Is Tradehand a good Tradify alternative for UK sole traders?

For a sole trader on the tools all day, yes. Tradehand does the admin instead of handing you more software to drive: missed calls answered, quotes sent, payment chased. Tradify suits office staff who want full manual control.

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

No trick: Tradehand takes nothing during the fee-free allowance. After that it earns 5% only when you get paid through it. A quiet month costs you nothing, which no per user subscription can say.

What can I import from Tradify?

A person imports your customers and price list into Tradehand. Historic jobs are not imported, so keep your Tradify export or account available 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.

What if the AI says something wrong to a customer?

Quotes and bookings follow your rates and your diary, and you can require one-tap approval before anything is sent. Every conversation is visible in the app.

Does Tradehand do certificates like Tradify Pro?

Yes. Tradehand includes ten certificate types free, digitally signed and countersigned. Tradify puts Compliance Certificates on its Pro plan and above.

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 not yet available for VAT registered companies. Tradify syncs Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online from its entry plan, which is the stronger accounting story of the two.

Is there a contract or minimum term?

No contract, no minimum, no cancellation fee. Export your data and leave whenever you like.

Tradehand vs Tradify

Tradify gives you admin software. Tradehand does the admin.

Tradify bills per user for tools you drive yourself. Tradehand answers your missed calls, sends the quote and chases the payment. No monthly fee, 5% after the fee-free allowance, and only when you are paid.

Blake FolgadoCo-founder, Tradehand

Published 10 July 2026Updated 19 August 2026

The short answer

On the tools all day with calls going to voicemail? Choose Tradehand: Tradehand answers, quotes and chases payment for you, with no monthly fee. Office staff who want to run the admin themselves are better served by Tradify, billed per user.

Tradehand: Best for sole traders whose calls go to voicemail while they are on the tools
Tradify: Best for teams who want accounting sync on the entry plan
ServiceM8: Best for an iPhone crew with a steady number of jobs a month

Are you buying admin software, or more work won?

Tradify and ServiceM8 both clear admin well, and none of that fills a thin diary. Price the office job instead: answering, quoting, booking, chasing. That is a person's job, and it is the job Tradehand does.

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)

Tradehand

£0 /month

No monthly fee, no setup fee, nothing to unlock. 5% of what Tradehand collects after the fee-free allowance.

Salary: National Careers Service. Tradify bills per user per month, ServiceM8 by jobs a month, Tradehand nothing until a customer has paid.

Side by side

	Tradehand	Tradify	ServiceM8
Answers the phoneSource: ServiceM8 Phone: AI Phone Agent from the Connect Plus tier	Tradehand✓ Included, and it quotes and books too	TradifyNot marketed on its pricing page	ServiceM8AI Phone Agent, higher ServiceM8 Phone tiers
How you are billedSource: Tradify UK pricing (tradifyhq.com)	Tradehand£0 a month, 5% of collected invoices after the fee-free allowance	TradifyMonthly per user, so hiring raises it	ServiceM8Monthly by jobs a month, free under thirty
Chases what is owedSource: Tradify UK pricing (tradifyhq.com)	Tradehand✓ Quotes, invoices and customers who went quiet	TradifyQuote & Invoice Reminders, from the Pro plan	ServiceM8Quote Follow-up and Automated Payment Follow-ups, every plan
Android as good as iPhoneSource: ServiceM8 Lite for Android: not all the iOS functionality	Tradehand✓ Full trader app on Android and iPhone	Tradify✓ iOS and Android apps	ServiceM8Lite on Android, iOS is the full app
Digital certificatesSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing (servicem8.com)	Tradehand✓ Ten types, free, signed and countersigned	TradifyCompliance Certificates, from the Pro plan	ServiceM8Forms and Certificates, from the Growing plan
AccountingSource: Tradify UK pricing (tradifyhq.com)	TradehandOne way push to Xero and QuickBooks, plus CSV	Tradify✓ Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online sync, every plan	ServiceM8Accounting integrations, every plan
Contract	TradehandNone, leave whenever you like	TradifyMonthly or annual subscription	ServiceM8Monthly subscription

What "does the admin" looks like

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

In Tradify you write the quote and book the job yourself, at 9pm. Its reminders chase what you already sent; they do not take the call. That is the real difference, not a feature checkbox.

An honest recommendation

Choose Tradify if…

·You have office staff who want full manual control of the admin
·You want Xero, Sage or QuickBooks Online sync on every plan
·You're a team of 5–10 and per-seat pricing still works out

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 another app to manage

Where Tradify beats us: ten years of maturity, and a Xero, Sage and QuickBooks Online sync of clients, invoices and payments on every plan, including the entry one. Tradehand pushes one way only, and not yet for VAT registered companies.

Move new work over without losing your old records

Run both side by side. Keep Tradify as your history until you are comfortable moving new work to Tradehand.

Day 1
Prepare your data
Export the customer and price-list data you want to keep from Tradify.
Day 1
A person does the import
A person imports your customers and price list, then sets up your number, rates and diary. Historic jobs are not imported.
Day 2–6
Run both in parallel
Tradehand starts answering your missed calls while Tradify keeps running.
When ready
Move new work across
Cancel Tradify only when you no longer need it for active jobs or reference history.

Questions sole traders ask

Sources & References

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