Our specialism
Small building firms and trades
Ascend AI is a UK company that specialises in automation for building firms and trades of 1 to 25 people. You do the work. We take the paperwork out of your evenings: receipts, CIS, VAT, quotes and pricing.
- Receipts texted from site, filed in your accounts
- CIS and VAT checked before you submit
- Quotes priced from what jobs really cost
- From one person and a van to a team of 25
We also work with
Clinics and salons
Your diary is the business. A typical first stage looks like this.
- Online booking with deposits and reminders
- No-shows followed up and rebooked
- Intake and consent forms completed before the appointment
- Answers to the questions reception gets all day
We also work with
Cafés, pubs and restaurants
Busy when your customers are, and short of hands. A typical first stage looks like this.
- Table and event enquiries answered and booked
- Review replies drafted for you to approve
- Supplier orders built from stock counts
- Rota questions answered from the rota
We also work with
Agencies and consultancies
Your time is what you sell, so admin is lost revenue. A typical first stage looks like this.
- Enquiries qualified and booked into discovery calls
- New clients onboarded: agreement, forms and folders set up
- Timesheets and project updates collected without chasing
- Overdue invoices chased politely
We also work with
Shops and online stores
Customers want answers now, whatever the hour. A typical first stage looks like this.
- "Where is my order?" answered from your order system
- Returns handled to your policy
- Low stock flagged before it runs out
- A daily sales summary sent to your phone
Why we specialise in building firms and trades
Few small businesses carry as much paperwork as a building firm, and none have less time for it. A monthly CIS return. Reverse charge VAT. Stage payments, retentions and variations. And since April 2026, Making Tax Digital updates every quarter for many sole traders. All of it done after a day on site.
So that is where we specialise. We know what a CIS statement is, why a reverse charge invoice has no VAT on it, and why the extra socket agreed on Tuesday needs to be on Friday's invoice. You will not have to explain your business to us from scratch.
885,485
construction businesses in the UK, more than any other sector. Almost 98% have fewer than 10 employees.
17%
of company insolvencies in England and Wales in the year to August 2026 were construction firms, more than any other sector.
43%
more for building materials than in January 2021, on the government's all-work price index.
Thin margins, fixed prices and rising costs leave little room for an underpriced job or a missed receipt. That is why pricing and paperwork are where we start.
Receipts that file themselves
The problem
Receipts in the van, in a drawer, in a pile of emails. Typed in on a Sunday, or handed to your accountant in a carrier bag.
What we build
Text a photo from site, forward the email, or keep using your spreadsheet. Each receipt is read, the VAT picked out, filed against the right job and category in the accounts software you already use, and matched to the bank. A card payment with no receipt is flagged within days, not found in January.
What stays with you
Nothing you want to keep doing by hand. Making Tax Digital still expects you to keep your receipts, so a copy stays with every record.
A second pair of eyes before anything goes to HMRC
The problem
The CIS return is due on the 19th and the VAT return is never far behind. A mistake found after you submit costs more to put right than one found before.
What we build
Before each CIS return, VAT return or Making Tax Digital update, your records are checked. Subcontractors paid but not verified. Deductions that do not add up. Statements not sent. Invoices missing the reverse charge wording. VAT claimed on a receipt with no VAT number. Duplicates and gaps. You and your accountant get a short list of what to fix, in time to fix it.
What stays with you
The submission. We check and flag; we never file anything or give tax advice. You or your accountant still submit.
Pricing that learns from every job
The problem
You find out a job was underpriced when it is finished, if you find out at all. The next one like it gets priced the same way.
What we build
It learns how you price: your day rates, your markup on materials, your rates per square metre, what you add for access or an awkward site. When a job is finished, it compares what you quoted with what the job really cost, from your receipts and your team's hours. If a job made less than it should have, it works out where, and suggests a pricing lesson for similar jobs. You approve it, and the next quote uses it.
What stays with you
The price. It suggests; you decide.
More of the paperwork, handled
The jobs that come with running a building firm, not just any business.
Variations and extras
The extra agreed on site by text is priced, confirmed with the customer in writing, and added to the final invoice, not forgotten.
Stage payments and retentions
Stage invoices go out as each stage is signed off, and get chased. Retentions, typically 3 to 5% of the job, are tracked to their release dates, so the second half is claimed when the defects period ends.
Subcontractors and CIS
A reminder to verify each new subcontractor before their first payment, deductions worked out on every payment, and statements ready to send by the 19th. Paid nobody this month? You are reminded, because nil returns came back in April 2026.
Getting paid on commercial work
On contracts covered by the Construction Act, the dates for payment notices and pay less notices are tracked, and you are reminded before each one passes.
Enquiries and site visits
Missed calls texted back within a minute. Enquiries asked the questions you would ask: where, what, when, and a few photos. Site visits booked into your diary.
Certificates and renewals
Building regulations notifications for Part P and gas work, due within 30 days of finishing, prompted when the job is marked done. Waste transfer notes filed. Insurance, van and card renewals reminded in time.
The paperwork calendar
What HMRC expects from a building firm, and when. The rules changed again in April 2026.
CIS return by the 19th. Deductions paid to HMRC by the 22nd. Statements to your subcontractors by the 19th. And since 6 April 2026, a nil return if you paid nobody, unless you told HMRC in advance. Late returns cost £100 the day after, and more from there.
Updates by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. It started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024-25. Over £30,000 joins in April 2027, and over £20,000 in April 2028.
Returns through software, usually due one month and seven days after the period ends. Reverse charge invoices worded correctly, with no VAT charged on them.
Tax return by 31 January. Receipts kept for at least five years after that deadline if you are a sole trader, and six years from the year end for a company.
It is turnover, not profit.
Making Tax Digital counts your income before expenses. A sole trader who turned over £60,000 in 2024-25, with £35,000 profit after materials and costs, has been in it since April 2026. Automation keeps your records right every quarter, not just once a year.
Who we work with
- Builders
- Electricians
- Plumbing and heating
- Roofers
- Joiners and carpenters
- Plasterers and decorators
- Groundworkers and landscapers
- Kitchen and bathroom fitters
- Sole traders, partnerships and limited companies.
- Main contractors who pay subcontractors, and subcontractors paid under CIS.
- Domestic customers, commercial clients, or both.
- From one person and a van to a team of 25.
Not a building firm?
Building firms and trades are our specialism, not our only customers. We work with other owner-run businesses too, from clinics and salons to agencies, cafés and shops.
See what we automateYou price the work.
It learns your pricing and suggests changes. The number on the quote is always yours.
You approve the changes.
Nothing about how your business deals with customers, prices or money changes without your yes.
Your accountant files the returns.
We check and flag. We never file anything or give tax advice.
Questions builders ask
No. We build the automation that keeps your records right as you go and checks them before anything is submitted. Your accountant still prepares and files your returns, and gets tidier records to work from.
Yes. Your side of CIS is making sure the deductions on your statements match what you were paid, so you can claim them back: on your tax return as a sole trader, or each month as a limited company. That is exactly the kind of checking automation does well.
No. It can read the spreadsheet you already keep. Spreadsheets are allowed for Making Tax Digital as long as they are linked to the software that sends your updates rather than copied across by hand, and automation can make that link.
If you are a sole trader or landlord and your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024-25, it started on 6 April 2026. Qualifying income is your turnover before expenses, not your profit. Over £30,000 in 2025-26 means April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2026-27 means April 2028. HMRC has a checker on gov.uk.
No. One person and a van is where the evenings on paperwork hurt most. At the other end, if you are bigger than 25 people, talk to us anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit.
Yes. Building firms and trades are our specialism, not our only customers. We work with other owner-run businesses too, from clinics and salons to agencies, cafés and shops.
Sources, checked 30 September 2026
- Business population estimates 2025, table 5
- Company insolvencies, August 2026 (cases where the industry was recorded)
- Building materials price index, August 2026 release, table 1a (July 2026 provisional)
- CIS returns, payment dates and penalties
- CIS nil returns from 6 April 2026 (SI 2026/289)
- Verifying subcontractors
- VAT domestic reverse charge
- VAT return deadlines
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: who and when
- Making Tax Digital quarterly updates
- Making Tax Digital digital records and receipts
- How long to keep records
- Retentions and late payment
- Building regulations notifications under a competent person scheme
This page describes the rules in general. It is not tax or legal advice; your accountant can tell you how they apply to you.
Get your evenings back
Book a free automation audit. Thirty minutes on a call, and a written list of what could come off your plate, from receipts to CIS to pricing.
Book a free automation audit