QuickBooks for UK builders: what it does and what to pair it with

QuickBooks is accounting software, and for a UK builder it does the accounting side properly. It files Making Tax Digital VAT returns, e-files CIS returns to HMRC and has reverse-charge VAT codes built in. If your accountant has you on QuickBooks, keep it.

What QuickBooks isn't is job software. We couldn't find take-off, variations or a site diary in it, and its contract feature is for uploading a contract you already have. That's the job side of a loft conversion or an extension, and it's the side EstiMate does. You can run both: EstiMate for the job, QuickBooks for the books and the accountant.

So this isn't a "switch from QuickBooks" post. It's a "what goes alongside QuickBooks" post, with the honest bits about what each one does.

QuickBooks keeps the books. Who's keeping the job?

Here's the split in one line. QuickBooks knows what you invoiced, what you spent and what you owe HMRC. It doesn't hold the take-off behind your price, the optional extras the client picked, or the extras agreed on site in week three. Those are the numbers that decide whether the invoice was right in the first place.

What QuickBooks does well for a builder

• Making Tax Digital VAT returns, filed from the software (MTD software).
• CIS for contractors on Simple Start and above, while the Sole Trader plan covers subcontractors only (UK pricing, Sole Trader).
• CIS returns e-filed to HMRC "at no extra cost" (file a CIS return).
• Domestic reverse-charge codes at 20% and 5%, flowing through to the VAT return (reverse charge help).
• Estimates you can customise, sign on a mobile, track and turn into invoices, plus project and stock tracking on Plus (QuickBooks Plus).
• Upload a contract you already have and get your customer to e-sign it, from Simple Start (Simple Start).
• Payroll as an add-on: Payroll Premium is £10 a month plus £2 per employee from 15 June 2026 (payroll billing).

On the HMRC side, QuickBooks does things EstiMate doesn't. EstiMate prepares your VAT figures and keeps a CIS register, but it doesn't file VAT or CIS returns to HMRC.

Which plan, and what it costs

User caps from QuickBooks Online UK. Prices checked October 2026: QuickBooks UK prices changed during 2026, and the figures we found on Intuit's pages and elsewhere don't agree, so we're not quoting one. Check the current figure on the QuickBooks UK pricing page. Prices are per business, shown plus VAT at 20%. Intuit also announced renewal price changes for Essentials, Plus and Advanced from 1 August 2026 (Intuit notice), though that notice looks US-focused. Its UK pages point to a 30-day free trial (free trial).

Where QuickBooks stops on a building job

Pricing the job

We couldn't find take-off from drawings in QuickBooks (October 2026). An estimate there is lines you've already priced somewhere else. EstiMate Pro reads architect PDFs with AI take-off, shows which sheet each quantity came from, and drafts scope, materials and labour using your day rates and quote history. You check and edit everything; it never sends anything on its own.

The quote the client sees

QuickBooks customers can accept or decline an estimate from an emailed or shared link (Intuit's US estimates help). A UK user reports that the online version can't use custom templates (QuickBooks Community), and we couldn't confirm whether clients can pick optional extras. EstiMate's quote link lets the client accept, decline, tick optional extras or ask for amendments.

The contract

QuickBooks lets you upload a contract you already have. EstiMate writes one from the accepted quote, with payment terms, delays, responsibilities, insurance, guarantee and dispute wording, and the client signs online.

Variations and site records

We couldn't find variations, RAMS, a site diary or snagging in QuickBooks; project tracking is on Plus. In EstiMate, variations are priced from site and approved with one tap, then become signed addenda. Site records cover a diary with weather and workforce, RFIs, photos, RAMS and COSHH, with snagging pins on drawings on Pro. Job costing lives with the job too: see construction job costing software.

QuickBooks and EstiMate: who does what

How the QuickBooks export works

EstiMate exports your costs in a QuickBooks format as a file. It isn't a live sync: you, your bookkeeper or your accountant imports the file. EstiMate also gives you year-end exports for your accountant, and the Accounts tab shows P&L for any period, aged debtors and the CIS register in the meantime.

To be straight: if a direct sync with QuickBooks matters most to you, some job management apps have one, Jobber among them (Jobber QuickBooks sync). That's a fair reason to choose one. Jobber is built for home and commercial service businesses rather than building projects, though, so weigh up which side of your business costs you more time.

When QuickBooks on its own is enough

If you're a labour-only subbie on day rate, invoicing one main contractor a month with CIS deducted, you're not pricing projects or chasing variations. QuickBooks' Sole Trader plan covers you as a subcontractor, and our CIS guide covers the rules.

One thing to watch: on Trustpilot, where QuickBooks UK scores 3.7 out of 5 from about 17,000 reviews, recurring complaints include repeated price rises (one UK reviewer went from about £20.76 a month in January 2025 to £51.60 within a year) and needing a phone call to cancel (Trustpilot). On Capterra it scores 4.3 from about 8,500 reviews (Capterra).

If you're weighing QuickBooks against Xero for the books, our Xero for builders post covers the same ground for Xero.

What to do next

1. Keep QuickBooks if your accountant works in it. Ask them how they'd like your job costs sent over.
2. Price your next job in EstiMate on the free plan: three jobs a month, no card, no time limit.
3. When you move to the £15.99 plan, export the costs in QuickBooks format at month end and hand them over.

Run the job side alongside QuickBooks: start free.