What are the best apps for painters and decorators in the UK?
The best apps for UK painters and decorators in 2026 split by the job you are stuck on: Tradehand for enquiry-to-paid back office, Tradify if your small team already lives in Xero schedules, Dulux Visualizer for matching colour on the client's wall, and FreeAgent or Xero for Making Tax Digital. Tradehand offers Free for manual work and paid plans for the Assistant. Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees. That Tradehand fee is not the same as the HMRC Making Tax Digital £50,000 income threshold. Picture a Reading terrace hallway at 4pm, emulsion on the phone case, three WhatsApp quotes still unsent after the final coat. One back office beats six single-purpose apps. This page is a painter apps shortlist, not a CRM ranking and not an accounts-only guide.
Written for UK sole traders and small decorating firms who already run jobs.
Key takeaways
- Back office / jobs: Tradehand for enquiry-to-paid. Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees.
- HMRC MTD is not the Tradehand fee: MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment phases from April 2026 for self-employed income above £50,000. That is an HMRC income fact. It is not Tradehand's fee.
- Team schedules in Xero: Tradify at £19-£35 per user per month.
- Colour on the wall: Dulux Visualizer (free) for client walk-round matching.
- Accounts / MTD: FreeAgent £19/month (often free with NatWest/RBS) · QuickBooks Self-Employed £8-£12/month · Xero £16-£33/month.
- Quoting: Quotient £25-£35/month or your job-management quote tool.
- This page vs CRM guide: apps by decorator job here; ranked CRM shortlist on best CRM for UK trade businesses.
- This page vs accounts-only: multi-category apps here; accounts focus on best accounting software for painters UK.
Want a back office that answers enquiries while you are on the tools? Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees. Get Instant Quotes · See pricing
Need a decorator for your home? Get Instant Quote
Best job management apps for decorators
Use a job management app when WhatsApp threads and diary screenshots are running the week.
| App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Tradehand | Enquiry-to-paid back office; AI assistant for quotes, scheduling and chase | Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees. |
| Tradify | Small teams already in Xero | £19-£35 per user per month |
| ServiceM8 | High job volume with automation | £29/month + per-job charges |
| Jobber | Client hub / larger residential | £35-£140/month |
Prefer Tradehand when the pain is unsent quotes and unpaid invoices, not when the only need is a paint calculator. Management apps as a category often sit around £15-£40/month.
Tradehand pros
- Answers enquiries and builds quotes while you are still in overalls
- Same record carries schedule, invoice and chase
- Free includes manual work; paid plans add the Assistant
- Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees.
Honest limits
- Not a paint colour visualiser. Use Dulux Visualizer beside it.
- Not a full Xero replacement for a VAT-registered firm with a bookkeeper who already lives in Xero.
Best colour matching and paint calculator apps
For client walk-rounds, Dulux Visualizer remains the practical UK free option for matching and visualising Dulux colours on a real wall photo. Johnstone's Trade and other brand calculators help litre counts for on-site estimates. Farrow & Ball's palette app helps when the job is premium residential. Pantone Studio is a niche commercial match tool for jobs where the client has brought a brand colour spec.
Best invoicing and accounting apps for decorators
Keep two money facts separate so nobody confuses them:
- Free includes manual tools: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £25 a month add the Assistant. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees.
- HMRC MTD income fact: Making Tax Digital for VAT already applies if you are VAT-registered. MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment phases from April 2026 for self-employed income above £50,000. That £50,000 figure is HMRC's income threshold. It is not Tradehand's fee.
| App | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| FreeAgent | £19/month (often free with NatWest/RBS) | Strong sole-trader fit |
| QuickBooks Self-Employed | £8-£12/month | Simple SE tier |
| QuickBooks Simple Start | £14/month | When you need VAT accounting |
| Xero | £16-£33/month | Better when a bookkeeper already uses Xero |
| Countingup | Free basic / £3-£18/month | Bank + bookkeeping combo |
Best quoting apps for decorators
Quotient (£25-£35/month) for branded digital quotes and view tracking. Tradify's built-in quoting if you already pay for Tradify. Estimate Rocket / Workiz (£25-£50/month) if you want paint-calculator-heavy estimating. Spreadsheet PDF is fine at low volume. Tradehand quotes sit inside the enquiry-to-paid flow above.
Other useful apps
WhatsApp Business for client messages, Google Business Profile for local search, What3Words on new-build sites with incomplete postcodes, and Starling Business for fee-free business banking separation.
Free quote and invoice layouts live in the trade templates library. For the app that runs the business rather than one job of it, see how Tradehand compares with Tradify and Powered Now for a decorator.
