traidhand vs Powered Now: which is better for sole traders?

If you're a sole trader looking for the best app to run your trade business in 2026, you've probably come across Powered Now. They've been around since 2014, they've got over 4,000 users, and they're one of the most established names in UK trade management software.

So how does traidhand compare? And which one should you actually pick?

This isn't a hit piece. Powered Now is a solid product that's helped thousands of tradespeople. But the two apps are built for different situations, and if you're a sole trader - especially one who wants AI handling admin - it's worth understanding where each one shines before you commit.

Let's break it down honestly.

Quick comparison

Where traidhand wins

AI that handles your enquiries

This is the biggest difference between the two apps, and it's not close. traidhand has built-in AI that reads your incoming enquiry emails, chats with customers to gather job details, and qualifies leads - all before you've even opened the app.

Powered Now has no AI features at all. Every enquiry, every follow-up, every bit of admin is fully manual.

If you're a sole trader plumber who gets five or six enquiries a day while you're under a sink, the difference is massive. With traidhand, your AI is responding within minutes, asking the right questions, and filtering out the tyre-kickers. With Powered Now, those leads are sitting in your inbox until you get home.

Voice to quote

This one is unique to traidhand. You're on site, you've walked the job, you know what needs doing. Instead of typing it all out on your phone, you tap record and talk through the job - materials, quantities, labour. AI transcribes it, matches items to your price list, and builds a draft quote in seconds.

No other trade app offers this. Certainly not Powered Now.

Modern, mobile-first design

traidhand was built from scratch in 2025/2026 with phones in mind. The entire interface is designed to work from a mobile screen - big tap targets, fast navigation, everything accessible with your thumb.

Powered Now has native mobile apps (which is an advantage in some ways - more on that below), but the interface reflects its 2014 origins. It works, but it doesn't feel as sharp or as fast on a phone.

Free Starter plan

traidhand has a genuinely free Starter plan. No credit card, no time limit. You can manage enquiries, create quotes, send invoices, and use the calendar without paying a penny. When you're ready for AI features and more, Pro is £29/mo at the founding price.

Powered Now has no free tier at all. You're paying from day one.

Sales pipeline

traidhand gives you a visual pipeline showing every job from first enquiry through to payment. You can see at a glance what's waiting for a quote, what's been quoted, what's booked in, and what's been invoiced. It's the kind of overview that helps you spot where work is getting stuck.

Powered Now has job tracking, but nothing like a visual sales pipeline.

Xero integration

If you use Xero for your accounts (and a lot of sole traders do), traidhand syncs automatically. Contacts and invoices push through to Xero without you having to do anything. Powered Now has some accounting integrations, but Xero sync isn't as seamless.

Where Powered Now wins

Being fair here is important. Powered Now genuinely does some things better, and pretending otherwise would insult your intelligence.

Compliance forms

If you're a gas engineer who needs to produce gas safety certificates, or an electrician who needs electrical installation condition reports, Powered Now has you covered. They've built compliance forms directly into the app - you can fill them out on site and email them to the customer.

traidhand doesn't have compliance forms yet. If your trade requires them, that's a significant gap.

Native mobile apps

Powered Now has proper native apps on iOS and Android. You download them from the App Store or Google Play, they sit on your home screen, and they work like any other app.

traidhand is a PWA - a progressive web app. It works in your browser and you can add it to your home screen, but it's not a native app. For most day-to-day use, the difference is minimal. But native apps can handle things like push notifications and offline mode more reliably on some devices.

Track record and maturity

Powered Now has been around for over ten years. They've got thousands of users, they've been through the growing pains, and the product is mature and stable. When you're picking software for your business, there's something reassuring about a company that's been around that long.

traidhand is newer. The product is solid, but it hasn't been battle-tested over a decade the way Powered Now has.

Team support

If you've got employees or subcontractors who need access to the system, Powered Now supports multiple users. You can have your team logging jobs, updating statuses, and managing their own schedules.

traidhand is currently built for sole traders. If you're a one-person operation, that's perfect. If you've got a team of four, Powered Now is the better fit right now.

Template library

Powered Now comes with a library of document templates - quotes, invoices, forms - that you can customise. If you want a wide range of pre-built templates out of the box, they've got more to choose from.

Pricing comparison

Here's what you're actually paying:

traidhand:

• Starter: Free (enquiries, quotes, invoices, calendar, contacts)
• Pro: £29/mo founding price (AI pre-qualification, voice to quote, auto-quoting, pipeline, priority support)
• Pro standard: £49/mo (same features, non-founding price)

Powered Now:

• Plans range from £15 to £40/mo depending on features
• No free tier
• Pricing varies based on which features you need

On paper, Powered Now's entry price is lower. But when you factor in traidhand's free Starter plan and the AI features included in Pro, the value calculation shifts. traidhand's AI handles work that would otherwise take you hours of manual admin every week. If the AI saves you even two hours a week at £40/hour, it's paying for itself three times over.

And with traidhand, you can start free and upgrade when you're ready. With Powered Now, you're paying from the first day.

Who should choose which?

Choose Powered Now if:

• You need compliance forms (gas safety certificates, electrical certs)
• You have employees or a small team who need access
• You prefer established software with a long track record
• You're comfortable with fully manual workflows
• You want native app store apps

Choose traidhand if:

• You're a sole trader who wants AI handling your enquiries
• You want voice to quote - describe the job, get a draft quote in seconds
• You want a free plan to start with, no commitment
• You want a modern, mobile-first interface designed for phones
• You want a visual sales pipeline to track every job
• You want Xero integration that just works
• You want AI pre-qualification sorting your leads while you're on the tools

The bottom line

Both apps do the basics well - quoting, invoicing, scheduling, job management. If you need compliance forms or team access, Powered Now is the more complete option today.

But if you're a sole trader and you want AI doing the admin work that eats into your evenings - reading enquiries, chatting with customers, building quotes from your voice, scoring your leads - traidhand is built exactly for that. No other UK trade app offers what the AI does.

The best way to find out is to try it. traidhand's Starter plan is free, so you can set it up in ten minutes and see for yourself.

Try traidhand free - no credit card, no commitment. Just less admin and more time on the tools.