QuickBooks is solid accounting software — but it's still software you have to open, set up and keep on top of. If you'd rather just fire off a message and have your quotes, invoices and receipts handled, TradesOffice runs in WhatsApp instead. Your accountant still gets the numbers.
Start your 14-day free trialQuickBooks Self-Employed and its sole-trader plans are capable tools. But they ask the same thing of you every time: log in, categorise, reconcile, keep the app fed. For someone who spends the day on a roof or under a sink, that's the job that never gets done — until January.
TradesOffice removes the app entirely. You message Amy — "invoice the Jones job £1,800", a photo of a receipt — and the document is made, the expense filed under the right HMRC category, and a tax pot kept up to date. The clean records still reach your accountant; you just never opened accounting software to make them.
| TradesOffice | QuickBooks | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Send a WhatsApp message | Open and maintain the app |
| Built for | Tradespeople on the tools | General small business / self-employed |
| Setup | Save a contact — done | Account setup, categories, bank links |
| Receipts | Photo → auto-categorised | Snap / upload then review |
| CIS for subcontractors | Built in (0/20/30%) | Add-ons / manual |
| Works with your accountant | Tax pack + CSV now; QuickBooks sync on the roadmap | Is the accounting software |
| Price | £19.99/month, all in | Tiered — MTD plans cost more |
The reason admin piles up is that opening the app is one more job. TradesOffice removes the app, so the job disappears.
CIS, materials-vs-labour, trade suppliers and MTD categories are understood out of the box — not bolted on.
Everything is captured MTD-quality and correctly categorised, so your accountant imports clean data instead of fixing yours.
A weekday briefing and automatic payment chasing keep things moving without you logging in to check.
TradesOffice isn't here to replace your accountant's QuickBooks — it feeds it. You run the day-to-day from WhatsApp instead of inside the software, and the numbers go to your accountant's QuickBooks when they need them. (Direct sync is on the roadmap; today it's a clean quarterly pack and CSV export.)
TradesOffice is one all-in plan at £19.99 a month with a 14-day free trial. QuickBooks starts lower but the plans that handle Making Tax Digital cost more — and you do more of the work yourself. Check both current prices for your situation.
For day-to-day quotes, invoices, expenses and tax records, yes. It’s built to work with your accountant — feeding QuickBooks rather than replacing the accountant who uses it.
Yes — there’s no app to open. You send a WhatsApp message and the record is created correctly behind the scenes, so the admin actually gets done.
Both. CIS invoices with the correct deduction, and MTD-quality digital records created automatically, ready for quarterly filing from April 2026.
Start a 14-day free trial (no card), save Amy as a WhatsApp contact, and send your first invoice in about a minute.
Your quotes, invoices and tax records — handled from WhatsApp. 14 days free, no card.
Start your free trial