Based on looking at the website, Powered Now appears to be a robust job management software tailored specifically for UK trade companies.
It aims to streamline operations, from quoting and invoicing to job scheduling and financial tracking, providing a comprehensive solution for various field service industries.
The platform emphasizes compliance with UK-specific regulations and offers dedicated local support, positioning itself as a specialized tool for businesses looking to enhance efficiency and professional presentation in the competitive UK trade sector.
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IMPORTANT: We have not personally tested this company’s services. This review is based solely on information provided by the company on their website. For independent, verified user experiences, please refer to trusted sources such as Trustpilot, Reddit, and BBB.org.
Deep Dive into Powered Now: An Entrepreneur’s Toolkit for UK Trades
Navigating the operational maze of a trade business can feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded.
From managing quotes to chasing invoices, scheduling jobs, and ensuring compliance, it’s a constant juggle.
Powered Now pitches itself as the all-in-one solution for UK trade companies, promising to simplify these complexities.
Let’s peel back the layers and see if it truly delivers on its promise to be a must for your business.
What is Job Management Software and Why Does Your Trade Business Need It?
Think of job management software as the central nervous system for your trade business.
It’s the digital backbone that connects every critical function, from the moment a customer requests a quote to the final invoice and payment.
For years, trade businesses relied on a patchwork of paper forms, spreadsheets, and disparate tools, leading to inefficiencies, lost paperwork, and missed opportunities.
The Cost of Manual Processes in UK Trades
The traditional, manual approach to job management is fraught with hidden costs. A 2023 survey by the Federation of Small Businesses FSB highlighted that 27% of UK small businesses spend over 5 hours per week on administrative tasks that could be automated. This translates directly into lost billable hours and reduced profitability. For a typical plumbing firm charging £70 per hour, that’s potentially £350 in lost revenue weekly, or £18,200 annually, just from administrative overhead.
Key Benefits of Adopting Job Management Software
- Time Savings: Automate repetitive tasks like form filling, invoicing, and scheduling.
- Improved Cash Flow: Faster quoting and invoicing lead to quicker payments.
- Enhanced Professionalism: Branded quotes and invoices impress clients.
- Better Organization: All job details, customer information, and financial records are in one place.
- Increased Compliance: Stay up-to-date with industry-specific regulations and certifications.
- Scalability: Easily manage more jobs and staff without proportional increases in administrative burden.
Comprehensive Features: Beyond Just Quoting and Invoicing
Powered Now goes beyond the basics, offering a suite of features designed to cover the entire lifecycle of a job.
From initial customer contact to project completion and financial reconciliation, the platform seems to have thought of many operational bottlenecks. Allironedout.co.uk Reviews
Streamlined Quoting, Invoicing, and Payments
- Professional Templates: Create and send branded quotes and invoices. The ability for customers to approve quotes online and make payments directly through a secure portal is a huge win for speeding up the sales cycle and cash flow.
- Project Management for Larger Jobs: For multi-stage projects, Powered Now’s project management feature allows for easy workflow management, keeping all stakeholders updated. This is critical for building contractors and firms handling complex installations where communication breakdowns can be costly.
Intelligent Job Management and Scheduling
- Drag-and-Drop Diary: This visual scheduling tool is a must. The ability to effortlessly reschedule jobs or reassign tasks with a simple drag-and-drop action, coupled with automatic notifications to team members, reduces administrative friction significantly.
- Optimized Routing: Generating the quickest and most fuel-efficient routes can lead to substantial savings. With fuel costs remaining a significant overhead for trade businesses averaging 15-20% of operational costs for many mobile trades, even small improvements in routing efficiency can add up.
- GPS Tracking and Emergency Dispatch: Quickly assigning emergency jobs to the nearest engineer using GPS capabilities ensures rapid response times, which can be a key differentiator in customer service.
- Customer Portal for Transparency: Keeping customers updated on appointment times, assigned team members, and allowing them to request changes through a portal fosters trust and reduces inbound customer service calls.
Compliance and Certifications: A UK Trade Specialization
One of Powered Now’s standout claims is its deep understanding and support for UK-specific regulations and certifications.
This is a critical factor for any trade business operating in the UK, where compliance is not just good practice but a legal necessity.
Pre-built Forms and Certificates
The platform boasts hundreds of pre-built forms and certificates, including:
- Plumbing and Heating: CP12s Landlord Gas Safety Certificates, Gas Safe forms.
- Electrical: Zs Calculators, EICs Electrical Installation Certificates, MEICs Minor Electrical Installation Certificates, PAT testing forms.
- Building Contractors & Renewables: A wide array of relevant documentation.
This feature alone can save countless hours of manual form creation and ensure consistency. The fact that these forms are updated as soon as standards change means businesses can rely on Powered Now to help them stay compliant without constant manual monitoring. This proactive approach significantly reduces the risk of non-compliance fines, which can range from £5,000 for minor breaches to unlimited fines and even imprisonment for severe safety violations.
Support for UK-Specific Regulations
- Construction Industry Scheme CIS: For contractors and subcontractors in the construction industry, managing CIS deductions correctly is crucial. Powered Now’s support for CIS simplifies this complex area.
- Making Tax Digital MTD: The platform’s direct submission feature to HMRC for MTD compliance is a major relief for small businesses, potentially eliminating the need for an expensive accountant just for tax submissions. This is a significant cost-saving measure, especially for sole traders and smaller firms.
Financial Management: Beyond Just Invoicing
While quoting and invoicing are core, a holistic financial view is essential for business health.
Powered Now aims to provide this by integrating various financial management aspects.
Getting Paid Faster
- Online and In-Person Payments: Integration with payment gateways and SumUp card readers facilitates quick and easy payments. This flexibility caters to diverse customer preferences and helps in reducing payment delays.
- Payment Spreading Options: Offering customers the ability to spread payments can be attractive, particularly for larger jobs, while ensuring you get paid quickly.
Expense and Supplier Management
- Tracking Supplier Invoices, Costs, and Expenses: Keeping a digital record of all outgoings is fundamental for accurate financial reporting. The ability to assign costs directly to customers and projects provides granular insight into job profitability. This feature is particularly useful for project-based businesses where tracking individual job costs is paramount.
Simplified Tax Returns and Accounting Integration
- Making Tax Digital MTD Direct Submission: For UK businesses, MTD compliance is non-negotiable. Powered Now’s feature to submit tax returns directly to HMRC simplifies this process, potentially saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
- Xero Accounting Integration: For businesses using Xero, seamless integration means financial data flows smoothly between the two platforms, reducing manual data entry and reconciliation efforts. This is a significant advantage for businesses that value an integrated accounting ecosystem. If you’re running a lean operation, this integration can save you upwards of 10 hours per month in data reconciliation, a real hack for productivity.
User Experience and Support: The UK Advantage
Software, no matter how feature-rich, is only as good as its usability and the support behind it.
Powered Now emphasizes its UK-centric approach to both.
Intuitive Interface and Ease of Use
While direct user testimonials on the website praise its ease of use and time-saving capabilities, a truly intuitive interface is crucial for adoption, especially for trade professionals who may not be highly tech-savvy.
The promise of “getting up and running in less than 30 minutes” with free setup and training sessions suggests a commitment to user onboarding. Quora.com Reviews
Award-Winning UK-Based Support
- Telephone and Chat Support: The emphasis on “Award Winning UK based telephone and chat support” is a significant differentiator. For UK trade businesses, having support staff who understand local nuances, regulations, and even regional slang can be invaluable. This eliminates the frustration of dealing with offshore support centres that may not grasp specific UK trade practices.
- Onboarding and Training: Offering free setup and training sessions with a product expert addresses a common pain point for new software users. This hands-on approach can significantly improve user adoption rates and ensure businesses leverage the software’s full potential from day one.
Pricing Structure: Finding the Right Fit for Your Business
Powered Now offers a tiered pricing structure, which is common for SaaS platforms, aiming to cater to businesses of different sizes and needs.
This approach allows businesses to scale their subscription as their requirements grow.
Breakdown of Plans
- Business Plan £27/month: This entry-level plan likely covers core job tracking, customer management, and basic quoting/invoicing functionalities, suitable for sole traders or very small operations.
- Professional Plan £30/month: This tier probably adds more advanced features, perhaps enhanced reporting, additional user accounts, or more extensive certificate libraries.
- Premium Plan £37/month: This top-tier plan would include all features, potentially unlimited users, premium support, and advanced integrations.
Monthly vs. Yearly Billing
The option for monthly or annual plans, with a discount for yearly commitment “Save 2 Months”, provides flexibility.
The absence of a long-term contract and the ability to cancel at any time are positive aspects, reducing commitment risk for businesses.
This “no contract” approach can be particularly appealing to startups or businesses in fluctuating sectors, allowing them to adapt their software spend to their current operational needs.
Industry Versatility: Who Can Benefit?
Powered Now markets itself as versatile, suitable for a broad range of field service industries, not just a niche within trades.
This wide applicability indicates a flexible core system that can be configured for various operational flows.
Diverse Trade Industries Supported
The website explicitly lists a wide array of trades that can benefit from Powered Now, including:
- Plumbing & Heating
- Electrical
- HVAC
- Pest Control
- Building & Construction
- Window Cleaning
- Lawn Care
- Appliance Repair
- Landscaping
- Cleaning
- Painting & Decorating
- Tiling
- Roofing
- Windows, Glass, Glazing
- Flooring
- Groundwork
- Carpet Cleaning
This extensive list demonstrates the platform’s adaptability, suggesting that its underlying architecture is generic enough to support various service workflows, while still offering industry-specific forms and compliance features.
This broad appeal means a significant market segment can find value in the solution, from a “one-man band electrician” to a “team of heating engineers or a building company.” Apawsitivestep.co.uk Reviews
Trust and Longevity: A Decade of Experience
In the world of software, longevity and a proven track record instill confidence.
Powered Now highlights its 10+ years of operation and the substantial volume of billing processed through its platform.
Over a Decade in Operation
Significant Billing Volume
- £1.5 Billion Billed Through Powered Now: This is a substantial figure and speaks volumes about the volume of transactions and trust placed in the platform by its users. It indicates that the software is handling significant financial flows reliably and securely, a critical factor for any business considering using it for their core financial operations. This kind of scale is a testament to its robustness and user adoption.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Powered Now?
Powered Now is a job management software specifically designed for UK trade businesses to streamline operations like quoting, invoicing, job scheduling, and financial tracking.
Who can use Powered Now?
Is Powered Now only for UK businesses?
Yes, Powered Now is specifically built for the needs of UK trade companies, supporting UK-specific regulations like CIS and Making Tax Digital.
What are the main features of Powered Now?
Key features include quoting and invoicing, job management and scheduling with drag-and-drop diary, compliance forms and certificates, financial tracking, and integration with accounting software.
Does Powered Now help with UK tax compliance?
Yes, Powered Now offers direct submission for Making Tax Digital MTD to HMRC and supports the Construction Industry Scheme CIS.
Can I create professional quotes and invoices with Powered Now?
Yes, you can create, send, and track professional, branded quotes and invoices that customers can approve and pay online through a secure portal.
Does Powered Now offer customer support?
Yes, Powered Now provides award-winning UK-based telephone and chat support.
How easy is it to get started with Powered Now?
Powered Now offers free demos, free setup, and training sessions with a product expert, claiming users can be up and running in less than 30 minutes.
Does Powered Now integrate with other software?
Yes, Powered Now integrates with Xero Accounting and SumUp card readers for payments. Orangedesignsllc.com Reviews
Can I track expenses and costs with Powered Now?
Yes, you can keep track of supplier invoices, costs, and expenses, and assign them to specific customers or projects.
Is there a contract or can I cancel my subscription anytime?
No, there is no contract, and you can change or cancel your subscription at any time, as subscriptions are available on a monthly or annual plan.
Does Powered Now provide industry-specific forms and certificates?
Yes, it has hundreds of pre-built forms and certificates for various trades like plumbing CP12s, electrical EICs, and more, which are updated as standards change.
Can I manage staff and their schedules with Powered Now?
Yes, the platform offers a drag-and-drop diary for effortless scheduling, reassigning tasks, and viewing team member availability.
How does Powered Now help with job routing?
It can create the quickest and most fuel-efficient routes, and help assign emergency jobs to the nearest engineer using GPS.
Does Powered Now offer a customer portal?
Yes, customers can track appointments, review job details, see assigned team members, and confirm/request changes through the Powered Now Customer Portal.
What payment methods does Powered Now support?
It supports online payments through integrated gateways and in-person payments via SumUp card readers, also allowing customers to spread payments.
How long has Powered Now been in business?
Powered Now has been operating for over 10 years, indicating significant experience in the industry.
Has a lot of business been processed through Powered Now?
Yes, over £1.5 billion has been billed through Powered Now, demonstrating its widespread use and reliability.
Is there a mobile app for Powered Now?
While not explicitly stated as a separate app, the website heavily implies mobile functionality with features like notifications to phones and invoicing from the job site, suggesting a robust mobile experience. Coolnovelties.co.uk Reviews
Does Powered Now have different pricing plans?
Yes, Powered Now offers three pricing plans: Business, Professional, and Premium, with options for monthly or yearly billing.
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