What apps are trades using for quoting jobs now?

Leon M · Mar 19, 2026

I’m trying to simplify the setup a bit — right now it’s a mix of notes, photos, and doing quotes later at home, which isn’t ideal.

There are loads of apps out there (Jobber, Tradify, QuickBooks), but most of them feel quite heavy for solo trades or small teams.

Ideally looking for something mobile-first where you can:

keep job details
track photos
put together quotes
not spend evenings doing admin

What are you all actually using day-to-day? Anything that genuinely saves time on-site?

Aegis · Mar 23, 2026

Absolutely do not consider Jobber for quotes. It's actually a relatively competent CRM, but falls down badly on quoting.

fisicx · Mar 24, 2026

Spoke to my builder mate and he just uses his phone for everything. He has tried various apps but all way too complicated for him. His wife does the accounts so evening admin is almost zero.

StrategyDoctor · Mar 24, 2026

In my experience with similar apps and dealing with a number of trade clients have to agree with the comments above that most of these platforms end up being overkill for a solo trade or small team.

In reality, the issue isn’t usually the tool, it’s the process. If you don’t simplify that first, any app just becomes another layer of admin, that can eat your time or causes frustration because it doesn't work as you expect it to. Don't under estimate the learning curve, and you may have to adjust your work flow to suit the app.

I’ve seen similar setups to what @fisicx mentioned work well:

phone for notes, photos and basic job tracking
simple quoting template (Notes / Excel / Google Docs) you can reuse quickly
accounts handled separately (or by someone else)

The key is being able to capture everything on-site and turn it into a quote quickly, without rework later.

A lot of the “all-in-one” apps promise that, but in practice you spend more time feeding the system than it saves.

If you do go down the app route, I’d be looking for something very lightweight and mobile-first (and I haven't come across one) otherwise you’re better off building a simple system that fits how you actually work.

Paul Kelly ICHYB · Mar 25, 2026

fisicx said:
Spoke to my builder mate and he just uses his phone for everything. He has tried various apps but all way too complicated for him. His wife does the accounts so evening admin is almost zero.

StrategyDoctor said:
In my experience with similar apps and dealing with a number of trade clients have to agree with the comments above that most of these platforms end up being overkill for a solo trade or small team.

Is this a gap/opportunity I see yonder?

fisicx · Mar 25, 2026

I got halfway through a small trader plugin that did simple quotes with some planning functionality but what they really wanted was an app.

I can't do apps (too thick) but when I asked around it would be a struggle to both market and monetize a simple app.

Things have moved on now so there could be an opportunity for someone to invest some time building an app. AI could probably do it for you.

voxtrade · Mar 30, 2026

I built something that does exactly this — VoxTrade. It's designed for solo trades and small teams who don't need a heavy platform like Jobber or Tradify.

You walk the site, describe the work by voice or record a video walkthrough, and it generates a professional priced quote on the spot. No typing, no evening admin.

It also handles invoicing (one tap from an accepted quote), receipt scanning, expense tracking per job, and profit tracking — so you can see what you're actually making on each project.

Works on your phone, web, free to try: voxtrade.app

Happy to answer any questions about it.

fisicx · Mar 30, 2026

Is there an iPhone app?

voxtrade · Mar 30, 2026

Live on Google Play Store & Web
iPhone app is in review with Apple right now — should be available very soon. In the meantime you can use it at app.voxtrade.app on your phone's browser, works the same way.

voxtrade · Mar 30, 2026

Live on iPhone/app store now below:

apps.apple.com/app/id6757826704

Thanks

Saleh Zahedi · Jun 27, 2026

Worth checking out PricePad (pricepad.co.uk) — I built it specifically for UK sole traders who want something lightweight. You describe the job, AI drafts the description of works, you tweak the line items, and a professional PDF quote is ready in under 2 minutes. WhatsApp or email it straight from the app. Free to start, no setup faff. Might be the middle ground between "spreadsheet on the sofa" and full job management software.

Leon M · Aug 10, 2026

Ended up trying a few things after this post tbh.

Jobber felt way too heavy for just me, its built for companies with actual office staff managing things. Tradify was alright but I was still spending time manually putting quotes together which kind of defeats the point.

Been using Sleepless Tradesman for a couple months now (sleeplesstradesman.com). Its UK focused which matters because the CIS stuff actually works properly, none of the American ones handle that well.

The main thing for me was the quoting feature. You basically describe the job and it puts it together for you, labour, materials, markup. Takes a few minutes instead of sitting at home after dinner doing it all manually. Photos attach to the job as well so everything stays in one place.

Not perfect but its genuinely saved me a fair bit of time on the admin side. Free to get started so worth a look if anyones in the same boat

kordan.walker · Aug 18, 2026

Leon M said:
I’m trying to simplify the setup a bit — right now it’s a mix of notes, photos, and doing quotes later at home, which isn’t ideal.

There are loads of apps out there (Jobber, Tradify, QuickBooks), but most of them feel quite heavy for solo trades or small teams.

Ideally looking for something mobile-first where you can:

keep job details

track photos

put together quotes

not spend evenings doing admin

What are you all actually using day-to-day? Anything that genuinely saves time on-site?

I think mobile-first is definitely the way to go for small teams. Being able to take photos, add job details and send a quote while you’re still on-site can save a lot of admin time. I’d be interested to hear which apps people have found easiest to use.

Ozzy · Aug 19, 2026

kordan.walker said:
I’d be interested to hear which apps people have found easiest to use.

*cough*
Read the OP's latest reply. It helps to get the thread of a thread before replying.
*cough*

Izi1 · 2026-09-10T16:07:19+0100

I’ve been looking at this exact problem as well. If you’re mainly after keeping customers/services organised and getting a quote out quickly while you’re still on-site, [edit by mod] might be worth a look.

It’s deliberately much simpler than the full job-management/CRM platforms — you can keep a price list, create a quote, add a custom item when needed, generate the PDF and send it to the customer by link. You also get notified when they open or accept/reject it.

Probably not for someone looking for a full CRM, but for a solo trade who mainly wants to get quotes done without the evening admin, that’s what it’s aimed at.

[edited by mod because poster tried to pretend to be a genuine end user recommending a solution ^Ozzy]

Ozzy · 2026-09-10T16:31:43+0100

Izi1 said:
I’ve been looking at this exact problem as well.

I find it strange that someone who works for the company you have recommend would be searching for a solution, when the company you work for, which you have suggested, does what you say you was searching for?

Just seems a bit odd?

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What apps are trades using for quoting jobs now?

Leon M

Aegis

fisicx

StrategyDoctor

Paul Kelly ICHYB

fisicx

voxtrade

fisicx

voxtrade

voxtrade

Saleh Zahedi

Leon M

kordan.walker

Ozzy

Founder of UKBF

Izi1

Ozzy

Founder of UKBF

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