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For electricians, writing estimates and quotes comes with the territory. But knowing what to charge isn’t always easy. Looking after your cashflow and protecting your profits means having a clear idea how much you want to be paid for your time – but how do you work it out?

We’re here to help. If you’re wondering what electricians charge, how to calculate an electrician’s labour rate… or just why the whole thing feels so awkward, we’ve got you. We’ve put together a practical guide to working out your hourly rate, as well as a super-handy electrician’s rate calculator that’ll help you zero in on a figure, knowing you’ve got rock-solid reasons to back it up.

Want to work out an hourly rate for electrical work? Let’s do this…

You’ve trained up, tooled up and built up your experience. You get there early, you work hard and you put in the hours – so you deserve to get paid properly for what you do. 

The trouble is, nobody likes talking about what they earn, and everyone worries about what customers are prepared to pay… which makes settling on an hourly or daily rate for electrical jobs about as easy as finding your van keys in the dark. 

It’s uncomfortable stuff. We get it. But it’s the only way to make sure you’re getting the cash you need to stay afloat, look after your business and do the things you love. So, we’re going to break it down, look at the costs you’ve got to cover and give you a practical, no-nonsense framework for setting your prices. Ready? Ok then… 

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What’s the average salary for a UK electrician?

The best way to calculate your electrician’s labour rate, is to start with the big picture. How much do you want to earn per year? It’s another tough one to put your finger on, so let’s look at what other electricians are up to. What’s the average salary for a UK electrician?

Well, ask the internet how much electricians earn per year and you’ll quickly find there’s no simple answer. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average is around £33,000 a year, but that’s a median figure, which means 50% of sparkies earn more, and 50% earn less. The same goes for hourly rates too, ranging anywhere from £20 to £70 an hour.

Why such a big variation? Well, all kinds of things can push an electrician’s earnings up or down, including experience, type of work, whether you’re employed or self employed, and where you’re working. Electricians’ daily rates and annual salaries are inevitably higher in London and the South East, but then so is the cost of living, rent, running your business etc.

Electricians are consistently the highest earning trade, and wages are increasing year on year. Tweet this

What does your electrical business need to bring in?

With no easy way to compare yourself to the competition, how do you calculate your electrician’s labour rate? Well, the best place to begin is with what actually works for you. How much do you need to earn as an electrician to make sure your bills get paid, there’s food on the table, clothes on the kids and dinner in the dog? 

Break those basic costs down, come up with a ballpark figure per month, times it by 12 and you’ve got a minimum amount you need to keep you and your family ticking for the year. Let’s call this your essential costs. The stuff you really can’t do without.

But life’s not just about getting by. You don’t graft all day just to make the bare minimum. So let’s factor in some of the stuff that makes it all worthwhile – a holiday, a few days out, a few pints with your mates, a curry on a Friday night. Work out what you’d like to be able to do, and a total cost per year. We’ll call this your comfort costs. The things that get you through the week.

Finally, think about the costs of running an electrical business. What does it cost to run your van for a year? To insure it, tax it and fill it up with petrol? How about insurance, phone bills, accountants, advertising, tools and work gear? Add all of those up and you’ve got a yearly figure for keeping your electrician business going. We’ll call this your business costs.

So, getting back to that annual salary, if you want to live comfortably (rather than on the edge of your seat), have the odd holiday and not be constantly worrying about making ends meet, you’re looking at: essential costs + comfort costs + business costs = minimum annual salary. 

Of course, that’s just a baseline and you might well want to aim higher. Use your minimum annual salary as a starting point and set yourself a realistic target salary based on it.

Don’t forget, whatever salary you aim for, you’ll pay income tax out of it, which might affect your ability to meet those essential, comfort and business costs. To make sure you’re covered, check your tax rate and think about adding extra to your target figure to cover it.

How to work out an electrician’s hourly rate

Once you’ve got your target salary, you can use it to calculate your electrician’s labour rate. Start by dividing your target salary by the number of days a year you want to work, minus holidays. According to Gov.uk, most employed people are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ holiday a year. As a self-employed person, you might want to match that, at least for starters.

On the other hand, you might want to go all-out for a couple of years and work even more – or take take things a little easier and work less. Decide what feels right for you – we’ll walk you through the maths so you can see if it’s workable, and you can play with the figures in our electrical rate calculator until you get the balance right.

So, target salary ÷ working days per year = your electrician daily rate. Divide that electrician daily rate by the number of hours you’d like to work per day and… Bingo! There’s your hourly rate too.

✏️ Pro tip:
Let YourTradebase do the maths. Scroll down to try our free electrician’s rate calculator.

Breaking it down: an example electrician’s salary 

Here’s how that might work in practice. Say for instance you wanted to aim for a target salary of £33,000, take 6 weeks’ holiday a year and work 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. 

Realistically, you won’t always be able to charge for every hour of your working day – you’ll be travelling, picking up materials, pricing up jobs, all sorts of stuff that takes you away from your hands-on, billable work. So, let’s allow for 6 of those hours a day being billable, absorbing the cost of those non-earning hours. Here comes the maths…

Of course you can (and probably should) charge more than that. It’ll give you more of a safety net, keep you comfortable if things go quiet, and possibly even help you look more of a pro. But if you don’t know the minimum amount you can charge, you don’t know where to start, right?

A quick way to calculate your electrician’s labour rate

If that feels like a lot of maths to get your head around, don’t worry, we’ve got you. Our quick electrician’s rate calculator does the tough stuff for you. Give it a go, play around with the numbers and get a clearer idea of what you can charge, how much you can work, and what you could be taking home at the end of the day.

Remember, the electrical rate calculator’s only going to do the maths based on what you tell it, so you still need to take a good look at the hourly rates it gives you to check whether they feel like reasonable, realistic figures you can quote to your customers.

Try our free electrician’s rate calculator

Remember, you’ll have to pay income tax out of this figure, but if you’re  registered for VAT or sales tax, you’ll be able to charge that on top.

✏️ Pro tip:
Save your labour rates in YourTradebase and we’ll add your quotes up for you.

Write electrical quotes quickly and confidently

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you need to charge to cover your costs and hit your earnings targets, it’s easier to stick to it every time you quote. You’ll have a ready-to-go hourly or daily figure that helps you feel more confident and justified in your pricing – which means you can crack on and quote electrical jobs faster. 

In YourTradebase you can even set an emergency call-out rate for late-night, weekend or bank holiday jobs, so you’re getting a fair price for giving up your free time.

✏️ Pro tip:
Everyone deserves a pay rise every now and then, so review your rates once a year to check they’ve got you covered.

Boost your billable hours with YourTradebase

One sure-fire way to earn more as an electrician – without working longer – is to increase the ratio of billable hours to working hours. You might be working hard all day, but if you’re spending too much time on paperwork, you’re missing out on the chance to get hands-on and earn more.

YourTradebase saves tradespeople an average of a day a week on paperwork – a whole day you could be rolling up your sleeves and bringing in extra cash. It’s a made-for-trades toolkit full of quick, easy ways to blast through electrical estimates, quotes, invoices and more, sending out smarter stuff sooner, and winning more work, week in, week out.

However hard you work, there are never enough hours in the day. And the last thing you want to fill them with is paperwork. Writing quotes and estimates takes you away from the hands-on graft that pays the bills – but what if you could crack through it faster with a few nifty apps?

There’s a whole load of powerful electrical estimate software out there, designed to help you write electrical estimates faster – and better. Which means you can save time, hassle and hard-earned cash, straight from your phone. With hundreds of electricians’ apps on the market, we’ve picked the hardest-working, easiest-to-use options – tried, tested and loved by sparkies.

Check out our favourite apps for easier electrical estimating…

Let’s face it. There’s a lot to think about when you’re pricing up a job: time, materials, travel, overheads, budgets, competition… Get it right and you won’t just win the work, you’ll go home well paid and happy. Get it wrong and you might just get stuck with an unprofitable job – while someone else scoops up the great work you can’t get to. 

Luckily, there’s a truckload of helpful software for estimating electrical work out there, making it easier to price up quickly and accurately, protecting those profit margins. We know you’re too busy to sift through every electricians’ app going, so we’ve tried a bunch for you, and asked the sparkies we know. 

The result? A handy guide to the best electrical estimate software you can fit in your pocket – from cable calculators that help you get a handle on the job, to mileage counters that track those travel costs. Let’s take a look.

One quick way to earn more? Get fast at paperwork. You’ll grab more grafting time, get more done and bill more, every week. Click To Tweet

Measuring and calculating apps for electricians

Electrical measuring and calculating tools can really help you get your head around a job and what it’ll take to get it done. The more complex the job, the more useful they are, helping you map out what’s needed and design a safe, effective solution. And with all that at your fingertips, it’s easier to write an electrical estimate that really covers your bases…

Megger Cable Calc+

A free app from electrical heavyweights Megger, this cable calculator is a go-to tool for loads of electricians. It’s stuffed with cable options and volt drop calculations, and it’ll help you get to grips with a range of electrical testing instruments too. The best bit (apart from it being free), is that you don’t need an internet connection, so you can get instant results, whatever state your site’s in.

Electrical Tools and Reference

Electrical Tools and Reference – or The Electricians App – is a really handy chunk of software for electricians that gives you quick, easy access to a whole range of guides, tables and calculators. Print off charts, look up cable ratings, get a Zs value or do volt drop calculations. And while you’re at it, work out kVa, fault currents, ring circuits and a shed load more. Handy.

Cable Sizer

This popular app’s designed to help you make accurate cable size calculations super fast. Fill in your circuit parameters and it’ll tell you which cable to use, taking into account current carrying capacity, earth loop impedance and voltage drop – or set your own cable size and use it to check you’re good to go. Again, no internet needed, so it’s great out on site.

💡 The right tools help you get to grips with what’s needed, for electrical estimates that protect your profits.

Merchants’ pricing and sourcing apps

Some of the biggest electrical and trade suppliers now have their own apps, making it quick and easy to check costs, assess availability and order materials on the go. Less guesswork, fewer trips to the merchants and more precise electrical estimates.

As well as giving you accurate prices in seconds, some of these apps let you scan bar codes to find products faster, and most show you what’s in stock locally – potentially making a big difference to the materials you choose, as well as your travel costs and project schedule.

Every sparky’s got their favourite suppliers – whether they’re cheaper than the rest or just easier to get to – so look up your go-to merchant and see what they’ve got app-wise. You might be surprised how much easier it makes things. We like the features (and the reviews) on CEF’s app, and it’s worth taking a look at Screwfix, B&Q and Wickes too.

💡 Price up materials like a pro and make a healthy margin, every time.

Travel and mileage apps for small businesses

Getting to sites fast and keeping tabs on your travel costs can make a big difference to the accuracy of your electrical estimates and quotes – and your ability to make a profit. Which is why a couple of nippy travel apps can make all the difference…

Google Maps

These days, using Google Maps is a bit of a no-brainer. It’ll help you find the fastest route from A to B, check how many miles to factor into estimates, keep a real-time eye on traffic jams and make sure those further-away jobs don’t leave you out of pocket. But there are also some great apps out there to help you keep tabs on your mileage, without a big pile of Post-Its…

MileIQ

This handy app helps you work out your mileage expenses and it’s free for the first 40 trips you make each month. Just leave it on and it’ll automatically track how far you’ve travelled so you don’t have to remember. It sorts out your personal trips from your business ones, helping you save time – and money – every time you take the van out.

Mileage Tracker

Along the same lines as MileIQ, this app’s designed to help you track your trips and pull together all your mileage details so they’re ready to use in your tax return. As well as helping you get your annual paperwork in order, it’s a great way to get clearer on the miles you’re clocking up, so you can start factoring them in whenever you write an electrical quote or estimate.

💡 Travel isn’t free. Don’t forget to allow for your time, fuel and overheads whenever you write a quote.

Electrical estimating software for trades

We’ve looked at apps that help you scope out your jobs, price up your materials and make enough on your mileage, but once you’ve got all that figured out, what can you use to knock out great electrical estimates and quotes, in no time?

YourTradebase

Made just for trades, YourTradebase turns quoting into a quick, easy job you can fit in anytime – on the go, on site, or even on the sofa. It cuts out repetitive tasks, saves important stuff and helps you write electrical estimates faster, the more you do it.

First, the app automatically saves contact details for you and your customers, so you don’t have to add them every time. Next, it stores every task, material and project you price up, building a personal price list you can draw from whenever you quote. Once that’s done, it adds the right taxes, gives everything a reference number and tots the whole thing up for you. Boom.

You can save your branding so it drops in automatically, and even pick from a ready-to-roll library of trade accreditation and association logos (including NICEIC, ECA, Napit and Elecsa) that give your quotes and estimates extra clout. And if you’re ever lost for words, just choose from a bank of friendly quote intros and ready-written emails that’ll knock your customers’ socks off.

Finally, YourTradebase lets you fire off your estimates, quotes and invoices there and then, straight from the app. You can see when they’re opened, answer customer questions and even get instant approvals (with a signature!) right on your phone. 

💡 YourTradebase is packed with trades-only tools that make estimating easier. 

Powerful tools you can try in minutes

The right tools make all the difference. So save yourself time, protect your profits and make a great impression with electricians’ apps that really help you get to grips with pricing – from planning your project to sourcing the best products and sending a totally knockout quote.

We’ve looked at lots of helpful software for estimating electrical work, and it’s all available from the App Store, or whenever you usually get your apps. You can download any of the apps in minutes and use them today – we’ve got our fingers crossed they’ll be game changers for you. 

And if you fancy trying YourTradebase, grab a free, no-strings trial today. With a truckload of quick, easy, paperwork-busting tools, it saves tradespeople almost a day a week on admin. Take it for a spin and see how much time it could save you.

Ask any electrician what they love about their job, and chances are it won’t be estimating. When you’re just starting out, it’s pretty daunting – how do electricians price up work, charge for their time and estimate enough… but not too much? And even if you’re a seasoned pro, how do you know you’ve found the quickest, easiest way to estimate – or the way most likely to win work?

Worry not, we’ve got you. In today’s blog we’re looking at the five most common electrical estimating methods, and weighing up their pros and cons. We’ll break them down, look at how electricians price up jobs in different ways, and help you hit on the one that works for you – so you can price up faster, better and with a lot less stress.

The right electrical estimating methods can make all the difference

Estimates bring in work. They’re a massively important part of any electrician’s business, but we’re all guilty of putting them off, pushing them back and finding other jobs to do. 

It’s easy to see why. When we don’t know what a customer’s expecting, what the competition’s quoting, or whether we’re working it out right, we’re not exactly filled with confidence… so we drag our dreaded paperwork out. Even worse, when we get estimates done and the customer goes elsewhere, it’s easy to feel like we’ve wasted our time.

So let’s fix this. Let’s pin down the best electrical estimating methods and give you an easy, effective formula that gets estimates out fast – and wins work – time and time again.

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Let’s break down the big electrical estimating methods and find the right one for you…

Ok. Everyone’s different, and what feels like common sense to one electrician might not to the next. That’s why we’re going to look at the pros and cons of five electrical estimating methods. We’ll break them down – you take your pick.

1. Time + materials

Let’s kick things off with the time + materials approach. It’s a practical, reliable electrical estimating method based on how long a job’s going to take, plus the cost of materials. As well as helping you work out ballpark estimates, it gives you enough detail for full electrician’s quotes too (not 100% clear on the difference? Check out our Quotes vs Estimates blog).

You’ll need a couple of things to get started with the time + materials approach. First, a clear idea of what your hourly rates are. Working out a realistic rate that covers your living and business costs gives you a solid starting point for more confident, consistent estimates and quotes. If you need a hand, read our blog on how to calculate your electrician’s labour rate.

Second, you’ll need a quick way of costing up electrical materials. These days most suppliers have websites and some even have apps that speed the process up (check out our quick guide to great apps for electricians for some tips). Don’t forget to mark up your materials to cover your time sourcing them and getting them to site.

The pros

This formula-based framework makes sure you cover your costs, get paid at a decent rate, charge the right amount for materials and don’t lose out. It’ll give you the confidence that there’s strong reasoning behind your prices, which you can break down in detail if need be, showing how honest, methodical and professional you are.

The cons

It can be nerve-racking to work out a labour rate, (although this blog will help) and even if you work out how many hours the job needs, there’s a chance it’ll run over. That’s a risk, whatever electrical estimating method you use, but at least if you’ve listed your expected hours, you stand a chance of convincing the customer the job was more complicated, and negotiating a little extra.

Go with it if…

You like the idea of a strong formula that covers your costs.

Avoid it if…

You’re uncomfortable setting an hourly rate (you shouldn’t be!).

✏️ Pro tip:
Save regular materials prices in YourTradebase for faster estimates, every time.

2. The guesstimate

Next in our run-through of electrical estimating methods… the guesstimate. Otherwise known as pulling a figure out of the air based on your experience and assumptions. Yes, it’s about as precise as it sounds, but remember an estimate’s a ballpark figure rather than a price you can be held to. When it comes to full-on quoting, it’s risky, so tread carefully.

The pros

It’s certainly quick… with a whole lot less working out. And if you’re very experienced, it might just be reasonably accurate (fingers crossed). We’re struggling for more plus points though.

The cons

Without a real basis for your figures, you’re more likely to undercharge or overcharge, which could leave you out of pocket, put potential customers off or even lead to disputes later on. And if your customer feels you’re guessing, it won’t make you look very professional, or generate much faith.

Go with it if…

You’ve got tonnes of experience and you’re super clear it’s a ballpark figure.

Avoid it if…

You’re new to the game or your customer wants a definitive price that won’t change.

3. Working to a budget

Onto our next electrical estimating method – and this one’s a little different. The working to a budget approach puts your customer in control. Just ask them what their budget is for the electrical work, then tell them what you can do for that price. It’s more suited to projects than quick hour-or-so jobs, but it’s worth thinking over.

The pros

When it goes well, this electrical estimating method can be a real people pleaser. Your customer feels they’re in the driving seat, being listened to and accommodated – and they’re comfortable with what they’re spending. 

From your point of view, as long as the budget they give you is realistic, you’ll know the price you’ve got to hit to get your estimate accepted. Less guesswork for you (but more for them).

Finally, there’s always the chance your customer totally overestimates and gives you a nice big budget, so you you can put in a comfortable estimate with a guaranteed profit, and still make them happy by coming in for less. If there’s still a lot of budget left when you’re finished, you could even bring the final price down – a powerful way to win trust and loyalty.

The cons

Most customers have no idea how long electrical jobs take, or what expertise and materials they involve. You’re the expert, so it’s a risky move to put the pricing in their hands. 

If you know they’re taking the same approach with competitors, it puts a lot of pressure on you to come in below what might already be a pretty low budget. And if you can’t possibly do the work for their budget, you’ll be on the back foot before you’ve even put in your price – not a great start.

Go with it if…

You’re confident they’ve got a decent budget or happy to tell them if they’re way off.

Avoid it if…

You feel you might be squeezed on price or they seem like a tricky customer.

4. Picking from a price list

The price list approach (also called a schedule of rates) is used by thousands of sparkies as a really useful way to write estimates or quotes quickly. It involves using your experience, along with a good understanding of your hourly rate and materials costs, to build a ready-to-go list of prices for regular jobs like installing new power points, changing LEDs or putting up lights.

The pros

This electrical estimating method is super useful for jobs you do week in, week out. You know what they involve because they’re your bread and butter. In fact, you could practically do them in your sleep, so there’s no need to price from scratch every time. Whether they’re small jobs or bigger projects, if you know you can deliver for a certain amount, it’s a great short cut.

As well as speeding up your estimating and quoting, the price list approach encourages you to learn from experience and keep track of your prices, so you can get faster and more accurate at pricing up the more you do it. Plus, if you want to find out what the competition’s charging, it’s easier to ask someone what they paid for a specific task and benchmark yourself against it.

In YourTradebase, we actually help you build your price list with every estimate or quote you write. Our app saves your prices automatically, so you can pick and choose from them next time.

The cons

A job that might initially seem the same as a previous one could prove more complicated, so only use your price list when you’re confident you know the score. For extra protection, include plenty of detail in your estimate or quote, so if the actual job demands something different, you’ll at least have a basis for negotiating more money.

Go with it if…

You do the same tasks regularly and want to get faster at pricing up, every time.

Avoid it if…

You rarely do the same job twice.

5. It takes as long as it takes

This one isn’t so much an electrical estimating method as a state of mind. The it takes as long as it takes approach is a way of working with long-term customers that depends on (and fosters) trust and loyalty. Do what’s needed, keep tabs on your costs and tell them the price at the end.

The pros

If you’ve got a strong, established relationship with a customer and they’re happy to work this way, great. It means if you’re honest with them and get the job done in a reasonable time, you’ll never be out of pocket for the work you’ve done – every hour gets paid for. You’re building a partnership based on trust, mutual respect and clear communication.

The cons

Fallouts happen, and this approach does leave you open to disagreements over price, which could leave you with less money than you deserve – and little legal backup. Don’t rush into this kind of agreement until you’ve done a handful of properly estimated jobs for the customer.

Go with it if…

You’ve been working together for years, you trust each other and you talk regularly.

Avoid it if…

You don’t know the customer well or you have any doubts at all – trust your gut.

✏️ Pro tip:
Track all your customer messages automatically in YourTradebase.

Which electrical estimating method is right for you?

There are pros and cons to every electrical estimating method, so it all comes down to the kind of jobs you do, the kind of customers you’ve got and what you feel most comfortable with.

While the working to a budget approach creates certainty for the customer and the takes as long as it takes route can help to cover every hour you work, the time + materials and price list based approaches are the safest, most professional options in our experience.

They give you a great formula for speeding up the quoting and estimating process, building your confidence and creating shortcuts you can use again and again. 

They also interlink – the price list approach has its roots in a great understanding of time + materials. So once you’ve worked out how much time and materials you need for a regular task, it can become an item on your price list, without you having to do those calculations every time.

A faster way to work out your prices

Building a price list in YourTradebase is really, really easy. In fact, we do it automatically. Every time you write a quote or estimate, we save each task to your price list so you can pick and choose from it the next time, and the next. So without any extra work, you get a super useful shortcut that speeds up the whole process, based on the prices you personally want to charge.

With quick estimate templates, a library of trade logos, easy ways to save your details and ready-written customer messages, YourTradebase also makes writing up and sending your prices really fast and polished too. You can even answer customer questions and get instant approval online – going from first enquiry to shiny green light faster (and more painlessly) than ever.

Grafting on site in the depths of winter is pretty grim, so what’s the best way to stay warm and working, however baltic it gets?

There’s a January and February (and March) in every year, but somehow the really cold weather always seems to come as a surprise. It feels like those heavy frosts, below-freezing temperatures, snowy mornings and dark days are out to get you – stopping you getting stuff done, stalling your schedule and making your building site a pretty miserable place to be.

So what’s the secret to getting through winter on site? To pushing on through and keeping your business strong? It’s all about thinking ahead and being clever with your days. Get it right and you’ll have less downtime, happier customers and a better start to your year. Here’s how…

Weather-proof your workload

Ok, so those big freezes and snowfalls tend to come without much warning, but you know it’s winter, right? Things always take longer when the conditions are bad, and there’s bound to be the odd day that’s a bit of a write-off. 

So, when you’re planning winter building jobs, try to allow for that. Plan in extra time from the start and give yourself enough breathing space to work safely, squeeze in the odd emergency job (there’s always something) and still meet those (more realistic) deadlines. You’ll be glad you did.

Plan your winter workday

On short winter days, plan indoor tasks for those first and last few hours, and snatch the middle of the day for outdoor work. It’ll help you be more productive, get better results, avoid re-dos and keep your team happier too.

Some jobs, like wet trades, just can’t be done when the temperatures get too low. Mortar won’t mix, bricks might need to be re-laid, and concrete and render can crack – or take forever to get strong. You can’t change any of that. So try to plan this work for warmer months, or crank up some workspace heaters and tackle the problem head on.

Whether you buy your own heaters or hire them for the job, they’ll help materials and equipment work properly despite the weather, making them a pretty sound investment. The same goes for extra lighting, which can help you pack more hours into your day – and stay safe and well.

We’ve built a pretty nifty schedule tool in YourTradebase to help you plan jobs better. Take a quick look or hop on a free trial.

Stay warm on site

Cold, dark days bring all sorts of risks on building sites and as trades, we literally can’t afford to take them. Making yourself ill or having an accident can wipe days or weeks out – and that means you won’t get paid, you’ll miss out on work and you’ll struggle to catch up.

So stay warm. Whether you’re working outside or on an unheated site, layer up with this lot…

Remember, those extra layers might make moving around and operating equipment feel different or difficult, so take extra care, go slower if you need to, and stay safe. Some machinery doesn’t like the cold either, so go steady. It’s understandable that you want to crack on and get finished, but be realistic about what you can do and take extra care.

Keep eating and drinking

Ok, we know that’s tough. But keep the tea flowing, eat warm food if you can, and step inside often to eat or drink it. It’s really important to warm up regularly – even if that just means five minutes in the van to remember what your fingers and toes feel like.

While you’re warming up, you can always grab some van time and blast through a few quotes, send out some invoices or get back to a few customers – it’s all about using the time well to save yourself stress and hassle later. And it’s surprising how much admin you can do in ten minutes.

Get your work van winter ready

While we’re on the subject, make sure you kit out your van for cold days too. Breakdowns are much more likely when the temperature drops and if you can’t get to site, you can’t work, earn or keep your customers happy.

Sort out your trade insurance

If an accident’s going to happen, it’s going to happen in poor light and icy conditions, so make sure you’ve got good cover – for you, your team, your kit, your customers and their property. Give site security some thought too – darker days mean more risk of theft, so you might want to rig up some CCTV, lock up your site or take your tools home.

Know when to shut down the site 

Some days, the weather’s just going to win, and getting the things you planned to do done… well, it’s just not going to happen. But that doesn’t mean your day needs to be wasted. It might be the perfect time to squeeze in a quick job for another customer – one of those urgent winter repair jobs or something else that’s 100% indoors.

On the other hand, it’s also a great time to get your admin in order – freeing up your evenings and weekends for all those things you’d much rather be doing. Catch up on quotes, invoices and callbacks from home – with all the no-nonsense tools and templates in YourTradebase it’s quick, easy and doable from the kitchen table, or even the sofa.

If you’ve got a bit more time, how about asking some of your favourite customers for testimonials or using our new ‘Extra customer info’ forms to give your customer records a bit of a boost? Right now you might be able to remember that Mrs Smith had a Baxi boiler and it needs servicing in September, but by the time September rolls around… well, you probably won’t. 

Get all that info down – along with anything else that might be helpful, like how customers heard about you. It’ll show you what you’re doing right and wrong when it comes to spreading the word. By the end of the day, you might just have fuller records that help you promote your business, look after your customers better and feel super organised when the snow starts to melt.

Let’s do this

So, don’t wait for that freezing cold morning when the van’s a foot deep in snow. Get prepped now, have a plan for the worst of the weather and use your time to get a load more stuff done.

Keep warm out there!

People, it’s time. Stop struggling with Word and Excel and grab a better power tool for your paperwork…

This new year, make smashing through your admin as easy as it should be.

The right tools make a massive difference. We’ve all been there, out on site, battling away with a saw that’s not sharp enough, a drill that’s not powerful enough or a ladder that’s not long enough. It’s not fun. It makes a quick job a slow one, and a great finish hard to achieve.

It’s just the same with paperwork. Struggling with tools that aren’t quite right for the job – or up to the job – makes knocking out a quick quote so much harder than it should be. Which means it takes longer to do, gets put off day after day, and doesn’t look great even when it’s done.

You wouldn’t put up with it on site, so why put up with it for your paperwork? All you’re doing is adding to your stress levels, eating up more of your evenings, and churning out admin that doesn’t do you justice. Better is out there.

Secretary or sparkie?

There’s no getting away from it – Word and Excel are powerful tools. They wouldn’t be used by millions of people if they weren’t. But one size just doesn’t fit all. And really, why should something that works for an accountant, a secretary or an HR manager be right for the best builder in Bromley, or the fastest sparky in Southend? 

It just doesn’t make sense. Every other tool you use is designed for jobs like yours – so why should it be different when it comes to your admin? There are tools out there made for trades – made to suit the kind of work you do, and the kind of days you have. And those tools are a solid investment. Time is money, and they’ll help you spend more of it earning, not doing admin.

Fancy making 2020 the year you stop struggling and start using a paperwork power tool that’s right for you? Let’s take a look…

Time-saving templates

Ok, so there are templates in Word, but they’re not exactly geared to getting you paid. They might help you knock up a nice CV or report, but that’s not really what you’re after, right? 

So, look for an app, or piece of software, that gives you templates you actually need – shortcuts that help you blast through paperwork faster and save a tonne of time. At YourTradebase, our reusable templates cover everything from estimates, quotes and invoices to a whole bunch of emails you might want to send. 

Want to chase up a quote? We’ve got a template for that. Want to agree a start date? We’ve got a template for that. Want to confirm a few changes? Yep, you guessed it. The whole point is to help you get your admin jobs done well, in a fraction of the time.

Price lists you can personalise

Another handy thing to look out for are price lists you can build and save, so you can pick and choose tasks, labour costs and materials you use regularly. In YourTradebase you can completely personalise them based on what you usually charge, saving you a tonne of maths time and letting you get those quotes together faster.

Paperwork you’re proud of

The estimates, quotes and emails you send out are often people’s first clue about how professional your set up really is. So don’t settle. Look for a system that helps you build paperwork you’re really happy with, not just something that’ll have to do – paperwork that’s complete with your logo, trade association logos and business colours.

Trying to crowbar a logo into Word can feel clumsy, unprofessional and a bit of a struggle. It doesn’t have to be that hard. With the right tools, dropping that logo just where you want it is a two-second job, helping you build quotes that give people confidence – and win more work.

Fast ways to find what you need

Trawling through files looking for old notes, quotes and job specs is a frustrating waste of time, and these days you just don’t need to do it. Tools like YourTradebase give you a joined-up way to save, store and find your paperwork, without faffing through folders or being tied to you computer.

Just look up a customer and see everything you’ve ever done for them, in one place, super fast. You can even search your records on site, on your phone, with the customer standing in front of you. You’ll look super organised and they’ll feel you remember, and value, each of their projects.

Tracking, reminders and other useful stuff

However long you’ve been using them, Word and Excel aren’t going to remind you when it’s time to chase up that invoice, or tell you when your customer’s opened their latest quote. They’re just not built that way. But a tool built for the trades can.

So, take things to the next level by going for a system that lets you track your paperwork, email it instantly, see when it’s been read. A tool that tells you when customers need chasing up, rather than letting things drift. It’s about taking the pressure off you to remember everything – giving you a nudge when you need one, so you can make the most of every lead, and get paid faster.

Go your own way

The thing to remember is, Word and Excel aren’t the only way. You’ve got options – and they’re solid ones that could be real game changers for your business. Finding a system that feels right for you is really important. So try things out and see what works for you. 

YourTradebase was designed by trades, for trades, and it does all of the above, plus a tonne more – things like quick customer messaging, linking up to Xero accounting software and even letting your customers view and accept quotes online. 

We know how trades work, what makes them tick and the pressures you’re under every day – so we’ve built YourTradebase to be fast, intuitive, straightforward and easy to use on the go. Which means knocking out a quick quote over a cuppa is as easy as it always should have been. If you fancy taking us for a no-strings spin, we even do a free 14-day trial. Ready when you are.

Adam