Best software for plumbers and heating engineers in the UK

There are two kinds of plumbing and heating business, and they need different software. One lives on servicing, breakdowns and landlord gas safety records: hundreds of short visits a year, annual reminders, engineers in vans. The other does installs: bathroom refits, full system replacements, heat pumps, an en suite in a loft conversion. Fewer jobs, bigger money, and more paperwork before and after.

If you're the first kind, a field-service tool with gas forms will suit you better than EstiMate, and Powered Now, Commusoft, Joblogic or ServiceM8 are where to look. EstiMate does not issue gas safety certificates (CP12) or any other gas or electrical certificate, and it isn't a dispatch tool. A 30-engineer boiler-servicing company should buy something built for that. If you're the second kind, and especially if you price installs from drawings and take stage payments, EstiMate is built for you.

Which kind of firm are you?

• Gas safety records and servicing: look first at Powered Now or Commusoft.
• Planned maintenance contracts: Joblogic or Commusoft.
• Call-outs on a tight budget: ServiceM8.
• A mix of short jobs and small installs: Fergus.
• Heat pumps and renewables: Payaca.
• Bathroom refits and heating installs priced as projects: EstiMate.

What they cost

Prices checked October 2026: Powered Now, Fergus, ServiceM8, Joblogic, Commusoft and Payaca. We couldn't confirm whether Fergus or Joblogic quote prices with or without VAT, and Payaca's pricing snapshots conflicted. Powered Now's pricing page and help centre disagree on how extra users are charged, so ask. EstiMate's prices are per business and are what you pay.

1. EstiMate: best for installers who price jobs as projects

A bathroom refit or a full heating system is priced, contracted and paid for like a small building job. EstiMate gives every quote a material and labour breakdown. On Pro, quote memory records every material price, labour package and margin you use, and autocomplete suggests your last price for any item, so the cost of a combi or a run of 22mm copper isn't something you look up twice. Supplier RFQs and AI merchant price comparison are on Pro too.

The client accepts online and ticks the extras they want, such as underfloor heating in the en suite, and the accepted quote becomes a contract they sign. Payment milestones are on the £15.99 plan, and Pro adds deposits paid online at acceptance. When they change the tiles halfway through, you price the variation from site and they approve it on a link. Our guide to stage payments and deposits covers how to set them up.

2. Powered Now: best for gas engineers who want the tax side in the same app

Powered Now has more than 80 forms and certificates, gas-heavy and CP12 included (forms). It does CIS and reverse-charge VAT natively, and Professional and Premium send MTD VAT returns to HMRC, which EstiMate does not. Premium adds a customer portal where clients can book appointments, plus appointment reminders and automatic quote and invoice chasing (Premium tier).

Business is £28 a month ex VAT for one user, with a 14-day trial. Some Trustpilot reviewers complain about annual auto-renewals; the company replies that plans renew annually and reminders are sent (Trustpilot). We compare it in EstiMate vs Powered Now.

3. Commusoft: best for heating companies with an office and several engineers

Commusoft is UK-based and strong on heating and plumbing work, including certificates such as CP12 (Commusoft CP12). It has service plans, maintenance contracts, an engineer app and a customer portal where customers accept quotes, pay deposits and download certificates. It links to Sage, QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent and KashFlow.

It's sold per licence on a 12-month contract that renews each year, with a licence for every office user, manager and engineer. Some reviewers say it's hard to cut licences or cancel mid-contract (Capterra). For a firm with a dozen engineers and an office team, it's the kind of tool to shortlist. See our Commusoft alternative post.

4. Joblogic: best for planned maintenance contracts

Joblogic is UK software, based in Birmingham, for maintenance contractors in gas, HVAC, plumbing and more, with certificates, planned preventative maintenance and a customer portal where clients approve multi-section quotes (portal link). It syncs live with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage 50. Standard is from £45 per user a month, billed annually. One recurring Capterra complaint is that features shown as standard turned out to be paid Marketplace add-ons (Capterra). See Joblogic vs EstiMate.

5. Fergus: best for a mixed plumbing firm that wants AI and Xero

Fergus has a plumbing page that describes Essentials as for smaller teams and Pro as adding advanced job costing, reporting and automation (Fergus plumbing). Fergus Pay takes card or QR payments, invoices can go by percentage or by quote section, and variations are linked child jobs. Fergus AI drafts quotes and flags un-invoiced work. Essentials is from £39 and Pro from £45 per full user, though some Fergus pages show Essentials at £35, so check the live page. If ServiceM8 is your other option, read Fergus vs ServiceM8.

6. ServiceM8: best for one-van plumbers starting out

The free plan gives one user 30 jobs a month, and paid plans start at £25 ex VAT for 50 jobs with unlimited users. Clients approve quotes online and can sign remotely (quote signatures). Two things to know: it can't create credit notes, which you do in your accounting package (ServiceM8 support), and for reverse-charge invoices the tax rates come from Xero or QuickBooks or are set up by hand, with the wording added yourself through a separate invoice template (ServiceM8 DRC help). More in ServiceM8 vs EstiMate.

7. Payaca: best for heat-pump and solar installers

Payaca is UK software for solar, heat-pump, battery and EV-charger installers, with MCS and DNO paperwork in the job workflow. Clients compare packages side by side, pick extras, watch the total update and sign from a link (Payaca quoting). It's demo-led and priced for install businesses: the latest UK page showed Growth at £1,199 a month for 25 users, with the Accelerator at £299 a month for 12 months for qualifying new firms of up to 8 users. We compare it in Payaca vs EstiMate.

What to do next

1. Count last month's jobs. A hundred short visits points to a field-service tool. A dozen installs points to EstiMate.
2. If you do both, it's sensible to keep gas paperwork in one app and price installs in another. Just be clear which app owns which job.
3. Read our field service software vs construction software post before you commit to a long contract.

If your next job is a bathroom refit, start free and price it in EstiMate tonight.