SimPRO is field service and contracting software for electrical, plumbing, HVAC and security trades. Its strength is contracting at depth: job costing, warehouse inventory, asset maintenance and add-on modules, set up with an initial fee. Its website also lists solar project tools and AI through Simpro Lightning. It lists no DNO applications, no MCS features and no built-in design.
Payaca is built for solar, heat pump, battery and EV charger install businesses, with the UK compliance chain and design on the same project: DNO applications through ENA Connect, MCS documentation, Glow and Flow (limited release) for design, and Agent Dave, the AI assistant, built in. Here's how they compare for a UK install business.
The short answer
SimPRO is a contracting suite for the general trades, with no DNO or MCS support listed. For domestic and light commercial renewables, Payaca covers the job end to end, compliance included, with far less to configure.
- Payaca is best for renewables businesses that want the compliance chain and customer experience handled, without the weight of a full contracting suite.
- SimPRO is best for commercial contractors running complex multi-stage projects with heavy asset maintenance, stock control and subcontractor management.
- Payaca publishes its pricing: Growth, the standard plan for established install businesses, is £1,199/month. Current plans and eligibility are on the pricing page. SimPRO does not publish pricing publicly; it quotes per business and charges an initial setup fee.
Looking at this yourself?
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Feature comparison
| Feature | Payaca | SimPRO |
|---|---|---|
| Industry focus | Built for clean tech: solar, heat pumps, batteries, EV chargers | Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and security trades, with solar project and asset maintenance tools |
| DNO applications | Direct ENA Connect integration for G98/G99 applications | No DNO application support listed, so G98/G99 applications are handled separately |
| MCS compliance | Built-in MCS certificate generation and documentation | No MCS-specific features listed; compliance apps on its marketplace cover electrical certificates and F-Gas |
| Design | Design solar with Glow and estimate heat pumps with Flow, both in limited release, or import from EasyPV, Heatpunk, OpenSolar and Spruce | No built-in design; autarc (heat pump, solar and EV charger planning) connects through the Simpro Marketplace |
| Scope | Focused on clean tech installation workflows, configured for you during onboarding | Contracting suite with add-on modules, priced and set up to your business with an initial setup fee |
| Quoting | Multi-option clean tech proposals with e-signatures and online payment, priced from the design | Quotes built from costed items, labour and markup |
| Job management | Multi-stage install projects, with job costs from purchase orders and supplier receipts landing on the job | Job costing, Gantt project views, progress invoices and retention claims |
| Inventory | Stock across warehouses, vans and branches at weighted average cost, with purchase orders raised from the project | Inventory and warehouse stock control with purchasing |
| Accounting integration | Two-way sync with Xero and QuickBooks | QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB and Sage integrations |
| API & extensibility | Open API, Zapier, and an MCP server for Claude and Cursor | REST API and a marketplace of third-party integrations |
| AI | Agent Dave, the AI assistant built into Payaca, works across your projects inside each user's permissions | Simpro Lightning (launched May 2026), which its website says adds AI agents and an assistant for reporting, job prep, documentation and customer communication |
Industry focus
Built for clean tech: solar, heat pumps, batteries, EV chargers
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC and security trades, with solar project and asset maintenance tools
DNO applications
Direct ENA Connect integration for G98/G99 applications
No DNO application support listed, so G98/G99 applications are handled separately
MCS compliance
Built-in MCS certificate generation and documentation
No MCS-specific features listed; compliance apps on its marketplace cover electrical certificates and F-Gas
Design
Design solar with Glow and estimate heat pumps with Flow, both in limited release, or import from EasyPV, Heatpunk, OpenSolar and Spruce
No built-in design; autarc (heat pump, solar and EV charger planning) connects through the Simpro Marketplace
Scope
Focused on clean tech installation workflows, configured for you during onboarding
Contracting suite with add-on modules, priced and set up to your business with an initial setup fee
Quoting
Multi-option clean tech proposals with e-signatures and online payment, priced from the design
Quotes built from costed items, labour and markup
Job management
Multi-stage install projects, with job costs from purchase orders and supplier receipts landing on the job
Job costing, Gantt project views, progress invoices and retention claims
Inventory
Stock across warehouses, vans and branches at weighted average cost, with purchase orders raised from the project
Inventory and warehouse stock control with purchasing
Accounting integration
Two-way sync with Xero and QuickBooks
QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB and Sage integrations
API & extensibility
Open API, Zapier, and an MCP server for Claude and Cursor
REST API and a marketplace of third-party integrations
AI
Agent Dave, the AI assistant built into Payaca, works across your projects inside each user's permissions
Simpro Lightning (launched May 2026), which its website says adds AI agents and an assistant for reporting, job prep, documentation and customer communication
See it in Payaca
The real product, on our demo accounts.
Compliance & documentation
Generate MCS documents and keep every certificate on the job. More on Compliance & documentation
Operations & scheduling
Schedule your field team on a map and track every job. More on Operations & scheduling
The whole job in 100 seconds
Switching from SimPRO
Your customers, sites, contacts, jobs and catalogue items come across from CSV exports of your SimPRO data. We map them to Payaca's customers, contacts, projects and catalogue, put open jobs at the right stage of your pipeline, and import them through Payaca's import tooling. Certificates and other documents you want to keep can sit as files on the matching project.
Past invoices stay in your accounting package. Guided onboarding comes with Growth and above, as a one-off £1,500. It covers mapping your workflow into Payaca, migrating the data and training the team.
Which is right for you?
Choose Payaca if
- You primarily install solar, heat pumps, batteries or EV chargers
- You want G98 and G99 applications submitted through ENA Connect from the job
- You want MCS documentation and design on the same project as the install
- You want a focused system configured for you, rather than a full contracting suite
Consider SimPRO if
- You're an electrical, plumbing or commercial contractor working across many trades
- You don't need UK renewables compliance tools
Questions
What's the main difference between Payaca and SimPRO?
Payaca is built specifically for clean tech install businesses, with DNO applications via ENA Connect, MCS compliance documentation, and solar design in Payaca with Glow (limited release) plus imports from EasyPV, Heatpunk and OpenSolar. SimPRO is field service and contracting software for electrical, plumbing, HVAC and security trades; its website also lists solar project management among its industries. For UK renewables work, Payaca has the compliance chain built in.
Is SimPRO overkill for a solar installation business?
It depends on the work. SimPRO is built for contracting at depth, with job costing, inventory, asset maintenance and add-on modules, and it suits commercial contracting. It doesn't list DNO applications or MCS documentation, which domestic and light commercial renewables businesses in the UK deal with on every job. Payaca is focused on that workflow.
Does SimPRO handle DNO applications?
SimPRO doesn't list DNO application support, so G98/G99 submissions are handled in the ENA Connect portal or separate tools. Payaca integrates directly with ENA Connect to submit DNO applications from the project.
Can SimPRO generate MCS certificates?
SimPRO doesn't list MCS-specific features; its marketplace compliance apps cover areas such as electrical certificates and F-Gas. Payaca has built-in MCS documentation that pulls job data automatically to generate compliant certificates.
Which has better inventory management?
Both hold stock. SimPRO has inventory and warehouse stock control with purchasing. Payaca holds stock across warehouses, vans and branches, valued at weighted average cost: buy it in on purchase orders, issue it to a project at real cost when it's used, and see on-hand quantity and value per location. Purchase orders are raised from the project at each supplier's prices.
Can I migrate from SimPRO to Payaca?
Yes. Customers, sites, jobs and your catalogue come across from SimPRO exports as part of guided onboarding. See Switching from SimPRO above for how it works.
Competitor details are based on their public information as of 29 October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.