Free tools and calculators for tradespeople
Calculators and generators for the money side of a one-person trade business: VAT and CIS, late payment interest, day rates, deposits and invoices. No signup, no card, no catch. Everything runs in your browser. If you'd rather never fill in a form twice, the SoloDesks free plan remembers your clients and prices for you.
Pricing the job
Work out what the job should cost before you write the number down.
Day rate calculator
What should you charge per day and per hour? Worked out from your income target, time off and real business costs.
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Markup vs margin calculator
30% markup is not 30% profit. Enter your cost and the margin you want, get the price to put on the quote.
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Deposit calculator
How much to ask for up front so a cancelled job never leaves you out of pocket on materials. With the exact line to say.
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What you owe
Tax, VAT and CIS: the money that was never really yours to spend.
Tax set-aside calculator
How much of every payment is actually yours? Get a percentage to move to savings so the tax bill never ambushes you.
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VAT calculator
Add VAT to a price or find the VAT hidden inside a total. Net, VAT and gross laid out clearly, at 20%, 5% or any rate.
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CIS deduction calculator
Working under CIS? See what the contractor holds back from your labour and what actually lands in your bank.
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Getting paid
Raise it, send it, and chase it when it goes quiet.
Invoice & quote generator
Type the job, download a professional PDF invoice or quote, with VAT and CIS if you need them. Built in your browser, nothing uploaded.
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Late payment calculator
A client is weeks late. Work out the interest you can add and copy a ready-made line for your reminder message.
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Payment reminder generator
Chasing an overdue invoice? Fill in the details, pick friendly, firm or final, and get a message ready to send.
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Prefer a blank one to fill in yourself? The free UK invoice template comes in Word, Excel, PDF and Google Docs.
The rates these tools use, 2026/27
Every calculator on this page reads these figures from one file, so the number in the tool and the number in this table are the same number. When a rate changes, both change together.
| Rate | Current figure (2026/27) |
|---|---|
| VAT, standard rate | 20% |
| VAT, reduced rate | 5% |
| CIS, registered subcontractor | 20% of labour |
| CIS, not registered | 30% of labour |
| CIS, gross payment status | 0% |
| Bank of England base rate | 3.75% |
| Statutory late payment interest | 11.75% (base rate plus 8 points) |
| Late payment fixed fee | £40 to £100, by size of debt |
Sources: VAT rates, the Construction Industry Scheme and late commercial payments on GOV.UK, plus the Bank of England base rate as at 30 July 2026. A general guide, not tax, legal or financial advice. Confirm any figure with HMRC or your accountant before you rely on it.
Last checked: July 2026
Working out what to charge
A calculator gives you the number. These explain which number to put in it, and what to do when the customer pushes back on it.
- How to write a quote that wins the jobWhat a trade quote needs, why itemising parts and labour wins more work, and how fast you have to send it. A practical guide for sole traders.
- How to price an end-of-tenancy cleanA pricing method for end-of-tenancy cleaning: base rate by property size, condition multiplier, itemised add-ons, and how to quote agents professionally.
- How to work out your hourly rate when you're self-employedA simple method to set your hourly or day rate: start from what you need to earn, count only the hours you can actually bill, and add the hidden costs.
- How much deposit should you take on a job?When to ask for a deposit, how much to take so it covers your materials rather than your profit, and how to put it in writing without scaring the customer off.
- How to price materials: markup and margin, explainedWhy you mark up materials, the costly difference between markup and margin, and what to add so parts don't quietly eat the profit on every job you do.