YourTradebase alternative for UK builders: EstiMate compared

YourTradebase is a good UK app for small trade firms, and it gets things right that some bigger names miss. It does CIS deductions and the domestic reverse charge natively on invoices, and customers can accept a quote online with a signature. If you mainly need tidy quotes, invoices, a diary and timesheets, it's a sensible choice.

Where it stops is the project. If you build extensions, convert lofts or do full refits, you also need a contract the client signs, variations they approve before you do the work, proper site records, and accounts you can read without sending everything somewhere else. That's the gap EstiMate fills.

Quick answer: a small trade business doing quote, job, invoice will be well served by YourTradebase. A builder or contractor running projects with stages, variations and subbies will get more from EstiMate.

What YourTradebase does well

YourTradebase is a trading name of Forty Two Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (YourTradebase terms, privacy policy). It covers quotes, invoices, job sheets, scheduling, timesheets and job costing (YourTradebase). The parts a UK builder will care about:

• CIS deductions on invoices at 0%, 20% or 30%, worked out from the labour total, with a default per customer (YourTradebase help);
• reverse charge VAT on selected invoices or all of them, taking VAT off the total and adding a reverse-charge note (YourTradebase help);
• online quotes the customer can view, accept or decline, with a setting that asks for a signature on acceptance (YourTradebase help);
• a scheduling calendar with day, week, month and team views (YourTradebase);
• a Xero sync that includes CIS deductions (YourTradebase help), and a one-way QuickBooks sync of customers, invoices and payments (YourTradebase help).

Its users rate it highly: 4.9 out of 5 from 59 reviews on Capterra and 4.8 from 62 on Trustpilot (Capterra, Trustpilot). One caveat on the Capterra score: many of those reviews date from around 2020, and the site discloses that many reviewers were invited by the vendor and given a small incentive.

A business plan, plus users

YourTradebase lists its plan from £29 a month, or £290 a year ("12 months for the price of 10"), with additional users at £15 a month each (YourTradebase pricing). Prices exclude VAT (YourTradebase terms). There's no contract and a 30-day free trial with no card. After the trial, the account drops to a free account "which has some usage limits". We couldn't find what those limits are, so check before you rely on it.

To be fair to them, that £29 only arrived in September 2025, up from £25, and YourTradebase called it its first price change in six years (YourTradebase blog). That's a steady hand on pricing.

Prices checked October 2026, as listed on YourTradebase's pricing page and EstiMate's pricing page. EstiMate's prices are what you pay, with a VAT receipt for every payment.

A worked example. A three-person firm with everyone set up as a YourTradebase user, assuming the £29 plan covers one person, pays £29 + (2 × £15) = £59 a month, ex VAT. On EstiMate Pro the business pays £39.99 (EstiMate's prices are what you pay) for one office login, and your crew log time, photos and diary entries through the Site Crew app without full accounts. That's not seat for seat. If all three need separate office logins with roles, that's EstiMate Corp, from £249, and YourTradebase is much cheaper for that. One caveat in YourTradebase's favour: its pricing page doesn't say whether the £15 applies to office users, field staff or both, so ask what your team would actually cost.

Where a builder needs more

"Not found" below means we searched YourTradebase's site and help centre in October 2026 and found nothing. Ask them if it matters to you.

Contracts and variations

YourTradebase job sheets can record "changes and extras" (YourTradebase), but we didn't find a formal variation and approval workflow, or a contract builder beyond the signature on the quote. On a kitchen fit you'll get away with that. On a two-storey side extension, the variation is where the margin goes. In EstiMate the accepted quote becomes a contract with payment terms, delays, insurance and dispute wording, signed online. Each change is priced on site and approved by the client from a link, becomes a signed addendum, and updates the contract total and invoices. See our variation software page.

Optional extras

YourTradebase has optional quote items, shown separately and left out of the total. Its help centre says that when such a quote is accepted, the business is prompted to choose which items to add (YourTradebase help). In EstiMate the client ticks the extras they want on the quote link themselves (the oak floor, the extra socket run, the upgraded tiles) before they accept. Less phoning back and forth.

Site paperwork

YourTradebase's own blog points readers to a separate tool, HANDS HQ, for RAMS (YourTradebase blog). EstiMate includes RAMS, COSHH, permits and a site document pack on the £15.99 plan, and its site records cover a daily diary with weather and workforce, RFIs and quality inspections.

Accounts

YourTradebase syncs to Xero and QuickBooks, and one Software Advice reviewer says accounting is "the only place it's lacking" (Software Advice). EstiMate's Accounts tab gives you P&L for any period, VAT return figures, a CIS register, aged debtors and bank statement import, with year-end exports for your accountant. Be clear on the trade-off, though: YourTradebase has a Xero sync with CIS included, while EstiMate exports files in Xero and QuickBooks formats. More on our accounting features.

AI and leads

We couldn't find any AI features at YourTradebase (October 2026); its quoting pages describe templates, saved price lists and automatic follow-ups (YourTradebase). On EstiMate Pro, the AI quote writer drafts scope, materials and labour from a description, drawings, photos or a voice note, and AI take-off reads architect PDFs. You check and edit everything. EstiMate also lets you search live UK tenders free on any plan, and its TenderPilot tool turns every council's planning register into local leads.

Who YourTradebase suits

• small trade firms whose jobs are mostly quote, do, invoice;
• anyone who wants CIS and reverse charge on invoices plus a Xero sync that carries CIS;
• teams who want a long trial before they commit;
• businesses that don't need contracts, variations or site records.

How to switch

1. Open a free EstiMate account. No card, no time limit, three jobs a month.
2. Export your customer list from YourTradebase (check their help centre for the current steps).
3. On Pro, import your old quotes with AI so quote memory picks up your prices.
4. Run your next project end to end: quote link, contract, variations, invoices.
5. Cancel YourTradebase. There's no contract, but if you paid annually, note the renewal date.

Comparing the two UK names side by side? Read Powered Now vs YourTradebase.

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