You are a plumber, not an accountant. But you still need to send invoices — and ideally get paid for them. Here is an honest comparison of the best invoicing apps available to UK tradespeople in 2026.
What We Are Comparing
Every app on this list lets you create and send invoices. But tradespeople need more than that. We scored each on five things that actually matter:
- How fast can you create an invoice from a job site?
- Does it chase late payers for you?
- Can your client pay with one tap?
- Do you need to download yet another app?
- What does it actually cost?
1. Wave — Best for Desk-Based Invoicing
Wave is genuinely free for invoicing. Clean interface, professional templates, basic reporting. The catch: it is designed for people who sit at computers. Creating an invoice on mobile is clunky, and there is no automatic payment chasing. If your client does not pay, you are back to chasing manually.
Cost: Free. Chase invoices: No. Mobile-first: No.
2. Powered Now — Best All-in-One for Trades
Purpose-built for UK tradespeople with gas safe certificates, electrical forms, and CIS support. Strong invoicing features. But it is £15-37 per month, the app takes time to learn, and payment chasing is limited to basic email reminders.
Cost: £15-37/mo. Chase invoices: Basic email. Mobile-first: Yes (app).
3. QuickBooks Simple Start — Best for Accounting
If you need proper bookkeeping alongside invoicing, QuickBooks is solid. But it is overkill for a tradesman who just wants to send a bill and get paid. £12 per month, steep learning curve, and chasing is just automated email reminders that clients ignore.
Cost: £12/mo. Chase invoices: Email reminders. Mobile-first: App available.
Tired of doing this manually? mNudge handles it on WhatsApp.
4. Tradify — Best for Growing Teams
Full job management from enquiry to invoice. Great if you have a team. But at £34 per user per month, it is expensive for a sole trader. And like every competitor on this list, it sends invoices by email — which has a 20% open rate.
Cost: £34/user/mo. Chase invoices: Email reminders. Mobile-first: Yes (app).
5. FreshBooks — Best Interface
Beautiful design, easy to use, good mobile app. Automatic payment reminders via email. But starts at £15 per month and you still need your client to open an email, click a link, and enter card details. That is a lot of friction.
Cost: £15/mo. Chase invoices: Email reminders. Mobile-first: App available.
6. mNudge — Best for Getting Paid on WhatsApp
mNudge takes a completely different approach. There is no app to download. You send a WhatsApp message or voice note — "bill Dave 450 for the kitchen job" — and mNudge creates a professional PDF invoice and sends it to your client on WhatsApp.
If they do not pay, mNudge automatically chases with five escalating reminders over 21 days. Your client pays with one tap via Open Banking — money goes directly from their bank to yours.
98% of WhatsApp messages get opened versus 20% for email. That is the single biggest difference.
Cost: Free (2.9% per payment). Chase invoices: Automatic, 5 stages. Mobile-first: WhatsApp — nothing to download.
Quick Comparison
| App | Cost | Auto-Chase | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Free | No | |
| Powered Now | £15-37/mo | Basic | |
| QuickBooks | £12/mo | Basic | |
| Tradify | £34/mo | Basic | |
| FreshBooks | £15/mo | ||
| mNudge | Free (2.9%) | 5-stage |
The Bottom Line
If you want full accounting software, use QuickBooks or Xero. If you want job management for a team, use Tradify. But if you just want to send an invoice from your van and actually get paid for it — without downloading another app or sitting at a laptop — mNudge is the only option that works entirely on WhatsApp.
Ready to stop chasing?
mNudge sends invoices and chases late payers on WhatsApp — automatically. Set up in 90 seconds. Free to start.
No app required. 2.9% per payment. We only earn when you do.