Joinery and Carpentry Contractor Software

The office side

From the first fix to
the last door signed off.

Teams on a housing development, fire doors across a block of flats, or a bench shop making staircases: the work differs, the office side does not.

Hanging a door or running a staircase is the part a joinery firm already does well. The money is lost around it. A stage done but not signed off is not paid, and a fire door hung without its record is a door somebody has to open up again.
Unibuild is bespoke business software for UK trades and specialist contractors: a platform in daily production since 2016, shaped to the way each firm already works. One account carries the labour run, measured valuations, subcontract payments and CIS, fire door records, snagging, competence, the workshop's machines and applications for payment.

All of it on one account, with every joiner on it and never a charge per seat.

Book a 30-minute demo → Ask for a quote

The brief

Joinery business software:
what it has to do.

Six things a joinery firm asks of its software, each with the module that does it. The requirement rows below go into the detail.

Plot and stage rates: First and second fix captured per plot, priced from the house type and signed by the site manager before the team moves on. Rate valuations.
CIS for labour-only teams: UTR verified, the deduction taken on the labour element at the verified rate, statements by tax month. Financial management.
Fire door records: Every door on its own record with its label, photographs and checks, opened by the building owner from their own login. Fire doors and fire assets.
Snagging: Raised with a photograph, assigned to a team against the plot, closed with the fix photographed. Clients, projects and jobs.
The workshop: Machines, extraction and machine training on dated records, with the LEV examination due at least every fourteen months under COSHH regulation 9. Assets and inventory and training matrix.
Hours and payment: Teams clock in by QR at the gate, and the signed stages build the application to the main contractor. Timesheets and applications for payment.

Built for joinery

What joinery and carpentry work requires,
and what Unibuild provides.

On a housing site a joiner is paid by the plot, not the hour. On a fire door contract every leaf is a record. Each requirement is followed by what the platform does about it.

Priced by the plot

First and second fix are paid by house type and stage

A housebuilder prices joinery per plot, split into stages: joists and floors, stud walls, roof, stairs and linings at first fix, then doors, skirting, architrave and kitchens at second. Each stage is paid when the site manager signs it off.

A rate per house type and per stage
Extras and remedials priced separately, if anybody writes them down
Signed off stages are the only ones that get paid
Twenty plots at different stages make a valuation by memory impossible

Measured per plot, priced on the agreed rates

Rate valuations captures each completed stage on the phone, prices it from the job rate card, caps it against the estimate and gets it signed before anyone leaves the plot. Extras are raised as onsite quotes and variations against the same job.

Runs onRate valuations Onsite quotes and variations

Labour-only, paid weekly

Most teams are subcontractors under CIS

Joinery is one of the trades most often worked labour-only. Every team needs its UTR verified, the right deduction taken on the labour element, a statement issued and the insurance checked before it starts.

Teams paid per plot, per stage or on day rate
Deductions at the verified rate, never assumed
Statements issued each tax month
A lapsed insurance should stop a team before it reaches site

Verified, deducted and stated by tax month

Financial management carries each subcontractor's UTR, verification reference and deduction rate, takes deductions on the labour element only and closes each HMRC tax month into a return pack. Subcontractor management drops a team whose cover lapses out of approved status overnight.

Runs onFinancial management Subcontractor management

Every leaf a record

A fire door is only as good as its installation

A fire door is a tested assembly, installed to the manufacturer's certified instructions. Gaps, hinges, intumescent seals, ironmongery and the certification label are all part of it, and third party installer schemes audit the evidence.

BS 8214 is the code of practice for fire-resisting and smoke control doors
Schemes such as BM TRADA Q-Mark and FIRAS certify installers
Over 11 metres, communal fire doors are checked quarterly and flat entrance doors annually
A door without its record is a door that fails the next inspection

Every door labelled and on its own record

Fire doors and fire assets holds each door on its own record with its label, location and photographs. The record of maintenance or repair is completed at the door and signed on the phone, and your client opens the certificate from their own login.

Runs onFire doors and fire assets The field app

The bench shop

Woodworking machinery carries its own regime

Saws, planers, spindle moulders and CNC routers are covered by PUWER and its woodworking approved code of practice. Wood dust is controlled under COSHH, and the extraction that controls it is thoroughly examined and tested at least every fourteen months.

Machinists are trained and authorised per machine
Hardwood dust is a carcinogen with a workplace exposure limit
The LEV test report is the first document an inspector asks for
Power tools bring hand arm vibration exposure and health surveillance

Machines, extraction and training on dated records

Assets and inventory holds each machine and the extraction system with its inspection and service history. The training matrix records who is authorised on which machine, and health surveillance records carry their own dates.

Runs onAssets and inventory Training and competence

The plot is not finished until it is snagged

Snags arrive after the team has moved on

Second fix is inspected by the site manager, the warranty inspector and eventually the buyer. Snags come back in batches, weeks after the team left the plot, and each one is a return visit nobody priced.

Snags raised by the client, the inspector and your own supervisor
Each tied to a plot, a room and a photograph
Closed out with a photograph of the fix
Snags caused by other trades are a separate conversation

Raised on site, assigned, chased to close-out

Snagging and defects are raised on the phone with photographs, assigned to a team against the plot and closed out with a photograph of the fix. A snag caused by another trade is photographed as such rather than argued from memory.

Runs onClients, projects and jobs The field app

The week

An ordinary week in a joinery firm,
and the record it leaves.

Six entries from a joinery contractor's day book, each ending in a record rather than a reminder.

Contractor in a red hard hat checking equipment beside a doorway

Monday, the gate

Four teams clock in by scanning the poster at the site gate. The hours land against the development, and nobody rings round for timesheets on Friday.

Hours on the job

Tuesday, plot 14

First fix is complete. The stage is captured on the phone, priced from the house type rate and signed by the site manager on screen.

Stage signed off

Wednesday, the block

Twenty flat entrance doors are hung. Each door's label, gaps and ironmongery are photographed and recorded against that door before the team moves floor.

Every door evidenced

Thursday, the workshop

The extraction system's examination falls due next month. It surfaced thirty days out, and the engineer is booked.

Tested before it lapsed

Friday, the office

Signed stages become the teams' valuations. Deductions are taken at the verified rates and the housebuilder's application is built from the same signed stages.

Paid on what was signed

Three weeks later

The warranty inspection raises six snags on plot 14. Each is assigned with its photograph, two are photographed as another trade's damage, and all six close with evidence.

Closed with a photograph

Your system, your app

Shaped to your firm,
published under your name

Anything a firm needs is built for it, and changes asked for after go-live are included in the monthly fee. See how bespoke software works at Unibuild.

Your rate schedulesYour house types, your stage splits and your fire door checklist are set up the way your firm already prices and works. Nobody relearns the job to suit the software.
A working startThe build starts from a working platform rather than an empty screen. A firm gets the fit of a bespoke system without the cost, the timescale or the risk of commissioning one from scratch.
Your app on the storesYour staff app is published on the App Store and Google Play under your company's own name and icon. The joiner at the gate scans with your firm's app, not ours. How the branded staff app works.
Your letterheadThe office portal carries your name, logo and colours, fifty-eight document types generate on your own letterhead, and the QR clock-in posters are printed in your branding.

The stores

What a joinery and
carpentry firm holds

The workshop, the vans and the materials delivered plot by plot, and the quirk in each line that breaks ordinary inventory software.

What a UK joinery and carpentry contractor holds, and the tracking quirk in each line
Category	Typical items	The tracking quirk
Timber and sheet	Studwork, joists, sheet materials, mouldings, hardwood for the bench shop	Often bought by the housebuilder and fixed by you, so the quantity that matters is what was used per plot rather than what you own
Doorsets and fire doors	Internal doors, fire doorsets, frames, linings, glazing kits	A fire door is a certified assembly, and its label and schedule reference belong on the record of the opening it went into
Ironmongery	Hinges, closers, locks, handles, intumescent seals and smoke seals	Ironmongery on a fire door must match the tested assembly, so a substitute hinge is a compliance question, not a stock one
Workshop machinery	Panel saws, planers, spindle moulders, CNC routers, dust extraction	Each machine carries training, guarding and maintenance records, and the extraction has its own statutory test
Power tools	Mitre saws, nailers, routers, planers, drills, battery packs	Carried by the team, lent across plots, and each one has a vibration value that feeds somebody's daily exposure
Access	Hop-ups, podiums, towers, trestles, stair void protection	Inspected before use and moved plot to plot without anybody booking it out
Vans	Vans with racking and roof bars	The van carries the team's own tools as well as the firm's, so ownership has to be recorded before a loss, not after
Records	Stage sign-offs, fire door records, snag lists, installation evidence	Not stock, but what the valuation and the fire door inspection are argued on, and each belongs to a plot or an opening

Regulations

The regimes a joinery and
carpentry firm works under

Payment rules on site, fire safety on the door and machinery rules in the workshop. The reference version, kept factual.

What each regime asks of a joinery and carpentry contractor
Regime	What it requires
Construction Industry Scheme and the VAT reverse charge	Subcontractors are verified with HMRC before they are paid, deductions are taken at the verified rate on the labour element, and a monthly return and statements follow. The domestic reverse charge for VAT applies to most business to business construction supplies.
Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022	This applies to residential buildings over 11 metres with two or more sets of domestic premises. Communal fire doors are checked at least every three months, and flat entrance doors every twelve on a best endeavours basis.
BS 8214 and installer certification	The code of practice for timber based fire door assemblies. Doors are installed to the certified instructions for the assembly, and third party schemes such as BM TRADA Q-Mark and FIRAS certify installers on documented evidence.
PUWER 1998 and ACOP L114	Work equipment is suitable, maintained and guarded, and people using it are trained. The approved code of practice for woodworking machinery sets out training and safe use for each machine type.
COSHH and wood dust	Wood dust is a hazardous substance with workplace exposure limits, and hardwood dust can cause cancer. Local exhaust ventilation is thoroughly examined and tested at least every fourteen months, and the record is kept.
Control of Vibration at Work Regulations 2005	Exposure to hand arm vibration is assessed and controlled against the exposure action and limit values, with health surveillance for those at risk.
CDM 2015 and Building Regulations	Site work sits under CDM. Stairs, guarding and balustrades are set by Part K, and fire doors form part of the fire strategy under Part B.

On the record

Questions joinery and
carpentry firms ask

The questions joinery contractors raise on a demonstration, answered on the record.

FitIs Unibuild joinery software for a UK carpentry and joinery firm of our size?

Yes, for carpentry and joinery firms of 5 to 300 people: site teams on housing and fit-out, fire door installers, and firms with a bench shop. It values first and second fix by plot and stage and pays teams on signed stages with CIS handled. Every fire door sits on its own record, and the workshop's machines, extraction and training stay in date. The modules are picked to fit your firm on the call.

PricingWhat does carpentry business software cost, and do you charge per joiner?

Not per joiner. One monthly figure covers everything, with unlimited users on every plan, quoted in writing, usually the same working day. It is sized to the firm when quoted and fixed for three years, so taking on more joiners never changes it. Configuration, training and data migration are included. Most firms go live in about two weeks, in phases, and the 14-day trial is the full platform with no card needed. How pricing works.

TrialIs there a free trial?

Yes, 14 days of the full platform, no card. Nothing is cut down for the trial, so the rate valuations, the fire door records and the clock-in are the ones you would go live on.

Go-liveHow long does it take to go live?

Most firms go live in about two weeks, in phases, with a sandbox to try the set-up in first. Rate valuations and the clock-in usually go first, because that is what the teams are paid on.

ScopeWhat should joinery business software do?

Four things, on one account. Capture each completed stage on the phone, price it from the house type and get it signed before the team leaves the plot. Pay labour-only teams on those signed stages with the CIS deduction taken at the verified rate. Hold every fire door on its own record with its label and photographs. Keep the bench shop's machines, extraction test and machine training on dated records, so the LEV report exists when the inspector asks.

Plot ratesCan it value first and second fix by plot and house type?

Yes. Each house type carries its rates by stage, and each completed stage is captured on the phone against the plot, priced and signed by the site manager. The valuation is the sum of signed stages, so a plot is never paid twice or missed. Extras are raised as onsite quotes and variations against the same job.

Fire doorsCan it keep a record for every fire door we install?

Yes. Every door is labelled and held on its own record with its location, photographs, certification label and the work done to it, signed on the phone. Regulation 10 checks are recorded at the door against the same record. The building's owner opens the certificate and the register read only through the client portal.

CISDoes it handle CIS for labour-only teams?

Yes. Each subcontractor carries their UTR, verification reference and deduction rate. Deductions are taken on the labour element only, statements issue within the deadline, and each HMRC tax month closes into a return pack ready for your accountant to file.

InsuranceCan a team with lapsed insurance be stopped before it reaches site?

Yes. Subcontractor management watches each team's cover, and a team whose insurance lapses drops out of approved status overnight. The office sees it before the team is allocated to a plot.

SnaggingSnags come back weeks after the team has left. How are they handled?

Each snag is raised on the phone with a photograph, assigned to a team against the plot and closed out with a photograph of the fix. Damage caused by another trade is photographed as such, so it is settled on evidence rather than argued from memory.

WorkshopDoes it cover the bench shop's machines and extraction tests?

Yes. Each machine and the extraction system sit on their own records with inspection and service history, and the LEV examination surfaces thirty days before it falls due. The training matrix records who is authorised on which machine, and health surveillance records carry their own dates.

Clocking inCan joiners clock in on site with their phones?

Yes. They scan the numbered QR poster at the site gate in your own app, and the hours land against the job. A day rate team is paid on recorded time rather than a sheet written up on Friday. Clock-ins work on sites with no signal and sync as soon as the phone is back in coverage.

The marketWhat software do UK joinery and carpentry contractors use?

A joinery firm needs a system that values work by plot and stage, pays teams with CIS handled, and keeps fire doors and workshop records in date. Unibuild does all of that on one account. Stages are signed on the phone and priced from your rates, and the same signed stages build the application to the main contractor.

Free RAMS templates

RAMS for this work, already filled in.

Risk assessments and method statements pre-filled for the work this trade does, free in PDF and Word, each with the law and a toolbox talk.

Other trades

Not quite your
line of work?

The same platform, written for the trade that runs it.
Each of these is a different set of modules
switched on rather than a different product.
Every one is shaped to the firm's own process,
with its own app under its own name.