How much does bookkeeping cost plumbers?

Bookkeeping software costs from nothing (Pandle's free plan) or £5 a month plus VAT (Pandle Pro). Mazuma's bundles, with accounts and a tax return, are £38 to £60 a month plus VAT, as listed on 19 October 2026.

In our reading, for a plumber the number of jobs matters more than the size of them: twenty leak and boiler call-outs make more bookkeeping than one bathroom fit paid in stages. This page covers the year-round books; the tax return is a separate cost, covered in what an accountant costs for plumbers.

What each route costs

The survey figures come from the 6 Figure Bookkeeper Pricing Report, published on 15 January 2026 from 131 UK bookkeepers' answers in summer 2025. It is a trade report, not an official figure, and its figures are for all respondents, not plumbers alone.

How job numbers set the price

Firms that price a bundle usually count transactions. Mazuma defines a transaction as one line of data, usually one invoice or receipt, and says its average client has around 70 to 120 a month.

Mazuma lists VAT returns as a £20 extra, added to the monthly package price, which it shows before VAT. In our reading, each job's invoice, its payment and the materials bought for it can each be a line.

What adds work for a plumber

• Merchant receipts. Fittings, valves, pipe and boilers bought for jobs each leave a receipt to record. In our reading, a merchant's monthly trade account statement has to be split into its purchases, and parts returned for a credit note need recording too. On CIS work, contractors take no deduction from materials you paid for directly, may ask for receipts, and estimate the cost if you have none.
• Card takings. In our reading, card reader payouts often bundle several call-outs into one bank payment with the fee taken off. For how the fees are treated, see card machine fees.
• CIS site work. Each contractor that takes a deduction must give you a statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month, and each one is matched to the net payment in your bank.
• VAT. Registration is required once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to in the next 30 days alone. VAT records are then kept digitally and VAT returns filed through software. Work for a private householder follows the normal VAT rules, while most standard or reduced rate work for a customer registered for VAT and CIS, reported within CIS, uses the domestic reverse charge unless they tell you in writing they are an end user or intermediary supplier.
• Making Tax Digital (MTD). Unless you are exempt, MTD has applied since 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024-25, and starts on 6 April 2027 if it was over £30,000 in 2025-26, or on 6 April 2028 if it is over £20,000 in 2026-27, with updates due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Under £90,000 of turnover, a sole trader can simply mark each record income or expense.

What this means for you

In our reading, a plumber working mainly for householders, below the VAT threshold and with a dozen or so jobs a month, can keep their own books in software for under £25 a month including VAT. Lots of card takings, merchant receipts, site work under CIS or a VAT registration push you towards Xero Grow, a bookkeeper or a bundle. Under MTD, GOV.UK says you or your agent can keep the records, but it is your responsibility to check they are accurate before each quarterly update.

Our Trades Tax plan will keep your books from your bank feed. Coming later. Not available yet: starts once our HMRC registrations are complete. Once our registrations are complete, we'll send your quarterly updates and tax return to HMRC for you, after you confirm the figures. Our Trades Tax plan is £35 a month or £350 a year including VAT, and VAT returns add £10 a month including VAT on the monthly plan. We don't do payroll or CIS contractor returns, so if you employ staff or pay subcontractors, software that handles them, such as Xero, or a firm is the better fit.

Steps to work out your cost

1. Use the free MTD check to see when MTD starts for you.
2. Count a typical month's lines on your business bank statement, plus receipts paid in cash.
3. Note whether you are VAT registered, or how close you are to £90,000.
4. Split your jobs into CIS site work and direct domestic work.
5. Keep a separate business account, and log each card payout against its jobs every week.
6. Ask for a written yearly price including VAT that says whether VAT returns and quarterly updates are covered.

For whether CIS covers your work, see does CIS apply to plumbers and heating engineers. The trades section has more on CIS, VAT and MTD for plumbers.