Trade guides
The business principles are the same in every trade. The numbers are not. Each guide covers the cost structure, the payment pattern, the pricing traps and a worked example you can check against your own last job — written by a time-served tradesman, not a marketing team.
12 guides published. Twelve more trades are in the writing queue.
Choose your trade
Guides available now
Pick the closest match to the work you actually invoice for.
- Trade guide
Electricians
Electricians face unique business challenges, especially when balancing technical work with the administrative demands of testing and certification. With demand flowing steadily, sustaining high-quality service while keeping costs under control is vital. From precise labour costing to handling staged payments, every element needs careful planning. Electricians must also account for unforeseen expenses, such as urgent call-outs or equipment breakdowns, which can disrupt cash flow. Consistently set aside funds for things like tax and van maintenance to avoid financial stress. This guide walks you through effectively pricing jobs, managing payment schedules, and anticipating risks to run a successful and profitable electrical business.
- Labour Costs
- Materials and Supplies
- Tools and Equipment
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Plumbers & Heating Engineers
Plumbers and heating engineers face unique business challenges. Many customers call in emergencies, expecting immediate service, often outside normal office hours. This can strain resources and requires careful planning to avoid burnout. Pricing properly for both planned installations and last-minute call-outs is crucial. Seasonal fluctuation, particularly during winter when heating issues peak, demands savvy cash flow management. Establishing trustworthy supplier relationships to negotiate bulk deals is beneficial, as material costs can eat heavily into profits. Offering a mix of day work, fixed quotes, and maintenance contracts ensures a balanced income stream, removing sole reliance on emergency jobs.
- Labour Costs
- Materials and Parts
- Vehicle and Fuel
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Builders & Groundworkers
Running a successful building and groundwork business means tackling a unique set of challenges. You're not just managing large-scale projects, but also dealing with a complex cash flow, juggling subcontractor payments, and keeping a close eye on CIS deductions. Protecting your margins on long-duration projects is critical, especially with staged payments and retention money often affecting cash flow at crucial times. The role is far from simple. You need clear, effective systems to quote accurately, manage costs, and ensure payments land in a timely manner, preventing your money from being tied up unexpectedly.
- Material Costs
- Labour Costs
- Subcontractor Payments
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Painters & Decorators
As a painter and decorator, the balance between meticulous preparation, finishing finesse, and client expectations sets you apart. This trade is a game of precision and timing, yet it's also fraught with unique challenges. You're constantly juggling your schedule to accommodate everything from drying times to sudden weather changes when dealing with exteriors. Material costs, like high-quality paint and wall coverings, can fluctuate, impacting your margins. Efficient planning and accurate cost estimations are key to maintaining profitability—lose sight of them, and you risk your earnings slipping through the cracks. Moreover, tailored pricing tools are essential for optimising job quotes and ensuring you're not underselling your craftsmanship. Whether you're revitalising a simple bedroom or embarking on an entire house repaint, the devil's in the detail, and your success hinges on shrewd business practices and an eye for quality execution.
- Material Costs
- Preparation Labour
- Labour for Painting
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Roofers
Roofing is not for the faint-hearted, with its inherent demands such as working at height, navigating unpredictable weather, and precise material requirements. One minute you're a hero for getting a roof patched before a storm, the next you're dealing with delays due to rain or the escalating cost of materials. Managing these challenges requires clear pricing strategies and reliable cost estimation tools. As a roofer running your own business, you need to understand the full spectrum of costs and anticipate money flow changes to maintain healthy margins. This guide aims to explore essential aspects like cost structures, payment flows, and risk management to keep your roofing business firmly nailed down.
- Labour Costs
- Materials
- Scaffolding
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Carpenters & Joiners
Carpenters and joiners in the UK face distinct challenges — running a profitable business is equally as important as crafting quality bespoke pieces. The most common pitfalls include underquoting on jobs, not accounting for workshop time, and mismanaging material costs. Mastering pricing calculators and understanding the full scope of true costs, from the timberyard to the final fitting, are crucial steps toward maintaining profitability. With a mixture of custom orders and more routine work, these tradespeople must carefully balance their workload to maximise efficiency while ensuring prompt delivery and customer satisfaction.
- Material Costs
- Workshop Overheads
- Tool Maintenance and Replacement
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Plasterers & Renderers
Plasterers and renderers face unique challenges in their trade that go beyond just applying a smooth finish. This line of work requires precise timing and planning around drying times, which can impact your schedule and cash flow. Being proficient with estimating the right amount of materials, accounting for weather conditions on external rendering jobs, and managing client expectations about project timelines are critical. It's essential to price your services accurately, factoring in all variables such as preparation, travel, and setup time, to ensure you’re paid fairly for every job.
- Materials and Waste
- Labour Costs
- Equipment Maintenance
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Tilers
Tiling involves more than just laying tiles; it's about ensuring precision, understanding substrate conditions, and dealing with unexpected issues like breakages and uneven surfaces. The unique challenge in tiling lies in accurately estimating the time and materials needed for a project. Many tradespeople underprice their services by failing to account for time spent preparing surfaces, handling special tile formats, and potential wastage. It's essential to apply a smart pricing strategy that factors in all these elements to maximise profits while maintaining high-quality standards. Equip yourself with tools like a job-pricing calculator, materials markup calculator, and true hourly rate calculator to navigate these challenges effectively and keep your business thriving.
- Substrate Preparation
- Tile Format and Quality
- Labour Costs
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Bricklayers & Groundworkers
Running a bricklaying and groundwork business in the UK presents unique business challenges. The demand for intricate brickwork, alongside large scale groundwork projects, requires both precision and efficiency. Pricing can be tricky, as you're often dealing with variables like weather conditions and site accessibility. Groundworkers need a solid grasp of plant machinery costs, while bricklayers must perfect their per-thousand brick pricing. Cash flow can become tight due to lengthy payment terms typical in larger contracts. Effective management of labour, equipment hire, and material costs will determine your profit margins. Staying on top of these elements can mean the difference between a profitable project or a financial headache.
- Labour Costs
- Materials
- Plant and Equipment Hire
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Kitchen & Bathroom Fitters
Kitchen and bathroom fitting is a lucrative yet complex trade requiring skills in project management, intricate planning, and superior customer service. The key challenges lie in coordinating various trades, timely sourcing of materials, and meeting client expectations, all while maintaining profit margins. With a need for precision in both the design and installation stages, fitters must also navigate the logistical intricacies of working in occupied homes, maintaining cleanliness and minimising disruption, which is no small feat. Sticking to a well-planned schedule without jeopardising quality or rushing critical details is vital. Additionally, negotiating payments and dealing with unexpected site conditions are scenarios kitchen and bathroom fitters readily encounter, necessitating robust financial planning and flexibility.
- Labour Costs
- Materials and Products
- Subcontractor Fees
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Landscapers & Driveway Installers
Landscaping and driveway installation is a tale of two seasons. In summer, work can come thick and fast. In winter, it can all but dry up. Managing money in these peaks and troughs is a major challenge. The initial rush can deplete your cash. Without solid planning, the quieter seasons can leave you struggling. Material costs, such as paving and aggregates, are significant. Labour costs need to be balanced with the right number of jobs. Reliable customer payments are essential. A clear strategy keeps your business afloat through the seasonal ups and downs, so you're not caught short or overextending yourself.
- Materials Cost
- Labour Costs
- Plant Hire
Updated 3 August 2026
- Trade guide
Multi-Trade & Property Maintenance
Running a multi-trade and property maintenance business in the UK demands a knack for juggling multiple skills, time management, and financial acumen. Unlike specialised trades, multi-traders handle a variety of tasks, broadening their client base but also increasing complexity in planning. Minimum job charges and strategic route planning are key to maintaining profitability. Additionally, managing a vast inventory of tools and materials for various jobs can impact both costs and efficiency. A well-rounded understanding of diverse trades is essential, but so is the ability to keep project costs down and ensure clients are properly invoiced for every service provided.
- Minimum Job Charge
- Call-Out Charges
- Travel and Logistics
Updated 3 August 2026
How to use a guide
Four steps, about an hour
Reading a guide changes nothing. Running your own numbers through it changes the next quote you send.
- 1
List every hour
Take last week and write down on-site hours, travel, collections, paperwork and quoting. That total is what your rate has to cover.
- 2
Get your true hourly cost
Run the figures through the true hourly rate calculator so you know the number below which a job loses money.
- 3
Re-price one recent job
Take a job you have already done and price it again using the worked example structure in your trade guide.
- 4
Fix the paperwork
Put the deposit, variation and payment terms from the guide into your quote template so it holds next time.
True in every trade
What does not change between trades
If you only take four things from this section, take these.
Every unbilled hour is a discount
Testing, templating, tipping, prep, collection and travel are all work. If they are not inside your rate or on your quote, you are giving them away. Add them up for a normal week before you set any price.
Materials are a margin line, not a pass-through
You carry the ordering, storage, delivery risk and warranty on materials. A 10 to 20 per cent markup is payment for that risk, not a mark-up on the customer.
Deposits should match your outlay, not a habit
The deposit exists to cover what you commit before you get paid. Work it out from the material order and mobilisation cost rather than defaulting to a third.
Payment terms are part of the price
Forty-five day terms on a labour-heavy package cost real money to fund. Either price the delay in or price the job to be paid in stages.
Straight answers
Common questions
- My trade is not listed. Is the guidance still useful?
- Yes. The arithmetic is identical in every trade — recover all your hours, mark up materials, take a deposit that matches your outlay and price the payment terms. Use the nearest guide for the shape of the numbers, then run your own figures through the true hourly rate calculator.
- Are the worked examples real prices for my area?
- No. They are worked examples showing how the arithmetic behaves, using plausible mid-range figures. Rates vary hugely between London, the South West, the Midlands and Scotland. Replace every number with your own.
- How often are these guides updated?
- Each guide carries an update date. Cost structures and payment patterns are reviewed at least annually, and immediately when a rule, threshold or industry practice changes materially.
- Should I use a day rate or a fixed price?
- Day rates suit uncertain work such as fault-finding, repairs and strip-outs. Fixed prices suit well-defined work where you control the scope. Either way you need the same true hourly cost underneath, otherwise the day rate is just a guess with confidence.