Guides
Plain answers about getting paid.
Deposits, your accounts and the records your accountant needs, written for UK trades. Free to read, no sign-up.
Free quote template for UK trades (Word and PDF)
A free quote template for UK trades, in Word or as a printable PDF. No sign-up. Includes the 14-day cancellation notice and form for homeowner jobs.
How much deposit should you ask for? A guide by job type
Ask for what you'd lose if they pulled out, and keep it to 25% or less. A table by job type, what homeowners are told, and the law on big deposits.
How to write a quote for a trade job: what to put on it
What to put on a trade quote, from the price and deposit to the cancellation notice homeowners must get. A checklist, an example quote and what the law asks.
Going self-employed as a tradesperson: the first-month checklist
Tell HMRC, put money aside for tax, the registrations your trade needs by law, insurance, getting paid and a starter tool kit. UK figures for 2026/27.
Customer holding back the final payment over snags: how much can they keep?
If the job is finished apart from snags, they owe the price less what the snags cost to fix. How to agree the list, get the rest paid, and stop it next time.
Quote or estimate: which one can the customer hold you to?
A quote is a fixed price they can hold you to. An estimate is your best guess, and the bill has to stay reasonable. What makes each binding, and extras.
Can you add a card fee to a customer's bill?
Not on a personal card: it's been banned since 2018, Apple Pay and PayPal included. How to cover what cards cost you in one price, the same however they pay.
Customer raised a chargeback after the job: what happens and how to win it
The bank takes the money back while it decides. Answer once, by the deadline, with the quote they accepted and dated photos. What wins, and what it costs.
Customer cancelled after paying a deposit: do you have to give it back?
Usually some of it, often all. Inside the 14-day cooling-off it's a full refund. After that you can keep your real loss, not more. How to work out the number.
The 14-day cooling-off rule when you quote at a customer's home
Agree a job at a customer's home and they get 14 days to cancel. What you must tell them, how to start work sooner, and what it costs you to skip it.
Mileage is now 55p a mile: what trades can claim
From 6 April 2026 the flat rate for cars and vans is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, up from 45p. What it is worth and how to claim it.
Get your WorkPaid payments into Sage
Add a WorkPaid account in Sage and import one file a month, then check what Sage files for you: payments in, fees and payouts out, nothing counted twice.
Get your WorkPaid payments into QuickBooks
Add a WorkPaid account in QuickBooks and upload one file a month: payments in, fees and payouts out, so nothing is counted twice next to your bank feed.
Get your WorkPaid payments into Xero
Add a WorkPaid account in Xero and import one file a month: payments in, fees and payouts out, so nothing is counted twice next to your bank feed.
Get your WorkPaid payments into FreeAgent
Add a WorkPaid account in FreeAgent and upload one file a month: payments in, fees and payouts out, so nothing is counted twice next to your bank feed.
How to ask for a deposit (without losing the job)
The exact words to ask a customer for a deposit, what to say when they push back, and why a deposit wins you more work.
Tax records for your accountant
What WorkPaid records about each payment, and how those records map to Self Assessment and VAT returns. Written to send to your accountant.