Buyer guide for UK and Irish chimney sweeps and stove installers
We Sweep is UK chimney sweep software: a website booking widget, prepaid Stripe card payments, Google Maps route optimisation and digital certificates with photos. There is no monthly subscription — We Sweep charges 2% on each booking paid through Stripe.
For a solo UK sweep who wants prepaid Stripe bookings and is happy paying about 2% per job plus card fees, We Sweep can work — especially in quiet months. For sweeps and installers who want fixed monthly pricing, cash or cheque on the day, SMS or WhatsApp reminders, accounting sync and online slots that do not get reshuffled by software, Sweep Certificates is usually the better fit.
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, stove installers and related trade services | Solo UK chimney sweeps wanting prepaid website bookings and route optimisation |
| Pricing model | Fixed monthly subscription from £18.50/month Standard; annual billing 12 months for the price of 11 | £0/month; 2% of gross booking amount via Stripe on every job, including manually added bookings |
| Real cost on card payments | Subscription only — no percentage fee per job; card payments optional via your own methods | 2% platform fee plus Stripe card fees — about £2.83 all-in on a £75 UK card job (about 3.8%), not "just 2%" |
| Up-front card payment on booking | Online booking does not force customers to pay when they book — many sweeps take payment on the day | Customers pay by card when they book; every online booking comes fully prepaid through Stripe |
| Cash, cheque and other payments | Track cash, cheque, bank transfer or any payment method without forcing Stripe | Stripe-only — no public cash, cheque or non-Stripe payment options |
| Online booking and appointment times | £10/month Premium add-on; slots only within travel radius next to another appointment — once booked, the time stays unless you move it manually | Customer picks a date and morning, afternoon or don't mind — not a time. Provisional arrival time in the confirmation email can move as the day re-plans; confirmed time is emailed 24 hours before and then locked (admin bookings can be locked sooner) |
| Route planning | Travel distance limits and diary rules shape the day without a per-job percentage fee | Google Maps route optimisation; online bookings are fluid until 24 hours out, then the route is final |
| Certificates and warning notices | Sweep certificates, warning notices, association templates, independent branding and offline mobile app | Digital certificates with before/after photos; check public feature list for warning notices |
| Reminders and rebooking | Configurable email, SMS and WhatsApp reminders on your schedule, with filters by area, due date and more | Email only — confirmation, 24-hour confirmed time, certificate, review ask and annual rebook (their reminders page: "these are emails") |
| WhatsApp Business | Meta Tech Provider integration, with messages paid directly to Meta | Not offered publicly |
| Accounting sync | Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage | Payments land in Stripe; no Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage sync publicly offered |
| Other trades, installers and Ireland | Stove installer workflows, other services (gutters, wasp nests and similar) and UK and Ireland | UK chimney sweep businesses only on the public site |
| Teams | Premium includes three users; four to six users £29/month; unlimited users £34/month — no per-job percentage | Unlimited technicians listed, but 2% applies to every booking regardless of team size |
| Plan | Sweep Certificates | We Sweep |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet month (no card revenue) | £18.50/month Standard or £24/month Premium — same price whether the diary is full or empty | £0/month when no bookings are processed through Stripe |
| Steady month (~£3,000 card revenue) | £24/month Premium (three users included) — or £264/year with annual billing | About £60/month in We Sweep fees (2% of £3,000) plus Stripe card fees on each transaction |
| Busy month (~£5,000 card revenue) | £34/month Premium plus online booking add-on (£24 + £10; first calendar month free) | About £100/month in We Sweep fees (2% of £5,000) — their public break-even row vs a £100 SaaS fee |
| Small team (4–6 sweeps) | £29/month including VAT — fixed, regardless of job volume | Unlimited technicians, but 2% on every paid booking across the whole team |
| Annual billing | 12 months for the price of 11 — e.g. Premium £264/year (£22/month equivalent) | No monthly subscription; percentage fee applies whenever jobs are paid through Stripe |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card; online booking add-on free for the first calendar month when you turn it on | No public free trial listed — apply to join and they review within 2–3 business days; no monthly fee, but no trial period advertised on we-sweep.co.uk |
A solo UK sweep who wants prepaid card bookings on their website and prefers a percentage per job over a monthly fee in quiet months.
Sweeps and installers who want certificates, cash or cheque on the day, SMS or WhatsApp reminders, accounting sync and booking times that stay put unless they change them.
We Sweep lists £0/month with a 2% fee on each booking processed through Stripe, taken on the gross amount at charge, including manually added bookings. Stripe's typical UK card fee is about 1.5% plus 20p per transaction (check stripe.com for current rates). On a £75 job that is about £1.50 to We Sweep plus about £1.33 to Stripe, roughly £2.83 all-in (about 3.8%), not "just 2%". Sweep Certificates is £18.50/month Standard, £24/month Premium (three users), £29/month for four to six users, or £34/month unlimited users, all including VAT, with online booking a £10/month Premium add-on (first calendar month free) and annual billing at 12 months for the price of 11. 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 are a solo UK sweep who wants prepaid card bookings on your website, is comfortable with Stripe-only payments, and likes the idea of paying nothing in a quiet month even if busy months cost a percentage of every job.
Choose Sweep Certificates if you want sweep and installer paperwork, cash or cheque payments, configurable reminders, WhatsApp, online booking without forcing customers to pay up front, accounting sync to Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage, support for other trades and Ireland, and predictable subscription pricing that usually works out cheaper for teams and busy seasons.
It depends what you need. We Sweep fits a solo UK sweep who wants prepaid Stripe bookings and a percentage fee instead of a monthly subscription. Sweep Certificates fits sweeps and installers who want fixed pricing, warning notices, cash or cheque payments, SMS and WhatsApp reminders, and accounting sync to Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or Sage. Sweep Certificates offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card; We Sweep has no public trial — you apply and they review within 2–3 business days.
We Sweep charges 2% on the gross booking amount plus Stripe's card fees. On a £75 UK card job that is about £1.50 to We Sweep and about £1.33 to Stripe, roughly £2.83 all-in. At £3,000 monthly card revenue the We Sweep fee alone is about £60/month, against £24/month Premium on Sweep Certificates. At £5,000 it is about £100/month against £34/month with Premium and online booking. Check stripe.com and we-sweep.co.uk for current rates.
We Sweep's customer never picks a time — they pick a date and say morning, afternoon or don't mind. The confirmation email gives a provisional arrival time, and the day keeps re-planning as new bookings, reschedules and cancellations come in. The confirmed time goes out by email 24 hours before, and from then that booking does not move. That provisional window can be awkward: a customer may have chosen a slot for a reason and cannot be expected to keep the whole day free while the time shifts. Sweep Certificates only offers online slots within the travel radius next to another appointment; once booked, the time stays unless you change it manually.
No. We Sweep's reminders page and FAQ say confirmations, the 24-hour confirmed time, certificates, review requests and annual rebook prompts are email only. A customer can miss a confirmation email, and many sweeps still end up texting anyway. Sweep Certificates can send email, SMS and WhatsApp on a schedule or on demand, with filters by area, due date and more.
Yes. We Sweep's public site describes every booking as fully prepaid through Stripe at the point of booking. Sweep Certificates online booking does not force card-up-front payment — many sweep customers prefer to pay on the day by cash, cheque or bank transfer.
We Sweep is Stripe-only on its public site. There are no cash, cheque or non-Stripe payment options listed. Sweep Certificates lets you record cash, cheque and other payments without forcing every job through Stripe.
No. Payments land in Stripe; We Sweep does not publicly offer accounting sync. Sweep Certificates syncs invoices to Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage.
Sweep Certificates Premium includes three users, with four to six users at £29/month and unlimited users at £34/month — a fixed price with no percentage on each job. We Sweep lists unlimited technicians but charges 2% on every booking, so a busy team can pay far more than a subscription as the season builds.
Try Sweep Certificates free and see how certificates, reminders, quotes, invoices and customer records fit together in one place.