Card Machines for Tradesmen & Contractors UK 2026

This page is for sole traders, self-employed contractors and small trade businesses in the UK. Plumbers, electricians, builders, decorators, gas engineers and similar trades share a payment challenge that most other sectors don't face: most jobs are quoted and invoiced after the work is done, payment happens at the customer's door or on a building site, and the average job value sits between £150 and £600. That combination means tradesmen need a card machine that works reliably away from a fixed premises, charges a fair rate on mid-sized transactions, and accepts payment the moment the job is finished. This page explains exactly which providers suit that reality, and which ones to avoid.

Why Mobile Reliability Matters More Than Anything Else for Tradesmen

A tradesman's workplace changes every day. Monday might be a loft in Leeds, Tuesday a kitchen in a basement flat with no Wi-Fi, Wednesday a commercial unit on a rural industrial estate. Unlike a salon or a shop, you cannot guarantee a broadband connection. The card reader you choose must connect via 3G or 4G mobile data, or pair reliably with your smartphone's hotspot, and it must hold a charge for a full working day without needing to sit on a desk near a plug socket.

The Square Reader and SumUp Air both work via Bluetooth pairing with your phone's mobile data connection. That means your phone does the heavy lifting on connectivity. Both devices are small enough to sit in a toolbag. The Dojo Go reader has its own built-in SIM card and does not depend on your phone at all, which is an advantage if you work in areas where tethering is unreliable or your phone plan has a hotspot limit.

Settlement speed also matters in this sector. Many sole-trader tradesmen run tight cash flow, paying for materials on a job-by-job basis. Square settles funds to your bank account by the next business day as standard, and within minutes if you use a Square account as your bank. SumUp typically settles within one to three business days. Dojo settles next business day for most accounts. If you buy materials on a Monday and finish the job on a Tuesday, next-day settlement is the difference between funding the next job yourself or waiting on the customer's bank transfer.

One honest limitation worth flagging: both Square and SumUp use flat-rate pricing, which means you pay the same percentage whether the customer pays by a basic Visa debit card or an American Express rewards card. For most tradesmen this is fine, because the simplicity and zero monthly cost outweigh the slightly higher rate on premium cards. But if you regularly take large payments above £2,000 from clients using corporate or rewards cards, a negotiated interchange-plus rate from a provider like Dojo or Adyen could be cheaper overall.

Fee Comparison Table

Best Providers for Tradesmen

Square

Square is the most straightforward option for a sole-trader tradesman. The card reader costs £19 as a one-off, there is no monthly fee, and the rate is 1.75% per in-person UK card transaction. On a £300 job that is £5.25 in fees. You get a free point-of-sale app, digital receipts, and next-business-day settlement to your bank as standard. If you open a Square account, settlement can arrive within minutes.

The Square Reader pairs with your smartphone via Bluetooth and uses your phone's internet connection. It accepts chip-and-PIN and contactless payments including Apple Pay and Google Pay. The app also lets you create simple invoices and send payment links, which is useful if a customer wants to pay remotely after you have left the site. Square does not offer a reader with a built-in SIM, so if your phone signal is weak on certain sites, you will need to plan around that.

One genuine drawback: Square's customer support has historically received mixed reviews from small business users. Live phone support is available, but wait times can be frustrating. If your card machine stops working mid-job, that is a real problem. Square is best suited to tradesmen in urban and suburban areas with reliable mobile data and a basic backup plan, such as a saved payment link to send by text.

Read the full Square review on Compare Card Fees

SumUp

SumUp is the other dominant choice for tradesmen and sole traders in the UK. Its pay-as-you-go rate of 1.69% per transaction is marginally cheaper than Square's 1.75% for in-person UK card payments. On a £400 job that saves you 24p. The real saving comes with SumUp One, its £19/month subscription, which drops the rate to 0.99% per transaction. At £400 per job, One saves you around £2.80 per payment compared with pay-as-you-go. If you take five or more jobs a month on card, the subscription pays for itself.

Like Square, SumUp works via your phone's mobile data connection. The SumUp Air card reader is compact and accepted by most bank accounts for next-business-day or two-business-day settlement. SumUp also offers invoicing and payment links, which suit tradesmen who take a deposit before starting and collect the balance on completion. The app is simple enough that most tradesmen are up and running on the day the reader arrives.

The honest limitation with SumUp is that its reader range is less polished than some competitors. The SumUp Air is functional rather than premium, and some users report that pairing via Bluetooth can occasionally drop on older Android phones. SumUp is an excellent fit for tradesmen who want low fees and no fuss, but it is worth reading current user reviews before committing to the subscription plan.

Read the full SumUp review on Compare Card Fees

Dojo Go

Dojo Go is a card machine with its own built-in 4G SIM card. It does not need to pair with your phone or rely on a site's Wi-Fi. For tradesmen who work in basements, rural properties, or commercial units where mobile hotspot tethering is unreliable, that independence is a real operational advantage. The machine also has a long battery life designed for a full working day away from a power source.

Dojo's transaction rate is 1.2% blended for businesses with under £100,000 annual card turnover. On a £400 job, that is £4.80 in fees compared with £7 at 1.75%. For a tradesman taking 10 card jobs a month at that average value, switching from a flat 1.75% provider to Dojo saves around £22 per month, or roughly £264 a year. Dojo requires a monthly plan and the pricing is quoted rather than published as a flat fee, so you need to contact them directly.

Dojo is better suited to contractors with an established and reasonably steady monthly card volume than to someone just starting out or with an unpredictable workload. The monthly cost commitment means it is not the right choice if you only take card payments occasionally. For a builder or heating engineer running several jobs a week at mid-to-high values, however, the saving on fees is worth the conversation.

Read the full Dojo review on Compare Card Fees

Pros and Cons by Provider Type

Portable Card Machines (Square, SumUp, Dojo Go, Zettle)

• Designed for exactly the kind of work tradesmen do: payment taken at a customer's home or on site
• Contactless and chip-and-PIN in a single device small enough for a toolbag
• Square and SumUp have no monthly fee, so you are not paying for a machine during quiet periods or over winter
• Dojo Go's built-in SIM removes dependence on the customer's Wi-Fi or your phone's hotspot
• Limitation: flat-rate pricing from Square and SumUp can be slightly more expensive on high-value payments compared with negotiated interchange-plus rates
• Limitation: if you lose or damage the reader on site, you need a backup payment method until a replacement arrives

Payment Links and Virtual Terminals (Square, SumUp, Stripe)

• Useful for chasing payment after you have left the job, or for collecting a deposit before you start
• Square and SumUp both include payment link functionality in their free apps
• Stripe charges 1.5% + 20p per online UK card transaction, which is lower than PayPal's 2.9% + 30p for the same type of payment
• Virtual terminals allow you to key in card details over the phone, useful for older customers who struggle with digital payment links
• Limitation: keyed card payments carry a higher fraud risk and a higher fee. Square charges 2.5% per transaction for keyed/virtual terminal payments, compared with 1.75% in person
• Limitation: payment links are less immediate than a card machine on site, and some customers delay paying once you have left

All-in-One Business Accounts (Revolut, Tide with card payments)

• Revolut's paid business plans offer in-person card payment rates from 0.8% + 2p per transaction, which is among the lowest available for small businesses
• Combining a business bank account and card payment acceptance in one place reduces admin
• Limitation: these accounts are newer to the market and lack the established track record of dedicated card machine providers
• Limitation: Revolut's cheapest in-person rate requires a paid monthly plan, and total cost depends on which plan tier suits your volume

Different Tradesmen, Different Payment Needs

Sole Traders and Small One-Person Businesses

A self-employed plumber or electrician working alone has a simple requirement: a reliable portable card machine with no monthly fee and a straightforward app. Square at 1.75% or SumUp pay-as-you-go at 1.69% are the natural starting points. Both cost under £50 to get started including the card reader, and neither locks you into a contract. If you are just starting to accept card payments for the first time, either of these removes any financial risk.

The most important thing for a sole trader is keeping it simple. You do not need a full EPOS system or a multi-user account. A card reader that pairs with your phone, produces a digital receipt, and settles into your bank account the next day covers every practical need for a one-person trade business.

Small Trade Companies with Two or More Employees

A plastering firm with three workers or a building company with two vans faces a different challenge: multiple people might be taking card payments on the same day at different locations. Square and SumUp both allow multiple readers linked to one account, which means the business owner can see all transactions in one dashboard. Square's free plan supports multiple readers, though each reader requires its own one-off purchase cost.

At this scale, monthly card volume starts to make a subscription plan worth calculating. If your team collectively takes £5,000 a month on card, switching from SumUp's 1.69% pay-as-you-go rate to SumUp One at 0.99% saves approximately £35 per month after the £19 subscription cost. That is around £420 a year simply by changing your pricing plan without switching provider at all.

Larger Contractors and Building Firms

A contractor billing £20,000 or more per month on card is firmly in the territory where a negotiated rate is worth pursuing. At that volume, even a 0.3 percentage point reduction saves £720 a year. Providers such as Dojo (1.2% blended under £100,000 annual card turnover), Takepayments (indicative rates around 0.79% for UK consumer debit cards on custom quotes, though rates vary), or Worldpay (bespoke quote only) become relevant options.

Larger contractors are also more likely to invoice commercial clients, including property developers, landlords, and housing associations. Business-to-business payments at this level sometimes involve faster payment schemes or BACS transfer rather than card, but where card is used, a virtual terminal or payment gateway may be needed alongside a portable reader. Compare Card Fees is a free, independent advisory service that has helped UK businesses find better card payment deals since 2012. Calling to discuss your specific volume and card mix takes around 15 minutes and typically identifies a better deal than any published rate.