The ServiceM8 alternative for UK sole traders who want more work, not tidier admin.

The short answer

Scored on work won instead of admin cleared, Tradehand is the strongest ServiceM8 alternative for a UK sole trader. Tradehand answers the phone, quotes, books and chases while you are under a floor. Free includes the manual tools and the Assistant with £1 of usage a month: 5% of each payment Tradehand takes, card fees included. Paid plans from £19 a month, billed yearly. They add automation and more usage. Basic payment fees on your own jobs: From 1.25% + 20p, deducted automatically when the customer pays. Grow and Advanced have lower Tradehand payment fees.

Tradehand

Best for sole traders with a thin diary who want the phone answered

ServiceM8

Best for an iPhone crew needing job costing, assets and dispatch depth

Tradify

Best for trades who want accounting sync included on the entry plan

Powered Now

Best for certificate-heavy work needing deep UK forms

So which should you actually pick?

Where ServiceM8 wins: a mature dispatch board, asset management, job costing, and a real free plan for one user and thirty jobs a month.

Side by side

What matters	Tradehand	ServiceM8
Answers the phoneSource: ServiceM8 Phone Agent: plans and availability	Tradehand✓ Quote from your rates, held when approval is required	ServiceM8AI Phone Agent on eligible separate ServiceM8 Phone Connect Plus or Unlimited plans
Chases customers who went quietSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	Tradehand✓ Chases customers who never got a quote	ServiceM8Quote Follow-up and Automated Payment Follow-ups, every plan
CertificatesSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	Tradehand✓ Ten published types, signed PDF. Countersign only when a supervisor signs	ServiceM8Electronic Forms, from the Growing plan
Cuts the driving between jobsSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	Tradehand✓ Day optimiser reassigns jobs, you approve every swap	ServiceM8Dispatch Map, Integrated Navigation, Trip Time Tracking
Depth for a bigger crewSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	TradehandThin. Built for one trader up to five	ServiceM8✓ Asset Management, Job Costing, Staff GPS
How you are billedSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	TradehandFree, or paid plans from £19 a month, billed yearly	ServiceM8Monthly, by jobs a month, free under thirty
When you growSource: ServiceM8 UK pricing	TradehandMore only after you were paid more	ServiceM8The next job tier up at the cap

Leaving ServiceM8 without losing your records

Run both, and cancel ServiceM8 only once the alternative has earned it.

1. Day 1

   Export customers and prices

   Pull your customer list and price list out of ServiceM8. Keep the account for history.

2. Day 1

   A person does the import

   A person imports your customers and prices, then sets up your number, rates and diary.

3. Day 2 to 7

   Judge it on jobs won

   Calls to the Tradehand business number ring the saved staff phone first. A missed mobile gets one text in the business name. A missed landline reaches the assistant. Tradehand does not take over a number the business already uses.