InvoiceAdept vs SumUp Invoices UK (2026): trades, CIS and WhatsApp

SumUp is already in a lot of vans: card readers, payment links, a Business Account. InvoiceAdept is a UK trades invoicing product: raise the bill, send it, get paid, keep a clean income record. Those are neighbouring jobs, not the same product.

This page is an honest UK trades comparison of InvoiceAdept with SumUp Invoices (the Free and Plus invoicing plans). It does not pretend SumUp's separate Business Account Making Tax Digital tools are part of Invoices Plus, and it does not pretend InvoiceAdept files anything to HMRC. It does not invent SumUp customer counts, star ratings or feature lists you cannot verify on SumUp's public UK pages. Pricing posture for SumUp below was re-checked on SumUp's live UK Invoices pricing page and general pricing page on 11 September 2026 - and those two SumUp pages still disagree on the Plus subscription figure, so treat checkout as the source of truth.

InvoiceAdept pricing (excl VAT): Free £0 with five invoices per month; Pro £7.99; Pro+ £12.99 (CIS tools). Stripe UK cards typically 1.5%+20p; InvoiceAdept adds no platform fee. Company: Tech Me Today Ltd, Companies House 15917255, ICO ZB944663.

Sister comparisons: vs FreshBooks, vs Tradify, vs InvoiceFree, vs QuickBooks, vs FreeAgent. Trade templates and CIS explainers: CIS explained, deposit invoice, domestic reverse charge, late payment rights, free invoice generator, pricing.

General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Soften CIS and VAT claims: neither product decides your HMRC status, and neither files CIS300 / VAT returns / MTD / Self Assessment for you on the plans compared here.

In short

Neither product is sold here as your HMRC filing button. SumUp wins on free unlimited invoice volume and a deep payments ecosystem. InvoiceAdept wins on WhatsApp-native send, CIS-shaped invoices on Pro+, and Stripe without a second platform percentage.

What each product actually is

InvoiceAdept (UK trades invoicing)

InvoiceAdept is invoicing software for UK trades, operated by Tech Me Today Ltd (Companies House 15917255, ICO ZB944663). Plans checked on pricing for this update (11 September 2026), all excluding VAT:

Annual billing is advertised at 20% off. Paid features have a 14-day trial. What that list does not include: quarterly MTD for Income Tax updates, Self Assessment filing, VAT return filing, or the contractor's monthly CIS300.

SumUp Invoices (public UK positioning)

SumUp Invoices is SumUp's online invoicing product for small businesses, sitting next to card readers, Payment Links, POS and a Business Account. On SumUp's live UK Invoices pricing and features page (checked 11 September 2026):

SumUp's general UK pricing page still lists Invoices Plus at £8 / month excl VAT without the billed-annually qualifier in the snippet checked for this update. Both figures are SumUp-published. Confirm at checkout before you commit. This article does not invent features beyond high-level public positioning.

How much does SumUp Invoices cost in the UK?

On the payments side (high-level public SumUp positioning - confirm live for your account): SumUp has historically published pay-as-you-go in-person card rates around 1.69%, online / digital product rates around 2.5%, and Payments Plus style subscriptions with lower in-person rates. Treat those as check SumUp's current site figures, not a frozen contract. An invoice card-pay is typically an online path for fee purposes unless your live account says otherwise.

Stripe's published UK standard card rate is typically 1.5% + 20p for UK cards and 2.5% + 20p international; InvoiceAdept does not add a second percentage on top of Stripe.

Illustrative card take-home on a £1,200 invoice

Figures below are illustrative only for fee maths teaching - not quotes.

Subscriptions (Pro £7.99 vs Plus £7 to £8) sit in a similar band once you leave free tiers. Free-plan volume and bank-lock rules often matter more than the £1 subscription gap.

InvoiceAdept vs SumUp Invoices: side by side

Features table for UK trades fit

Pricing posture table

CIS: invoice lines versus guides

Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct money from a subcontractor's labour and pass it to HMRC; materials are outside the labour deduction when rules apply. Soften: InvoiceAdept does not decide CIS status and does not file CIS300.

Read CIS explained for UK subcontractors and GOV.UK before you trust any software screen. Lead manuals for construction ops include CISR14100 (FA04/S74(2)(a) framing) and householder guidance via CISR12030.

WhatsApp, email and getting paid

UK trades already close extras in WhatsApp, so sending the invoice in the same thread matches how the job was sold.

For a main contractor's accounts team, email still often wins: they want INV-0142 in the inbox. Bank transfer remains the cheapest collection on both products when the money lands in an account you control; card is for the customer who will not open a banking app.

Card payments versus invoicing

SumUp is strong when the customer taps a reader at the door. InvoiceAdept is strong when the job needs a proper invoice PDF (stages, CIS, deposits) and optional Stripe pay.

Which free plan wins: five invoices or unlimited?

SumUp wins the free-volume argument cleanly. Unlimited invoices and quotes at £0 is a real offer. InvoiceAdept's free tier is deliberately capped at five invoices a month - enough to trial on a quiet week, not enough for a busy spark who bills every call-out. The honest upsell is Pro at £7.99 excl VAT when the cap bites, not "free forever unlimited".

The money comparison gets less obvious in two places:

1. Bank lock on SumUp Free: free plan transfers land only in a SumUp Business Account (you can move money out afterwards), whereas InvoiceAdept prints your own sort code from day one. 2. Card take-home: see the £1,200 illustrative table above.

VAT and Making Tax Digital: records are not filing

The VAT registration threshold used in this guide is £90,000, not the outdated £85,000 figure that still appears on some third-party and legacy articles. Both products can put VAT on a line once you are registered, but neither SumUp Invoices Free/Plus nor InvoiceAdept is being sold here as your VAT return filing button.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the other trap. Under HMRC's Making Tax Digital guidance, qualifying income thresholds phase in across tax years (confirm live GOV.UK for your year). Compatible software must create digital records, send quarterly updates and submit the tax return. Storing invoice PDFs is step one, not steps two and three.

A clean two-tool setup for a mandated sole trader can be: invoice in one product, file in another. Do not raise the same job twice.

Domestic reverse charge and CIS caveats

Who should pick which?

Choose InvoiceAdept if...

• You need WhatsApp send from the invoicing app (Pro / Pro+)

• You want Stripe card collection without an InvoiceAdept platform percentage

• You need a CIS-shaped invoice on Pro+

• You already have an accountant or HMRC-recognised package for filing

• Five invoices a month is enough to try before you pay £7.99 or £12.99

• Your week mixes householder deposits and contractor CIS stages

Choose SumUp Invoices if...

• You already take card on a SumUp reader and want invoices in the same login

• Unlimited free invoices matter more than WhatsApp-native send or CIS lines

• You are fine routing Free-plan bank transfers via a SumUp Business Account (or you will pay Plus for any-bank payouts)

• You intend to evaluate SumUp's separate MTD for Income Tax tooling and confirm it live

Use both only with discipline

One place creates the customer-facing invoice. One place files to HMRC. Never duplicate the same job as two sales.

Migration notes (high level)

Softener: migration is operational, not a legal or tax election. Ask your accountant if CIS or VAT periods are mid-flight.

Late payment posture (both tools)

Between businesses, statutory interest can be Bank Rate + 8% when Late Payment of Commercial Debts rules apply. With Bank Rate at 3.75% (held 30 July 2026; next MPC 17 September 2026), that points to 11.75% for qualifying B2B debts - confirm live. Do not assume statutory B2B interest against a consumer householder. See late payment rights.

Worked decision sketches (illustrative)

Sketch A - CIS brick subcontractor

You bill a main contractor weekly with labour/materials splits. InvoiceAdept Pro+ fits the document. SumUp Free/Plus can still raise a PDF, but you type CIS maths yourself. Soften: neither files CIS300.

Sketch B - mobile beauty / market stall already on SumUp reader

Unlimited free invoices + reader stack: SumUp Free/Plus is often enough. InvoiceAdept's five-invoice Free cap is a non-starter unless you upgrade for WhatsApp/CIS reasons you do not need.

Sketch C - sole trader spark who closes extras on WhatsApp

Pro WhatsApp send plus Stripe without a platform fee is the InvoiceAdept story. SumUp still wins if every customer already taps a SumUp reader and never wants CIS lines.

Mistakes this comparison page will not make

FAQ

Does InvoiceAdept file Making Tax Digital updates to HMRC?

No. We keep digital records of invoices, payments and, on paid plans, expenses, and you can export them. We do not send quarterly Income Tax updates and we do not submit your Self Assessment or VAT return. If you are mandated, use HMRC-recognised software or an accountant who does.

Does SumUp Invoices file MTD for me on Free or Plus?

Do not assume that. SumUp Invoices creates invoices and sales records. SumUp separately markets Making Tax Digital for Income Tax tooling (Sage-powered story from Business Account pages). Confirm on your live SumUp account what you can submit and for which business type. Buying Invoices Plus is not, by itself, proof that quarterly updates are leaving for HMRC.

Does either product file my CIS300?

InvoiceAdept: no. SumUp Invoices: not claimed as a CIS300 filing product on the pages checked for this article. Contractors remain responsible for verification, deductions and the return on HMRC's CIS online service.

Why do SumUp's pages show £7 and £8 for Invoices Plus?

On 11 September 2026 the Invoices pricing page showed £7 a month billed annually, excl VAT, and the general SumUp pricing page showed Invoices Plus at £8 a month excl VAT. Both are SumUp-published. Use checkout as the source of truth for your account.

Can the SumUp free plan send bank transfers to my high-street account?

On Free, SumUp's Invoices pricing page states bank transfers are accepted to a SumUp Business Account only, which you can transfer from afterwards. Plus accepts direct transfers to any bank of your choice.

Which is cheaper if I take card payments on invoices?

Work your own volume. For an illustrative £1,200 UK-card invoice: InvoiceAdept plus Stripe is £18.20, and SumUp's online path at 2.5% is £30.00. Reader payments at 1.69% are a different channel. Subscriptions (Pro £7.99 vs Plus £7 to £8) sit in the same band once you leave the free tiers. Confirm live SumUp rates.

Does InvoiceAdept include WhatsApp invoice send?

Yes on Pro and Pro+. It is a headline difference versus SumUp Invoices' public Free/Plus positioning.

Does SumUp Invoices include native CIS deduction lines?

Not as a claimed Free/Plus feature on the public grid checked for this article. SumUp publishes construction guides and templates; that is not the same as Pro+ CIS mode on InvoiceAdept.

Is the VAT registration threshold still £90,000?

This guide uses £90,000. Articles still citing £85,000 as current are outdated for that figure. Confirm on GOV.UK.

Who operates InvoiceAdept?

Tech Me Today Ltd. Companies House 15917255. ICO registration ZB944663.

Can I use SumUp for card and InvoiceAdept for invoices?

Yes, if you keep one source of truth for the customer-facing invoice total and reconcile carefully. Do not raise the same job twice as two sales.

What InvoiceAdept plan do CIS subcontractors usually need?

Pro+ (£12.99 excl VAT) for CIS labour/materials lines. Soften: the software does not decide CIS status and does not file CIS300.

Related guides

• InvoiceAdept vs FreshBooks UK

• InvoiceAdept vs Tradify

• InvoiceAdept vs InvoiceFree UK

• InvoiceAdept vs QuickBooks UK

• CIS explained for UK subcontractors

• Deposit invoice template UK

• Domestic reverse charge invoice UK

• Late payment rights for UK tradespeople

• Free invoice generator

• Pricing

About this guide

Last reviewed: 11 September 2026. UPDATE_EXISTING for slug invoiceadept-vs-sumup-invoices-uk (CMS UUID 17b28793-3722-4607-8e78-87631c83d2f4). SumUp prices re-checked on public UK pages the same day. General information only - not tax, legal or accounting advice. Soften CIS/VAT claims; neither product files to HMRC on the plans compared here.

InvoiceAdept is operated by Tech Me Today Ltd, Companies House 15917255, ICO registration ZB944663.

Bottom line

InvoiceAdept and SumUp Invoices are adjacent tools, not the same product. SumUp wins on unlimited free invoices and a deep payments stack; InvoiceAdept wins on WhatsApp delivery, Stripe without a platform fee, and a true CIS invoice on Pro+. If you work in construction or a trade that bills from a phone, start with the free invoice generator or see pricing. Check live SumUp pricing again before you pay. Neither files to HMRC, so sort your invoicing and your filing as two separate jobs.

Deeper UK trades scenarios

Multi-stage bathroom or kitchen invoice

Deposits before ordering sanitaryware or cabinets, then strip, first fix, second fix, snag. InvoiceAdept's deposit and stage habits map cleanly; see also the deposit invoice template. SumUp Invoices can still produce numbered PDFs - the discipline is yours. Soften: neither product is Building Control paperwork.

Scaffold + trade package weeks

When access is hired and a trade package runs underneath, keep scaffold lines readable or use a sister scaffolder invoice. Software choice does not remove the need for clear descriptions. SumUp reader tap for a scaffold day-rate is a different job from a CIS pointing package PDF.

Householder versus contractor in the same week

Many sole traders bill a householder on Monday and a CIS contractor on Thursday. InvoiceAdept Free/Pro handles householder clarity; Pro+ adds CIS fields for Thursday. SumUp Free unlimited volume helps if you raise many small householder PDFs - but CIS Thursday still needs careful manual lines on Free/Plus.

Pricing math: quiet month versus busy month

Illustrative only - not a forecast.

The trap is comparing only the subscription and ignoring card fees, bank locks, and CIS document time.

Feature depth: reminders, quotes, expenses, users

Do not invent SumUp feature ticks beyond public positioning. If a row matters to your purchase, confirm on SumUp's live pricing and features page.

Security, company identity and trust cues

How InvoiceAdept Free / Pro / Pro+ map to SumUp-like jobs

Checklist before you switch or stack tools

• Confirm SumUp Plus price at checkout (£7 billed annually vs £8 listing)

• Confirm whether Free bank transfers must land in a SumUp Business Account

• Confirm live card rates for invoice links versus readers

• Decide who creates the customer-facing invoice if you keep both

• Decide who files MTD / VAT / CIS300 (spoiler: usually not these invoicing plans)

• Export or list open invoices before migration

• Soften CIS/VAT: software does not decide status

Common objections answered briefly

Record-keeping habits that matter more than brand logos

Keep sequential invoice numbers, deposit allocations, CIS payment/deduction statements when under CIS, VAT evidence if registered, and exportable digital records for your accountant. InvoiceAdept and SumUp can both store sales documents; neither replaces HMRC filing software when you are mandated.

Bank Rate reminder for B2B late payment interest where the statute applies: 3.75% base held 30 July 2026, statutory interest 11.75%, next MPC 17 September 2026 - confirm live before you chase. See late payment rights.

Side-by-side: what "good enough" looks like on a real invoice

Final decision matrix

Practical week-in-the-life comparisons

Week of a CIS pointing or brick subcontractor

Monday: quote a householder lime repoint - no CIS. Tuesday: raise a deposit before pigments. Wednesday to Friday: contractor elevations under PO with labour/materials split. InvoiceAdept Pro+ matches the Wednesday-Friday document. SumUp still helps if the same crew taps a reader for a small cash householder balance - but the CIS PDF is where Pro+ earns its keep. Soften: InvoiceAdept does not file CIS300; the contractor still verifies and returns on HMRC's service.

Week of a mobile trader already on SumUp

Every customer pays by reader or Payment Link. Invoices are mostly receipts-with-lines for bookkeeping. Unlimited Free invoices and the Business Account path may be enough. InvoiceAdept's five-invoice Free cap is the wrong free plan for that shape unless WhatsApp send or CIS appears next month.

Week of a mixed crew (reader + CIS)

Keep SumUp for door-step card. Keep InvoiceAdept for CIS stages and WhatsApp extras. Reconcile daily so the same job never becomes two sales. Export both sides for the accountant at month end.

Softeners you should re-read before you pay either vendor

• InvoiceAdept does not decide CIS or VAT status and does not file CIS300, VAT returns, Making Tax Digital updates or Self Assessment.

• SumUp Invoices Free/Plus should not be assumed to be your CIS mode or your MTD filing button - confirm live separate tooling.

• Ordinary construction work for householders is usually standard-rated VAT at 20% if you are registered; do not invent zero-rate from a comparison page.

• VAT registration threshold in this guide: £90,000 (not outdated £85,000).

• Statutory B2B late payment interest where rules apply: Bank Rate 3.75% + 8% = 11.75% illustrative; next MPC 17 September 2026.

• Prices move: re-check InvoiceAdept pricing and SumUp's UK Invoices pricing page at checkout.

Try the free invoice generator if you want to see InvoiceAdept's invoice shape before you commit to Pro or Pro+.