Simple Start £16 · Essentials £38 · Plus £56 · Advanced £123 | 30 days (not with the intro discount) | Yes | Not stated | Not stated (UK) | Full accounts and Making Tax Digital |
| FreeAgent | Sole trader £19 · Partnership £27 · Ltd £33, plus VAT (free with some business bank accounts) | 30 days | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Sole traders who want accounts plus self assessment |
| Invoice2go | Starter £7.99 · Professional £11.99 · Premium £44.99 | 30 days, card required | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Simple, cheap invoicing on the go |
| Zoho Invoice | Free (2 users, 500 invoices a year) | Free plan | Not stated | Yes — share via your own WhatsApp | Not stated | Free basic invoicing |
Prices checked 13/10/2026 on each company’s own pricing page (Tradify, Powered Now, YourTradebase, Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Invoice2go, Zoho Invoice). Standard monthly prices; several offer discounts for the first months or for paying yearly. GraftG’s prices include VAT; where a site says its prices are plus VAT we say so, and where it doesn’t say, we don’t guess. “Not stated” means the company’s own site doesn’t mention it. Prices change — check before you buy.
Accounting depth: Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent do bank feeds, VAT returns and full bookkeeping, and your accountant can log straight in. GraftG does not file VAT returns or connect to your bank — it pushes invoices, payments and receipts into Xero on Pro if you use both. Running a team: Tradify, Powered Now and YourTradebase are built around scheduling, job sheets and office staff working alongside the van; GraftG's Team plan covers up to five people but it is not a dispatch board. Price: Zoho Invoice is free for basic invoicing (up to 500 invoices a year), and Invoice2go's Starter plan is cheaper than any GraftG plan.
It is the only one here that runs entirely inside WhatsApp: describe the job in a message or a voice note and a numbered PDF invoice with your bank details comes back in the chat. There is no app to open, which is the step where good habits die. CIS deductions, deposits, pay-online links and automatic late-payment chasing are on Pro. Prices include VAT and are per business, not per user.
Powerful, accountant-friendly, great for VAT returns — and complete overkill if what you need is to get an invoice to a customer before you leave the drive. Standard prices run from £10 to £70 a month on the plans most sole traders would pick (Xero and FreeAgent quote theirs plus VAT), often with big discounts for the first six months. Invoicing means opening an app, logging in and filling a form. Best for: anyone who wants proper books, and limited companies with an accountant who lives in them.
Built for tradies with scheduling, quoting and invoicing in one. Tradify and Powered Now are priced per user (£28–£44 a month each, depending on plan); YourTradebase is £29 a month plus £15 for each extra user. They still depend on you living inside another app. Teams with office staff get real value; a sole trader mostly pays for screens they never open.
The third route skips the app entirely. With GraftG, the invoice happens in the WhatsApp chat you already have open: text "Invoice Mrs Jones, replaced tap, £80", finish a tracked job and type "END JOB", or reply "ACCEPT" to a quote, and a numbered, branded PDF invoice arrives in the chat — bank details on it, optional card pay-now link, and automatic late-payment chasing on Pro. Solo is £14/month (14-day free trial), Pro £24/month. The full how-to is in how to send invoices via WhatsApp.
On raw accounting depth, Xero wins. On team scheduling, the job apps win. On cost, Zoho's free plan wins. On speed from "job done" to "invoice sent" — and on the odds you're still doing it properly six months in — the WhatsApp route wins, because it removes the one step where good habits die: opening another app. You can run WhatsApp invoicing day to day and hand a clean export to your accountant at year-end, or let GraftG copy everything into Xero as you go.
Whichever you pick: invoice the same day the job finishes, number invoices sequentially (the rules), show VAT correctly if registered, put your bank details on every invoice, and chase at 7 days without fail. A £14/month tool you use beats a £35/month tool you don't. Weigh it up against whether WhatsApp invoicing is safe and the pricing page — or start with a free invoice template if you only send a few a month.
It depends on how you work. Full accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent suits people who want proper books and VAT returns; per-user job apps such as Tradify or Powered Now suit teams with office staff; Zoho Invoice is free for basic invoicing. For sole traders who invoice from the van, a WhatsApp-based tool like GraftG is often the best fit because the invoice is sent from the chat you already have open, in under a minute.
Checked on 13/10/2026: accounting software runs from £10 to £70 a month on typical plans (QuickBooks from £10, Xero from £18 plus VAT, FreeAgent from £19 plus VAT), trade job apps from £28 to £44 per user per month, and Zoho Invoice is free. GraftG starts at £14 a month including VAT on Solo, with a 14-day free trial.
Yes. Zoho Invoice has a free plan for up to 500 invoices a year and two users. Free tools cover the invoice itself but not the rest of the admin — mileage, receipts, CIS or chasing late payers — and card payments still carry processing fees.
Of the nine compared, GraftG (Pro), Powered Now, YourTradebase, Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent all state CIS support on their own sites, and Tradify handles it through its Xero integration. Invoice2go and Zoho Invoice do not state CIS support.
Yes. GraftG works entirely through WhatsApp — you sign up once on the web, link your number, and then raise invoices by message. A branded PDF invoice with your bank details is generated and sent into the chat.
Yes. Every invoice is numbered sequentially and stored, and you can export the full history as a CSV at any time from the web portal to hand to your accountant. On Pro, GraftG can also copy invoices, payments and receipts into Xero as you go.
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