Plumbing business software, set up for how you work. Your evenings back.

Which notifications and certificates does a plumber need to track?

Two sets of rules create most of it. The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 require notice to the water company before some installations, and approved contractors certify their work. Building work such as heating or hot water systems can be self-certified by an installer registered with a competent person scheme.

Under regulation 5 of the Water Fittings Regulations, some work needs notice to the water company, and its consent, before you start. Examples include a bath over 230 litres, a pump drawing more than 12 litres a minute, and a garden watering system not worked by hand. If the water company doesn't reply within 10 working days, consent is treated as given.

Approved contractors, the kind listed on the WaterSafe register, skip advance notice for a few of those jobs. They must give the customer a signed certificate saying whether the work complies.

Building regulations bring their own trail. GOV.UK lists a bathroom involving plumbing, and installing or replacing a heating system, among jobs that may need approval. A competent person scheme lets you self-certify, and unvented hot water storage is one of the areas schemes assess. Under the Building Regulations 2010, the occupier's certificate and the notice to building control are due within 30 days of finishing.

• Mark a job as notifiable and a task appears with its 30-day date.
• The water company notice is drafted from the job, with the 10-working-day date diarised.
• Certificates are saved against the address and attached to the invoice.

Gas work is separate. HSE says someone who isn't Gas Safe registered can do the wet work, like pipes and radiators, but not the boiler or its final connection. My page for gas and heating engineers covers that side, and my page for electricians explains Part P for electrics near a bath or shower.

How do I choose plumbing business software?

Start with your week, not a features list. Look for software that handles call-outs and quotes on your phone, stores your merchant prices, links parts to jobs, keeps certificates against the address and connects to your accounts. Then try it on real jobs for a fortnight before moving your whole customer list across.

• Quotes built from your own price list, with job photos attached.
• Works in a loft or cellar with no signal, and catches up later.
• Sends invoices and costs to your accounts. On 6 April 2027, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax widens to take in qualifying income above £30,000. Your accountant can confirm your date.
• Lets you export customers, jobs and certificates if you ever leave.

There's plenty of software for plumbers. As examples, not recommendations: Tradify says it can import a supplier's price list, Fergus lists supplier integrations, and Commusoft describes matching merchant invoices to jobs. I have no affiliate arrangement with any of them.

Why a law firm Managing Partner?

A law firm lives on the same three things as a plumbing business: deadlines, records and getting paid. For years I kept up the only way I knew, working 60 to 70 hours a week and often until 2am. Putting my firm on systems changed that, and it's now four to five times the size it was when I started.

I'm Managing Partner of the firm, which has two offices and around 30 people. The fixes I've built there include a live dashboard and work passed along a set route with one-click approval.

This consultancy is young, and no plumber has been a client yet. As a dad of two with a football side to coach, I know what your evenings are worth. Here's the story of how I got here.