Comparison: ServiceM8
Estimark and ServiceM8, compared for UK trades
ServiceM8 is job management software for small field service teams, built around Apple devices and sold internationally to businesses whose work is a sequence of attendances. Estimark covers that same field work for a UK trade, on iPhone, on Android and in a browser, and adds what a UK firm meets when it works for somebody else: CIS deducted on labour only, the section 55A reverse charge, and payment applications dated by the Construction Act.
What a UK field business runs into
What the team carries
UK trades skew Android. A product built around one manufacturer’s devices decides what phone an operative is allowed to own.
The deduction on the invoice
CIS has no equivalent in most markets a global field service product sells into. A labour-only deduction on a 6th-to-5th tax month has to have somewhere to go.
VAT that is not a tax rate
The domestic reverse charge shifts VAT to the customer and puts statutory wording on the invoice. It is not a percentage setting.
Signal in a plant room
A basement, a riser and a plant room have no signal. Work captured there has to be written on the device and sent later, not lost at the submit button.
Comparison: how it works
Who is ServiceM8 built for?
Small field service teams whose work is a sequence of attendances, with a product story built around Apple devices.
- Its positioning is the small service business and the job on the phone.
- That overlaps with the sole trader and small firm end of Estimark’s market.
NoteEstimark describes its own product here. For the other product’s current price and what it covers, read that vendor’s own site.
Who is Estimark built for?
UK trades and SME contractors, on whatever phones the team already owns.
- A native iPhone app on the App Store and a native Android app on Google Play, both holding their own database on the device.
- Quote, schedule, cost and invoice with CIS and the reverse charge already correct.
- Certificates with typed test results: EIC, EICR, Minor Works, PAT and CP12.
- Payment applications and retention for the work that is applied for rather than invoiced.
NoteNotifications do not reach an Android handset and there is no web push, so on those anything waiting on you is in the app when you open it.
What does Estimark do about UK statutory construction work?
It handles the four obligations a UK contractor is judged on: CIS deduction, the VAT domestic reverse charge, Construction Act payment timing, and the safety records that go with them.
- CIS deducted on labour only, excluding materials, VAT and plant hire, on 6th-to-5th tax months, with HMRC verification when connected and the CIS300 recorded with both statutory declarations.
- VAT domestic reverse charge under section 55A: the statutory wording on the invoice, nil VAT, controlled per client.
- Payment applications with Construction Act dates, the pay less deadline calculated, and retention tracked to release.
- RAMS with operative sign-off, inductions, permits and a live muster roll, plus EIC, EICR, Minor Works, PAT and CP12 certificates with typed test results.
NoteEstimark records the CIS300 and locks it to its tax period. It does not file the return to HMRC on your behalf.
When would ServiceM8 be the better answer?
When the team is small, entirely on Apple devices, working domestic jobs with no CIS deduction and no application to submit.
- A domestic service business invoicing homeowners direct has no deduction to make.
- A firm already standardised on Apple hardware is not paying the cost the first problem above describes.
NoteEstimark describes its own product here. For the other product’s current price and what it covers, read that vendor’s own site.
Estimark, in numbers
- CIS base
- Labour only
- CIS tax month
- 6th to 5th
- Reverse charge
- Section 55A
- Payment terms
- Construction Act
- Damp and mould
- Awaab’s Law timescales
- Certificates
- EIC, EICR, CP12, PAT
- Built for
- United Kingdom
- Field app
- Works offline
Core
£129 a month +VAT
CIS Compliance is included from Solo, so it is on every plan including Solo at £39 a month +VAT. Job Costing is included from Core.
What you get
- iPhone and Android apps, both working offline
- Quote to invoice with CIS and the reverse charge applied
- Certificates with typed test results
- QR site attendance and the live muster roll
- Xero, QuickBooks and Sage integration
Questions
Estimark vs ServiceM8: frequently asked
Is Estimark a ServiceM8 alternative?
For a UK trade, yes. Estimark covers the same field work on iPhone, Android and the web, and handles CIS, the VAT domestic reverse charge and Construction Act payment applications.
Does Estimark work on Android?
Yes. There is a native Android app on Google Play alongside the iPhone app on the App Store, and both hold their own database on the device so work saved on site is written there and sent when there is a signal.
Does the app work with no signal?
Most of it does. Work saved on site is written on the device and sent when there is a signal. Signing a RAMS and checking on to site by QR both need a signal, and the app says so before you act.
Can I move from ServiceM8 to Estimark?
Estimark imports clients, jobs and price book data by CSV. There is no direct migration from any other platform, and anybody telling you a move between two systems of record is a button press has not done one.
Related
Offline field app
Capture on site with no signal, and it sends itself when there is one.
For sole traders
Quote and invoice from the phone, with CIS and the reverse charge handled.
CIS compliance
Labour-only deduction, 6th-to-5th tax months, HMRC verification, CIS300 recorded.
Pricing
Every plan and every module, with the current price against each one.
Try it on a real job.
14 days, full access, every plan. No implementation fee. All prices exclude VAT, added at 20% at checkout.
Moving from another system? What comes across, what we do with you in the first fortnight, and how long it takes.