What are the best apps and software for plumbers?

As a busy plumber, being organised is extremely important.

You might be going between jobs and managing large-scale projects for your customers at any time.

So having good digital record-keeping and information at your fingertips is essential.

And that’s where great apps for plumbers can help you take your plumbing business to the next level.

Forget hastily scribbled notes or spreadsheets you need to remember to keep updated – by using apps and software designed for plumbers, you can make sure your business is digital-first and more efficient than ever.

Even if you’re still learning how to become a plumber, getting used to good digital habits now will help your career in the long run.

From project management plumbing software to creative marketing tools, we’ve curated a list of must-have apps for plumbers.

Why use apps for plumbers instead of software on a desktop?

As a plumber, you’re likely to be out and about on jobs, so having plumbing apps that are made to be used on a phone or tablet is essential.

Of course, when you’re doing business admin you might be working from your desktop.

We’ve done our best to include plumbing software that can be used across a range of devices.

Project and business management apps for plumbers

There are plenty of plumbing business apps out there claiming to be the best – and of course, you need to choose the plumbing management software that’s right for your business!

But for our money, these next picks are some of the best business apps for plumbers who want to make sure their business runs efficiently and effectively.

Checkatrade

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free for Checkatrade members

Rating: 4.8 on the App Store

You might think we’re blowing our own trumpet with this one. But if you’re looking for a great app for plumbers, well…. we might have just the thing.

If you need an app to support your marketing, generate leads, and build trust with customers, then look no further. When you join Checkatrade, you’ll get access to our powerful Checkatrade app.

We’ve even included handy features like helping you to generate professional, customised quotes and invoices.

Sound good? Find out more about why it’s worth joining Checkatrade and get access to tons of new business opportunities.

Features

• See new customer messages and enquiries – With a custom dashboard, you can quickly see all of your job opportunities and respond instantly
• Generate invoices, quotes, and estimates – Our quoting and invoicing tool lets you generate quotes in minutes. And you can quickly turn a quote or an estimate into an invoice with payment due dates
• Manage your profile – It’s easy to upload your best before-and-after photos of a plumbing job well done and keep your profile up to date when you’re on the go
• Manage and request customer reviews – Build your reputation and promote your credentials by requesting and managing reviews from happy customers
• Get your exclusive discounts and offers – Make the most of your Checkatrade membership and never miss out on an offer – you can access our range of helpful discounts straight from the app

PoweredNow

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: From £150 /year

Rating: 4.1 on the App Store, 3.8 on Google Play

Powered Now is an easy-to-use online software, available in a powerful app for plumbers to use on the go. While there’s a web version, part of the benefit of PoweredNow is that it’s designed to be used from the app – ideal for busy plumbers who are usually out on jobs.

Amongst other things, PoweredNow allows you to create custom invoices and quotes, manage and track your expenses and income, and quickly generate important forms and certificates. They’re built from the ground up to support UK trades, and they’re UK-based, with excellent phone and chat support.

Features

Handy features for plumbers include:

• Job management system – Powered Now’s job management system allows you to manage all of your ongoing work easily and speedily
• Drag-and-drop diary, and even track GPS location to easily assign emergency jobs to the nearest team member
• Money management – you can submit your tax returns directly to HMRC via the app – you can also connect up your bank account and instantly digitise receipts
• Customer portal – Customers can see their jobs, request changes and even access their certificates via the Powered Now Portal, which helps to cut down on back-and-forth questions
• Easy invoicing – send and track invoices with your company branding and terms and conditions that your customers can easily pay online through their portal

Sortly

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free base app, with Advanced plans from around £270 /year.

Rating: 4.7 on the App Store, 4.2 on Google Play

Sortly is an inventory app – essential software for plumbers who need to keep track of stock and inventory.

No more spreadsheets that are a pain to manage from your phone – Sortly allows you to quickly track what parts you have.

This is super handy software for plumbers with a growing business, as it allows you to manage your inventory across all of your employees.

It’s really helpful for planning routes and allocating service calls based on who has the right parts to hand. It’s also useful for managing expenses when you need to buy inventory.

Features

• Visual inventory system – got plenty of plumbing parts with similar names – Sortly’s visual inventory helps you find what you’re looking for.
• Customised alerts for low stock – Set your alerts to make sure you have at least a couple of adaptors or couplings on hand at any given time
• Easily assign parts to an invoice – you can use Sortly to track what parts and materials are being used on a job, so when it’s time to invoice, you can see what inventory has been used and what to charge

Plumbing apps for when you’re on the job

When you’re listing your essential plumbing tools and equipment, your phone might not be the first thing you think of – but it should be.

Your phone or tablet is a potentially very powerful element of your toolkit.  Just make sure you download these handy plumbing apps, designed to help when you’re on the job.

Plumb App UK

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free

Rating: 4.9 stars on the App Store

Plumb App UK is exactly what it sounds like – a custom-made app for plumbers in the UK. It’s packed with really useful tools and resources, from manuals for common appliances, calculators, helpful forms, and more.

There’s also a huge social element to this app. The Breaktime section allows you to interact with other plumbers, share stories, and get support and advice.

You can even enter competitions and monthly giveaways. Take a look at Horror Show and Talent Show, sharing the best and worst examples of plumbing.

Features

• Digital forms – including job sheets, risk assessments for Legionnaires, power flushing certificates and more
• Plumber app toolbox – The app comes with a water PPM calculator, as well as video tutorials and direct contact numbers for major manufacturers
• Manuals and reference documents – Instantly access thousands of manuals for showers, pumps, appliances and more, including backdated and obsolete ones
• Bespoke invoice and quoting software – create an invoice or quote and email it to a customer in seconds

AR Ruler 3D

Availability: iPhone and Android

Cost: Free

Rating: 4.7 on the App Store, 3.9 on the Google Play Store

AR Ruler is an incredibly handy app for plumbers. You can use AR on your phone camera to automatically make measurements and annotate a photo directly in the app.

There’s no more need to sketch everything out on the back of a job sheet. You can snap reference photos, keep all of your measurements in one place and easily share them.

AR Ruler 3D can also work out trickier measurements like angles, cylinders, curved spaces and more.

Features

• Helpful for communicating work with customers – Having a visual reference makes it easier to help your customers visualise the work you’ll be doing
• Easily pass work to someone else – Clear and easy to understand if someone else needs to pick up the work from you
• Accurate measurements – Take measurements right from your phone and share them directly. No more complicated notes where you can easily confuse two measurements

YourGasFault

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free

Rating: 4.8 on the App Store, 4.9 on Google Play

A must-have app for plumbers who also specialise in boiler repair and maintenance, YourGasFault is a quick reference guide for radiators and boilers.

With over 3,000 models in their database, you can quickly look up standard inputs, pressures, flow rates and more.

You may just be starting with becoming a boiler repair technician as part of your plumbing business. Being able to quickly access information about a specific make of boiler instantly is helpful.

Features

• Clear and simple interface – It’s quick and easy to search for a model and find the information you need
• No more searching around for manuals on Google – the app contains the complete manuals for most popular makes of boilers
• Helpful quick-reference tools – Features include quick-start instructions for how to put a boiler into service mode
• Components lists – YourGasFault lists the components for each boiler, so you can quickly work out what you’re likely to need

Marketing apps for plumbers

So, once your business is up and running in the digital world with the help of some of your new plumbing software, it’s time to think about marketing for plumbers. And yes, that can all be done through apps as well!

Canva

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free, with Pro pricing from £99.99 /year

Rating: 3.6 on Apple Store, 4.8 on Google Play

Want to improve your plumbing marketing, but not sure how to make your website and social media pages look more professional? Canva is a great app for plumbers looking to take their marketing to the next level.

Canva is a free-to-use online graphic design tool. While there’s a paid version, the free version of Canva is an incredibly powerful bit of kit.

Whether you’re creating a new business logo, an Instagram post, or a graphic for your website, it’s simple thanks to templates. Canva has thousands of totally free templates and stock photos to use.

Visual marketing is really important for plumbers. Good design can make sure your social media pages appeal to customers. Create posts that look great even when you don’t have any before-and-after photos to share.

Features

• Drag and drop editor – you don’t need any kind of design background to get started. No Photoshop training needed – just drag and drop free photos, graphics, fonts and more into a design
• Free templates for just about anything: Speedily create graphics to a professional standard by using one of the countless templates
• Easy business printing – Quickly design flyers, posters, or business cards, and send them to be printed straight from the app

Buffer

Availability: iOS and Android

Cost: Free, with Pro pricing from £48 /year

Rating: 4.7 on Apple Store, 4.3 on Google Play

If you’re always on the go between jobs, it’s easy to let your social media marketing schedule slip. That’s where social media scheduling apps for plumbers come in handy.

There are plenty of options out there, but Buffer is a great place to start for a small business. With free and premium plans available, you can quickly and easily schedule your social media posts in advance.

When you’re creating your content calendar for the month ahead, Buffer allows you to schedule everything in at the same time.

Here are a couple of handy features that make Buffer a great marketing app for plumbers:

Features

• Easy post management and calendar view: With an intuitive calendar view, it’s easy to see what posts you’ve planned and when they’ll be published
• AI assistant: Buffer’s built-in AI assistant can suggest new post ideas and help you create engaging and unique social media posts
• Free option: Buffer is free to use, and allows you to connect up to 3 channels, with 10 posts per channel. The list of channels is huge, including all of the basics like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X
• Ideas storage: Got a great idea for a post about your last plumbing job, but no time to create the content? You can store ideas in the Buffer app and come back to them later.

These plumbing apps can be a secret weapon to help make your business a success. So get downloading, and see what they can do for you on the job.

Content disclaimer: This content has been created for general information purposes and should not be taken as formal advice. Read our full disclaimer here.