For sole traders · 2026
Most apps built for tradespeople are built for companies with employees, not the person working alone. Too many features, too much cost, too much screen to navigate when you’re standing in someone’s kitchen at half seven in the morning. Here’s what actually works for sole traders.
Search for “job management app for tradespeople” and you’ll find Tradify, Jobber, ServiceM8, Commusoft, Fergus — all solid products, all built primarily for businesses running teams of two, three, five or more. For a sole trader doing 20 jobs a month on their own, you’re paying £25–£35 a month and using about 15% of what you’re paying for.
The other thing generic trade apps miss is specificity. A plumber, an electrician and a joiner have broadly similar needs — but the details matter. The cost categories are different, the registration numbers are different, the job types are different.
Log a job in seconds, see open vs completed at a glance.
Trade-specific categories, not generic ones.
Calculated automatically — see the mileage guide for plumbers.
Your registration number, printed automatically.
Ready for self assessment without a spreadsheet.
NicheApps builds a separate app for each trade, not a generic tool with the logo changed:
Plumbers · Gas Safe invoicing
Electricians · NICEIC invoicing
Joiners & carpenters
Builders & general contractors
Painters & decorators
Gardeners & landscapers
HVAC & refrigeration engineers
It’s not just branding. A plumber sees plumbing cost categories — parts, copper, waste disposal. An electrician sees consumer units and cable runs. A builder sees CIS labour splits. Small things that add up across every job, every week, every year.
HMRC lets you claim 55p per mile from April 2026 — one of the most accessible reliefs available to self employed people. 8,000 miles × 55p is £4,400 a year, sitting unclaimed for most. Every NicheApps tool captures it automatically. Full breakdown in How to Track Expenses as a Self Employed Tradesperson.
Works in your phone’s browser — no App Store, no download, no waiting for updates. Open the URL, add it to your home screen, and it works like a native app from that point on.
7 profession-specific apps. All free to start, no card required. If you’re a plumber, start with PlumberLog directly — it’s free to start and built exactly for this guide’s checklist.
Built for sole traders, not companies
7 apps. All free to start. Try one for a week and you’ll know within a few jobs whether it saves you time.
Open PlumberLog free →