https://tradeyoke.net/blog/tag/pricing What to charge, what software costs, and how to keep the margin. en-gb https://tradeyoke.net/blog/how-much-does-job-management-software-cost https://tradeyoke.net/blog/how-much-does-job-management-software-cost Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:15:11 GMT Sole traders typically pay £15 to £30 a month, small teams £30 to £50. Here is what you should get for that, and the per-user fees that quietly double it. ⚠️ Watch for "from £X" prices. The "from" is usually a plan that lacks the one feature you came for, and the plan you actually need is on a different page. ### What sits outside the subscription Some costs are transaction fees rather than subscriptions and they are worth understanding rather than fearing. Taking a card payment through Stripe costs a small percentage of each payment. Collecting by Direct Debit through GoCardless is around 1% on a typical clean, so about 12p on a £12 window clean. Sending SMS costs pence per message. None of these are the software's fees; they are the price of not driving round on a Friday evening to collect cash. Set them against what they replace. If a pay link by text gets you paid the same day instead of three weeks later, the pence per message is the cheapest credit control you will ever buy. We go into the mechanics in how UK tradespeople get paid the same day. [GoCardless pricing](https://gocardless.com/pricing/): The current per-transaction fees for collecting Direct Debit payments in the UK. ### Does it pay for itself? The honest test is admin hours. Most sole traders spend three to five hours a week on the diary, the invoices, the chasing and the receipts. If software gives half of that back, it has paid for a £19 plan several times over at any reasonable hourly rate. Add one missed visit a month that you no longer miss, or one invoice you no longer forget to send, and the maths stops being close. The second test is the accountant's bill. Clean records, two ready-made CSVs and a bookkeeping sync that has already posted every invoice can take real hours off year-end, and those hours are charged at your accountant's rate, not yours. [Image: Reports: earned, collected, expenses and profit for any period or tax year, plus the accountant CSVs.] ### What a free trial should look like A trial should show you far more than the diary, and it should not ask for a card. A trial that only shows you the diary tells you nothing about whether the paperwork and the chasing are worth the money. Ours gives you 30 days of Essentials with no card required; emailing and texting customers and online payments unlock when you choose a plan, and the pricing page says plainly which plan adds what; there is more on how to spend that week in our checklist for choosing job management software. Whatever you choose, make the decision on your trade's real week. A window cleaner's costs are dominated by collections; an electrician's by certificates and rebooking. Have a look at what each trade gets on the trades page before you compare prices. > Price the software against the hours it gives back and the invoices it stops you forgetting, not against the cheapest diary on the market. — TradeYoke ### Questions people ask **Is free job management software any good?** Free tiers usually cap customers, users or invoices, and the useful features sit behind an upgrade. They are fine for a look around, but for a trade with regular customers a paid plan in the £15 to £30 band is the realistic floor. **Why is one plan twice the price of another?** Usually because the dearer plan carries features that cost the vendor money to run: card and Direct Debit processing, bookkeeping sync, HMRC filing and tracking. If you will not use them, stay on the cheaper plan and move up when you need one. **Do I pay VAT on the subscription?** Software subscriptions from UK suppliers carry VAT. If you are VAT registered you can normally reclaim it; if not, the advertised price is what you pay. Check with your accountant if you are unsure. **Can I pay yearly to save money?** Many vendors discount an annual payment. Take it only after a full month on the software; the discount is not worth being locked to a tool your team will not use. ### See the whole price list Four plans, per business, no per-user fees. Start with 30 days of Essentials, no card, and pick a plan when you know what you use. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> Carl Randall Guides Pricing https://tradeyoke.net/blog/pricing-a-window-cleaning-round https://tradeyoke.net/blog/pricing-a-window-cleaning-round Sat, 22 Aug 2026 10:15:11 GMT Price by time and access, not by the number of windows. The 2026 bands for UK homes, the rule for hard-access work, and how to raise prices without losing the street. 💡 Put the access notes on the customer record so the price and the reason for it live together. When you quote the house next door, you will remember why this one is £4 more. [Image: The customer record holds the price, the frequency and the access notes, so the next job and the next quote start from the same facts.] ### Density is the hidden multiplier The most profitable round in town is not the one with the highest prices; it is the one with the least driving. Nine houses in a row at £12 beat three scattered houses at £20 every day of the week, because you are paid for cleaning and not for the A31. Price lower to win a street, and hold the price on the outliers that cost you fifteen minutes each way. This is why we show the round's value and route in the app rather than just a list. The window cleaning trade page shows how a round is planned nearest-first, and the report tells you what each day is worth so you can see which day needs filling in. ### Raising prices without losing the street Every round drifts under-priced because you set the number years ago and added customers at the old rate. Raise little and often rather than a lot once. A £1 rise on a £12 clean is 8% and nobody cancels over it; a £4 rise after five years of silence loses the customers who were only ever staying for the price. Tell people in writing, a month ahead, with the new price and the reason in two sentences. Send it with the reminder text so they read it, not as a separate letter that gets binned. Then raise every price the same day so the round stays consistent; the app's message wizard sends the same note to the whole round at once. If you collect by Direct Debit the new amount simply applies from the next collection, which is one more reason to read why GoCardless changes the round. > You are paid for cleaning, not for driving. Price for the minutes on site and win the street with density. — TradeYoke ### What the round is worth Once your prices and frequencies are in the app, look at the round's value per week and per month. That number is your business. If it is short of what you need, the gap is filled with either more houses on existing streets or higher prices on the outliers, and the report shows which. It also makes the case for the software: a £19 plan is less than two cleans a month, and the pricing page shows what the higher tier adds if you want to collect online. [Image: The round: every customer with frequency, price and next due date, and the value of the round per week.] ### Questions people ask **Should I charge more for the first clean?** Yes. A first clean takes longer, uses more water and has no repeat to spread the travel over. Many rounds charge one and a half to two times the regular price for the first visit and say so on the quote. **Do I price by the window or by the house?** By the house, based on time and access. Counting windows looks precise but ignores gates, height and walking distance, which is where the minutes actually go. **How often should I raise prices?** Little and often. A small rise every year or two, announced a month ahead by text with the reminder, is easier on customers than a big rise every five years. Raise every house on the same day so the round stays consistent. **What about commercial work?** Price commercial on time and frequency too, but expect to invoice monthly rather than collect per visit. Reminder texts matter less; a tidy monthly invoice with a pay link matters more, which is where the day-before text gives way to the invoice email. ### Put the round in and see what it is worth Import your customers, set the prices and frequencies, and the app shows the value of every day. Thirty days free, no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Window cleaning Pricing https://tradeyoke.net/blog/gardening-maintenance-contracts-that-stick https://tradeyoke.net/blog/gardening-maintenance-contracts-that-stick Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:15:11 GMT A fixed price against a written task list, month to month with 30 days' notice, and every extra quoted first. The contract structure that stops scope creep and keeps gardens on the books for years. ⚠️ Do the extras discipline every single time. The first free "while you're here" becomes the customer's expectation, and you cannot charge for it in June if you gave it away in May. ### Extras: quote first, always Extras are where a maintenance round makes or loses its margin. The rule is simple and it is the one that takes discipline: nothing outside the list is done until it is quoted and agreed. A quote can be a line on the phone in the app, sent by text, accepted with a tap. That takes a minute and turns "can you just" into paid work. It also makes the customer feel in control, which keeps them on the books. People do not resent paying for a hedge they asked for and agreed a price on. They resent a surprise on the invoice. The quotes board on the gardening trade page shows the extras waiting on a decision alongside the regular round, and an accepted extra becomes a job on the diary. ### 30 days' notice, and why it protects you Month to month with 30 days' notice either way sounds like it favours the customer, and it does, a little. But it also protects you. It means you can drop the garden that has become a problem, or raise the price with a month's warning, without breaking a fixed term. Long fixed terms sound secure and in practice lock you into under-priced work. Contracts agreed at the customer's home can carry cancellation rights under consumer law, so put the notice terms in writing and keep a copy on the customer record. The gov.uk guidance covers the basics; ask an adviser if your terms are unusual. [Online and distance selling for businesses](https://www.gov.uk/online-and-distance-selling-for-businesses): The rules for contracts agreed away from your premises, including customers' cancellation rights. ### Running it from the app Once the contract exists, the app runs it. The visit pattern becomes a recurring round with a record per visit. The task list is on the job. Extras are quoted, accepted and booked. The invoice is generated from the visit, emailed with the photos, and paid by link or Direct Debit. If a customer pays late, the reminders and the morning owed report deal with it; the tone is covered in chasing late payments the polite way. All of that is on the Essentials plan on the pricing page, with online payments on Premium. > The task list is the contract. Everything else is an extra, and every extra is quoted first. — TradeYoke ### Questions people ask **Should I charge per visit or per month?** Per visit if your customers like to see the work on the invoice; per month if you want even cash flow through winter. If monthly, put the seasonal visit pattern in the contract so January is not a surprise. **What if the customer keeps asking for extras on the day?** Quote them on the spot from the phone and do them once accepted, or book them for the next visit. Never do them free. The habit is the whole margin. **Is a one-page contract legally enough?** For most domestic maintenance work a clear written agreement covering price, scope, extras and notice is what matters, and it is what stops disputes. If you take on commercial sites or unusual terms, get advice. **How do I handle winter when there is less to do?** Change the visit pattern with the season and say so in the contract. The detail is in fortnightly in summer, monthly in winter, and photos that prove the visit are in before-and-after photos that sell the next visit. ### Put the task list on every visit Fixed price, written list, extras quoted first, invoice from the visit. Thirty days of Essentials free, no card. [Start your free trial](https://app.tradeyoke.net/signup) ]]> TradeYoke team Gardening Pricing