TradedocComparison
TradeDoc AI vs Tradify: which actually fits a UK sole trader?
Tradify is proper job-management software — scheduling, timesheets, teams, accounting sync, at ~£34/month per user. TradeDoc AI is documents only, with AI-generated quotes and every UK compliance cert — free for your first 100 docs a month, Pro £15/month. Here's the honest side-by-side.
No card required
The 30-second verdict
Pick Tradify if…
- • You've got staff or subcontractors to schedule
- • You need timesheets, job assignment, team permissions
- • You want Xero or QuickBooks sync today
- • Your main pain is juggling jobs, not writing documents
Pick TradeDoc if…
- • You're a sole trader — no staff to schedule
- • You lose jobs because your quote goes out too slow
- • You issue compliance certs (CP12, EIC, EICR, MW)
- • You'd rather pay nothing up front — Free covers 100 docs a month
Rule of thumb: if you employ anyone, Tradify's scheduling is worth the premium. If it's just you, you're paying for weight you won't use.
Feature-by-feature
Pricing is taken from Tradify's public pricing page. If anything here is out of date, email us and we'll fix it.
What are you actually paying for?
The price gap between Tradify and TradeDoc is mostly about scope — not capability. Here's what each actually covers.
- Shared calendar + job scheduling across a team
- Timesheets and labour tracking
- Customer portal
- Live Xero and QuickBooks accounting sync
- AI-generated quotes from a one-line job description
- Dedicated CP12, EIC, EICR, and Minor Works builders
- CIS-compliant invoices with correct labour/materials split
- Construction Act 1996 stage-payment schedules built in
- 100 documents a month at zero cost, with no card at sign-up
- Pro is roughly £228/year saved at the single-user level vs Tradify
Tradify is built for small trade businesses with teams. TradeDoc is built for the one man in the van who just wants the quote sent before the next job.
Moving from Tradify to TradeDoc
If you've decided Tradify is more tool than you need, here's the sequence most sole traders follow. Usually takes under 20 minutes.
- 1Export your customer list from TradifyTradify → settings → export customers to CSV. This is the data worth keeping — everything else (jobs, schedule) usually isn't needed after the switch.
- 2Download any past quotes or certs you'll need againTradify → jobs → document export. Save the PDFs to your phone or computer for your records.
- 3Sign up to TradeDoc (no card required)Free forever on your first 100 docs a month. Full access to quotes, CP12s, EICs, MWs, EICRs, CIS invoices, and stage schedules from minute one.
- 4Import your customer listCSV upload. Trading names, addresses, emails — all carried over so you're not retyping anything.
- 5Cancel Tradify once you've sent your first TradeDoc quote successfullyDon't cancel immediately. Run both for a week, make sure your quotes and certs look the way you want them, then cancel Tradify from their billing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tradify overkill for a one-man band?+
Often yes. Tradify is built around scheduling, timesheets, and team management — features a sole trader with no employees rarely uses. You end up paying ~£34/month for a CRM you barely touch. TradeDoc is built for the single tradesman: one person, five kinds of document, two-minute turnaround. Free for the first 100 docs a month, Pro £15 only if you want branding and one-tap email. If you have no staff and no fleet, Tradify's strengths are mostly unused weight on the bill.
What does Tradify do that TradeDoc doesn't?+
Job scheduling, a shared calendar for staff, timesheets, team permissions, customer portals, and Xero/QuickBooks sync. If you run a small crew and need to assign jobs and track hours across multiple engineers, Tradify is genuinely useful. TradeDoc deliberately doesn't do any of that — it's a documents tool, not a job-management system.
What does TradeDoc do that Tradify doesn't?+
AI quote generation from a short job description, dedicated UK compliance documents (CP12, EIC, EICR, Minor Works), CIS-compliant invoices with the labour/materials split formatted correctly, and Construction Act 1996 stage-payment schedules with the statutory payment mechanism built in. Tradify supports custom forms, but there's a real difference between a blank form template and a dedicated CP12 that knows every Regulation 36 field.
Can I use both?+
Yes, and some tradespeople do — Tradify for scheduling, TradeDoc for the documents. It's not a common setup because of the cost stack, but it's possible. Most sole traders pick one based on whether their real pain is scheduling (Tradify) or paperwork speed and compliance docs (TradeDoc).
Which is better value for a gas engineer or electrician?+
TradeDoc, usually. Gas Safe and NICEIC/NAPIT-registered tradespeople send far more compliance documents than quotes — CP12s, EICs, EICRs, Minor Works. Those are TradeDoc's core, generated with every field in the right place. Tradify handles them as generic custom forms, which means you do the compliance work yourself and hope you got it right.
How do I move my Tradify data into TradeDoc?+
Export your customer list from Tradify (settings → export), and any past quote PDFs you want to keep. Import the customer list into TradeDoc in a couple of minutes. From there, every new quote or cert is generated in TradeDoc. Because TradeDoc stores everything in your account permanently, you don't lose access to past documents if you ever cancel.
TradeDoc is free. Upgrade only if it earns it.
First 100 documents a month are free — every doc type a UK tradesman sends. Pro at £15/month adds custom branding, one-tap customer email, and unlimited docs. No card at sign-up.