Tools & data
Work it out before you act
Free calculators, source-checked data and comparison tools for UK trades. Price the job, check the tax, compare the software or understand the market without digging through a pile of generic articles first.
Hub updated . Every destination below is live now; each calculator, comparison or dataset carries its own methodology, assumptions and checked dates where those are relevant.
Start with the job you need to do
TBV tools are organised around decisions, not article categories. Calculators show their assumptions and working; source-led tools keep checked facts and dates visible. Where tax, regulation, product specification or safety depends on your circumstances, use the result as a planning aid and follow the linked primary source or competent professional route.
Price & quote a job
Build a sustainable labour rate first, then turn real job costs into a selling price without confusing markup, margin and VAT.
- Labour pricingTrade rate calculatorWork backwards from earnings, billable days and business overheads to a sustainable charge-out rate.Open
- Job pricingJob price, margin & VAT calculatorAdd labour, materials, plant, overheads and contingency, then see the selling price and equivalent markup.Open
- Cost contextUK construction materials cost indexOfficial DBT price data with the latest material movements and practical quoting context.Open
- BuyingBuilders' merchant trade accountsCompare current account types, credit terms, delivery thresholds and proof-of-business requirements.Open
Tax, VAT & getting paid
Use the arithmetic for planning, then follow the linked HMRC or legal source where the real-world treatment depends on your circumstances.
- TaxSelf-employed tax calculatorEstimate Income Tax, National Insurance and take-home from turnover or day-rate inputs using the current model shown on the page.Open
- CISCIS tax calculatorKeep the invoice deduction and the estimated year-end tax position as two separate calculations.Open
- VATConstruction VAT reverse charge checkerWork through the HMRC conditions with a cautious result and the relevant VAT-return treatment.Open
- Getting paidCustomer not paying an invoice?A source-backed route through evidence, reminders, interest, escalation and the practical next steps.Open
Materials, merchants & market data
Use maintained source data to understand the market before relying on an old national average or an unsourced supplier claim.
- Official dataConstruction materials cost indexTrack official UK construction-material price movements and the categories moving fastest.Open
- Merchant dataMerchant trade-account comparisonSource-dated comparison of major UK builders' merchant account and delivery terms.Open
- DirectoryUK builders' merchant directoryBrowse the major merchants TBV currently tracks, with official-source links and maintained account information.Open
- ResearchResearch & dataOriginal and source-led TBV research, including datasets built to answer practical trade-business questions.Open
Software & operations
Compare documented functionality and current pricing before paying for software that does not fit the way your business actually works.
- ShortlistBuild a software shortlistAnswer a few practical questions and narrow the documented options without storing your answers.Open
- CompareCompare job-management softwareFeature-by-feature comparison where unverified information is kept separate from a genuine no.Open
- PricingSoftware cost by team sizeSee how current pricing models change as a trade business adds people.Open
- ROISoftware ROI calculatorUse your own numbers to test the payback case with editable assumptions.Open
What TBV is building next
The next construction tools will connect quantities and assumptions to useful buying, pricing and quoting decisions. We are deliberately not publishing a calculator for every possible search. A new tool only earns a place here when it solves a distinct problem better than the existing alternatives and can be kept accurate.