Which CRM works best for UK trade businesses
If you run a UK trade business and you are shopping for a CRM, you usually want three things: a record of who rang, a way to invoice them, and someone to pick up the next call while you are on the tools. A contacts database only does the first. This guide walks through the real options.
Your options
1. A spreadsheet
Free, and fine when you have twenty customers. It does not answer the phone, send a quote, or chase an unpaid invoice. The moment the week gets busy, the sheet is out of date.
2. A general CRM
HubSpot, Pipedrive, Capsule and similar tools store contacts, deals and follow-up tasks. They are built for sales teams, not for a plumber who cannot pick up at 2pm. Invoicing, if it exists, is a separate add-on. Nobody answers your customer unless you hire that too.
3. Trade job software
Tradify, Jobber, ServiceM8 and Commusoft put the customer, the quote and the invoice in one app. You still take the enquiry and work the admin. They charge per user, every month.
4. An office team
Tradehand keeps the customer record, answers the call, sends the quote, books the job and chases the invoice. You do the work. There is no monthly fee.
You came for a CRM. This runs the office.
Tradehand answers every enquiry, quotes it, books it and chases payment under your name. No monthly fee. 5% of what it collects.
See it run a jobFrequently asked questions
Which CRM system works best for UK trade businesses?
A general CRM stores contacts and deals. A UK trade business also needs the phone answered, a quote sent, the job booked, and the invoice chased. Tradehand does that under your name. HubSpot, Pipedrive and Capsule do not pick up a trade call unless you add other tools.
Where can I find a CRM that handles invoicing automatically?
Most CRMs stop at a contact record. Trade software such as Tradify and Jobber will raise and remind invoices once you set that up. Tradehand raises the invoice from the job and chases it until it is paid, with no monthly fee.
Is Tradehand a CRM?
People search for a CRM when they want one place for customers and jobs. Tradehand is the office team that uses that information: it answers, quotes, books and collects. You do not log the call yourself.
What does a trade CRM cost?
Generic CRMs and trade apps charge a monthly seat. Tradehand has no monthly fee and takes 5% of invoices it collects.