Jobs near you. Keep 85%.
Plumbers, gas engineers, electricians, drainage engineers and locksmiths in Coventry. You stay self-employed. Mains finds the work, takes the payment and handles the paperwork.
Join Mains
How a job runs.
Built so you spend your time on the tools, not on the phone chasing customers or payment.
Go online when you want work
One switch. No shifts, no minimum hours and no penalty for being off. You choose the trades and the postcode areas you cover.
Accept in one tap
A nearby job comes to your phone with a sound and a text. You see what it is, roughly where, and the least you will be paid for turning up. You have 45 seconds to take it or leave it.
The customer is ready for you
They have answered the questions, turned the water off if it is a leak, and know the call-out is charged when you arrive. Show the door code and you are in.
Quote from the price list
If it needs more than the first hour, tap the parts and labour and send it. The customer approves on their phone. You can add a part that is not on the list, and agree an “if it is worse” extra up front so you never stop to re-quote.
Photos protect you
The fault, the area before you start and the finished job. If anyone claims damage or a bad repair, the record is there.
Paid for every job
The customer pays in the app, so there are no invoices to chase. You see what each job paid and your running total.
What you keep on a typical job.
Mains takes 15% of what the customer pays. Everything else is yours. There is no joining fee and no monthly fee.
- Call-out
- £89
- Flexible tap connector
- £16.80
- Labour, 30 minutes extra
- £38.40
- Customer pays
- £144.20
- Mains commission (15%)
- -£21.63
- You keep
- £122.57
What you need to join.
Signing up takes about two minutes. We check your details, usually the same day, and text you when you can go online.
Public liability insurance
Current cover, for every trade. We ask for the expiry date and to see the certificate.
Gas Safe registration
Only if you do gas and heating work. We check your number on the Gas Safe Register.
Your own van and tools
And a smartphone. Customers see your photo and van registration so they know it is you.
Engineers ask.
Am I employed by Mains?
No. You are self-employed and run your own business. You decide when to work and which jobs to take, and you are free to work for anyone else.
What if I accept a job and then can’t make it?
Tap “I can’t make it”. The job goes straight to another engineer and the customer is told. Do it as early as you can.
What if nobody is home?
Wait 15 minutes, call the customer, photograph the door and report no access in the app. You are paid the call-out.
Can I take payment from the customer directly?
Not for a Mains job. The 12-month guarantee only covers work paid through the app, and customers are asked after every job whether they were asked to pay directly.
What happens with the guarantee?
If a fault you fixed comes back within 12 months, the return visit comes to you. There is no call-out on a return visit.
Who sets the prices?
Mains sets the call-out and the price list so every customer is quoted the same way. If a part is missing from the list you can add it to a quote, and we add it to the list afterwards.