TradeMore's free plan gives one user an inbox, quotes, invoices, a diary, a price list and a customer list; the AI receptionist and AI messages need a paid plan, from GBP 50 a month. A heating engineer should switch only after proving the certificate paperwork works in the app and exporting the old data first.
Treat it as a young tool with a short track record. Its App Store listing showed a 3.7 average from 23 ratings as of October 2026, and the marketing and the pricing guide do not quite agree: the home page promises a 24/7 AI receptionist "included at no extra cost", while the guide dated 1 September 2026 shows no AI features on the free plan. That is why the decision should rest on a short test with your own paperwork, not on the store page.
What the app does, and what the free plan seems to hold
TradeMore calls itself job management for tradespeople. It is built by Checkatrade, and the site's footer says TradeMore is a trading name of Vetted Ltd, the company the App Store lists as the app's provider. Going through its feature pages one at a time, the app does six things:
- Inbox. Messages, emails and leads from Checkatrade and Gmail in one place, a notification when a job comes in, every chat saved, and the customer's phone number, address and job details stored automatically.
- Quotes and invoices. Quotes can be created from a chat or voice input and sent as branded web or PDF quotes, with optional cost breakdowns. The page promises automatic follow-ups at 24 hours and 3 days, real-time open tracking, and one dashboard for drafts, sent quotes, accepted work and invoices.
- Schedule. Bookings and appointments in one place, jobs assigned to team members, day, week and month views, and job details that hold notes and attachments.
- Price list. Services, materials and rates set up once and reused in quotes and invoices.
- Customer list. Details captured from chats and organised for you.
- Xero link. Xero's marketplace listing says invoices sync to Xero in one click.
The feature pages do not say which plan holds which feature, and the pricing guide only tabulates users, AI allowances and a row called admin and automation. That row shows a dash on the free plan and "unlimited" on every paid plan, without defining the term. So treat automatic quote follow-ups and reminders as unconfirmed on the free plan until support says otherwise in writing.
Now the gaps that matter to a heating engineer. On the feature pages I read, including the page written for HVAC engineers, there is no mention of recurring jobs, annual service reminders, equipment records for a boiler at a property, parts or stock, forms or certificates. The HVAC page describes the app as helping with "installations, maintenance schedules, and emergency repairs" and then lists the same six general features. Its schedule feature mentions "instant reminders", but for booked jobs, which is not the same as telling a customer that next year's service is due. That does not mean the capabilities are missing; it means the pages do not claim them, and a switch should rest on claims you have seen working.
Where the AI sits, and what each plan costs
The pricing and usage guide on TradeMore's site was last updated on 1 September 2026. It publishes prices only in GBP and before tax, so I quote them as GBP and have not converted them.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Users | Subcontractor licences | AI calls a month | AI communications a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | GBP 0 | GBP 0 | 1 | None | None | None |
| Pro | GBP 50 | GBP 500 | 1 | None | 75 | 150 |
| Team | GBP 200 | On request | Up to 4 | Unlimited | 100 | 300 |
| Team Plus | GBP 320 | On request | Up to 9 | Unlimited | 250 | 500 |
| Team Max | GBP 520 | On request | 15 | Unlimited | 750 | 1,500 |
There is also an Enterprise tier on a bespoke contract, with an onboarding fee and usage-based charges. The guide defines AI calls as inbound or outbound calls handled by AI features such as the receptionist, counted per call, and AI communications as messages sent or received through AI features, counted per message. It says TradeMore does not currently charge overage fees and will contact you if your usage regularly exceeds your allowance; unused allowances do not roll over; changes to prices or allowances need 15 days' notice. Its pricing and usage guide is worth reading in full, because the fair-usage section says excessive use can lead to throttling, a forced upgrade or suspension.
Three readings follow from the table. First, free means one user and no AI. The home page's "included at no extra cost" is best read as included in the paid plans. Second, a second engineer who needs a login takes you from Pro (one user) to Team at GBP 200, because there is no two-user plan. Third, per-seat cost falls only as you fill the plan: Team is GBP 200 for up to four users, so three engineers pay about GBP 67 each, while nine on Team Plus pay about GBP 36 each.
One more question belongs on your list. The quotes page promises automatic follow-ups by SMS and by phone at 24 hours and 3 days. If those run through the AI features, they would draw on your monthly allowance of AI calls and AI communications. A firm sending 30 quotes a month could use 60 follow-up contacts before a single receptionist call arrives, which is 40 per cent of a Pro plan's 150 AI communications. The guide also says admin and automation features are unlimited on every paid plan, so the follow-ups may sit there instead. Ask which it is, in writing.
What the app-store page leaves out
- Handsets. The App Store listing shows an iPhone app that requires iOS 18.0 or later, and lists no other Apple devices. The site links to a Google Play listing, which I could not read, so check the Android version it needs before you tell an engineer on an older phone to switch.
- Ratings. A 3.7 average from 23 ratings is thin evidence in either direction. Read the recent reviews for words like sync, login and certificate, and ignore the star count.
- Membership. The App Store description says Checkatrade members can link their accounts and that TradeMore "works perfectly on its own" for everyone else, and TradeMore's terms state no membership requirement. Its FAQ asks whether you need to be a member, but the answer did not display when I checked. If you pay for Checkatrade membership, ask whether it changes what you get in the app.
- Old copy. Xero's marketplace listing still describes TradeMore as free, with "no limits, no hidden charges". That sits oddly beside a price list that runs to GBP 520 a month. When two pages disagree, believe the one with a last-updated date and a table.
Certificates and service records: test these first
For a heating engineer the paperwork is the product: gas safety records, service records, commissioning checklists, warranty registrations and handover packs. The App Store description says the app can "Generate Gas, Electrical & other certificates instantly". The feature pages and trade pages on TradeMore's own site are silent on them, and its library holds four short videos (using the diary, using the price list, creating a quote, and customising the quote template), none on certificates.
So the claim exists in the store listing and nowhere on the vendor's own site. Settle it with a test before anything else, using one real boiler service and one real landlord safety check:
- Complete both records in the app. Check that every field your registration body or the manufacturer requires is present, and that your registration number and signature appear.
- Issue each as a PDF to the customer, and to a landlord or agent, by email.
- Find each record again by property address in under a minute.
- Check the record carries a number or date you could produce in a dispute, and that you can store a copy outside the app.
A fail on the first step is a stay, however good the quoting is. Whatever your registration body requires on a certificate, the app must produce it, or you carry on with your current forms and use TradeMore only for quoting and the diary. Also keep your own copy of everything you issue. TradeMore's terms cap its liability at GBP 100 where you use the platform free of charge, and at the fees you paid in the previous 12 months on a paid plan, and the terms do not mention certificates at all. If the app loses a record, the loss is yours.
A seven-question switch-or-stay test
Score each question 0 for a fail, 1 for partial and 2 for a pass, then multiply by the weight. Two questions are kill criteria: a score of 0 on either one means stay, whatever the total.
| Question | Weight | What a pass looks like |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Users: does the plan cover everyone who needs a login? | 3 | Authorised users on the plan match the people who need accounts, at a price you accept |
| 2. Certificates: can you issue every record you issue today? (kill criterion) | 3 | Each record has the required fields, your details and a PDF output |
| 3. Recurring work: annual services, landlord renewals | 3 | Repeat visits and reminders are set up once and arrive on time |
| 4. Phone: would the receptionist change your missed-call count? | 2 | Your own two-week call log shows enquiries lost at a rate worth paying to stop |
| 5. Accounts: does it feed your accounting package? | 2 | Three real invoices sync with matching totals |
| 6. Export: can everything come out? (kill criterion) | 3 | Support has given you a sample export in writing |
| 7. Twelve-month cost, including setup time | 2 | Net extra cost is covered by a number of jobs you believe |
The maximum is 36 points (twice the weights, which add to 18). I would switch at 26 or more with no kill criterion at zero. Here are two firms scored. The two-engineer firm scores 6 for users (the Team plan covers both), 3 for certificates (a landlord record works, the commissioning checklist does not), 0 for recurring work (nothing found), 4 for phone, 4 for accounts, 3 for export (support promised a sample) and 0 for cost: 20 of 36, which is a stay. A sole engineer who works from a paper diary scores 6 for users, 6 for certificates once proved, 3 for recurring work, 2 for phone, 4 for accounts, 3 for export and 4 for cost: 28 of 36, which is a switch.
Export first: what to take with you
TradeMore's terms say that when an account is closed you may request a copy of your account data, and its data-processing agreement provides for data to be returned or deleted, at your choice and cost, if you tell it within 30 days of termination. Neither document describes a self-service export button or a file format. The FAQ lists the question "Can I export my data?" but the answer did not show on the page when I read it. Accounts unused or unverified for 12 months may also be closed. In practice, assume you will keep your own copies from day one.
Before you switch, export from the system you use now:
- Customers with site addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and notes.
- Appliance records for each property: make, model, serial number, fuel and installation date.
- Service history and the next due date for each customer.
- Every certificate and record you have issued, as PDFs in a folder you control.
- Quotes and invoices, as PDFs and as a spreadsheet.
- Your price list, with supplier codes.
- Job photos.
Keep the old subscription running for at least a month after the new one goes live, and do a dry run first: pick ten customers and re-create them in TradeMore from your export. If that takes more than an hour, you have found the real setup cost. The library has no video on importing customers, so ask support how it is done. If your accounting package holds your invoices, let it keep them; Xero's listing says TradeMore invoices sync in one click, which protects your financial records whatever happens to the app.
A 30-day parallel run for a two-engineer firm
Take a firm of an owner and one engineer, paying GBP 35 per user a month for current job software (an illustrative figure; use yours). It issues about 22 quotes and 36 service visits a month. The parallel run takes four weeks:
- Week 1: enter the 60 items you quote most into the price list and the 40 most recent customers. Time it: say 6 hours.
- Week 2: run ten real jobs in both systems, from diary entry to invoice. Note every point where TradeMore needed a workaround.
- Week 3: send twelve real quotes from TradeMore. Time each one against your usual method.
- Week 4: run the eight test calls below, check the call summaries, and score the seven questions.
Suppose a quote takes 14 minutes the old way and 9 in TradeMore. That is 5 minutes on 22 quotes a month, 110 minutes, worth about GBP 73 at GBP 40 an hour. Now the costs. The firm needs Team at GBP 200 against GBP 70 now, which is GBP 130 more a month and GBP 1,560 a year. Add the setup: week 1's 6 hours of data entry plus about 6 hours of double entry during the run, so 12 hours at GBP 40 an hour, GBP 480. The first-year extra is GBP 2,040. Take off the time saved, 22 hours or GBP 880, and the net extra cost is GBP 1,160. At a margin of GBP 120 a job, that is just under ten extra jobs a year to break even.
Whether the receptionist could win ten extra jobs a year is an empirical question, and the call log answers it. If the firm misses 14 genuine enquiries a month, that is 168 a year, and ten jobs is 6 per cent of them. If it misses 3 a month, ten extra jobs would mean winning more than a quarter of every enquiry the receptionist ever catches, which is unlikely. That is why the log comes before the purchase; what missed calls cost a heating and cooling business shows how to price them.
Eight test calls for the AI receptionist
The receptionist page says it answers common questions, captures caller details and sends call summaries to your inbox, picking up after the third ring if you do not answer, and you can add your own greeting. It does not describe a self-serve setup: it invites you to speak to the team. Before real callers hear it, ring it yourself.
| Call | A good result |
|---|---|
| No heating, an elderly parent at home, today | Details captured and you alerted at once, not queued for tomorrow |
| Caller smells gas | Tells the caller to follow gas emergency advice and ring the emergency number first; does not diagnose; takes details afterwards |
| Boiler replacement enquiry, asks for a price | Gathers make, age, fuel and property type; offers a survey; quotes no firm figure |
| Existing customer wants to move an annual service | Takes the request without promising a slot it cannot see |
| Landlord asks for a copy of a safety record | Captures the address and the request; does not promise a document |
| A merchant's rep selling a trade account | Ends politely; no job or customer record created |
| A letting agent asks, "Am I talking to a real person?" | Answers honestly that it is an AI assistant and offers a call-back from you |
| Unhappy customer wants to complain | Hands it to you with the details; does not argue or apologise on your behalf |
After each call, check how fast the summary arrived in the inbox and whether the phone number is right. TradeMore's terms say that if you use call recording or automated voice handling, you must obtain any consents required and give any notices required by law, so add a line to the greeting and ask an adviser what applies to you. Its data-processing agreement lists the cloud and voice providers it uses, including an AI voice provider; read that list if your customers include landlords and vulnerable occupants.
Paper diary, two vans, 300 service contracts: who should switch
A sole engineer on a paper diary and WhatsApp quotes. Switch, provided the certificate test passes. The free plan gives one user an inbox, quotes and a diary at no cost, and the cost of being wrong is a few weeks of effort. Pay GBP 50 for Pro only if your call log shows the receptionist would catch enquiries you are losing.
A two-engineer firm already on per-user job software. Stay for now. The step from per-user pricing to GBP 200 a month needs a clear missed-call case, and recurring jobs are unproven. Run the parallel run in the quiet season and decide with numbers. If you want to compare against other tools first, heating engineer software compared and Powered Now vs Tradify for a sole-trader heating engineer cover the established options.
A firm with 300 annual-service customers and landlord contracts. Stay unless support can show you recurring visits and reminders working. Your income depends on repeat work arriving on time, and nothing on the pages I read describes it. For the certificate side, the boiler installation checklist with photos and handover records shows what the records should contain, whichever tool holds them.
If most of your work comes through Checkatrade leads, the inbox may be the part you value most, and AI-drafted first replies for Checkatrade leads works alongside either choice. Whatever you decide, a two-week AI tool trial gives you a method that applies to the next tool too.
TradeMore questions heating engineers ask
Do I need to be a Checkatrade member to use TradeMore?
The App Store description says members can link their Checkatrade accounts and that the app works on its own for everyone else, and TradeMore's terms state no membership requirement. Its FAQ lists the same question, but the answer did not display when I checked, so if you are unsure, ask support in writing before you build your price list.
Is TradeMore really free?
A free plan exists, but it covers one user and, according to the pricing guide dated 1 September 2026, no AI features. The AI receptionist and AI messages start on the Pro plan at GBP 50 a month, and extra users need the Team plans from GBP 200. TradeMore says it does not currently charge overage fees and will give 15 days' notice of changes.
Does TradeMore connect to Xero?
Xero's marketplace lists a TradeMore integration and says invoices created in TradeMore can sync to Xero in one click. The listing does not mention contacts or payments. Test it with three real invoices, including one with a deposit, and check the totals match before you rely on it.
Can TradeMore produce gas safety certificates?
The App Store description says it can generate gas, electrical and other certificates, but the feature pages, trade pages and video library on TradeMore's own site do not describe them. Ask support for sample certificates and compare them field by field with the forms you issue today, before you move any customer across.
Further reads
- Is ServiceM8 AI Worth It for a Small Heating Firm? — The same switch question for ServiceM8 and its AI helpers.
- What to Do Before You Buy Any AI Tool: A 10-Point Checklist — A ten-point check to run before any subscription starts.
- AI Service Plan Reminders for Heating and Cooling Customers — Annual service reminders, the feature TradeMore's pages do not describe.
- AI App for Tradies: ServiceM8, Tradify or Fergus by Business Size — Which job app suits a firm of your size.
- MyBuilder vs Checkatrade for Plumbers: Cost per Job, With AI Replies — What Checkatrade and a rival lead service cost per job.
- AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.
Sources: TradeMore website pages (home, feature and trade pages, library, FAQ, pricing and usage guide dated 1 September 2026, terms updated 11 June 2026, data-processing agreement), its App Store listing and Xero's TradeMore listing, read on 29 October 2026. TradeMore publishes prices only in GBP, so they are quoted as GBP.