Expense Tracking for Decorators
Track business expenses by job. Materials, fuel, subcontractors and equipment — all in one place.
To know if your decorating jobs are profitable, you need to track what they cost. Materials, fuel, subcontractor fees, equipment hire — if you do not log these, you do not know your true profit.
Trade Assist lets you log expenses against each job, so you can see exactly what each project cost and how much profit you made.
Deep Dive: Expense Tracking
Profit is not what you charge — it is what you keep. Many decorators know their turnover but have no idea what their actual profit is, because they do not track their expenses properly. Materials, fuel, subcontractor fees, equipment hire, van maintenance, insurance — all of these eat into your margin, and if you do not track them, you do not know which jobs are actually profitable.
Trade Assist Expense Tracking changes this by letting you log every expense against the job it relates to. Buy paint for a job? Log it. Pay a subcontractor? Log it. Hire a tower scaffold? Log it. At the end of the job, you see the total revenue, the total expenses and the actual profit — not a guess, but a real number based on real data.
The job-based approach is what makes expense tracking genuinely useful. Generic expense trackers tell you what you spent in a month, but not whether a specific job was profitable. Trade Assist links every expense to a job, so you can see that the kitchen refurb made £800 profit but the commercial hallway actually lost money because of unexpected prep work. This job-level insight is what allows you to price future work accurately and focus on the types of jobs that make you money.
For decorators who want to reduce their tax bill, accurate expense tracking is essential. Every legitimate business expense reduces your taxable profit — but only if you record it. Logging expenses as you go, rather than trying to reconstruct them from bank statements at year-end, ensures you claim everything you are entitled to and makes working with your accountant far easier.
See Expense Tracking in Action
Watch a 2-minute demo of how expense tracking works in Trade Assist
Start Free TrialKey Benefits
Know your true profit
Track all costs against each job and see your real profit margin.
Never lose a receipt
Log expenses on the go. No more lost receipts or forgotten costs.
Better pricing
When you know your costs, you can price future jobs more accurately.
Features
Job-based expense logging
Log materials, fuel, subcontractor and equipment costs against each job.
Expense categories
Categorise expenses — materials, fuel, subcontractor, equipment, other.
Profit calculation
See the total expenses and profit for each job at a glance.
How It Works
Log an expense
Enter the amount, category and description. Link it to a job.
Track your costs
See all expenses for each job in one place.
See your profit
Compare the job total to expenses to see your true profit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I track expenses per job?
Yes. Every expense is linked to a job, so you can see the total cost and profit for each project.
What expense categories are available?
Materials, fuel, subcontractor, equipment and other — with the ability to add details for each.
Can I photograph and store receipts?
Yes. Attach a photo of the receipt to each expense entry. This creates a permanent, searchable record of every receipt — no more shoeboxes full of paper at year-end. Your accountant will thank you.
Can I export expenses for my accountant?
Yes. Export your expense data as a CSV or share it through your accounting integration. If you use Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent, expenses can be synced automatically — no manual data entry required.
Can I track van and fuel expenses?
Yes. Log fuel, van maintenance, insurance and other vehicle costs. These can be tracked as general business expenses or allocated to specific jobs if you want to understand the true cost of a project.
Can I see profit by job type?
Yes. By categorising expenses and linking them to jobs, you can see which types of jobs — interior, exterior, commercial, residential — are most and least profitable. This insight helps you focus on the work that makes you money.
Related Features
Invoice Management
Create branded invoices, track payment status and get paid faster with automated chasing and online payment links.
Payment Tracking
Track every invoice and payment. See who has paid, who is overdue and your full cash flow at a glance.
Business Analytics
Understand your business with analytics. Track revenue, quote conversion, job profitability and growth.
Business Dashboard
See your whole business at a glance. Quotes, jobs, revenue and performance in one clean dashboard.