Trades Software Without a Subscription — Bought, Not Rented
Your software. Your own installation. No subscription.
A subscription fee keeps running as long as you use the software. Depending on the vendor you pay per package, per seat or per tier, and after five years what you hold is an account. krafteq Handwerk you buy once: a permanent right of use for standard software for trades businesses with 5 to 50 employees — from the enquiry through quote, job and time tracking to the e-invoice and the export to your tax adviser. Your own installation for your business, fully without an internet connection if you want it. Billing is per business, not per user and not per workstation. Whatever does not fit your business in the first months, we fine-tune — fine-tuning after go-live is included. We are currently rolling krafteq Handwerk out with the first businesses: you test it free of charge, receive an individual offer afterwards, and we set up your business together with you.
From our market research (as of Aug 2026): plancraft, ToolTime, HERO and Bosch OfficeOn compete on features — inside the subscription model; TAIFUN, by contrast, documents a purchase option. krafteq sells a permanent right of use with a dedicated installation instead, from Leverkusen, with a personal point of contact rather than a call centre.
What the rental model costs over the yearsWhy pay monthly for software that cannot be adapted?
plancraft, ToolTime, HERO, Bosch OfficeOn — solid programmes, and the right choice for many businesses. These four list subscription models on their own pricing pages; TAIFUN, by contrast, documents a purchase option (as of Aug 2026). With a subscription the point is not the software but the model behind it: you rent access to the vendor's system. Five consequences follow, and they get expensive over the years.
The fee never ends
Per the pricing pages, entry tariffs run from €59.90 (plancraft Business) via €69 (HERO Select) to €79 (ToolTime SOLO) net per month, each on an annual contract (as of Aug 2026). Add further seats and building blocks — plancraft's planning board at €39.90, ToolTime's DATEV integration at €19 — and more is added every month. And the fee keeps running for as long as you use the software: after five years you have paid a lot, and the right of use ends with the subscription.
Billing follows seats or tiers
An office licence, a site login, further users: with the well-known subscription vendors the price hangs on seats or on tiers — plancraft charges office and field seats separately, HERO per additional app licence, ToolTime tiers by team size. Where the price hangs on seats, the software gets more expensive as soon as you hire — exactly when money is tied up in the business anyway.
Vendor lock-in
Your data lives in someone else's system, and the vendor decides what can be exported — ToolTime and HERO document extensive export paths, among them CSV, Excel and DATEV (as of Aug 2026). The same goes for the roadmap, the pricing and the cancellation terms: a single business does not negotiate a price increase away.
Foreign servers, foreign law
The US CLOUD Act permits US authorities to access data held by US companies — regardless of where it is stored. Which parts of its technology a vendor runs where is set out in its data processing agreement and its list of sub-processors; ask for both before you sign. In a Bitkom survey of 504 German trades businesses, 96 per cent name IT and data security as well as data protection concerns as a barrier to digitalisation.
The room for a single business is narrow
In standardised operation serving many customers, customer-specific changes are typically more tightly bounded; how far a vendor goes is a commercial decision and one to ask them about. Where the room is narrow, you adapt your processes to the software instead of the other way round, the workarounds pile up, and the system becomes more fragile rather than more stable.
Sources (list prices net; regular prices, net, as of Aug 2026; survey as of Aug 2025): plancraft – from €59.90/mo, ToolTime – from €79/mo, HERO – from €69/mo, Bitkom – survey of 504 trades businesses (96% IT/data security)
The krafteq AnswerBought, not rented — five commitments a subscription cannot make
krafteq Handwerk is standard software for the daily work of a trades business: enquiry, quote, costing, job, time tracking, e-invoice, accounting export. You are not commissioning a build; you buy a permanent right of use and receive an installation of your own. These five points carry the position against subscription software.
A permanent right of use
You pay once, at a fixed price, and may use the software as delivered permanently. No monthly rent, no minimum term, no contract that quietly renews. All updates are included in the first year. After that, updates run through maintenance — or you run it yourself and your version simply keeps working. The right of use never expires.
Your own installation
Your own database, your own domain, your own configuration — not a system shared with other businesses. Operated by krafteq on servers in Germany, on your own server, with your IT provider, or entirely without an internet connection inside your own network. That last option is not something the cloud vendors we surveyed offer, according to their own material (as of Aug 2026).
Per business, not per head
krafteq bills neither per user nor per workstation. Site access for your crew is therefore included, and the software does not get more expensive when you hire. The purchase and the operation stay two separate items: you buy the software, you rent the operation — or run it yourself.
Fine-tuning after go-live
You do not start from scratch: krafteq Handwerk is standard software that already reflects the daily work of a trades business — there is nothing to specify. Adjusting starts without development: switch off areas you do not use, rename processes and statuses to your own terms, set number ranges, tax rates, wage groups and print layouts. If that is not enough, we build it. The scope is written into your offer beforehand.
No vendor lock-in
Your data belongs to you, with data export at any time. Source code included when you self-host — no redistribution. Under krafteq operation the source stays with us; you can switch to self-operation at any time, and we then hand over images, documentation and source code.
Try it with your own data
You get your test instance of krafteq Handwerk — set up for your trade and ready for your own data. A short request is enough; it is usually ready within three working days. No sales call, no obligation — we get back to you within one working day as a rule with one or two quick questions about your business. Afterwards you receive an individual written offer; we set up your business together with you. For trade businesses. Not a trade business? Then write to us via the contact form.
- No subscription
- No sales call
- No obligation
ComparisonBuy or rent — the two models in detail
plancraft, ToolTime, HERO and Bosch OfficeOn ship solid software and compete on features — inside the subscription model. TAIFUN documents a purchase option; the comparison below names this per vendor (as of Aug 2026). krafteq Handwerk plays a different model: buy once instead of renting monthly, your own installation instead of a shared system. This comparison is about the model, not the feature list.
| krafteq Handwerk | plancraft / ToolTime / HERO | TAIFUN / Bosch OfficeOn | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billing | per business, one-off — plus the operation of the installation | monthly per plan — plancraft from 59.90 euros, HERO from 69 euros, ToolTime from 79 euros (net, entry tier, as of Aug 2026) | TAIFUN: purchase according to the vendor page, price on request, modular · Bosch OfficeOn: subscription from 49.99 euros/month, 12-month term |
| Permanent right of use | Yes | ends with the subscription (plancraft, ToolTime and HERO list subscription models on their pricing pages) | TAIFUN: purchase according to the vendor page · Bosch OfficeOn: ends with the subscription |
| Dedicated instance | Yes — your own database, domain and configuration | cloud operation at the vendor (per the vendors' own statements) | TAIFUN: own server possible according to the vendor · Bosch OfficeOn: cloud |
| Adaptation to your business | Standard software, set up for your trade — fine-tuning after go-live included | settings within the standard product; in standardised operation serving many customers, customer-specific changes are typically more tightly bounded, and the scope differs by vendor | settings within the standard product; the vendor states the actual scope |
| Site access for your crew | Included — billing is not per head | plancraft: per further office or mobile seat · HERO: per further app licence · ToolTime: on moving up a tier (TEAM up to 5, MAX up to 10) | TAIFUN: the vendor itself names simultaneous workstations and mobile devices as price factors · Bosch OfficeOn: mobile licence 22.99–34.99 euros |
| Operation | With krafteq, on your own server, or entirely without an internet connection | cloud operation at the vendor (per the vendors' own statements) | TAIFUN: own server possible according to the vendor · Bosch OfficeOn: cloud |
| Location | Leverkusen, a personal point of contact | Hamburg, Berlin, Hanover | Various |
Sources for the vendor statements (regular prices, net, as of Aug 2026; promotions not included): plancraft — pricing page, ToolTime — pricing page, HERO — pricing page, TAIFUN — pricing page, Bosch OfficeOn — pricing page — A model comparison without figures — krafteq terms belong in the individual offer. The statements about the other vendors reproduce their own pricing and product pages, as of Aug 2026.
How the Switch WorksThree steps out of your subscription
The journey from a running subscription contract to your own installation takes a matter of weeks. You see the software with your own data before you sign anything, and the terms are in the offer before you order. No sales pressure, no open consultancy invoice.
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Your test instance with your own data
You tell us briefly what your business does — trade, size, software currently in use. You receive a confirmation by email; we get back to you within one working day as a rule with one or two quick questions and then set up a test instance of your own by hand, with the terms, units and templates of your trade. It is usually ready within three working days. You try it with your own data, without a sales call and without obligation.
You see a running system against your own daily work — before anything is signed.
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Offer, setup and data transfer
The offer states the fixed-price perpetual licence, the operation of your installation and the scope of the fine-tuning — in writing, before you order. We set up your installation and take over whatever the legacy system exports: customers, jobs, master data. Whatever your previous vendor will not release, we say so upfront rather than playing it down.
One price, one scope, no renegotiation — and you do not have to write a requirements list.
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Cancel the old contract, choose how it runs
Once your installation is live, you cancel the subscription vendor — the typical notice period is one to three months to the end of a quarter, and we time the start so that you do not pay twice. Then you decide about the operation: with krafteq including security updates, backups, maintenance and support, the first year included — or on your own server, or entirely without an internet connection. Without maintenance, your version simply keeps running.
From here you pay once instead of monthly — and your installation runs for your business, not as an account on someone else's system.
TrustWith the rigour of a German engineering partner
krafteq is a German GmbH based in Leverkusen. We have been building software for industry and the mid-market for years — and we apply the same care to the software for trades businesses.
krafteq GmbH, Leverkusen
A German company based in the Rhineland. A personal point of contact rather than a call centre. On-site meetings are possible; working entirely remotely works just as well. The competitors are based in Hamburg, Berlin and Hanover.
Servers in Germany, GDPR from the start
Operation with krafteq runs on servers of European providers (Hetzner, OVHcloud or IONOS) in Germany (EU fallback available). Data Processing Agreement available as standard, sub-processors and safeguards documented in the DPA and the TOMs, encryption in transit and at rest, a dedicated database per business. Or you run it yourself, entirely without an internet connection.
Security built into the process
Four-eyes review on every change, credentials kept encrypted, an automated security scan of every container before delivery.
Built by experienced engineers
AI-assisted development makes us faster — quality control remains human. That is what makes standard software at this price possible in the first place.
“We looked at the well-known vendors: plancraft, ToolTime, HERO, Bosch OfficeOn. Their outward messaging is about features, not about the billing model itself. That is exactly where we start. We sell a permanent right of use with a dedicated installation instead, and when something does not fit the business, we fine-tune it. What makes that possible is our toolchain: we build one product for many businesses rather than starting from scratch for each one.”
FAQFrequently asked questions about leaving your subscription
Trades Software Without a Subscription — Bought, Not Rented — let's tackle it
Let us discuss how we can solve this challenge for your organization.
Does your project not fit a standard product?
When a standard product is not enough — a sprawling tool landscape, a legacy system at the end of its life, a process no software on the market maps — krafteq builds it individually: in house, at a fixed price, with the same toolchain as the product. With custom work the source code can be handed over in full.
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