Guides

Getting paid, without the hassle

The admin side of the trade is where the money leaks out — vague quotes, no deposit, invoices that drift, customers who go quiet. These guides are the practical version of getting that right, from the quote to the bank.

• How much does a single-storey extension cost? Honest 2026 numbers

  Most single-storey extensions cost £1,800–£2,500 per square metre at a standard spec — so a 20m² extension lands around £36,000–£50,000 before VAT, fees and the kitchen. What the per-metre figure hides, what actually drives the price, and how payment should be staged.

• Do you need planning permission for a house extension? The 2026 rules

  Most single-storey rear extensions don't need planning permission — up to 4m deep on a detached house in England, 3m otherwise, with different numbers in Scotland and Wales. The actual limits per nation, what strips your rights, and the two bits of paperwork you need even when planning isn't one of them.

• How much does it cost to paint a room? Honest UK prices

  A standard bedroom costs around £250–£450 to have painted professionally — walls, ceiling and woodwork, trade paint included. Why the guides disagree, what prep and dark colours really add, and what a fair day rate looks like in 2026.

• The VAT threshold trap: why turning down work in October might be the right call

  The £90,000 VAT threshold makes some traders' best year their most expensive one. How the rolling 12-month test actually works, what crossing costs when your customers are homeowners, and how to decide deliberately instead of drifting over.

• How much should an EICR cost? Honest numbers, and what moves them

  Most domestic EICRs cost £100–£350, with a typical 3-bed house at £150–£250. What the inspection involves, why circuits — not bedrooms — drive the price, what the C1/C2/C3 codes on the report mean, and the one price that should make you suspicious.

• "Cash alright?" — why paying cash isn't the favour your customer thinks it is

  Taking cash is legal. The wink that comes with it is the problem. What cash actually costs you — the missing paper trail, the income you can't prove to a lender, the penalties if you don't declare — and why card or bank transfer quietly protects you.

• Going self-employed as a tradesperson: the first-90-days admin checklist

  You've got the tools and the first jobs booked. Nobody teaches the admin. The checklist for your first 90 days self-employed: registering with HMRC, insurance, records, the tax you need to set aside, and the payments-on-account surprise nobody warns you about.

• Sending invoices and getting paid online

  The gap between finishing a job and the money landing is where most sole traders lose time — chasing bank transfers, waiting on cheques, wondering if it's crossed the post. Here's what actually closes it: a payment link on the invoice, and reminders that chase themselves.

• Does job software work without a signal?

  Plenty of field-service software claims to "work offline." Most of that is looser than it sounds. Here's what actually happens on grafter.ly when you lose signal on site — what you can still see, what needs a connection, and what happens when the signal comes back.

• Job management software for electricians: what it actually means

  "Job management software" is a vague phrase. Here's what it actually does for a sole-trader electrician — and, just as usefully, what it doesn't, and how it fits next to Checkatrade, MyBuilder, and your accountant.

• How to schedule electrical jobs without double-booking

  The diary in your head is where double-bookings, wasted mornings, and forgotten jobs come from. A practical way for sole-trader electricians to schedule work — so the week holds together without a dispatcher.

• Unpaid for a job? When small claims is worth it — and how it works in the UK

  A customer's gone quiet on an invoice and you're wondering whether court is worth the hassle. For UK tradespeople: the free step that settles most of it, how small claims actually works (it's different in Scotland), and when to let it go.

• Taking a deposit: the simplest way to stop no-shows and non-payers

  A deposit at booking is the single cheapest fix for wasted call-outs and customers who vanish when the invoice lands. Here's how much to take, how to ask for it without feeling awkward, and why the people who object are usually the ones you're glad to lose.

• Quoting electrical jobs so you actually get paid

  A practical checklist for sole-trader electricians: what to put in a quote, when to take a deposit, and how to set payment terms that get you paid on time — without the awkward conversations.

• When a customer won't pay: a UK sole trader's guide to getting paid (and not getting caught out again)

  Late payment and no-shows are part of working for yourself in the trades. Here's what your rights actually are in the UK, how to chase money without losing the plot, and the booking habits that stop it happening in the first place.

• "It didn't take you long" — when a customer wants to pay less than you quoted

  You quoted a price, did the job well, and now the customer reckons it was too quick to be worth that much. Here's why you price the result not the hour, how to stop the argument before it starts, and what to say when it happens anyway.