AllSquare vs the alternatives

What's the best invoicing app for UK tradespeople?

It depends on what you need the software to do — and that usually depends on the size of your business more than your trade. Most tools fall into one of three groups:

• Invoicing apps (AllSquare, Invoice2go) — for sole traders and very small businesses who need professional invoices and estimates, while an accountant looks after the books. The cheapest and quickest to learn.
• Job-management tools (Jobber, Tradify) — for firms with staff. Scheduling, dispatch, timesheets and job cards, with quoting and invoicing built in. Worth the higher monthly price once you're organising other people's time.
• Accounting and bookkeeping software (QuickBooks; FreshBooks for freelancers who bill time) — books, expenses and, with QuickBooks, VAT returns and Making Tax Digital filing. Often chosen with, or by, your accountant.

Plenty of sole traders combine an invoicing app with whatever accounting software their accountant uses. We make AllSquare, so we're biased — but each comparison below says plainly when the other tool is the better pick, including where AllSquare falls short (it's iPhone and iPad only, and has no scheduling, team features, card payments or bookkeeping).