Buyer guide for UK and Irish chimney sweeps and stove installers
We Sweep is UK chimney sweep software with website bookings, route planning and digital certificates. They used to take 2% of every paid job. Public pricing is now £0/month to the sweep, framed as nothing per booking, with a fixed £1.95 online booking fee still paid by the customer, including VAT.
We Sweep used to take 2% of every job. They now charge a fixed £1.95 booking fee that the customer pays, including VAT. Public pricing is framed as £0 to you, nothing per booking. The sweep can still cover the fee. A cancelled booking does not refund it. Cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs can take a £10 to £50 card deposit. From 15 October a lost card dispute costs the sweep an extra £20, and Stripe says even favourable cases are very hard to overturn. At 10 bookings a day that is £19.50 extra on customer bills that day. Sweep Certificates Premium plus online booking is £24 + £10 = £34 for the whole month, with no customer booking fee and no card required to book. Website bookings keep driving distance short, with FreeAgent and Sage on Premium, unlimited photos on the job, and annual billing that brings the monthly price down.
This table is based on publicly listed positioning and the features Sweep Certificates provides today. Always check the competitor's current website before making a final decision.
| Area | Sweep Certificates | We Sweep |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | UK and Irish chimney sweeps and stove installers who want certificates, a diary, website bookings and accounts together | UK chimney sweeps wanting website bookings, auto routing, pay-on-the-day and a card deposit on cash or BACS jobs |
| Pricing | Fixed monthly from £18.50/month Standard. Annual billing is 12 months for the price of 11, so Premium is £22/month equivalent rather than £24 | £0/month to the sweep, framed as nothing per booking. They used to take 2% of every job. The customer still pays a £1.95 booking fee, including VAT. The sweep can subsidise it. Card jobs also carry about 1.5% plus 20p through Stripe |
| Cut of payments | None. Cash, cheque and bank transfer with no extra fee. No customer booking fee | Not a cut of the job any more. A £1.95 booking fee on every paid job, paid by the customer. Cancelled bookings do not refund that £1.95. Cash and bank-transfer fees invoiced monthly against a saved card or Direct Debit. The sweep can subsidise some or all of it |
| Card deposits on cash and BACS | Online booking does not require card payment when the customer books | Cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs can take a fixed card deposit of £10 to £50 at booking |
| Card disputes | Monthly fee plus an optional £10 booking add-on. No customer booking fee and no extra lost-dispute charge on online booking | From 15 October a lost card dispute costs the sweep an extra £20. Stripe says even in the most favourable cases it is very difficult to overturn a disputed payment. A customer can have a deposit refunded and still dispute the payment |
| Website bookings and routing | £10/month Premium add-on. Customers book on your site. New online slots only sit next to another job within your travel distance, so the day stays compact. Once booked, the time stays unless you move it | Customer picks a date and morning, afternoon or don't mind. Software re-plans the day as jobs come in; confirmed time emailed 24 hours before |
| Other jobs in summer | Book, quote and invoice other work at no extra cost; sweep customers can still book in early or for their regular visit | Built for UK chimney sweep bookings. Same £1.95 fee on jobs you add yourself |
| Accounting | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage included in Premium, no extra fee | Xero, QuickBooks and Sage included at no extra cost to the sweep. No FreeAgent on the public site |
| Certificates and photos | Sweep certificates, warning notices, association templates, offline app. No cap of 3 photos per appointment | Digital certificates with photos, offline app. Booking notes listed with up to 3 customer photos |
| Reminders | Email, SMS and WhatsApp on your schedule | Email and free SMS from your own business name. WhatsApp not listed |
| Teams | Premium 3 users; 4–6 at £29/month; unlimited £34/month, no percentage | Unlimited technicians, no per-user fee. Same £1.95 booking fee on every job |
| Ireland and installers | Ireland and stove installer workflows | UK chimney sweep businesses on the public site |
| Plan | Sweep Certificates | We Sweep |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost to the sweep | £18.50 Standard or £24 Premium, or less if you pay annually. Online booking is £10 extra on Premium | £0/month to the sweep, framed as nothing per booking. They used to take 2% of every job. The customer still pays £1.95 |
| Customer booking fee | None | £1.95 including VAT, paid by the customer. Same on card, cash and bank transfer. The sweep can subsidise it. Cancelled bookings do not refund it |
| Card deposit | Not required to book online | £10 to £50 at booking on cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs |
| Lost card dispute | No extra lost-dispute fee on the monthly booking add-on | From 15 October an extra £20 to the sweep if the dispute is lost |
| 10 bookings in a day | £34 for the month: Premium £24 plus online booking £10 | £19.50 extra on customer bills that day. £1.95 × 10 = £19.50, before Stripe on card jobs |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card; online booking free for the first calendar month | No public trial. Apply to join |
UK chimney sweeps wanting website bookings, automatic day re-planning and a £0 monthly fee, and who are happy for customers to pay a £1.95 booking fee plus a card deposit on cash, BACS or pay-on-day jobs.
UK and Irish chimney sweeps and stove installers who want certificates, a diary, website bookings and accounts together.
We Sweep used to take 2% of every paid job, including cash and bank transfer. They now charge a fixed £1.95 online booking fee, including VAT, paid by the customer. Public pricing is framed as £0 to you, nothing per booking, while the customer still pays that fee. The sweep can subsidise 50p, £1, £1.45 or the whole fee. The fee applies however the customer pays: card at booking, card at the door, cash or bank transfer, and it also applies to jobs you add yourself. A cancelled booking does not refund the £1.95. On cash and bank transfer the customer pays your price plus £1.95 to you, and We Sweep invoices that fee monthly against a saved card or Direct Debit. Cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs can take a fixed card deposit of £10 to £50 at booking. Card jobs also carry Stripe's typical UK card fee of about 1.5% plus 20p per transaction. Check stripe.com for current rates. From 15 October a lost card dispute costs the sweep an extra £20. Stripe's own dispute guidance says even in the most favourable cases it is very difficult to overturn a disputed payment. A customer could have a booking deposit refunded and still dispute the card payment, so the sweep can lose twice. At 10 bookings a day, £1.95 × 10 = £19.50 extra on customer bills that day. Sweep Certificates Premium plus online booking is £24 + £10 = £34 flat for the month, with no customer booking fee and no card required to book. Sweep Certificates is £18.50/month Standard or £24/month Premium, three users, with online booking a £10/month Premium add-on, first calendar month free, and annual billing at 12 months for the price of 11, so Premium is £22/month equivalent. A 30-day free trial applies. Pricing and features below are based on publicly listed information from we-sweep.co.uk and may change. Check each provider's website before deciding.
Sweep Certificates is designed around the way small UK and Irish sweep and installer businesses work: unlimited jobs per month, trade-specific paperwork, automated reminders, quotes, invoices and accounting sync without a heavy setup project.
Choose We Sweep if you want website bookings with day re-planning until 24 hours before, prefer £0/month in quiet periods over a fixed subscription, and are comfortable passing a £1.95 booking fee to customers, including on cash and bank transfer, plus card deposits and the extra £20 on a lost dispute from 15 October.
Choose Sweep Certificates if you want a fixed monthly fee plus an optional £10 booking add-on, website bookings that keep driving distance short, no customer booking fee on cash, cheque, card or bank transfer, no card required to book, FreeAgent and Sage on Premium, WhatsApp reminders, other summer jobs at no extra cost, Ireland and stove installer workflows, and a 30-day trial with no card.
We Sweep fits a solo UK sweep who wants website bookings at £0/month and is happy for customers to pay a £1.95 booking fee. They used to take 2% of every job. They now charge a £1.95 customer-paid booking fee. Public pricing is framed as £0 to you, nothing per booking. Sweep Certificates fits sweeps and installers who want a fixed monthly fee, website bookings with travel-distance routing, no extra fee on payments, FreeAgent, WhatsApp, other trades, and Ireland. 30-day trial vs apply-to-join.
Yes. Public pricing used to be 2% on every paid job, including cash and bank transfer. They now charge a fixed £1.95 online booking fee, including VAT, paid by the customer. The sweep can still subsidise it. Sweep Certificates stays a flat monthly fee.
On We Sweep, £1.95 × 10 = £19.50 extra on customer bills that day, before Stripe on card jobs. Sweep Certificates Premium plus online booking is £24 + £10 = £34 for the whole month, not that day.
Yes. The £1.95 fee applies however the customer pays, including cash and bank transfer, and including jobs you add yourself. Cash and bank-transfer fees are invoiced monthly. Cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs can also take a £10 to £50 card deposit at booking. The sweep can subsidise some or all of the booking fee. Sweep Certificates does not add a booking fee on any payment, and online booking does not require a card.
The customer pays your price plus the £1.95 booking fee, including VAT, plus Stripe's typical UK card fee of about 1.5% plus 20p. On a £75 job the booking fee is still £1.95, not 2% of £75. Sweep Certificates does not take a cut of any payment.
The £1.95 customer booking fee is not refunded. Sweep Certificates has no customer booking fee to forfeit.
Yes. Cash, BACS and pay-on-day jobs can take a fixed card deposit of £10 to £50 at booking. Sweep Certificates online booking does not require card payment when the customer books.
From 15 October a lost card dispute costs the sweep an extra £20, on top of the lost payment. Stripe's own dispute guidance says even in the most favourable cases it is very difficult to overturn a disputed payment. Radar Plus predicted win bands only go from 5% to 60% even with evidence. A customer could have a booking deposit refunded and still dispute the card payment, so the sweep can lose twice. Sweep Certificates charges a monthly fee, with online booking as a £10 Premium add-on. It does not add a customer booking fee or an extra lost-dispute charge on that booking path.
We Sweep lists Xero, QuickBooks and Sage at no extra cost to the sweep. Sweep Certificates includes those plus FreeAgent in Premium, with no booking fee on takings.
Sweep Certificates can book, quote and invoice other jobs at no extra cost, while sweep customers still book in. We Sweep's public site is for UK chimney sweep businesses and adds the same £1.95 fee on jobs you add yourself.
We Sweep lets the customer pick a date, not a time, and re-plans the day until 24 hours out. Sweep Certificates offers website bookings; new online slots only sit next to another job within travel distance, and once booked the time stays unless you change it.
We Sweep lists email and free SMS from your own name. Sweep Certificates also has WhatsApp, and SMS and email on a schedule you set.
Sweep Certificates annual billing is 12 months for the price of 11. We Sweep's £1.95 booking fee does not get cheaper if you pay ahead.
Try Sweep Certificates free and see how certificates, reminders, quotes, invoices and customer records fit together in one place.