Best CRM Systems for Tradesmen

Tradesmen need a CRM system that can handle quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and compliance without adding admin burdens.

In this blog we look at 3 different CRM systems that are clients use for their businesses. Tradify, Commusoft, and ServiceM8 stand out for UK trades like roofing, plumbing, and electrical work, each excelling in specific areas.

Key Features Overview

• Tradify offers quick quoting, job tracking, timesheets, purchase orders, and Xero/Sage integration, ideal for streamlining daily tasks.
• Commusoft provides advanced reporting with 40+ customisable options, proposal builders, parts pricing, and PPM for maintenance-heavy trades.
• ServiceM8 focuses on mobile job cards, GPS tracking, on-site invoicing, and checklists, suiting field-based operations.

Tradify shines for simple workflows, Commusoft for scalability, and ServiceM8 for affordability in small setups.

Tradify – Built for Busy Small Trade Teams

Tradify positions itself as a straightforward job management and light CRM solution for small to medium trade businesses that want to get off paper and spreadsheets without a huge learning curve. It is particularly popular with UK based electricians, plumbers, builders and roofers because it covers the core workflow end to end: enquiry, quote, job, timesheets, purchase orders and invoice.

Tradify’s quoting and invoicing tools make it easy to turn a rough estimate into a formal quote and then into an invoice once the work is complete. You can build item libraries for common materials and labour, which speeds up pricing repeat jobs like boiler services or flat roof work.

For UK trades, support for VAT and construction style pricing is helpful, and integration with accounting packages such as Xero and Sage means your books stay aligned with your job data.

On the job management side, Tradify offers a calendar view so you can see who is booked where and when, plus a mobile app so engineers and roofers can see their jobs, log time and upload photos from site. This works well for small teams where the owner is still on the tools and needs clear visibility of the day’s schedule without overcomplicating things. For materials heavy trades like roofing, the purchase order and supplier tracking features help keep on top of lead, tiles and fixings for each project.

Tradify is especially strong for trades that run a mix of quoted projects and smaller service jobs, such as roofing companies handling re-roofs alongside repairs, or small building firms juggling multiple sites. Its reporting is simpler than Commusoft’s, but most sole traders and small firms find the basic job profitability and timesheet reports enough for day‑to‑day decisions. If your priority is ease of use and quick wins rather than complex reporting, Tradify is often the most comfortable fit.

You can get a 14 day free trial using our link.

Commusoft – Powerful CRM for Growing Field Service Businesses

Commusoft is a more advanced field service management and CRM platform aimed at growing trades businesses that want deeper control over customers, assets and recurring work. It is widely used in plumbing, heating, electrical and facilities style contracts where you manage service plans, maintenance schedules and multiple visits per site.

As a CRM, Commusoft keeps a rich history of every customer, property and asset, including past jobs, certificates, communications and proposals. This is particularly valuable if you offer service contracts or compliance work, such as annual boiler servicing or emergency lighting tests, because you can automate reminders and keep records tidy for audits. The proposal and sales tools are more sophisticated than in Tradify or ServiceM8, letting you build multi‑option quotes that focus on margins and upsells.

Commusoft’s scheduling is designed for teams with multiple engineers on the road every day. You get diary and map views, drag and drop scheduling, and tools to optimise routes and allocate the right engineer based on skills or location. For trades that handle a lot of planned preventive maintenance (PPM) – such as HVAC, commercial plumbing or fire and security – the ability to build PPM contracts and automatically generate visits is a major advantage.

Reporting is where Commusoft really stands out, offering 40+ customisable reports across sales, operations and finance. You can dig into engineer performance, conversion rates, revenue per contract and more, which suits firms with office staff who actively manage KPIs. The trade off is complexity: set‑up takes longer, and the system can feel heavy for a small roofing or decorating firm that just wants simple job cards and invoices. For ambitious businesses planning to scale headcount and contracts, Commusoft is often the best long term choice.

It does not offer a free trial and you have to enter your details for a demo.

ServiceM8 – Mobile First Job Management for Agile Trades

ServiceM8 is a mobile first job management platform that also covers basic CRM, aimed at agile trade businesses that live on their phones and tablets. It originated in Australia but has a strong following among UK trades who want quick job handling, live GPS and on site invoicing rather than heavy back‑office systems.

At its core, ServiceM8 lets you capture enquiries, create job cards, schedule them to field staff and then complete and invoice jobs directly from the app. The interface is very clean, which appeals to small teams and sole traders who want to tap and go rather than learn a complicated dashboard. Features like checklists, photos and forms help standardise how work is carried out on site, which is ideal for trades like pest control, window cleaning or small reactive maintenance jobs.

ServiceM8’s dispatch tools use GPS to show where your team is, helping you assign urgent jobs to the nearest available person. This suits trades that handle a high volume of short, reactive calls rather than longer project work – for example, locksmiths, emergency plumbers or appliance repairers. On site payment collection, SMS updates and email templates make it easy to keep customers informed and paid quickly.

For UK users, the main limitation is that ServiceM8 is not as natively tuned to VAT, CIS and some local accounting nuances as Tradify and Commusoft. It integrates with accounting software and can be configured to work, but it may require more tweaking for complex UK construction pricing. Pricing is tiered by job volume, starting at a relatively low monthly cost, which is attractive if you are just getting started or run a lean service business.

You can sign up to a free 14 day trial using our link.

Suitability by Trade

• Roofers benefit most from Tradify's material tracking and supplier POs for projects involving slating or leadwork.
• Plumbers and electricians prefer Commusoft for PPM reminders and detailed proposals in commercial maintenance.
• ServiceM8 suits HVAC or general service trades with its mobile-first GPS and quick dispatching for reactive calls.

No single system dominates all trades; choice depends on team size and job complexity.

Pricing and Setup

• Tradify starts with a 14 day free trial and quick onboarding, praised for ease by sole traders.
• Commusoft requires demos for custom pricing, best for growing firms with its depth.
• ServiceM8 uses job volume tiers from £8/month, with fast app setup but less UK tax focus. Test trials to match your workflow, as UK trades like roofing demand CIS ready tools.