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AI scheduling tools for plumbers in the UK

A plumber's diary mixes three kinds of work: emergencies that can't wait, quoted jobs booked weeks out, and repeat work such as landlord gas safety checks and boiler services. Paper diaries and WhatsApp threads cope until there are two vans or a busy winter. Scheduling software puts every job, address and engineer in one calendar, sends customers a reminder, and stops you double-booking the same morning.

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.

Plan around emergencies, not against them

Leave a gap each day for urgent call-outs rather than filling every slot with planned work. Most job management apps let you drag a job to another day and text the customer, so moving a planned boiler swap to fit in a burst pipe takes a minute, not three phone calls. Tradify lists drag-and-drop scheduling, staff locations and Google Calendar sync; Jobber lists online booking that drops the job straight into your schedule.

Repeat landlord work

Landlords need a Gas Safe registered engineer to check every gas appliance and flue they supply each year (GOV.UK). That's predictable repeat work if you remind them before the date. Commusoft lists service reminders; ServiceM8 includes recurring jobs on all plans. Record the certificate date against the property, not the person, because agents and tenants change.

If you employ engineers

Minimum wage rules count travel between jobs as working time (GOV.UK), so a schedule with long hops across town costs real money. Group jobs by area where you can, and check the travel time between bookings in the app's map view before you confirm the day.

The options, with prices

Tool	Price and free plan	UK notes and source
Jobber Job management for service businesses: quotes, scheduling, invoicing and payments, with an AI Receptionist add-on.	Core: $49 a month ($29 billed annually). Connect: $139 ($99 annually). Grow: $199 ($149 annually), for one user; extra users $29 a month. Add-ons: AI Receptionist $29, Sales Pipeline $49, Marketing Suite $99 a month. 14-day free trial, no card required. No free plan; free trial without a card.	Confirm UK pricing and support. Source, checked 15 October 2026
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
Commusoft Field service software for heating, plumbing, electrical and other service firms, with job management, stock, service reminders and a customer portal.	No prices published on its plans page when checked; pricing is by quote. Free trial offered. No free plan; free trial offered.	UK company. 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
ServiceM8 Job management for trade and service businesses: quotes, scheduling, job cards, invoices and customer texts, priced by jobs a month rather than per user.	Free: £0 a month for 1 user and 30 jobs a month. Starter: £25 a month (50 jobs). Growing: £59 (150 jobs). Premium: £119 (500 jobs). Premium Plus: £269 (1,500+ jobs). All paid plans have unlimited users. 14-day free trial. Free plan: 1 user, 30 jobs a month, SMS at 5p each.	UK pricing in pounds on the UK site. Source, checked 15 October 2026

What to check before you choose

Does it sync with the calendar on your phone, so personal and work bookings don't clash?
Can customers get an automatic reminder by text or email, and what does each text cost?
Can it hold recurring work (annual gas safety checks, services) and remind you before it's due?
Per-user or per-job pricing: Tradify and Powered Now charge per user; ServiceM8 charges by jobs a month.
Can engineers see the job, address and notes offline on site?

A prompt to start with

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

You plan the week for [business name], a plumbing and heating firm in [area] with [number] engineers. Here are this week's jobs with postcodes, estimated hours and any fixed times: [paste list]. Group them by area to cut driving, keep [time] free each day for emergencies, and put fixed-time jobs first. Show the plan as a table by engineer and day, and list anything that doesn't fit.

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 cheapest scheduling app for a sole trader plumber?

ServiceM8 has a free plan for 1 user and 30 jobs a month. Powered Now's one-user plan is £28 a month excluding VAT. Both checked 15 October 2026.

Can I use Google Calendar instead?

Yes, for one person. Once you need job notes, reminders and invoices linked to each booking, a job management app saves re-typing. Tradify syncs with Google Calendar.

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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