Business
Run a stronger trade business
Practical UK guidance on the numbers and systems behind the work: what to charge, how to protect margin and cash flow, what admin actually matters, and where software genuinely earns its cost.
Updated . Everything linked below is live content, checked and dated on its own page. This hub organises it, it doesn't restate it.
Money in / pricing work
What a job should cost you to win, what it needs to sell for, and where the money actually goes once the work is done.
Trade labour rates: what should you charge?
Official ONS employee-pay context plus a worked charge-out rate calculator with every assumption shown.
Job price and margin calculator
Browser-only quote calculator for labour, materials, overheads, contingency, margin and VAT. Nothing sent anywhere.
UK construction materials cost index
Official DBT material price inflation, checked monthly, with a trade-quoting read on what it means.
Builders' merchant trade accounts compared
Account types, credit terms, delivery thresholds and proof-of-business requirements at 8 major UK merchants, sourced and dated.
UK builders' merchant directory
8 major UK builders' merchants, source-checked and listed alphabetically with account types, access rules and official-source links.
£100k turnover isn't £100k income: where the money actually goes
Turnover is what a business sells before anything comes off it. Profit is what's left once the real costs of doing the work are taken out, and it's wh…
Updated 19 Aug 2026Profitable but no cash: why trade businesses run out of money
A job can make money overall and still leave a trade business short of cash while it's actually running. That's not a contradiction, it's timing: prof…
Updated 19 Aug 2026What hiring your first person does to trade software costs
Hiring your first person does not create one predictable software cost. In the current UK plans we checked, some products include the first field work…
Updated 3 Oct 2026Getting paid
What to do when a customer is late or refuses to pay, and what the law actually gives you.
Customer not paying your invoice? What tradespeople can do
Chase it in writing straight away. Then check who actually owes you the money, because your rights are different depending on the answer. A business o…
Updated 20 Sept 2026UK Construction Payment and Retentions Tracker
Retentions are not banned yet. The Commercial Payments Bill would stop contractors withholding retention money on UK construction contracts. It has no…
Updated 20 Sept 2026Software & systems
Which systems fit your business shape, from jobs and quoting to accounts, MTD and CIS.
Accounting & MTD software for UK trades
Four desk-assessed options compared on MTD for VAT, MTD for Income Tax and the CIS300 filing distinction.
Accounting & MTD evidence hub
The dated category record, current shortlist and how the evidence was checked.
Best job management software for UK trades
Desk-assessed shortlist with verified UK pricing.
Compare UK job management software
Feature-by-feature matrix; "not verified" is never shown as "no".
Job management software pricing
Verified GBP/USD/quote pricing with VAT and promo caveats.
What your first hire does to software costs
A source-dated comparison of how current trade-software pricing changes when a sole trader adds a field worker or full-access user.
Software ROI calculator
Run the worth-it maths on your own numbers, transparent assumptions.
Is job management software worth it for a small trade business?
The honest break-even analysis: is job management software worth it for your business.
What job management software costs in the UK (2026)
What job management software actually costs UK trades, with every price dated.
Tax & admin
The compliance and admin obligations that come with running the business, translated into what to actually do.
How to register as self-employed or a sole trader: a tradesperson's guide
Registering as self-employed and registering as a sole trader are the same process: one Self Assessment registration with HMRC that gives you a Unique…
Updated 2 Oct 2026Sole trader or limited company? A tradesperson's decision guide
There's no single profit figure where going limited automatically pays off, whatever a quick search suggests. Staying a sole trader is free, immediate…
Updated 24 Aug 2026Making Tax Digital for tradespeople: what to do now in 2026
If your qualifying income for 2024/25 was over £50,000, and none of the exemptions apply to you, you're in the first mandatory group for Making Tax Di…
Updated 24 Sept 2026CIS for tradespeople: deductions, gross payment status and 2026 changes
If you're a subcontractor, a contractor who pays subcontractors, or both, the Construction Industry Scheme already applies to you, whether or not you'…
Updated 19 Aug 2026VAT threshold for tradespeople: what happens at £90,000
If your rolling 12-month taxable turnover passes £90,000, you must register for VAT, usually within 30 days of the end of that month. If you expect to…
Updated 19 Aug 2026Self-employed tax calculator
Turnover or day rate in, Income Tax/NI/take-home out, with the full band breakdown shown.
CIS tax calculator
Invoice deduction and estimated year-end position, kept as two clearly separate calculators.
Construction VAT reverse charge checker
Work through HMRC's conditions for the domestic reverse charge, with a cautious result and the VAT Return boxes.
How we work things out
Business content follows official primary sources and shows its working; product verdicts follow a separate testing methodology. Both are explained here.