What are Checker and Tradify, and who are they built for?

Checker began, in the founder’s own words, as a way of getting gas engineers off the paperwork and back on the tools, and has grown into a single toolkit covering quotes, invoicing, digital certificates, job scheduling, a customer database (CRM) and automated reminders. The full feature list is priced as a flat monthly fee per account rather than per user.

Tradify is a job management platform used by tradespeople across several countries and trades, including electricians, plumbers, HVAC and gas engineers. It covers scheduling, quoting, invoicing, timesheets and a large library of certificate and form templates, priced per user per month rather than as a flat account fee.

Both target small and medium trade businesses rather than large enterprise field service operations. The real difference is specialisation and pricing model: Checker is scoped tightly to the UK gas, heating, plumbing and electrical trades with a flat fee, while Tradify is broader in trade coverage and geography, with a per-user charge that scales with headcount.

How does Checker’s pricing compare to Tradify’s for a UK gas engineer?

This is usually the first question, and it’s the one with the clearest, most checkable answer. Both companies’ current UK pricing, checked directly on their own sites in July 2026, plus VAT:

Checker offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. Tradify offers a 14-day free trial, also with no credit card required, and states no minimum contract term. Add-ons on Tradify include an Instant Website at £10 a month and SMS messaging at £0.10 per message.

The number that matters most is the per-account versus per-user structure. A sole trader on either app’s entry tier pays a broadly similar amount, but the moment a business adds a second engineer, the maths diverges fast. A 3-engineer firm on Tradify Pro pays £111 a month in total (£37 times 3). The same firm on Checker Pro+ pays £25.99 for the account plus £10.99 for each of the 2 additional sub-users, around £47.97 a month, roughly £63 less for the same headcount, and that gap widens further for every engineer added. Full current tiers are on the Checker pricing page.

How do the two apps handle gas safety certificates and compliance?

UK landlords are legally required to have every gas appliance in a rented property checked annually by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and to give the tenant a copy of the certificate within 28 days, under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Neither Checker nor Tradify submits certificates directly to the Gas Safe Register itself. That distinction matters, because it’s easy to assume “digital gas certificate” means “connected to the Gas Safe Register,” and for both apps, it doesn’t.

Checker’s gas engineer software lets an engineer upload, manage and share gas safety certificates (CP12), boiler service records and installation certificates as digital forms, alongside the rest of the job (quote, invoice, job history) in the same customer record. Checker also syncs directly over Bluetooth with KANE flue gas analysers, pulling combustion readings straight into the certificate rather than an engineer reading a screen and retyping the numbers by hand.

Tradify’s gas safety certificates feature (tradifyhq.com/uk/features/gas-safety-certificates, verified July 2026) offers 15 certificate and form templates, a genuinely broad library covering the Landlord and Homeowner Gas Safety Record, Service Maintenance Record, Installation and Commissioning Record, Gas Warning Notice, Commercial Catering Inspection, Central Heating Commissioning Certificate, Domestic Gas Testing and Purging, Boiler Record, plus oil-specific CD-series templates for OFTEC-registered engineers, each with electronic signature capture on site. That’s a genuine strength for an engineer needing a wide range of form types beyond a standard CP12.

Does either app work offline in a signal-dead plant room or basement?

Compliance work regularly happens exactly where signal doesn’t reach: utility cupboards, plant rooms, basements, and rural properties. Whether an app can be used and saved without a live connection is a real, practical difference, not a nice-to-have.

Checker is built to be accessible anywhere, including offline, with files syncing effortlessly in the background once a connection returns. Tradify’s own Help Centre article, “Does Tradify Work Offline?”, states directly that both its web console and mobile app require a live internet connection and that Tradify does not currently work offline.

For a gas engineer regularly completing certificates in signal-dead spaces, that’s a real, verifiable, material difference between the two products, not a marginal one.

How do Checker and Tradify compare on Xero, QuickBooks and Sage?

Both apps connect to the three accounting platforms most UK trades businesses already use, but the depth of each connection differs. Checker integrates with Xero, QuickBooks and Sage, keeping invoicing and job data connected to the software a business already runs its books on.

Tradify’s Xero integration (verified via tradifyhq.com, July 2026) is a genuine two-way sync, data flows in both directions, worth real credit since two-way sync is harder to build and more useful day to day than a one-way feed. Its QuickBooks Online and Sage integrations, by contrast, are one-way only, from Tradify into the accounting software, both free add-ons, with Sage built to be CIS-compatible for the Construction Industry Scheme.

For a VAT-registered sole trader already on Xero, Tradify’s two-way sync is a genuine advantage worth weighing. On QuickBooks or Sage, both apps land in similar territory: connected, but one-directional.

Which app automates repeat business and payment chasing better?

Checker’s automations engine runs four workflows automatically once switched on, applying to every new job, quote, invoice and customer record going forward:

The Annual Service Reminder stands out for gas and heating work specifically. It’s timed to land a month before the legal 12-month gas safety deadline, turning a compliance requirement into a scheduled repeat booking without anyone tracking dates by hand. Every automated message sends from the business’s own branded email or number, replies land in the normal inbox, and a copy archives in the Checker outbox.

Tradify also offers service reminders for regular maintenance jobs and appointments on its Pro and Plus tiers, but no automated invoice or quote chaser sequence comparable to Checker’s, and no reminder purpose-built around the 12-month gas safety cycle. For an engineer whose repeat business is largely driven by that annual legal requirement, it’s a meaningful point of difference.

Checker vs Tradify: the full comparison table

A side-by-side summary of everything covered above, built only from each company’s own published, verified information as of July 2026.

Which is better for a sole trader vs a growing team?

For a sole trader, entry-level pricing on both apps lands in a similar range, so feature fit matters more than cost. Tradify’s Plus tier suits a solo engineer who wants AI-assisted SmartTools and a wider form library with room to add people later. Checker’s flat fee suits a solo engineer who mainly needs quotes, invoicing, scheduling and gas safety certificates without paying extra per tier.

For a team, the pricing gap becomes the deciding factor fast, since Tradify’s per-user bill scales in direct proportion to headcount while Checker’s sub-users stay flat at £10.99 each. A team that specifically wants Tradify’s two-way Xero sync or AI SmartTools may find those worth the per-user premium. A team focused on gas and heating compliance work, and sensitive to cost scaling with headcount, will generally find Checker’s model works out cheaper as it grows.

So which one should a gas or heating engineer actually choose?

There isn’t a single right answer. Tradify offers a genuine two-way Xero sync, a large certificate template library, and AI-assisted tools on its top tier, making it a strong choice for a multi-trade business comfortable with per-user pricing.

Checker is the stronger fit for a UK gas or heating sole trader or small team who wants job management and compliance in one flat-fee account, needs the app to work offline in signal-dead spaces, and wants a reminder timed to the actual 12-month legal gas safety deadline rather than a generic maintenance nudge.

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