Remember the board, with photos
You say: What did I say about Mrs Jones’s board?
Photos from the EICR visit, the scorched socket and the missing bonding, are filed on that job. Months later, ask, and they come back with what you said at the time.
Quote and invoice app for electriciansQuote the remedials in the hallway. Let the chasing run itself.
Tell Tools Down the job by chat or voice. It makes the quote the agent accepts in one tap, the invoice when the work’s done, and the reminders when it isn’t paid. Your photos stay on the job.
Coming soon to iPhone. First month free, no card.
Tools Down: Done. £735, board and bonding. Send it?
Quote · Q-0142Ready to check
Remedial work, 14 Park Road
Harlow Lettings
- Replace consumer unit
- £650
- Main bonding to gas
- £85
Total£735
- Valid for 30 days
- Accept online in one tap
Heard on the forums
It drives me up the wall when customers take forever to pay and come out with excuses, especially new customers.
The honest fit
Certificates: not yet. Here’s what it does around them.
Tools Down doesn’t make EICRs, EICs or Minor Works certificates. Keep your certificate app for the forms, such as iCertifi. Tools Down handles the quote before them and the money after.
- No EIC, Minor Works or EICR forms, schedules of test results or observation codes.
- No Part P or scheme notification. It doesn’t talk to NICEIC, NAPIT or building control.
- It never tells you what BS 7671 requires or what code a defect gets. That’s your call and your certificate’s.
- No card payments or Tap to Pay, no Android, no team accounts and no live Xero sync yet.
What matters on your jobs
What it does in an electrician’s week
Quote the remedials while it’s fresh
You say: Quote the agent for the C2s at 14 Park Road.
The agent gets a quote page they accept in one tap, valid for 30 days. If it goes quiet for a week, it shows up in your morning brief with a Follow up button.
The while-you’re-here socket gets paid
You say: Patel job: extra double socket in the kitchen, £80.
Say it when it’s agreed and it’s saved on the job at that price. When you say “invoice the Patel job”, it’s on the invoice.
Paid by the agent without chasing
You say: Invoice Harlow Lettings for Park Road.
Share the invoice link or the PDF. If it isn’t paid, reminders go 3, 7 and 14 days after it’s due, free, and stop when it’s paid. On a builder’s job the invoice carries CIS and the reverse charge, set by customer.
From the EICR visit to the money in
- EICR visit: photos of the board, filed on the job.
- Still in the hallway: the remedials quote goes to the agent.
- Accepted in one tap. “Book Park Road in for Tuesday morning.”
- Work done: the invoice comes from the same job.
- Not paid? Reminders at 3, 7 and 14 days, free.
- “Remind me in four and a half years that 14 Park Road’s EICR is due.”
Price and the free plan
Made for electricians working on their own.
Free to start. One price if you need more.
- Your first month is free, with no card.
- After that, 50 messages a month to Tools Down stay free for good.
- Every screen works on the free plan: quotes, invoices, chasing, reminders, the customer’s pay page, gas safety records and export.
- Tools Down Pro is £29.99 a month including VAT, through Apple. It lifts the message limit and nothing else, and the price you join at is the price you keep.
- Tools Down’s ceiling is 2,000 jobs a month on every plan, so there’s no allowance to watch. A weekly fair-use limit on messages applies on every plan.
Coming soon to iPhone.
Be first to hear when Tools Down is ready for your iPhone.
We’ll only email you about early access. No spam.
Straight answers
Questions electricians ask
Can I do EICRs and Minor Works certificates in Tools Down?
Not yet. Electrical certificates aren’t built. Tools Down handles the remedials quote, the invoice, the chasing, the photos and your reminders; keep your certificate app, such as iCertifi, for the forms.
How often does a rented home need an EICR?
In England, at intervals of no more than five years, or sooner if the last report says so, and the tenant gets a copy within 28 days (Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, reg 3). Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own five-year rules, set out in the rules on this page.
How long does a landlord have to do the remedials?
In England, 28 days from the inspection, or less if the report says so, then written confirmation to the tenant and the council within 28 days of finishing (Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, reg 3).
Which work do I have to notify under Part P?
In England: a new circuit, a consumer unit replacement, or any addition or alteration to circuits in a special location such as a bathroom (Building Regulations 2010, reg 12(6A)). Wales lists more, including kitchens and outdoors (GOV.WALES: building regulations, electrics); Scotland uses building warrants.
Can it chase a letting agent for me?
Yes. Every invoice is chased 3, 7 and 14 days after it’s due, free, and the reminders stop when it’s paid. The invoice is a link with your bank details, plus a PDF.
Do I invoice a builder differently?
Often, yes. On a builder’s job you may be a CIS subcontractor, and if you’re both VAT registered the domestic reverse charge may apply. Tools Down sets CIS and the reverse charge by customer, so the builder’s invoice and Mrs Patel’s come out different without you remembering.
Does it work with my accountant?
Expenses export as a CSV in the layout Xero or FreeAgent expects, or a plain CSV for QuickBooks and Sage, and you can export everything at any time. There’s no live Xero sync yet.
Paperwork and rules
The paperwork and rules around your work
Information, not advice. Open a rule to read it, with its source; check the source for your own job.
Part P notificationEngland
Notifiable work in a dwelling is a new circuit, a consumer unit replacement, or any addition or alteration to circuits in a special location, such as a room with a bath or shower.
Part P in WalesWales
Welsh guidance also treats alterations in a kitchen, a bathroom or outdoors as notifiable. Check with building control.
Self-certifying through a schemeEngland and Wales
A scheme member self-certifies: the building control notice and the occupier’s certificate are due within 30 days of completion.
Building Regulations 2010, reg 20(3)GOV.UK: competent person schemes
Private rented homesEngland
Landlords must have the installation inspected and tested at intervals of no more than five years, give tenants the report within 28 days, and finish remedial work within 28 days, or sooner if the report says.
Social housingEngland
The same regulations now cover social rented homes; older tenancies must be inspected and tested before 1 November 2026.
Electrical condition reportsWales
The landlord must have a valid electrical condition report, valid for five years, and give the contract-holder a copy within 14 days.
Installation and PAT checksScotland
Private landlords need the installation and the equipment they supply inspected and tested, at intervals of no more than five years.
Private tenanciesNorthern Ireland
Installations must be inspected and tested at least every five years, for new private tenancies from 1 April 2025.
Department for Communities (NI): electrical safety standards
CIS on a builder’s jobUK
Installing systems for heating, lighting, power, water and ventilation is construction work under CIS, so an electrician paid by a builder is a subcontractor.
Your work
The jobs you quote
- Consumer unit changes
- EICRs for landlords and letting agents, and the remedials after
- Full and partial rewires
- Extra sockets and circuits
- Kitchen and bathroom lighting
- Outside power and lights
- EV chargers and electric showers
- Fault finding call-outs
- Smoke and heat alarms
How the money comes in
- Small jobs paid on the day; bigger ones with a deposit for materials.
- Landlords and letting agents: steady work, paid on their cycle, often late.
- Rewires in stages: a deposit, first fix, second fix, the balance with the certificate.
- On a builder’s job you may be a CIS subcontractor, paid net of the deduction.
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