You don't need a team. You need the right tools.

Why UK sole traders choose HiveSuite

As a sole trader, you are the entire business. You answer the phone. You drive to the job. You do the work. You write up the quote. You send the invoice. You chase the payment. You update the spreadsheet. You file the paperwork. And you do it all again tomorrow. The hours between 5pm and midnight become your office, and the admin eats into the time you should be resting, spending with your family, or growing your business.

HiveSuite acts as your back office. It handles the quoting, invoicing, scheduling, payment chasing, customer management, compliance documents, and business reporting that would otherwise consume your evenings. All for £34.99/month - less than the cost of a single hour of an admin assistant's time.

Quote from your phone, on-site, in minutes

You have just finished looking at a job. The customer is standing there waiting for a price. With HiveSuite, you open your phone, create a customer record (or find their existing one), and start building a quote. HiveAssist, the built-in AI assistant, drafts line items from a short description of the work - describe the job in a sentence or two and HiveAssist generates a structured quote with parts, labour, and pricing that you review and adjust. Send the quote by email before you have left the driveway. The customer accepts online with a single click.

No going home to type up quotes on a laptop. No delays that cost you the job because someone else quoted faster. The contractor who quotes first usually wins.

Get paid the same day

Late payment is the biggest cash flow killer for sole traders. You do the work, send an invoice, and then wait. And wait. And chase. And wait some more. HiveSuite changes this. Add a Stripe payment link to any invoice so customers can pay by card from their phone - tap, pay, done. Stripe is included on all plans, or use your own payment methods if you prefer bank transfer or cash.

For regular customers, set up recurring invoices that send automatically on your chosen cycle. The invoice reminder board tracks every outstanding payment at a glance, and HiveAssist drafts polite follow-up messages so you can chase with one tap instead of composing an awkward text.

Xero and QuickBooks integration

HiveSuite integrates with Xero and QuickBooks so your invoices, payments, and customer records sync automatically. When you create an invoice in HiveSuite, it appears in your accounting software. When a customer pays, the payment is recorded in both systems. No double-entry, no manual exports, no scrambling at tax return time. Your accountant sees clean, up-to-date books.

Your customer portal works while you do

The customer portal gives every customer a branded login where they can approve quotes, pay invoices, view job history, access compliance documents, upload files, and message your business. For a sole trader, this is transformative. While you are up a ladder, under a sink, or driving between jobs, your customers are approving quotes and paying invoices without needing to reach you by phone. It works like a receptionist you do not have to pay. The portal is included on all plans.

Visual scheduling with HivePlanner

Even without a team, you need to see your week at a glance. HivePlanner is a visual drag-and-drop calendar that lets you manage your diary, avoid double-bookings, schedule recurring work, and see where gaps are. If a customer cancels, the gap is visible immediately so you can fill it. For recurring work - annual services, monthly maintenance, regular clients - HivePlanner handles jobs that auto-generate each cycle so you never forget.

Compliance documents

The built-in compliance document builder generates certificates, RAMS, checklists, and method statements from preloaded templates designed around UK standards. Documents are numbered, track issue and next-check-due dates, and can be shared with customers through the portal. No more Word templates you update by hand, no paper filing cabinets, no searching through folders on your laptop to find a certificate from last year.

Online enquiries while you work

HiveSuite includes embeddable enquiry forms you can add to your website, Facebook page, or Instagram bio link. When a potential customer fills in the form, HiveSuite creates their customer record and a draft quote automatically. As a sole trader, you cannot answer the phone while you are working. Every missed call is a potential lost job. With an enquiry form, leads are captured even when you are mid-job, and they are waiting for you when you finish.

AI business reports with HiveIntel

Most sole traders have no idea how their business is actually performing until they sit down with their accountant once a year. HiveIntel changes that. Ask questions in plain English:

• "Who owes me money?" - see every outstanding invoice instantly
• "What did I earn last month?" - revenue breakdown by week or job type
• "Show me my busiest weeks this year" - spot patterns and plan capacity
• "Which job types are most profitable?" - focus on the work that pays best
• "How many quotes did I convert this quarter?" - track your win rate

No spreadsheets, no accountant needed for everyday business insight. Just real answers from your own data.

Built for UK sole traders

HiveSuite is designed from the ground up for UK service businesses - GBP pricing, compliance templates designed around UK standards, and workflows that match how UK sole traders actually work. The Solo plan at £34.99/month includes every feature - the same as the Enterprise plan. You choose your plan based on team size, not which features you can afford. Start with a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.