TradeLinkers
Book the survey, win the install, get paid for it
TradeLinkers lets air conditioning engineers book the site survey as a Quote Visit, send an estimate with a deposit percentage that the customer accepts online, then book the install across one or more days. Attach the commissioning sheet and warranty paperwork to the job, and turn the estimate into the invoice in one tap.
14 days free, no card. Then £9.99 a month. iPhone users can use the web app.
Typical air con engineer jobs, all in one list
Any job works. These are the ones an air con engineer books in most weeks.
What changes when an air con engineer runs the paperwork on TradeLinkers
Survey first, as a Quote Visit
Book the site survey as a Quote Visit so it sits apart from paid work in your list. Note the room size, wall construction and where the outdoor unit can go on the job, then price it.
Estimates with a deposit
Email the estimate with the PDF attached and a deposit percentage. The customer types their name and taps Accept, or accepts in their portal, and you request the deposit before you order the kit.
Installs over more than one day
Multi-split and office jobs can be booked across several separate days, each with its own start time. If the electrician or the kit is late, the reschedule sheet moves them and can email the customer.
Paperwork kept with the job
Attach the commissioning sheet, warranty registration and service records as PDFs. The customer gets an email and can download them from their portal when the manufacturer or their insurer asks.
Engineers on their own logins
Invite your engineers by email and assign them jobs. Each sees their work on My jobs and the team calendar, marks the job done from site, and you take it on to invoicing.
VAT invoices for business customers
Shops and offices will want your VAT number. Once your business is marked VAT registered, invoices show VAT at 20%, 5%, 0% or a custom rate, with your VAT number printed on the PDF.
What an air con engineer's invoice looks like
Equipment, labour, materials and commissioning on separate lines, with VAT added because this business is VAT registered. The deposit taken against the estimate carries onto the invoice when you create it.
Example figures to show the layout, not a price guide. Your own prices, business details, bank details and VAT setting go on the real thing.
| Description | Qty | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 3.5kW wall-mounted split system, indoor and outdoor unit | 1 | £980.00 |
| Installation labour, two engineers, one day | 1 | £520.00 |
| Pipework, trunking, wall bracket and condensate pump | 1 | £190.00 |
| Electrical supply to outdoor isolator | 1 | £160.00 |
| Pressure test, evacuation and commissioning | 1 | £85.00 |
Straight answers
Do I need an F gas certificate to install air conditioning?
Yes. GOV.UK guidance says you need an F gas qualification to install, service and maintain, leak check, recover gas from, and decommission refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems. A category 1 certificate covers all of these. Your business, sole traders included, also needs company certification from an approved body to work on equipment that other people use, renewed every three years.
That's the GOV.UK position; if you also work in Northern Ireland, check the rules there separately.
Is the electrical supply for an air con unit notifiable?
It can be. In England, Part P covers fixed electrical work in and around a home, and Approved Document P names air conditioning units on outside walls as an example. Running a new circuit from the consumer unit is notifiable; adding to an existing circuit away from a bathroom generally isn't. Notifiable work needs a registered competent person, a registered third-party certifier or building control.
If an electrician does that part, keep them in the TradeLinkers contractors directory and attach their certificate to the job.
Does every air con system need regular leak checks?
Not every one. GOV.UK guidance sets a leak check at least every 12 months for equipment holding 5 to under 50 tonnes CO2 equivalent of F gas, every 24 months if automatic leak detection is fitted, and more often for larger systems. Hermetically sealed systems under 10 tonnes CO2 equivalent have no fixed interval. Work out the CO2 equivalent from the refrigerant type and charge on the nameplate.
TradeLinkers doesn't book repeat visits, so each check is its own job.
Should I charge for the site survey?
That's your call, but decide before you book it and say so when you do. Some customers are comparing several installers, so a small survey fee, taken off the install price if they go ahead, filters out the tyre-kickers without putting off the serious ones.
In TradeLinkers the survey is a Quote Visit. If you charge for it, invoice it straight away. If you're crediting it, take it off the install price on the estimate and say so in the line description.
What TradeLinkers does not do yet
- No F gas register or refrigerant log. Keep those in your usual records and attach the PDF to the job.
- No repeat service visits. Each annual service is booked as its own job.
- No card payments built in. Your own pay link can print on the invoice as a SCAN TO PAY QR code.
Tell us what would help: get in touch. The person who reads it builds the app.
Tools and guides
Free quote template
A clean quote or estimate PDF in two minutes.
Job price calculator
Labour, materials, markup and VAT in one sum.
VAT calculator
Add or take off VAT at 20%, 5% or 0%.
Quote or estimate: what's the difference?
A quote is a fixed price once accepted, an estimate is your best guess. What to put on each, how long a quote stays valid, and how to handle extra work.
Should you take a deposit, and how much?
When to take a deposit, how much to ask for, the 14-day cancellation rules for work agreed in a customer's home, and what to put on the quote.
Run your air con engineer paperwork from the van.
14 days free, no card needed. After that it's £9.99 a month for everything, and you can cancel any time.
Android app on Google Play. On an iPhone or a computer, use the web app with the same account.