Muster vs Powered Now: Which UK Trade Software Wins?

Powered Now is a UK-built platform focused on certificates and invoicing. It's popular with sole traders and small teams who need to generate CP12s, EICRs, and other trade certificates alongside basic job management.

If you're a solo gas engineer or electrician who needs certificates and invoicing in one place, Powered Now works. The question is what happens when you need more.

Feature comparison

Score: Muster 18/18 — Powered Now 9/18

Powered Now covers the certificate and invoicing essentials. Muster covers those plus every operational feature a growing trade business needs.

Certificates: where Powered Now is strong

Powered Now built its reputation on certificates. The certificate generation is good:

• Gas safety records (CP12, LGSR)
• Electrical certificates (EICR, EIC, Minor Works)
• Plumbing and heating certificates
• Custom templates

Muster also generates these certificates from job data, with the addition of custom templates you can build yourself and automatic delivery via the customer portal.

Both platforms handle certificates well. The difference is everything around the certificate.

Everything around the certificate

With Powered Now, you generate the certificate. Then you:

• Switch to your calendar to schedule the next job (basic calendar, no drag-and-drop)
• Create an invoice manually (or from a template)
• Email the invoice and hope the customer pays
• Chase late payments yourself
• Have no idea where your engineers are
• Miss calls while on site
• Write RAMS in Word if a commercial client asks

With Muster, after the certificate:

• The next job is already scheduled (drag-and-drop, route-optimised)
• The invoice generates from the job data automatically
• The customer gets a Muster Pay link and can pay by card instantly
• Late invoices are chased automatically
• GPS shows you where every engineer is
• Missed calls are answered by the AI receptionist
• RAMS are generated by AI

The certificate is 10 minutes of a gas engineer's day. The other 7 hours and 50 minutes are where the real efficiency gains are.

Pricing

Solo engineer

Winner: Powered Now — if you're a solo engineer who only needs certs and basic invoicing, £30/mo is cheaper. No argument.

Team of 5

Winner: Muster — for £19/mo more, you get 9 additional capabilities.

Team of 10

Winner: Muster — comparable price, dramatically more features.

Team of 15

Winner: Muster — cheaper AND more features. Per-user pricing catches up fast.

The growth problem

Powered Now works for small teams. The issue is what happens when you grow:

1. You hire your 6th engineer — Powered Now costs £192/mo, Muster is still £179/mo
2. A commercial client asks for RAMS — Powered Now can't generate them, you write them in Word
3. You're missing calls on site — Powered Now has no AI receptionist, you need a £100/mo answering service
4. Cash flow is tight because invoices are late — Powered Now has no automated chasing or instant payment links
5. You don't know where your vans are — Powered Now has no GPS, you add a separate tracker at £10/van/mo

By the time you've plugged these gaps, your "cheap" Powered Now setup costs more than Muster with everything included.

Who should use Powered Now?

• Solo traders who only need certificates and basic invoicing
• Engineers who are employed by someone else and just need their own cert tool
• Anyone who explicitly won't grow beyond 3-4 people

Who should switch to Muster?

• Teams of 5+ where Muster's flat rate is comparable or cheaper
• Anyone doing commercial work (RAMS, compliance)
• Growing businesses that need GPS, AI, and automation
• Anyone paying for separate tools alongside Powered Now