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AI scheduling tools for painters and decorators in the UK

Decorators book work in rooms and days, but the real constraints are drying times, other trades finishing late and customers who want to move furniture first. A schedule that shows each job's stages, and tells the customer when you're coming, cuts the number of wasted mornings when the room isn't ready.

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.

Stages, not just days

Break each job into prep, first coats and finishing, with time for drying between. That way, when the plasterer runs late, you move one stage and the rest follow. Tradify lists scheduling and appointment reminders; Fergus adds timesheets and job costing (checked 15 October 2026).

Working at height and on bigger sites

Exterior work, stairwells and high ceilings bring the Work at Height Regulations 2005 into play: the work must be planned, supervised and done by competent people (HSE). Note access equipment against each job so ladders, towers or scaffold are booked in time. On construction sites, painting and decorating is on the VAT reverse charge list (GOV.UK), so flag those jobs for invoicing.

Teams and travel

If you employ decorators, travel between jobs counts as working time for minimum wage purposes (GOV.UK). Group small jobs by area, and let customers book quote visits online with Calendly's free plan.

The options, with prices

Tool	Price and free plan	UK notes and source
Tradify Job management for tradespeople: quotes, scheduling, timesheets and invoices.	Lite: £34 per user a month. Pro: £37. Plus: £44. Optional Instant Website £10 a month; text messages £0.10 each. 14-day free trial. No free plan; 14-day free trial with all features.	UK pricing in pounds, UK phone support. Source, checked 15 October 2026
YourTradebase Quotes, jobs, invoices and payment reminders for UK tradespeople, with one flat monthly price.	£29 a month, plus £15 a month for each additional user. Two months free if you pay annually. Prices subject to VAT. 30-day free trial, no card required. No free plan; 30-day free trial, no card required.	UK company, prices in pounds plus VAT. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Powered Now UK trade app for quotes, invoices, job scheduling and compliance certificates, with an optional AI receptionist.	Business: £28 a month for one user (£280 a year). Professional: £32 per user a month (£320 a year). Premium: £40 per user a month (£400 a year). All excl. VAT. AI receptionist add-on from £29 a month. 14-day free trial, no card required. No free plan; 14-day free trial, no card required.	UK company, prices in pounds excl. VAT. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Fergus Job management for trade businesses: quoting with price books, job cards, scheduling, timesheets and invoicing.	Essentials: from £39 a month. Professional: from £45 a month. Timesheet users from £12 a month; contractor users £2 per user per day. When checked, a 90%-off offer ran until December (£3.90 and £4.50). 14-day free trial, no card required. No free plan; 14-day free trial, no card required.	UK pricing in pounds on the UK site. Source, checked 15 October 2026
Calendly Online booking links that let customers pick a time that suits your calendar.	Free plan (always free). Standard: $10 per seat a month. Teams: $16 per seat a month. Enterprise from $15k a year. An always-free plan for basic scheduling.	Prices are in US dollars. Source, checked 14 October 2026

What to check before you choose

Can one job have several stages with gaps between them?
Can you note access equipment and room readiness on the job?
Customer reminders the day before: by text or email, and what each text costs?
Per-user pricing for a small crew: YourTradebase adds £15 a month per extra user.
Can you mark reverse-charge jobs for invoicing?

A prompt to start with

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

You plan the fortnight for [business name], a painter and decorator in [area] with [number] decorators. Here are the jobs with rooms, estimated days, drying time and any dependencies on other trades: [paste]. Build a plan that fills drying gaps with small jobs nearby, and write a text to each customer confirming when we're coming and what they need to clear.

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). Comparing job management apps? Read Tradify vs Jobber. Driving between jobs? The mileage allowance calculator uses HMRC's flat rates, and van costs for sole traders compares leasing, buying and the mileage rate.

Questions

What's the simplest scheduling setup for a one-person decorator?

A shared calendar plus Calendly's free plan for quote visits works for many. A job app such as YourTradebase (£29 a month plus VAT, checked 15 October 2026) adds quotes, reminders and invoices linked to each job.

Does the reverse charge affect scheduling?

Only for invoicing: painting and decorating on construction sites is on the reverse charge list, so flag those jobs.

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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