What to Put on a Tradie Business Card, The 7 Things That Actually Win Jobs

The short answer: A tradie business card needs seven things: your business name, your trade, your phone number, your email, your website, your logo and your license number (if your trade requires one). Everything else is optional and most of it is clutter. The biggest mistake tradies make is cramming a list of every service they offer onto a card that's only 85mm wide, customers don't read it, they just toss it in the glovebox. Keep it clean, make the phone number the hero, and you'll have a card that actually rings the phone weeks after you hand it over.

This guide walks through exactly what to include, what to leave off, what good design looks like and what it costs to get a proper run of cards printed.

Do tradies still need business cards in 2026?

Short answer: yes. The "everything's digital now" crowd has been calling business cards dead for 15 years and they're still wrong. Here's why they still work for trades.

A tradie's customer interactions happen in person, on a job site, at a quote, after a referral over the back fence. In those moments, a customer asks "can I give you a call later?" and what they need is something to put in their wallet or pin to the fridge. A phone number scribbled on a scrap of paper gets lost. A proper card sits on a kitchen bench for weeks. Three months later when they need another job done, that card is the reason they ring you instead of Googling someone else.

Business cards are also the cheapest piece of branding you can hand out. A run of 500 quality cards costs $80 $150. That's around 16 to 30 cents a card. If one card in a hundred turns into a job worth $300+, the entire run has paid for itself many times over.

So no, business cards aren't dead. They've just changed jobs. They're not your first impression anymore, your website and Google reviews do that. They're your second impression: the physical reminder you leave behind so customers don't forget you.

What are the 7 essential things to put on a tradie business card?

1. Your business name

The headline. Make it the most prominent text on the card. If your business name is "Mick Brown Plumbing", the customer should see "Mick Brown Plumbing" before they see anything else.

If you're trading under your own name as a sole trader, that's fine, but pair it with the trade clearly underneath. "Mick Brown" by itself doesn't tell anyone what you do.

2. Your trade

What you actually do. Two reasons this needs to be on the card explicitly:

• If your business name doesn't include the trade (e.g. "MB Services"), the customer has nothing to remind them
• People hand cards around, the bloke who hands your card to his neighbour might not remember exactly what you do

Be specific where it helps. "Licensed Plumber & Gas Fitter" is better than just "Plumber". "Commercial & Domestic Electrical" tells the customer you do both. Add a clear one line description under your business name if the name alone doesn't carry the trade.

3. Your phone number

The most important element on the entire card. This is the conversion point.

Rules:

• One number, clearly formatted. 0412 345 678, not 0412345678.
• Make it big. It should be the second largest readable element on the card after your business name.
• Pick the right number. If you have a separate office number and a mobile, choose the one that actually gets answered. Two numbers confuses people and they call neither.
• Don't add "Call me on" or "Phone:". It's obviously a phone number. Save the space.

4. Your email

Customers who don't want to phone, and there are more of them every year, need a way to email you photos of the job, get quotes, send paperwork. Use a proper business email (mick@mickbrownplumbing.com.au), not a personal Gmail or Hotmail. Personal email addresses make a business look amateur.

5. Your website

A short, clean URL. mickbrownplumbing.com.au, drop the www, drop the https. Customers will type whatever's shortest. If your business doesn't have a website yet, the card is a daily reminder you need to sort one out.

6. Your logo

The visual recognition mark. Doesn't need to dominate the card, it works alongside the business name, not instead of it. A good logo on a business card makes the whole card feel professional, even if it's small.

If you're getting business cards printed before you have a proper logo, stop. Get the logo done first. A great card with a dodgy logo just looks like a great card with a dodgy logo. Most tradie starter kits bundle logo and business cards together specifically so this gets done in the right order.

7. Your license number (if your trade requires one)

For licensed trades, plumbers, electricians, builders, gas fitters, asbestos removers, your license number on the card does three things at once:

• Shows the customer you're properly qualified
• Often satisfies state legal requirements for displaying license numbers on business documents
• Builds instant trust, particularly with older homeowners and commercial clients

Check the rules in your state. In some states (Queensland for licensed builders, NSW for electricians, Victoria for plumbers) showing your license number on business cards and quotes is a legal requirement, not optional.

What about optional extras, what's worth adding?

Once you've nailed the seven essentials, you've got a small amount of room left. The best optional additions, in rough order of usefulness:

• Address (if you have a fixed premises), only if customers come to you. If you're a mobile sole trader, leave it off. Nobody needs to know your home address.
• Social media handle (one only), if you're genuinely active on Instagram or Facebook and post real photos of your work, including one handle is fine. If you haven't posted in six months, leave it off, an empty social account looks worse than no social account.
• Service area, useful if you're hyper local. "Servicing Brisbane Northside". Skip if you cover a wide area.
• One short USP, "24/7 Emergency Service", "Free Quotes", "Fully Insured". Just one. Not three.
• A QR code, unlike on vehicle signage, QR codes on business cards actually work because customers can scan them in their own time. Point it at your website, your Google review page, or a vCard download. One QR code, on the back of the card, not the front.

What should I leave off a tradie business card?

The single biggest mistake tradies make with business cards is cramming too much on. Strip these off if you've got them:

• A list of every service you offer. "Plumbing • Gas • Hot Water • Drains • Renos • Solar • Maintenance" makes the eye glaze over. Pick a short umbrella description instead.
• Multiple phone numbers. Pick one.
• Stock images and clipart. Outdated, looks cheap, screams "free template".
• Long taglines and slogans. "Quality you can trust since 2007" doesn't sell jobs. Save it for the website.
• Personal email addresses (Gmail, Hotmail, Bigpond). Get a business email. It costs $5 $15 a month and instantly looks more professional.
• Tiny illegible fine print. If your phone number is in 8 point font, you've already lost the call.
• Faded or stretched logos. If your logo isn't in a proper vector file, get it rebuilt before printing cards.
• Multiple QR codes. One only. Otherwise the customer doesn't know which to scan.
• Watermarks or backgrounds that fight the text. Plain backgrounds work harder than busy ones.

What does a good tradie business card design actually look like?

Beyond what's printed on it, the look of the card matters. A few rules that separate professional cards from amateur ones.

Keep it simple

The best tradie business cards have lots of white space. Cluttered cards look like the work of a tradie who's cluttered. Clean cards look like the work of a tradie who's organised.

Use your brand colours, consistently

Whatever colours your logo uses, whatever colours are on your website and any signage you have, use those same colours on the card. Consistency across every touchpoint is what makes a small business look bigger and more professional. Mismatched colours make customers wonder if it's actually the same business.

Two sides are better than one

A double sided card costs about 20% more to print but gives you twice the design space. Use the front for the essentials (business name, trade, phone number, logo). Use the back for everything else, your services in a short list, a QR code, an address, your USP.

Pick the right card stock

Cheap thin cards feel cheap. Customers fold them in pockets, they tear, they look unprofessional. A proper 350gsm to 400gsm card stock with a matte or soft touch finish feels like quality the moment the customer holds it. The cost difference between cheap and quality stock is usually $20 $40 across a run of 500 cards. Worth every cent.

Standard size, please

85mm × 55mm, the Australian standard business card size. Fits in every wallet, every cardholder, every business card holder on every counter in the country. Don't try to be clever with weird shapes or sizes, they don't fit anywhere and they get thrown out.

How much does a run of tradie business cards cost in 2026?

Honest pricing for a properly printed run of double sided cards on quality stock:

• 250 cards: $50 $100
• 500 cards: $80 $150
• 1,000 cards: $130 $220
• 2,000 cards: $200 $320

Higher prices in those ranges get you better stock, soft touch finishes, spot UV highlights or rounded corners. The very cheap $20 $30 cards you see online are usually thin stock with bad finishing, they look the part in a JPEG and feel like a cereal box in your hand.

How many do you actually need? For a sole trader, 500 cards usually lasts 12 to 18 months. Larger crews going through cards faster, 1,000 is the sensible sweet spot. Going under 250 isn't worth it because the per card cost gets silly.

How does a business card actually win you jobs?

A few honest scenarios where the card directly earns its cost back.

• The "fridge magnet" effect. Customer takes your card after a job. Sticks it on the fridge. Three months later, water heater dies. They call the number on the fridge instead of Googling. One $400 callout pays for hundreds of cards.
• The referral handoff. Happy customer hands your card to their neighbour. The neighbour calls. Free lead, no marketing spend.
• The quote leave behind. You quote a job. Customer's deciding between you and another bloke. You leave a professional card on the bench. The other bloke leaves a scrap of paper. Guess who looks more professional when they're comparing options.
• The "I had your card" call. Customer rings six months after a job because they kept your card. This happens often. Doesn't happen if there's no card.

A business card isn't a brochure. It's a permission slip to get called later.

Should I get a business card kit with my logo and signage together?

If you're starting a trade business from scratch, yes, buying logo, business cards and basic signage as a starter kit works out cheaper than buying them separately. More importantly, it forces the order to be right: logo first, then everything else matches.

Most tradie branding shops (including Tradie Essentials) bundle these as starter kits so new sole traders don't end up with a logo from one designer, a card from a different printer and signage that doesn't match either. The whole point is consistency, one look across everything you hand out.

The bottom line

A tradie business card has one job: be the reason a customer can ring you weeks or months after you've left the job. Seven essentials, no clutter, quality stock, double sided print, consistent with your logo and any other branding.

Get it right once and you're done for a year or two. A run of 500 cards will outlive most marketing campaigns, sit on more fridges than you'll ever know about, and pay for itself in the first job it brings in.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most important thing to put on a tradie business card?

The phone number. It's the conversion point, the thing that turns a piece of card into an actual job. Make it the second largest readable element on the card after your business name, format it cleanly (0412 345 678, not 0412345678), and use one number only.

What size should a tradie business card be?

Standard Australian business card size is 85mm × 55mm. Don't deviate. This is the size that fits every wallet, every cardholder and every business card holder on every counter in the country. Non standard sizes don't fit anywhere and get thrown away.

How much does it cost to print tradie business cards in Australia?

A proper run of 500 double sided business cards on quality 350 to 400gsm stock costs $80 to $150 in 2026. 1,000 cards costs $130 to $220. Cheaper online cards ($20 $30) usually use thin stock that feels unprofessional in hand. Quality stock is worth the extra $20 $40 across the full run.

Should I put my license number on a business card?

Yes, if you're a licensed trade, plumber, electrician, builder, gas fitter. In several Australian states (including Queensland, NSW and Victoria for various trades) displaying your license number on business documents is a legal requirement. Even where it isn't required, it builds instant trust with customers.

Should I put my email and website on the card if I don't check email often?

If you can't reliably respond to email, leave it off, an unmonitored email address damages your reputation. Get a proper business email through your domain ($5 $15/month), set it up to forward to your phone, and check it daily. If you've got a website, always include it, a short clean URL takes up almost no space and builds credibility.

What's the difference between cheap and quality business cards?

Three things: paper weight (cheap is 250 to 300gsm, quality is 350 to 400gsm), finish (cheap is gloss or no finish, quality is matte, soft touch or spot UV) and printing (cheap has dull colours and edge defects, quality has rich colours and clean cuts). The total cost difference across 500 cards is usually $20 $40. Customers can feel the difference the second they pick the card up.

How many business cards does a tradie actually need?

For most sole traders, 500 cards lasts 12 to 18 months. Larger crews going through cards faster, 1,000 cards is the sensible sweet spot. Going under 250 isn't worth it because the per card cost rises sharply at low quantities. Most tradies order a run, use them for a year or so, then reorder once.

Can I design my own business card or should I get a designer?

You can design your own using free tools like Canva, and for a brand new sole trader on a tight budget, that's fine. The trade off: most DIY cards look like DIY cards. A proper designed card costs $80 $200 in design fees on top of the print cost, but you end up with something that matches your logo, your website and any signage you have. For most tradies serious about the business, the upgrade is worth it.

Ready to sort professional cards that actually win jobs? Tradie Essentials does proper double sided business cards on quality stock, designed to match your logo and brand. Every price on the page, Australia wide delivery. See our business card options.