Resources
Practical guides for tradespeople
Practical guides and advice for tradespeople — on running a profitable business, quoting jobs correctly, invoicing clients, and everything in between.
Topic
Showing 1–6 of 50 articles.
How much should self-employed trades charge in the UK?
Why “what others charge nearby” fails for sole traders, when to use day rate vs fixed packages, and how to sanity-check totals against materials and overhead recovery before you send.
Hourly rate for self-employed trades in the UK: what the number should include
Forum day rates rarely include productive hours, van costs, insurance, and non-billable admin. Build an hourly or half-day structure sole traders can defend on paper.
Self-employed trades quote template (UK): labour, materials, and scope lines
A practical UK layout for sole-trader quotes: scope header, labour bands, materials and sundries, travel, VAT wording, payment terms, and exclusions customers understand — before you send the PDF.
Best quote software for self-employed trades in the UK: what to shortlist
Sole traders compare apps after a busy week that still felt skint. A commercial checklist: feature table, pricing signals, best-for verdicts, and links to templates and hourly-rate discipline for self-employed trades.
How much should plumbers charge in the UK?
Boiler swaps, bathrooms, and callouts need different economics. Structure minimum charges, materials bands, and staged payments so published “going rates” do not quietly bankrupt your week.
How much should electricians charge in the UK?
Why “what others charge nearby” fails, what belongs in a day rate vs a fixed package, and how to sanity-check totals against materials lists and testing time before you send.