When you are out on the tools all day, the last thing you want is to spend your evenings buried in paperwork. The good news is that there are some genuinely useful apps that can take a lot of the admin off your plate, and most of them are affordable or free.

This is not an exhaustive list of every option out there. It is a practical guide to the apps that self-employed tilers and other tradespeople actually use and find worth paying for.

Job Management and Quoting

If you are running your own tiling business, a job management app is probably the most impactful thing you can add to the way you work. These apps handle quoting, job scheduling, invoicing and customer records all in one place.

• Jobber is one of the most popular options among UK tradespeople. It lets you send quotes, schedule jobs, track time and invoice customers from your phone. It also has a client hub where customers can approve quotes and pay invoices online. Plans start at around £30 a month and there is a free trial.
• Tradify is another strong option, particularly well-regarded for its reliable mobile app. You can build quotes, raise invoices, log job notes and track time. It is widely used by plumbers, electricians and tilers. Plans start from around £25 per user per month.
• ServiceM8 is worth a look if you work alone or with a small team and everyone uses iPhone. It has a clean, easy to use interface and handles quoting, dispatch and customer records well. Android support is more limited, so check that before committing.

For most self-employed tilers just starting out, any one of these will do the job. The key is picking one and actually using it consistently rather than falling back on paper quotes and text messages.

Invoicing and Accounting

• QuickBooks Self-Employed is a solid choice for sole traders who want to keep their finances organised without hiring an accountant. It handles invoicing, tracks your expenses, logs your mileage and generates a summary that makes filling in your Self Assessment much more straightforward. Plans start from around £8 a month.
• Xero is a step up in terms of features and is well-suited to tilers who have grown their business, taken on staff or who work with an accountant. It is more powerful than QuickBooks Self-Employed but also more complex to set up. Plans start from around £16 a month.

If you are just starting out and keeping costs low, even a simple invoicing app combined with a spreadsheet for expenses can get you through your first year. The important thing is to track everything from the beginning rather than trying to reconstruct your finances at the end of the tax year.

Tracking Expenses and Mileage

• Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) lets you photograph receipts and automatically extracts and categorises the information. If you regularly buy materials, adhesive, grout and tools, this saves a surprising amount of time and means nothing slips through the cracks. Plans start from around £15 a month.
• MileIQ runs in the background on your phone and automatically logs your business mileage. You swipe left or right to classify each journey as business or personal. If you drive between jobs regularly, the mileage you can claim back makes this easily worth the modest subscription. It is free for up to 40 trips a month, with a paid plan at around £5 a month beyond that.

Tax

The HMRC app is free and something every self-employed person in the UK should have on their phone. You can check your tax account, view what you owe, track Self Assessment deadlines and see your payment history. It will not do your tax return for you, but it keeps everything visible in one place and sends reminders when deadlines are approaching.

If you are unsure how the tax side works as a self-employed tiler, our post on the CIS scheme and whether it applies to tilers is worth a read too.

Communicating With Customers

• WhatsApp Business is free and genuinely useful. It gives you a separate business profile, lets you set up automatic replies for when you are on the tools, and allows you to create quick replies for common questions. Most customers are already on WhatsApp, and communicating through it feels natural and responsive without taking over your personal messages.
• Google Business Profile is also free and arguably one of the highest impact things a self-employed tiler can do for their business. Managing your profile from the app lets you respond to reviews, post photos of recent work and keep your contact details up to date. Customers searching for a local tiler on Google will often check your profile before anything else.

A Few Things to Bear in Mind

You do not need every app on this list. Start with one job management tool, the HMRC app and something for expenses. That combination covers most of what you need in the early months without overcomplicating things or running up unnecessary subscriptions.

Most of these apps offer free trials. It is worth trying one or two before committing, as the right choice depends on how you personally like to work.

The goal is to spend less time on admin and more time on the tools, which is why most people get into tiling in the first place.

Ready to Get Started?

Getting the business side right begins with getting your skills to a professional level. At Expert Tiling Courses UK our courses cover everything you need, from the practical tiling skills to the business knowledge to run a successful operation from day one.

Take a look at our courses or get in touch if you would like to talk it through.