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AI bookkeeping tools for painters and decorators in the UK

Decorators' costs are frequent and small: paint, filler, tape, dust sheets, brushes and rollers, bought from trade counters several times a week. Add CIS work for builders and the occasional large commercial job, and it's easy to lose track. A bookkeeping app with receipt capture turns that pile of slips into categories you can check.

Prices were re-checked on each provider's own page; the date is next to each one. Rules and figures from GOV.UK are linked where they're used.

Paint and sundries

Photograph trade-counter receipts as you get them and assign them to jobs, so you know if a job's paint was what you priced. Separate long-life kit like ladders and spray equipment from consumables. FreeAgent is £19 a month for sole traders (excl. VAT) or free with some business bank accounts; Zoho Books has a free plan (checked 15 October 2026).

CIS and the reverse charge

Decorating is construction work for CIS (GOV.UK), so contractors may deduct 20% from your labour. If you're VAT-registered, painting and decorating is on the domestic reverse charge list when supplied to another VAT and CIS-registered business (GOV.UK); it doesn't apply to homeowners.

Making Tax Digital

Turnover over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 means Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applied from 6 April 2026; £30,000 from 2027 and £20,000 from 2028 (GOV.UK). See our Making Tax Digital guide.

The options, with prices

Tool	Price and free plan	UK notes and source
FreeAgent UK accounting software for sole traders, partnerships and small companies.	Sole traders: £19 a month. Limited companies: £33 a month or £330 a year. All excl. VAT, with 50% off the first six months when checked. Free with a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank business account, or Mettle (conditions apply). Free for eligible NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and Mettle customers; otherwise a 30-day free trial.	UK company, pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Zoho Books Accounting software with a free plan for very small businesses and paid UK plans.	Free: £0. Standard: £12 a month (£10 billed annually). Professional: £24 (£20). Premium: £30 (£25). Per organisation. Free plan for sole traders and micro businesses.	UK pricing in pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
QuickBooks Cloud accounting with invoicing, expenses and VAT, plus Intuit Intelligence AI features (some in beta).	Plans: Sole Trader Plus, Simple Start, Essentials, Plus and Advanced, each with a 30-day free trial. All include CIS calculation and submission; VAT submission isn't in Sole Trader Plus. Prices load dynamically on the UK pricing page, so check the current figure there. No free plan; 30-day free trial.	UK pricing in pounds. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Xero Cloud accounting for invoices, bank feeds, VAT and payroll, with AI-assisted features.	Ignite: £18 a month. Grow: £39. Comprehensive: £55. Ultimate: £70 (all excl. VAT). When checked, the first 6 months were 90% off. Payroll £1.50 per person. No free plan; a free trial and introductory discounts are offered.	UK pricing in pounds; Making Tax Digital compatible. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Sage Accounting UK accounting and payroll software with the Sage Copilot AI assistant included in every plan.	Start: £20 a month. Standard: £43 a month. All excl. VAT. Offer when checked: 90% off for 6 months. No free plan; introductory discount instead.	UK company, pounds, Making Tax Digital and CIS support. Source, checked 14 October 2026

What to check before you choose

Is it on HMRC's list of software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? Check HMRC's finder, not only the provider's page.
Does it read receipts from a photo and match them to your bank feed?
Does it have a reverse charge VAT code for work for builders?
Introductory discounts: budget for the full price (FreeAgent, Xero and Sage all had offers when checked on 14 and 15 October 2026).
Can your accountant log in?

A prompt to start with

Paste this into ChatGPT or Claude, filling in the brackets:

You're helping me with bookkeeping for my painting and decorating business. Here are this month's receipts and payments: [paste]. Assign paint and sundries to each job, separate equipment from consumables, mark which sales were to builders under CIS, and flag anything personal or missing a receipt. Don't give tax advice.

Free tools

Price a job with the quote and VAT calculator (20%, 5%, 0% and reverse charge), or work out your day rate (see how much to charge per hour). Near the VAT threshold? Use the VAT threshold checker and read should I register for VAT? Already registered? See if the VAT Flat Rate Scheme calculator would save you money. Estimate your tax bill with the self-employed tax calculator, see what you owe in January and July with the payments on account calculator, or see whether a company would leave you better off with the sole trader vs limited company calculator. Over £50,000 turnover? Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has applied since 6 April 2026; check your date with the Making Tax Digital checker.

Questions

Is painting and decorating covered by CIS?

Yes. GOV.UK says CIS covers most construction work to buildings, including decorating.

Does the reverse charge apply when I paint a house for a homeowner?

No. It applies to supplies to other VAT and CIS-registered businesses, not private customers.

Are these prices in pounds?

Not all. Where a provider only publishes US dollar prices we show dollars, so check the price in pounds at checkout.

Do you get paid if I sign up?

Some links may become affiliate links, and we'll label them when they do. It doesn't change what we list. See how we make money.

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