Powered Now Review 2026: Is It Worth It for UK Plumbers?
Quick Verdict
Powered Now is the strongest option in this category for any UK plumber with Gas Safe registration or commercial water system work. Gas Safety Records, CP12 landlord certificates, Legionella risk assessment templates, Water Regulations compliance documentation — all native features, not workarounds. It works fully offline, which matters when you're in a plant room, basement, or rural property with no signal. CIS deductions and Making Tax Digital are built in, not routed through a third-party accounting tool.
For plumbers doing purely domestic work without gas or compliance obligations, Tradify's cleaner Xero integration and faster quoting workflow may suit better. But for any plumber who regularly issues Gas Safety Records, carries out Legionella assessments, or works as a subcontractor under CIS, there is no meaningful alternative in this category.
What Powered Now Actually Does
Powered Now was built in the UK specifically for British tradespeople — and that difference shows throughout the product. The compliance library is the centrepiece: Gas Safety Records, CP12 landlord gas safety certificates, Legionella risk assessment forms, and dozens of other trade-specific documents are all native features within the same app as your quotes, jobs, and invoices. Complete a boiler service on-site, fill in the CP12 in the Powered Now app, get a digital signature from the tenant or landlord, and the certificate is automatically emailed before you've left the driveway. The whole paperwork lifecycle — quote, job, certificate, invoice — in one system.
Beyond compliance, Powered Now covers the full job management workflow: customer records, quoting from price lists, job scheduling and diary, engineer location tracking, timesheets, purchase orders, and invoicing. The mobile app works the same on Android and iOS, and the full offline mode means the entire app functions without signal — jobs are completed, certificates signed, time logged, and photos taken offline, with everything syncing automatically when connectivity returns.
CIS deduction calculations are native. The correct HMRC domestic reverse charge VAT wording on invoices is built in. Making Tax Digital is handled directly, not via a Xero workaround. For UK plumbing businesses operating as subcontractors, this is the only tool in the category that handles the full compliance picture without separate systems.
Pricing: What You Actually Pay
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Business | £15/mo | All core features including compliance certificates, offline mode, 1 user (sole traders) |
| Professional | £25/mo per user | All Business features, multi-user, engineer location tracking, advanced scheduling |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Unlimited users, dedicated onboarding, custom integrations |
14-day free trial, no card required. At £15/mo for a sole trader, it's the most cost-effective option in this category — particularly for any plumber who regularly produces compliance certificates, where the alternative is a paper-based system or a separate compliance tool with its own cost.
One pricing note for teams: every user — including field engineers — pays the same per-user rate. There is no cheaper field-only licence. For businesses with several field engineers who primarily use the app for job viewing and time logging, this is worth factoring into total cost vs Tradify.
How It Works on a Real Job
A letting agent requests an annual gas safety check (CP12) on a rental property. Here's the Powered Now workflow from that request to a signed certificate in the landlord's inbox:
You create the job record in Powered Now, scheduling it to your diary. Your engineer opens the job on their Android or iPhone on the day — the app works offline from the moment they leave the depot if connectivity is uncertain. On-site, they complete the boiler service checks, then open the CP12 form within the same Powered Now job. They fill in all required safety fields: flue gas pressure readings, safe working clearances, ventilation adequacy, appliance condition. The tenant signs digitally on the engineer's phone screen.
Powered Now automatically generates a professionally formatted CP12 certificate and emails it directly to the landlord's email address. The engineer marks the job complete. Back in the office, you raise the invoice from the completed job record in under two minutes — it pushes to Xero, Sage, or QuickBooks, and the payment reminder goes out automatically if the invoice isn't settled within your terms.
That single workflow — compliance certificate, client document, and invoice, all in one app — is where Powered Now earns its subscription for any plumber doing regular gas work. The alternative is producing the CP12 on a separate system, emailing it manually, and reconciling it later. Multiply that by the number of gas jobs a week, and the time saving is immediate.
The Catch
No lower-cost field-only user tier. Every user pays the Professional rate of £25/mo. For a business with several field engineers who mainly view jobs and log time — rather than admin staff who manage quoting and invoicing — this adds up. Tradify's model is the same, but it's worth flagging for businesses where there's a clear distinction between office and field roles.
Xero integration requires more attention than Tradify's. Multiple Capterra reviewers have noted the Xero sync works but is less fully automated than Tradify's connection — some reconciliation is manual. If your accountant works primarily in Xero and expects everything to appear without intervention, test the integration carefully during the trial.
Quoting UI has more steps than Tradify. Building and sending a quote in Powered Now involves more taps than in Tradify, particularly for straightforward jobs from a price list. For businesses where quoting speed is the primary bottleneck rather than compliance documentation, this is worth experiencing in the trial.
Setup takes slightly longer. The broader feature set — compliance library, offline sync configuration, CIS setup — means initial setup takes more time than Tradify. Most users report being operational within a day, but it's not an afternoon job for anyone configuring the compliance forms properly.
How It Compares
Against Tradify: Powered Now wins comprehensively on UK compliance — Gas Safe certificates, Legionella templates, CIS, MTD, offline working. Tradify wins on Xero integration reliability and quoting speed. For any Gas Safe-registered plumber, the compliance advantage makes Powered Now the practical choice regardless of Tradify's quoting workflow advantages. For plumbers doing only domestic work without gas or compliance obligations, Tradify may be simpler to operate day-to-day.
Against ServiceM8: Not a close comparison for plumbers. Powered Now handles every piece of UK compliance that ServiceM8 doesn't — Gas Safe certificates, CIS, Legionella templates, offline mode. ServiceM8's client automation is more polished, but it's built for iOS-only teams and has no compliance certificate capability at all. For any plumber with compliance requirements, Powered Now is the straightforward answer.
The Tradesman's Math
Powered Now Business costs £15/mo. At a £50/hr labour rate, you need to save roughly 18 minutes of admin per week to break even. For any Gas Safe-registered plumber producing even two CP12 certificates per month, the time saved on paperwork alone covers the subscription cost several times over. Manual CP12s — finding the form, filling it in, filing a copy, emailing to the landlord — typically take 15–25 minutes per record. One certificate a fortnight pays for the tool.
Who This Is NOT For
Sole traders doing only simple domestic repairs without gas work. If your jobs are drain unblocking, tap replacements, and basic domestic plumbing with no compliance paperwork, Tradify is faster to set up and its Xero integration is cleaner. Powered Now's compliance capability is not needed if you don't do gas work.
Businesses that need best-in-class Xero automatic sync. Tradify's Xero integration is more automated and less likely to require manual reconciliation. If clean, hands-off Xero sync is the priority, Tradify is the stronger tool on this specific point.
Large teams of 10+ field engineers where per-user cost becomes significant. At that scale, the Professional per-user pricing adds up. It's still likely justified if those engineers are regularly producing compliance certificates, but worth calculating at your actual team size.
14-day free trial — no card required. Produce your first Gas Safety Record in the app before committing.
Try Powered Now free →Frequently Asked Questions
Does Powered Now produce Gas Safe certificates for plumbers?
Yes. Powered Now includes Gas Safety Records and CP12 landlord gas safety certificates as standard compliance forms within the app. Engineers complete the certificate on-site, capture a digital signature, and the certificate is automatically emailed to the client or landlord. It's the only job management tool in this category with native Gas Safe compliance documentation.
Does Powered Now handle Legionella risk assessments?
Yes. Powered Now includes Legionella risk assessment templates covering hot and cold water systems under HSE's L8 Approved Code of Practice requirements. If you carry out Legionella assessments for commercial clients or landlords, this is the only job management tool in the category with native templates.
How much does Powered Now cost for a plumbing business?
Business plan (sole trader): £15/mo. Professional: £25/mo per user. 14-day free trial, no card required. At £15/mo for a sole trader, it's the most cost-effective tool in this category, particularly for Gas Safe-registered plumbers where alternative paper-based compliance systems carry their own time and cost.
Does Powered Now work offline?
Yes. Powered Now has a full offline mode — the entire app works without signal. Jobs are completed, certificates signed, time logged, and photos taken offline, with everything syncing automatically when connectivity returns. This is the most mature offline implementation in this category, and it matters for plumbers regularly working in basements, plant rooms, and commercial sites with restricted WiFi.
How does Powered Now compare to Tradify for plumbers?
Powered Now wins on UK compliance — Gas Safe certificates, Legionella templates, CIS, Making Tax Digital, and offline working are all native. Tradify wins on Xero integration reliability and quoting speed. For any Gas Safe-registered plumber, Powered Now's compliance capability is the practical choice. For plumbers doing only domestic work without gas obligations, Tradify may be simpler day-to-day. See the full comparison.