Without proper software holding your customer details in one place, you lose time, you lose repeat work, and you look less professional than you are. Service reminders slip your mind, invoices are left unpaid, and engineers effectively work blind when information from a previous visit could save them hours.

This guide compares the best customer management (CRM) software for heating and plumbing teams so you can make the right choice for the future of your business.

For the broader picture — scheduling, invoicing, the full back office — see our best job management software comparison).

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What “CRM” actually means for a trade business

CRM stands for customer relationship management, and it’s at the heart of any business.

At the very least, the CRM you choose needs to help you keep your customer details safe and searchable. Some platforms bolt on additional features like sales pipelines and AI agents, but purpose-built CRMs for gas engineers and plumbers will also track service due dates, multiple job addresses per customer, send reminders, hold appliance details, and much more.

Each CRM platform has a slightly different focus, so the best option for you largely depends on the type of jobs your business does.

If you’re still working off a notebook or a phone full of contacts, our guide on how to keep track of customer details is the place to start before you commit to any platform.

1. Gas Engineer Software (GES)

The best option for heating and plumbing teams. GES is purpose-built for your trade, and treats the customer record as the centre of everything rather than an afterthought bolted onto a job sheet. Every name, address, appliance and contact detail sits in one customer database that syncs across every device in real time, so whoever answers the phone can see the full history in seconds.

Where it pulls ahead on the CRM side is service reminders. Gas service due dates are recorded automatically and reminders go out without you having to remember — which is the single biggest driver of repeat work for a heating business. Because the same system also issues your gas safety certificates and invoices, everything is kept neatly in one place (including appliance details).

Best for: Sole traders and larger heating and plumbing teams who want customer management, certificates and jobs in one place.

Worth knowing: It’s purpose-built for gas and heating, so if your work has nothing to do with gas appliances, some of the compliance features won’t be relevant to you.

Pricing: From £18 per user per month, plus a 14-day free trial. See full pricing details.

Renewables-Add-and-manage-customer-details-anywhere

2. Commusoft

Commusoft has one of the deepest developed CRM systems of the trade-built tools here. Alongside job management, it offers proper contact management, service contracts, planned preventative maintenance scheduling, and detailed customer communication tracking across multiple sites. For a business managing landlord portfolios or commercial maintenance rounds, that depth can be useful.

Great for: established businesses with a large team of engineers and regular commercial or contract work.

Worth knowing: Trades general, more setup and a higher price — pricing is quote-based and typically lands well above entry-level tools. It can be more than a sole trader needs.

Pricing: Custom quotes

3. Joblogic

A long-standing name in UK field service, Joblogic is strong on asset and site records tied to each customer, plus planned maintenance scheduling. If you look after the same buildings year after year and need to know exactly which appliance sits where, that asset-level history is a real strength. The mobile app also works offline, which matters in plant rooms and basements.

Great for: Businesses with ongoing maintenance contracts and lots of recurring sites to track.

Worth knowing: Trades general, and the breadth of features means there’s a learning curve.

Pricing: Custom quotes

4. Payaca

Payaca is squarely focused on the renewable side of heating and plumbing — solar, heat pumps, battery storage, and EV chargers. Automated follow-ups, slick customer communication, and quote-to-sale nurturing are where it shines. If you’re moving into renewables where the sales cycle is longer and staying in touch matters more, this is a very valid option.

Best for: Larger businesses (25+ users) doing quote-heavy or renewables work who want to nurture enterprise leads through to a sale.

Worth knowing: It’s strongest as a sales and communication tool, so check the gas-specific compliance side fits how you actually work.

Pricing: Starts at £299 per month for 25 users minimum.

5. Tradify

Tradify is a solid job management and CRM platform for trades businesses. With features like gas certificates and automated reminders, it’s a well-rounded option, even if the customer records lack some depth compared to what you’d find on a platform like GES with things like saved appliance details. The mobile app is clean and quick to use on-site.

Great for: Sole traders who want a straightforward upgrade without a steep learning curve.

Worth knowing: Tradify’s mobile app doesn’t work offline, making it a little more difficult for engineers accessing boilers in areas without reception.

Pricing: Starts at $34 per user per month, including a 14-day free trial.

What about free CRMs like HubSpot?

General-purpose CRMs like HubSpot, Zoho and Bitrix24 have genuinely capable free tiers, and they’re excellent at the pure CRM bits — contact records, email tracking, pipelines, and marketing automation. If your priority is building and nurturing a customer database for marketing, they’re hard to beat on price.

However, their strength as a generalist CRM is also a significant weakness for heating and plumbing teams. Out of the box, you won’t get:

Gas Safe certificates (CP12, LGSR, commercial) tied to the customer record
Appliance-level service reminders that chase renewals for you
Job scheduling or engineer dispatch

So you’d be running your customer marketing in one tool and your jobs and compliance in another, with the two not talking to each other. For some larger, marketing-led businesses that split is worth it. For most gas and plumbing operations, a trade-built platform that bundles customer records, reminders, certificates and jobs into one place removes more admin than a free CRM adds.

If marketing to your existing customers is the goal, the data you already hold is the place to start — here are seven ways tradespeople can use their email database to get more out of the contacts you’ve already earned.

How to choose the right one

Start with how you work, not the feature list:

Sole trader, domestic servicing: prioritise a clean customer record and automatic service reminders — that’s your repeat-revenue engine.
Growing team: everyone needs to see the same up-to-date history, so nothing gets dropped between the office and the van.
Larger business with commercial contracts: look for asset tracking and planned maintenance built in.
Gas work of any kind: a CRM that also handles your certificates keeps the customer record and the safety record in lockstep, saving real time and real risk.

If you want to see how customer records, reminders and certificates work together in one system, you can try Gas Engineer Software free and run it on your own jobs before deciding.