Is Tradehand a good Fergus alternative for UK sole traders?

For a sole trader on the tools all day, yes. Tradehand does the admin instead of giving you a better place to do it yourself: missed calls answered, quotes sent, payment chased. Fergus suits a team that needs job costing and reporting across several people.

Does Fergus answer my phone?

No. Fergus describes itself as bringing quoting, scheduling, job tracking, invoicing and payments into one place, and its UK pricing page markets enquiry management rather than call answering. Fergus handles the call once it reaches you. Tradehand answers as your business and books into your real diary.

How is Fergus billed in the UK?

Fergus bills monthly per plan with no lock-in and a 14 day free trial, across an Essentials plan, a Pro plan and a custom Enterprise plan for more than ten staff. Timesheet users, contractor days, SMS reminders and card payments are charged on top. Read the current figures on Fergus's own UK pricing page, linked in the sources.

Is Fergus priced in pounds?

Fergus's UK pricing page is in pounds. Fergus is New Zealand origin and the presentation is not consistent across its own site: the global pricing page quotes dollars, and even Fergus's UK invoicing page still quotes a dollar figure. Check the UK pricing page rather than a feature page.

What sits on Fergus Pro rather than Essentials?

Per Fergus's own plan comparison on 25 July 2026: purchase orders, tiered pricing, checklists, forms, job phases, tasks, hazards and SWMS, automatic supplier invoice matching rather than manual, phone support, and almost all of the reporting, including the quote, customer invoice, staff, business, financial and advanced reports. Essentials keeps the timesheet overview and pay summary.

Does Tradehand replace Fergus job costing?

No, and Tradehand will not pretend otherwise. The Fergus WIP report and per-job cost tracking are better than ours, and that is a real reason to choose Fergus Pro. What Tradehand replaces is the person who would otherwise answer the phone, send the quote and chase the money.

Is £0 a month a trick? What does the 5% really cost?

No trick: Tradehand takes no fee during the first £10,000 it collects. After that it earns 5% only when you are paid through Tradehand. A quiet month costs nothing, which no monthly subscription can say.

Does Tradehand work with Xero or QuickBooks?

Tradehand pushes invoices one way into Xero and QuickBooks, plus a CSV export. That push is not a sync, and it is not yet available for VAT registered companies. Fergus syncs with Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB, which is the stronger accounting story of the two.

Does Tradehand do certificates like Fergus?

Both include them. Tradehand includes ten certificate types free, digitally signed and countersigned. Fergus lists certificates free on both of its UK plans. Certificates are not the reason to pick between Tradehand and Fergus.

Can I move my data from Fergus to Tradehand?

A person imports your customers and price list into Tradehand for you. Tradehand does not import historic jobs or job-cost history, so keep your Fergus export or account for reference.

Do I keep my phone number?

Yes. Your number stays yours. Missed calls forward to Tradehand so it can text the customer back as your business.

Is there a contract or minimum term?

Tradehand has no contract, no minimum and no cancellation fee. Fergus is also monthly with no lock-in and offers a 14 day free trial, so you can run the two side by side and decide on real jobs.

Tradehand vs Fergus

Fergus tells you how the job went. Tradehand goes and gets the job.

Fergus is strong job management software, billed per plan every month for a system you drive yourself. Tradehand answers your missed calls, sends the quote and chases the payment. No monthly fee or Tradehand fee during the first £10,000 collected; then 5% only when you are paid.

Blake FolgadoCo-founder, Tradehand

Published 25 July 2026

The short answer

One van, phone going to voicemail under a floor? Choose Tradehand: Tradehand answers, quotes, books and chases for you, with no monthly fee. A team where you need cost against budget on every live job is better served by Fergus, whose job costing and WIP reporting are better than ours.

Are you buying job management software, or more work won?

Fergus clears admin well, and clearing admin has never filled a thin diary. Price the office job instead: answering, quoting, booking, chasing. That is a person's job.

An office admin

£25,000 /year

UK office manager starter salary, before NI and pension. Paid whether or not the invoices land.

Source: Office manager salary (National Careers Service)

Tradehand

£0 /month

No monthly fee, setup fee or add-ons. The first £10,000 collected carries no Tradehand fee; then 5% of what Tradehand collects.

Salary: National Careers Service. Fergus bills monthly per plan, with timesheet users, contractor users and SMS reminders charged on top, so the bill climbs when you hire and when you chase. Tradehand charges nothing until a customer has paid. Fergus prices move: its UK page currently shows each plan struck through against a lower promotional price with no end date given, and Fergus is New Zealand origin, so check the UK pricing page itself on the day you buy.

Side by side

	Tradehand	Fergus
Answers the phone on the toolsSource: Fergus product scope, in Fergus's own words	Tradehand✓ Included, and it quotes and books too	FergusEnquiry management once the call reaches you
How you are billedSource: Fergus UK pricing and plan comparison	Tradehand£0 a month; first £10,000 collected fee-free, then 5%	FergusMonthly per plan, plus per timesheet user and per contractor day
Chases what is owedSource: Fergus UK invoicing (automatic overdue reminders)	Tradehand✓ Quotes, invoices and customers who went quiet	FergusAutomatic overdue reminders, SMS charged per bundle
Job costing and WIP reportingSource: Fergus UK reporting (WIP and job reporting)	TradehandJob reports and payment tracking, no WIP report	Fergus✓ WIP Report and live job profit, from the Pro plan
AccountingSource: Fergus UK pricing and plan comparison	TradehandOne way push to Xero and QuickBooks, plus CSV	Fergus✓ Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB sync on both plans
Digital certificatesSource: Fergus UK pricing and plan comparison	Tradehand✓ Ten types, free, signed and countersigned	Fergus✓ Certificates free on both UK plans
ContractSource: Fergus UK pricing and plan comparison	TradehandNone, leave whenever you like	FergusMonthly, no lock-in, 14 day free trial

What "does the admin" looks like

A Tuesday morning. You're mid-rewire and can't pick up. Nothing below required your phone.

Fergus would record every one of those steps beautifully, after you had done them yourself at 9pm. That is the real difference, not a feature checkbox.

An honest recommendation

Choose Fergus if…

·You need cost against budget on every live job, which its WIP report does better than we do
·You run a team with timesheets, purchase orders and multi-visit job phases
·Your books live in Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB and you want a real two way sync

Choose Tradehand if…

✓You're on the tools all day and calls go to voicemail
✓You'd rather pay nothing until the customer has paid you
✓You want the admin done, not a tidier place to do it yourself

Where Fergus beats us: knowing your numbers on a live job. Its WIP report, job costing and purchase orders show the margin on work in progress in a way Tradehand does not, and Fergus syncs with Xero, QuickBooks and MYOB while Tradehand pushes one way only, and not yet for VAT registered companies. Worth knowing that most of that reporting sits on the Fergus Pro plan, not the entry one.

Move new work over without losing your old records

Run both side by side. Keep Fergus as your history and your job-costing record until you are comfortable moving new work to Tradehand.

Day 1
Export your customers and price list
Pull your customers and pricing out of Fergus. Tradehand does not import historic jobs or job-cost history, so keep those records.
Day 1
A person does the import
A person imports your customers and price list, then sets up your number, rates and diary.
Day 2–6
Run both in parallel
Tradehand starts answering your missed calls while Fergus keeps running your open jobs.
When ready
Move new work across
Fergus is monthly with no lock-in, so cancel only once you no longer need it for active jobs or reporting history.

Questions sole traders ask

Sources & References

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