Built for the UK tradesBuilt for your
Built for your
kind of business.
Cole works differently depending on how you work. Whether you're a joiner running solo, a builder managing a team, or a main contractor coordinating subbies — see exactly how Cole fits your day.
Use case 01
The builder
managing a team.
You've got 4–10 people across 6 active jobs. Your Monday morning is a puzzle. Your evenings are spent on quotes. Your cash flow depends on invoices that clients take 30 days to pay. Cole fixes all three.
31%
Avg margin improvement
6hrs
Admin saved per week
2 days
Avg time to get paid
SB
Steve, 41
Builder · Worthing, West Sussex · 7 staff + subbies
Running domestic extensions, kitchen fits, and loft conversions. Been doing it 12 years. Good at the work. Drowning in the admin.
Before Cole
"Monday morning I'd spend an hour working out who goes where. Quoting took me all evening. I had three invoices over 45 days old and I hated ringing about them."
With Cole
Schedule sorted in 10 minutes. Quotes built on site. Invoices paid online, usually within 48 hours. Three more jobs a month.
A day in the life
Steve's Monday morning.
7:15am
On the drive in
Used to be a 30-minute mental puzzle — who's on what, who's finishing up, who needs moving. Now Steve checks Cole before setting off, with the day's plan already clear.
Cole's scheduling viewEvery person on one screen. Three gaps visible — Dave is free Wednesday and Thursday. Cole has already suggested filling them with Henderson's second fix tasks. One tap to confirm.
8:30am
New enquiry comes in
Mrs Clarke rings about a bathroom refit. Steve adds her as a customer in 20 seconds and starts the quote while she's still describing the job.
Quote builder on mobileSteve searches "bathroom" in his materials catalogue. Adds a labour line — Cole suggests 5 days based on similar jobs. Margin shows 29% — green. He sends the quote before the call ends.
11:00am
Clarke approves the quote
Cole notifies Steve. The job has been created automatically — tasks from the scope, schedule waiting. Steve adds it to the calendar in two minutes.
Job created automaticallyNo re-entering anything. Client details, agreed price, scope — all there. Steve assigns Marcus to start the bathroom prep next Monday.
3:00pm
Henderson job completes on site
Dave ticks the last task on his phone. Steve gets a notification. Cole prompts him to invoice — the quote has been waiting, pre-built from the approved price.
Invoice sent in under a minuteOne tap. £11,520 invoice with photographic handover report attached. Mrs Henderson pays by bank transfer at 5pm. Money in Steve's account tomorrow morning.
5:30pm
Home by half five
Used to spend the evening quoting. Tonight he's got one pending quote to review, all jobs scheduled for the week, and £11,520 on its way. Done by 5:35.
Time saved today: about 3 hoursNo Monday morning scheduling puzzle. Quote built in 5 minutes on the phone. Invoice sent from his van. No chasing payment.
Features that matter most
For builders managing a team.
AI scheduling calendar
Every person, every gap, every week on one screen. Cole tells you in plain English how to fill the gaps before you've even thought about it.
Most-used feature by team builders →
Live margin calculator
The number every builder needs to see before they send a quote. Green, amber, or red — visible the entire time you're building.
Average 4% margin improvement in first month →
Same-day payment
Invoice sent with a pay-online button. Client pays by bank transfer in one tap. Money in your account same day or next morning. No more 30-day waits.
Average payment time: 2 days →
Live job progress
Your team tick tasks off on site. You see it happen in real time on your dashboard. No ringing around to find out where things are.
Subcontractor network
All your subbies' compliance in one place. Insurance, CSCS cards, CIS details. Expiry alerts sent automatically — to them and to you.
UK-native from day one
CIS deductions, Domestic Reverse Charge, correct VAT rates. Not adapted from American software — built for UK builders from the ground up.
The difference
Before and after Cole.
Without Cole
Monday morning scheduling30–60 minutes working out who goes where in your head. One person rings in sick and it all falls apart.
Quoting by gut feelHours spent pricing jobs. No margin tracking. Find out it was wrong when the job is finished.
Invoices sitting unpaidClients take 30+ days. You hate ringing. Cash flow suffers. You take smaller jobs to fill the gap.
No idea what's happening on siteRinging the lads to find out. Getting WhatsApp messages at 6pm. Visiting site unnecessarily.
Subbie compliance a guessing gameFind out on a Monday morning that someone's insurance expired. Panic. Delay.
With Cole
Week sorted in 10 minutesOne screen, all people, all gaps. AI tells you what to fill first. Even when someone rings in sick, you can reshuffle in two minutes.
Margin shown before you sendBuild the quote and the margin number stares you in the face. Green means go. Red means fix it first.
Paid in 2 days on averagePay-online button on every invoice. Bank transfer, one tap. Money the same day. No chasing.
Live progress without leaving your deskTasks ticked on site, photos added, notes left. You see everything in real time on your dashboard.
Compliance visible at a glanceGreen, amber, red for every subbie. Alerts sent to them automatically 60 and 14 days before expiry.
Pricing for builders with teams
Unlimited team. One flat rate.
Cole Pro at £119/month covers your entire team — staff and subbies. No per-user fees. A 6-person building firm pays the same as a 1-person firm. Compare that to what you're currently paying for tools that do less.
6-person building firm · monthly cost
Tradify (£34 × 6 users)£204/month
Jobber Grow Team~£280/month
Cole Pro — unlimited users£119/month
Same team. Less than half the cost. More features.
Ready to sort
your Mondays out?
Try Cole free for 30 days. No card. Set up in under 10 minutes.
No card required. Founding member pricing still available.
Use case 02
The sole trader
joiner.
You're good at the craft. The business side — quoting, invoicing, chasing payment — that takes hours you'd rather spend on the tools or with your family. Cole cuts the admin down to almost nothing.
3hrs
Saved on quoting per week
£0
Time spent chasing invoices
5 min
To send a professional quote
MH
Mike, 38
Joiner · sole trader · West Sussex
Fitted kitchens, staircases, bespoke joinery. Works alone. Good reputation. Fully booked 3 months out. Hates admin.
Before Cole
"I was spending Sunday evenings quoting on my laptop. Word documents, manual calculations. I lost a job once because I was too slow getting the quote out."
With Cole
Quotes built on the phone between jobs. Five minutes, professional, with the margin shown. Invoices paid online before he's driven home.
A day in the life
Mike's typical Thursday.
7:45am
New enquiry — kitchen fit
Someone rings while he's loading the van. Used to mean a scrap of paper and hoping he remembered to follow up. Now he adds them in Cole in 30 seconds while still on the call.
Customer added instantlyName, address, what they want. Cole shows two similar kitchen quotes he's done before. He'll build this one in his lunch break.
12:30pm
Quote built over a sandwich
Sat in his van. Pulls up the new enquiry. Adds materials from his personal price list — the prices he actually pays at his merchant. AI suggests 4 days for a kitchen second fix.
5 minutes. Margin shows 33%.Green. He sends it before finishing his sandwich. Professional quote, digital approval link, his logo. Client gets it immediately.
2:15pm
Last task ticked on current job
Final hinge fitted, photos taken. Mike ticks complete on his phone. Cole immediately prompts to invoice — everything pre-built from the quote.
Invoice sent in 60 secondsClient gets the invoice and a photo handover report showing the before and after. Two taps. Done.
4:30pm
Paid before he's home
Client pays online on the drive home from work. £6,800 paid by bank transfer. Cole notifies Mike. In his account tomorrow morning. No chasing, no waiting, no awkward call.
Used to take 3–4 weeks to get paid.Now it's same day or next morning. That's the difference between a healthy business and a constant cash flow worry.
Features that matter most
For the sole trader.
Quote in 5 minutes on your phone
Your personal price list built from your own supplier costs. AI suggests hours for the job type. Margin shown live. Professional quote sent before you leave the van.
Invoicing that doesn't need chasing
Pay-online button on every invoice. Clients pay by bank transfer in one tap — on their phone, in their own time. You stop being the person who has to ask twice.
Handover report built automatically
The photos you take on site become a professional PDF handover report. Client gets it with the invoice. No extra work. Looks like you've got an office behind you.
Wins repeat work and referrals →
CIS and VAT handled properly
CIS deductions applied automatically on relevant invoices. Correct VAT rates. Xero sync keeps your accountant happy. Built for UK sole traders from day one.
Job history builds over time
Every job you complete feeds your materials price list and labour estimates. Over time Cole gets more accurate for your specific business — not just industry averages.
Starter plan — £59/month
Everything a sole trader needs. Quoting, invoicing, job sheets, materials catalogue, Xero sync. No per-user fee — it's just you, so why would there be?
30-day free trial, no card required →
Stop spending evenings
doing paperwork.
Cole was built for people who'd rather be on the tools. Try it free for 30 days.
No card required. Starter plan from £59/month.
Use case 03
The main contractor
coordinating subbies.
You rely on a network of subcontractors — plasterers, electricians, plumbers, tilers. Keeping track of who's compliant, who's available, and who's actually doing what on site is a constant headache. Cole sorts the whole supply chain.
0
Compliance surprises on site
100%
Subbie quotes in writing
1 tap
To approve a subbie invoice
JW
James, 47
Main contractor · Leeds · 4 staff + 8 regular subbies
Domestic extensions and commercial fit-out. Coordinates specialists for every job. Running 5–8 jobs simultaneously.
Before Cole
"I found out a plasterer's insurance had lapsed when the developer's site manager asked for it on Monday morning. Cost me the afternoon sorting it out."
With Cole
All subbie compliance visible in one screen. Alerts sent automatically when something's about to expire. Never caught out on site again.
A day in the life
James coordinating five trades.
8:00am
Inviting a new subbie
James has been using a new tiler on the last two jobs. Time to get him properly set up. He invites Sean through Cole — SMS and email with a link to create his compliance profile.
Sean uploads his own docsPublic liability, CSCS card, CIS registration. James sees the compliance ring go from 0% to 100%. All in one afternoon, no chasing.
9:30am
Sending scope to three subbies for a new job
The Henderson extension is approved. James needs prices for plastering, first fix electrics, and plumbing. He creates three packages in Cole and invites the subbies to submit their prices.
Scope in writing, every timeEach subbie sees exactly what's included and what isn't. No "I thought you meant..." conversations later. The scope is the agreed scope.
2:00pm
Prices back — all three subbies quoted
Ali, Rob, and Pete have all submitted their prices through Cole. James sees them side by side. He approves all three. Their job sheets are created automatically from the agreed scope.
No more verbal agreementsEvery subbie has an agreed price and scope in Cole. When they invoice, it matches what was agreed — or James sees the discrepancy immediately.
4:45pm
Ali's CSCS card flagged as expiring
Cole has sent Ali an alert automatically — 60 days before expiry. James sees the amber flag in his subbies view. He taps Chase and Cole sends Ali a reminder message.
Problem spotted 60 days early.Not on a Monday morning when Ali turns up on site and a developer's site manager asks for it.
Features that matter most
For main contractors.
Subcontractor compliance network
All your subbies' documents in one place. Insurance, CSCS, CIS, trade certs. RAG status at a glance — green, amber, red. Expiry alerts sent automatically.
Free for every subbie to join →
Scope-based quote requests
Define exactly what each package includes and excludes. Invite subbies to price it through Cole. Compare prices side by side. Approve in one tap.
Scope in writing, every time →
Subbie invoice matching
When a subbie invoices through Cole, the agreed price is pre-filled. If it matches, you approve in one tap. Discrepancies flagged automatically against the scope.
Subbie job sheets from your scope
Approved scope flows directly to the subbie's job sheet in their Cole account. They tick tasks off on site. You see their progress live.
CIS deductions handled automatically
CIS deductions applied correctly on subcontractor invoices based on their registration status. Syncs to Xero with the right coding. Your accountant sees clean entries.
Growth plan — from £199/month
Unlimited users, full subcontractor network, advanced scheduling. For established businesses managing multiple simultaneous jobs with a real supply chain.
Still 30–40% cheaper than Jobber →
No more compliance
surprises on site.
Invite your subbies. They set up their profile. You see their compliance status in real time. Free for them, invaluable for you.
No card required. Subbies join free.
Use case 04
The subcontractor
who just wants paying.
You do the work. You invoice. You wait. You chase. You wait again. Cole puts you in control of the payment flow — and keeps your compliance docs organised so you never lose work over a lapsed certificate.
Free
Compliance profile
1 tap
To invoice agreed work
Next day
Payment when paid online
AK
Ali, 33
Plasterer · sole trader · 4 regular contractors
Works for 4 main contractors regularly. Tired of chasing payment, storing paperwork, and being asked for insurance certificates at the last minute.
Before Cole
"I had my insurance cert, my CSCS card, my CIS docs — all in different places. Every new contractor asked for them again. Once I nearly lost a job because I couldn't find my certificate."
With Cole
Everything stored in his compliance profile. Contractors can see his status instantly. He gets paid faster because the scope is agreed upfront.
A day in the life
Ali on a new job.
Mon
Invited to quote a plastering package
James sends Ali a scope through Cole — exactly what's needed, what's excluded, drawings attached, start date required. Ali sees it on his phone.
Scope is clear before he quotesNo ambiguity about what's included. Ali submits his price through Cole. James approves. That price is now the agreed reference for the whole job.
On site
Ticking off tasks as he goes
The scope flows to his job sheet in Cole. He ticks off each area as he completes it. Takes photos. Adds notes for James if anything comes up.
James sees progress liveNo "how's it going?" calls. No confusion about what's been done. The job sheet is the record.
Fri
Job complete — invoice in 30 seconds
All tasks ticked. Cole prompts Ali to invoice. The invoice is pre-filled with the agreed price. He sends it. James approves in one tap — it matches what was agreed.
Paid next business dayNo "I'll process it end of month." Cole's payment link means James can pay immediately. Ali has the money before the weekend.
Features that matter most
For subcontractors.
Free compliance profile
Store your insurance, CSCS card, CIS registration, and trade certs in one place. Contractors you work for can see your compliance status instantly. No more hunting for docs.
Free to set up and maintain →
Expiry reminders
Cole alerts you 60 days and 14 days before any document expires. You never lose work because something lapsed when you weren't looking.
Scope agreed before you start
When a contractor sends you a package through Cole, what's included is written down. No ambiguity, no "I thought you meant..." when you invoice.
Invoice matches agreed price
When you complete the job and invoice, the agreed price is pre-filled. Contractor approves in one tap. No back and forth, no delays waiting for approval.
Get paid faster
When contractors use Cole's pay-online feature, you can have the money the same day or next morning. No more end-of-month payment runs.
Average payment time drops to 2 days →
Works offline on site
Basements, rural locations, poor signal. Cole saves everything to your phone and syncs when you're back in range. Never lose a task tick or a photo.
Stop chasing.
Start getting paid.
Your compliance profile is free. If you want quoting, invoicing, and payment tools for your own client work — try the full platform free for 30 days.
Compliance profile always free. Full platform from £59/month.