How it works, what each thing does, and why - in plain English.
TradeKit is a phone-first business app for UK sole-trader tradespeople. One app, one yearly price. It handles your quotes, invoices, expenses, mileage, customers, jobs, tax, and your direct submissions to HMRC. Built for plumbers, sparkies, builders, roofers, joiners - anyone running a one-person trade.
On this page
You don't need to be technical. You don't need an accountant - but TradeKit gives them what they need if you do work with one.
| What you can do | Where it lives |
|---|---|
| Send a quote to a customer | Quotes tab |
| Turn an accepted quote into an invoice | Quotes tab |
| Get paid online | Invoice "Pay Now" link |
| Record an expense by snapping a receipt | Expenses tab |
| Log a business trip | Expenses → Mileage |
| Keep customer details | Customers tab |
| Track every job from quote to payment | Jobs tab |
| Connect your bank | Tax tab → Bank Feed |
| Send quarterly tax updates to HMRC | Tax tab → Quarterly Returns |
| Submit a VAT return | Tax tab → MTD VAT Returns |
| Verify a subcontractor under CIS | Tax tab → Due Diligence |
| Generate a CIS PDS for a subbie | Tax tab → CIS PDS |
| Claim Capital Allowances | Tax tab → Capital Allowances |
| Learn what each tax thing actually means | Tax tab → HMRC & Tax Help |
What it does: You put together a list of what you'll do for a customer - labour, materials, day rate, whatever - and TradeKit produces a clean PDF quote. You send it (WhatsApp, email, however). They tap a link, see your quote, and accept it without you chasing them.
Each line can be labour or materials (this matters for CIS). VAT can be added. CIS deductions can be applied if the customer is a CIS contractor and you're the subbie. The reverse-charge rule for construction is built in - toggle it on the quote.
Once a quote is accepted, convert it to an invoice in one tap. The invoice can include a "Pay Now" link via Stripe.
What it does: Send a secure link with your invoice. Customer taps to pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Money hits your bank the next day. TradeKit auto-marks the invoice as paid.
What it does: If an invoice goes overdue, TradeKit sends a polite reminder email at 3, 7 and 14 days. Quote followups work the same way after a quote is sent.
You can turn either off per-invoice / per-quote, or globally in Settings.
What it does: Snap a receipt photo. TradeKit reads the amount, date, store, and VAT off the image. You confirm or fix, pick a category (HMRC categories, not made-up ones), save. Photos uploaded so you can find them at year-end.
Categories matter: Each expense maps to an HMRC SA103F box. The mapping isn't always obvious (a hammer is "Other business expenses", not "Repairs and renewals") - TradeKit handles it.
What it does: Log business trips. TradeKit calculates the claim at HMRC's 55p/mile (first 10,000 miles) and 25p after, apportioned correctly across the tax year.
What it does: Store names, addresses, phone, email. Link quotes and invoices to a customer. See history.
What it does: Track every job from "lead" through "quoted", "accepted", "in progress", "completed", "invoiced", "paid". Add notes, photos, dates. See which jobs are profitable.
What it does: Connect your business bank via the regulated Open Banking framework. TradeKit never sees your password. Transactions stream in. Auto-categorisation maps 60+ UK merchants to HMRC categories. Incoming payments match invoices.
What it does: Connects your TradeKit account to HMRC via the official Government Gateway OAuth flow. You sign in on HMRC's own login page, grant permission. Your tokens are encrypted with AES-256-GCM server-side.
Authorises reading and submitting to your Self Assessment AND VAT accounts. Disconnect any time from Tax tab → HMRC Connection.
What it does: Every three months, TradeKit calculates your income and allowable expenses, shows you a cumulative summary, submits to HMRC at the tap of a button. Built and HMRC-tested - going live as our HMRC approval completes.
Quarters: 6 Apr-5 Jul, 6 Jul-5 Oct, 6 Oct-5 Jan, 6 Jan-5 Apr. Filing deadline is the 7th of the following month.
What it does: Replaces the old Self Assessment tax return. After the tax year ends, finalise totals (capital allowances, other income), tell HMRC "this is the full picture." HMRC calculates your bill.
Deadline: 31 January following the end of the tax year, same as the old SA deadline.
What it does: If you're VAT-registered, TradeKit fetches your VAT obligations from HMRC, calculates the 9-box return from your invoices and expenses, and submits it electronically. Built and HMRC-tested - going live as our HMRC approval completes.
Scope at launch (May 2026): Standard scheme, cash basis, UK domestic only. Flat-rate, partial exemption, EC supplies - planned for later.
The 9 boxes: Box 1 = VAT you charged on sales. Box 4 = VAT you paid on purchases. Box 5 = net you owe (or HMRC owes you). Boxes 6-9 = totals ex-VAT.
If you work in construction and someone else pays you (or you pay subbies), you're inside CIS. Contractors deduct 20% (or 30% if not CIS-registered) from your invoices as advance tax.
Toggle CIS on any quote or invoice for a CIS contractor. Deduction is calculated only on labour, never materials. Construction reverse-charge VAT handled automatically.
Add each subbie to TradeKit. The app runs:
What it does: Records payments to each subbie in a tax month and generates the legally-required PDS PDF.
Set your UTR and CIS Employer Reference in Settings → Business Details first.
What it does: Calculates Annual Investment Allowance (AIA - 100% up to £1m), First Year Allowance (FYA - 40% on new plant), and Writing Down Allowance (WDA - small percentage on the residual pool each year).
What it does: Generates a formal PDF showing your year-end income, expenses by HMRC category, mileage breakdown, quarterly submission status, computed tax estimate.
What it does: Eight in-app explainers covering MTD basics, Quarterly updates, Final Declaration, CIS, Capital allowances, NI Class 2/4, Mileage, SA103F expense boxes.
What it does: Optional second factor. Scan a QR into Google Authenticator (or any TOTP app). Sign-in then requires a 6-digit rolling code on top of your password.
Recovery codes: TradeKit generates 10 single-use codes when you enable MFA. Store them offline (printed, password manager).
What it does: Permanently deletes your TradeKit account, all your data, your auth record, file uploads, and usage logs. Atomic - happens in a single server operation so it can't half-fail.
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | £99.99/year | or £10.99/month - all features included. 14-day free trial, no card required. |
| Free | £0 | 14-day trial then read-only access - no new entries. |
Device limit: 2 concurrent devices. Switch to a third and the oldest signs out.