Seven quick sums every trade should do.
What the calls you miss are costing you, evenings you could claw back, whether it pays for itself — plus your CIS deduction, day rate, late-payment interest and a quick VAT calc. Drag the sliders — the numbers are usually bigger than they feel.
Missed-call cost — what the enquiries you don't catch are quietly costing you.
Your numbers
Inbound calls from potential customers — not suppliers or mates.
On a ladder, under a sink, driving, or after hours.
Your typical job. A boiler swap pulls this right up.
Of the enquiries you get to, how many become jobs.
Walking out the door — a year
that's a second engineer you could've hired.
Illustrative estimate only. Assumes missed calls are genuine opportunities you don't recover, converting at your normal close rate. Real numbers vary.
Evenings back — how much of your own time the admin could hand you back.
Your week
Quoting, invoicing, chasing, scheduling, replying to messages.
The bit that eats into family and personal time.
Your charge-out rate — or what an hour off is worth.
Automated follow-ups, reminders, chasing, review requests, quote drafting. Illustrative.
Evenings you could claw back
— that's most Fridays back.
Illustrative estimate only. Assumes automation hands back the share you set, counting ~2 hours of evening admin as one evening reclaimed. Real results vary.
Pays for itself? — set what you'd realistically win, and see the return.
Your numbers
Jobs you'd win by catching enquiries you'd have missed — and replying first.
Your typical job.
Extra work a year, after the subscription
— that's a van, or a proper holiday.
Illustrative estimate only. "Extra jobs" assumes TradesInvo helps you capture and convert more enquiries; figures are extra revenue (not profit). Not a guarantee of results.
CIS deduction — what a contractor withholds from your invoice under the Construction Industry Scheme.
Your invoice
CIS is deducted from labour only.
Materials are paid in full — never deducted.
Deducted & sent to HMRC
— withheld tax, offset against your bill later.
Illustrative only — not tax advice. CIS is deducted from labour, not materials or VAT. Verify your status and figures with HMRC or your accountant.
Day rate — the floor you need to charge to actually pay yourself.
Your year
What you want to pay yourself for the year.
Van, fuel, tools, insurance, software, phone — the cost of running.
After weekends, holidays, sick days and admin.
Travel, quoting and dead time eat into billable hours.
What you need to charge
— price with confidence; this is your floor.
Illustrative only — not financial advice. A rough floor to cover your target income + overheads. Excludes personal tax/NI and VAT; your market and quotes still apply.
Late payment — what a late-paying business customer legally owes you on top of the bill.
The unpaid invoice
The overdue invoice total.
Past your agreed payment terms.
Statutory interest = base rate + 8%. Check today's base rate on gov.uk.
You could claim on top
— interest plus £70 fixed compensation, by law.
Illustrative only — not legal or financial advice. Based on the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (business-to-business). Fixed compensation £40 / £70 / £100 by debt size. Check the current base rate and your contract before acting.
VAT calculator — add VAT to a net figure, or pull the VAT out of a gross one.
Your figure
Enter the net figure to add VAT, or the gross figure to strip it out.
Total, inc VAT
20% VAT on £1,000.00 is £200.00.
Illustrative only. Check the correct VAT rate for the work — some trade jobs qualify for 5% or 0% — with HMRC or your accountant.
Seen enough? Claim your patch.
TradesInvo captures every enquiry, replies first, and runs it to a booked, quoted, paid job. Early access is five founder slots per postcode — check yours.