“The making's the easy bit. It's the drawings, costings and quotes that eat my nights.”
Joinery software for the work after the workshop. Your evenings, back.
Drawings turned into quotes and cutting lists without a blank sheet, deposits in before the timber's ordered, and a business that doesn't need you at the bench every hour.
Hello, I'm Daniel Andrews. I lead a law firm in East Sussex, and I built the systems it runs on. If your week is split between workshop and site, I'll help you set up admin that stays at work when you go home.
A typical evening, after a day at the bench
- 7pmDraw up the Lewes sash windowsSite measurements into a drawing the customer can approve.
- 8pmWork out the cutting listEvery rail, stile and panel, with waste allowed for, by hand.
- 9pmCost the timber and ironmongeryThree supplier price lists, two of them out of date.
- 10pmChase a depositThe oak is on order for a job that hasn't paid a penny.
- 11pmBed, still juggling the weekTwo days making, three fitting. Which job slips?
Sawdust by day, spreadsheets by night
Bespoke work comes with bespoke paperwork.
“Every job's a one-off, so every quote starts from a blank sheet.”
“My partner has stopped asking when I'll be done in the office.”
“I've paid for the oak before the customer has paid me anything.”
“They say the doors don't match the drawing. Which version of the drawing?”
A workshop that stops when you put the tools down
Joiners tend to go it alone for the craft: work you're proud of, made to your standard, on your hours. Then every bespoke enquiry brings drawings, costings and a quote that can take longer to write than the job takes to fit.
When the workshop only moves while you're in it, and the office only runs after dark, you've built a job, not a business. I ran my own firm that way for years, working 60 to 70 hours a week and often until 2am. Putting it on systems changed that, and it's now four to five times the size it was when I started.
The same system works in a workshop: see where the time goes, put the repeat work on systems, and spend the hours you win back on the business. For a joiner, that means quotes, cutting lists, deposits and invoices that run without you, and methods an apprentice could follow. The wider idea is on my Trades page, about turning skilled work into a business.
What should joinery software do for a small joinery business?
It should turn site measurements into a drawing and a priced quote, produce cutting lists and materials costs from the same details, and track deposits against timber orders. It should also split your time between workshop and site, so you can see what each job really cost once it's fitted.
| Job | How it often works now | Set up properly |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries | "Can you make one of these?" answered late. | A short form collects photos and sizes, and books a measuring visit. |
| Drawings and quotes | Redrawn by hand, priced from memory. | Measurements fill a template that produces the drawing and the price. |
| Cutting lists and materials | Worked out on paper, one supplier at a time. | Cutting list and timber order made from the approved drawing. |
| Deposits | Asked for awkwardly, after the timber's ordered. | A deposit invoice goes out the moment the quote is accepted. |
| Workshop and site diary | Making and fitting days juggled in your head. | One calendar showing both, so dates are realistic. |
| Invoices and chasing | The balance invoiced when you get round to it. | Balance invoiced on fitting day, with polite follow-ups. |
| Reviews and repeat work | Photos of finished jobs sitting on your phone. | A review request after fitting, and the photos saved for your website. |
Which rules affect a joiner's quotes and deposits?
Mainly consumer law. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, and your description of the work can count as a term of the contract. For contracts made during a home visit, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 add a 14-day cancellation right, with exceptions.
Section 50 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lets that description change only where you and the customer expressly agree. That's why the approved measured drawing matters. It's the clearest record of what you promised to make.
Cancellation is where bespoke work differs. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, the right to cancel doesn't cover goods made to the customer's specifications. For services, starting inside the 14 days needs the customer's express request, on paper or email for off-premises contracts. Leave out the cancellation information and the period can run 12 months longer.
Customers read advice too: Citizens Advice tells homeowners not to agree a deposit over 25%. Clear deposit terms in the quote make that conversation easier.
Workshop, site and windows
HSE says wood dust leaves carpenters and joiners four times more likely to get asthma than other UK workers. It also says workshop dust extraction must be examined by a competent person at least every 14 months, with the record kept for at least 5 years. For replacement windows and doors in existing homes, membership of a competent person scheme such as FENSA or CERTASS lets you certify your own installs.
On site, HMRC's CIS 340 guide treats making components off site as outside CIS, but supply and fix as inside it. My pages for builders and roofers cover CIS from the contractor's and the subbie's side.
- Drawings numbered by version, with the customer's approval saved against the one you make from.
- Cancellation information and a start-early request built into any quote agreed on a home visit.
- Deposit and stage invoices sent when a quote is accepted and when fitting is booked.
- A dust extraction test reminder at 13 months, with the report filed.
Please note: this is general information from legislation.gov.uk, HSE, HMRC and Citizens Advice, not legal advice. Whether a job counts as goods, services or both is a question for a solicitor.
How long did your last bespoke quote take? Let's see how much of it could be done for you.
Book a free 30-minute callWhat I'd set up first for a joiner
The slowest jobs first, then money, then the diary.
A quote template for bespoke work
Your standard items, margins and wording in one place, so each one-off job starts from a proper base.
Cutting lists from the drawing
The approved sizes feed the cutting list and timber order, so nothing is worked out twice.
Deposits tied to orders
An accepted quote triggers the deposit invoice, and the timber order waits until it's paid.
Workshop and site time per job
A quick tap logs making and fitting hours, so you can see which kinds of job pay their way.
How do I choose joinery software?
Decide first whether you need joinery-specific software, which draws items and produces cutting lists, or general job management for quotes, diary and invoices. Many small joiners need a bit of both. Test anything on a recent job, check it links to your accounts, and make sure you can export your data.
- Cutting lists and materials costs from the same drawing as the quote.
- Deposits and stage payments on one-off jobs.
- Workshop time and site time shown separately.
- A phone or tablet for measuring on site, a bigger screen in the workshop.
- Links to your accounts for Making Tax Digital, which HMRC extends to sole traders with qualifying income over £20,000 from 6 April 2028.
Examples, not recommendations: Joinerysoft is built for bespoke joinery such as windows, doors and stairs, while Powered Now and Tradify are general job management with pages for UK carpenters. No software company pays me commission.
Why a law firm Managing Partner?
Legal work is made to order too: done to a standard, with plenty of paperwork around it. My firm has two offices and around 30 people, so pricing the work, paying the team and chasing what's owed fill my week as well.
Nothing on this page is guesswork. I built it in my own firm first: a live reporting dashboard, and hand-offs between colleagues signed off in one click.
This consultancy is new, so I haven't worked with joiners yet. I'm a dad of two and coach football, so I know why evenings matter. There's more on how I got here.
Other trades I help
PlumbingPlumbers
Call-outs answered, quotes built from your price list, parts matched to jobs and notifications tracked, so the van isn't your evening office.
For plumbers
ElectricalElectricians
Certificates written up on site, EICR recalls sent to landlords, remedials quoted and invoices chased, so testing days don't become writing-up nights.
For electricians
BuildingBuilders
Quotes, variations, subbies and the monthly CIS return, set up so the office side of a building firm stops eating your evenings.
For builders
Gas and heatingGas and heating engineers
Every landlord check and boiler service on one due-date list, records sent from site, and boiler quotes followed up, so winter weekends stay yours.
For gas and heating engineers
LocksmithingLocksmiths
Lockouts caught while you're mid-job, key and job records kept straight, and the invoice sent before you've left the doorstep.
For locksmiths
GardeningLandscape gardeners
For gardeners and landscapers juggling a maintenance round, bigger landscaping quotes and green waste records through a long summer of late nights.
For landscape gardenersQuestions from joiners and carpenters
How should I handle deposits on bespoke work?
Say in the quote how much the deposit is, what it covers and when the rest is due, and link it to the materials order. For the legal side, ask a solicitor.
Does the 14-day cancellation right apply to made-to-measure work?
For goods made to the customer's specifications, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 say it doesn't. Fitting is a service with its own rules. How that applies to a particular job is a question for a solicitor, and your template can carry whatever wording they recommend.
Is CAD software the same as joinery software?
Not quite. CAD draws the item, joinery software usually adds pricing and cutting lists, and job management handles enquiries, the diary and invoices. A mix is fine if nothing is typed twice.
Do I need to be in CIS as a carpenter?
It depends on who you work for and what you do. Homeowners aren't contractors under CIS, but fitting on a building site for a builder usually is construction work. Your accountant can confirm where you stand.
Leave the paperwork in the workshop
A free 30-minute call. No jargon and no hard sell. Walk me through your last bespoke job, from enquiry to final invoice, and I'll point out where the evenings went.