Why I built Crivata
I’m Martin. I’m a painter and decorator, and I’ve spent over 30 years working on site. For most of that time, the work itself was never the problem. The problem was everything around it.
The Real Issue
I’ve always liked systems and organisation. I want things to run properly. So I tried software.
The problem was never that tools didn’t exist. It was that none of them worked together.
One app for quoting and invoicing. Another for appointments. Another for follow-ups. My phone for messages. A calculator for pricing. Another system for payments. Another for scheduling.
I was paying for multiple subscriptions and still copying information between them. That’s not running a business. That’s juggling.
Where Crivata Started
From idea to platform
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1
Started by building an online estimator for my own website
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2
It filtered out clients who were never going to hire
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3
Saved site visits and made quoting faster
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4
Realised it could help trades across the UK
Client Communication
I’ve always cared about how clients feel. The worst moments were never bad jobs. They were calls like: “Are you coming tomorrow?” or “What’s happening next?”
“Most problems in trade work aren’t the work itself. They’re miscommunication. I wanted a system that reduced that, not added to it.”
Martin, Founder
Why Existing Software Didn’t Work
I found some good trade software, especially for painters. Most of it came from the US. It worked, but the pricing didn’t make sense for UK trades. Affordable plans were limited. Useful features were locked behind expensive tiers. The choice always felt wrong.
The Business Coach Idea
When jobs are back to back and you’re busy on site, you don’t have time to work out which jobs make money, which ones don’t, and what you should do more of. Crivata does that thinking for you.
AI Quote Assistant
Describe a job in your own words — type it or dictate it hands-free on site — and Crivata’s AI instantly builds a fully itemised quote using your own price list. No retyping. No manual calculations. A quote that used to take 30 minutes is ready in seconds.
Why Production Rates Matter
Pricing by feel is never consistent. Mood matters. Rushed days matter. Big jobs magnify mistakes. With production rates, pricing becomes simple. Measure the space, enter it once, and the system works out the time and price.
What Makes Crivata Different
Crivata doesn’t just show information. It helps you run the business better. Instead of leaving you to analyse numbers late at night, it points things out for you.
Who Crivata Is For
Solo trades, small trade businesses, and teams up to around 10–15 people. It’s not built for corporate firms or spreadsheet lovers. It’s built for people who work on the tools.
Behind Crivata
Instead of paying for software I didn’t really like, I decided to build something I actually wanted to use. At first, it was just for my own business. Then for other painters. Then it became clear it could help trades across the UK. That’s how Crivata started.
The Point of Crivata
In a few years, I want UK trades to spend less time on admin, have calmer evenings, make better decisions, and have happier clients who know what’s happening. That’s the point of Crivata.
Free 30-day trial. No credit card required. No auto subscription.