Invoice before you leave
You say: Invoice Mrs Evans: call-out plus an hour, new fill valve £18.
The invoice has its own page and a PDF, both with your bank details, so she can pay by transfer before you’ve packed up.
The AI for plumbersInvoiced before you leave. Extras included.
Say the call-out and anything you did while you were there, and the invoice is ready before you’ve packed up. Your bank details are on it, so she can pay by transfer there and then. The evening wrap flags any job you finished but didn’t invoice.
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iPhone. First month free, no card.
Tools Down: Done. £128 for Mrs Evans.
InvoiceDraft
Toilet repair, 12 Mill Lane
Mrs Evans
- Call-out and first hour
- £85
- Fill valve
- £18
- Isolation valve under the sink
- £25
Total£128
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Heard on the forums
I give 14 days and chase when I have time
What matters on your jobs
What it does in a plumber’s day
The ten-minute extras get paid
You say: Add the isolation valve under the sink, £25, to Mrs Evans.
Say it by voice, with wet hands, as it happens. It goes on at that price, so it’s on the invoice instead of forgotten in the van.
Photos of what’s under the floor
You say: Show me the pipework photos from Mill Lane.
Take photos before the boards go back. They’re filed on the job, and when the leak question comes back in six months, ask and they’re there.
Planned jobs quoted and followed up
You say: Quote the Carters for a new vented cylinder, £1,150.
A quote page they accept in one tap. One with no answer for a week is in the evening wrap.
Price and the free plan
Made for one. Priced for one.
£29.99 a month including VAT, or £24.99 if you reclaim VAT. One person, no minimum, no setup fee, no training.
- Your first month is free, with no card.
- After that you’re on the Free plan: 50 messages a month to Tools Down, and every screen keeps working.
- Tools Down Pro is paid monthly through Apple. It lifts the message limit.
- Fair use applies on every plan, with limits set far above what one person books or asks for in a month.
Tools Down for iPhone
Coming soon on the App StoreFirst month free, no card.
Straight answers
Questions plumbers ask
Can I invoice on the spot?
Yes. Say the job and the extras and it makes the invoice: a page and a PDF, both with your bank details, shared before you leave. She pays by bank transfer.
Do I need to tell the water company before fitting something?
For some fittings in England and Wales, yes: for example a bath over 230 litres, a bidet with an ascending spray or flexible hose, or a pump drawing more than 12 litres a minute (Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999, reg 5). Approved contractors are exempt for some items.
Can a customer cancel after I’ve fixed an emergency leak?
A visit they asked for to carry out urgent repairs is outside the 14-day right to cancel (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, reg 28(1)(e)). Planned work agreed at their home still carries the right.
Does it chase letting agents?
Yes. Reminders at 3, 7 and 14 days: emailed once you’ve said so, or ready to send from your phone.
Does it do gas safety records?
Yes, for Gas Safe registered engineers. If you’re not Gas Safe registered, you can’t do gas work at all (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 3).
Paperwork and rules
The rules around your work
Information, not advice. Open a rule to read it, with its source; check the source for your own job.
Notify the water company firstEngland and Wales
Some installations need notice and consent first, including a bath of more than 230 litres, a bidet with an ascending spray or flexible hose, and a pump or booster drawing more than 12 litres a minute. Approved contractors are exempt for some items.
Gas work needs Gas Safe registrationEngland, Wales and Scotland
Connecting or disconnecting a gas cooker, hob or boiler is gas work; a plumber who isn’t Gas Safe registered can’t do it.
Unvented cylindersEngland
Installing an unvented system is notifiable before work starts, unless the installer is in a competent person scheme for unvented systems.
Bathrooms and sanitarywareEngland and Wales
Installing a bathroom that involves plumbing may need approval; replacing baths, toilets, basins and sinks needs none.
Emergency call-outs and the right to cancelUK
A visit the customer asked for to carry out urgent repairs is outside the 14-day right to cancel. A planned job agreed in their home still carries it.
CIS on a builder’s jobUK
Installing water and heating systems for a contractor is construction work under CIS.
Your work
The jobs you quote and invoice
- Leaks, bursts and water through the ceiling
- Running toilets, fill and flush valves
- Dripping taps and seized stopcocks
- Outside taps and isolation valves
- Washing machine and dishwasher connections
- Sink and tap swaps, water softeners
- Vented and unvented cylinders
- Bathroom first and second fix
- Landlord and insurance work
How the money comes in
- Reactive work paid on the day: a call-out or first hour, then time and parts.
- Emergency and out-of-hours rates that differ from daytime.
- Letting agents order the work and pay later; the tenant is the one who lets you in.
- Deposits only for planned installs where parts are ordered.
Keep looking
More on what it does for you
- QuotesMade in your business’s name from what you say, and followed up when it goes quiet.
- InvoicesDeposits and stages taken off the final, with CIS, the reverse charge and VAT set by customer.
- Payment remindersReminders at 3, 7 and 14 days: emailed for you once you’ve said so, or ready to send from your phone.
Free guides and templates
- Free invoice templateInvoice number, dates, priced lines with VAT shown correctly, when it’s due and your bank details.
- How to chase an unpaid invoice without falling out with the customerFriendly messages for day 3, 7 and 14, when to ring instead, and what the law says when a business customer pays late.
- What should a trade quote include?The checklist: who it’s from and who it’s for, the work, the price with VAT shown clearly, how long it stands and how you’re paid.
Other trades, and how it compares
- Heating engineersBoiler quotes sent from the drive, deposit, stage and balance from one job, the install remembered.
- Bathroom fittersThe quote, the deposit, the stages and the balance for one big job, with the extras written down.
- Gas engineersLandlord gas safety records with no signal, and next year’s check already lined up.
- Apps for tradespeople, comparedTools Down beside Tradify, Fergus, ServiceM8, Jobber and more, with sources.
- All tradesEvery trade page in one place.