The voice, the positioning, the subbie's own words and every line we might use, each marked ready to test, needs the Claims Register, or blocked. Built from Valla's brief, our research and the drafts in the other plans.
| Source | What it gives us | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Solo Marketing Brief v0.2 (Valla, Sept 2026) | The tone line, four messaging pillars, the segments by CIS rate, the Free-tier hook and a summary of the red lines | Valla's own. Its pillars are marked "drafts to test" |
| Voice-of-customer research (15 Sept) | 150 sourced quotes from subbies, partners and accountants: their words, fears and price ceiling | Researched, sourced line by line |
| Valla's Terms and Conditions (v1.1, 8 Sept) | Product facts we can say plainly: no bank feed, never holds or moves money, MTD-ready records but no filing to HMRC | Valla's own, public |
| The six-month, website and PR plans | Five angles to test, nine angles rated for claims risk, three PR themes, the landing page structure | Our drafts |
| The naming work (Sept) | The voice rules ("a site foreman, not a fintech") still hold. The name-specific lines are parked | Rules kept, lines parked |
| Solo Claims Register v0.2 | The rulebook every line goes through | Not yet received. Every status here is our reading of the brief's summary |
How to read the statuses: Ready to test a product fact in low-risk words. It still gets a quick register check before it goes live. Needs register fine in principle, but the wording sits near a red line. Blocked waits on a change (a product fact, HMRC recognition, a ruling). Parked belongs to a name we're not using.
The brand is Zee: Zee Solo for subbies, Zee Hub for contractors. Every line below uses it.
This is the internal positioning. Every line has to fit it, but it is not public copy: "unlike general accounting apps" stays internal because we don't make public comparisons.
| Line | Use | Status |
|---|---|---|
| The money side of the trade, sorted. | Store description opener, About page, creator intros | Ready to test |
| Invoice. Get paid. Know what's been stopped. | Ad sign-off, landing hero support line | Needs register |
| CIS paperwork for subbies. Free to start. | Search ads, store subtitle alternative | Ready to test |
Valla's brief sets the tone: "Plain trade English, dry humour welcome, zero fintech buzzwords." Each rule below shows the same idea said the right way and the wrong way.
The humour comes from the observation. Never at the subbie's expense, never at HMRC's.
One price table, shown once, "+VAT" every time. Say what's free, what isn't, and what happens after the trial.
Lead with the pain and sign off with the name. "See what you'll be paid before you send it", then the name. Send rate-specific copy only to that group: never assume everyone's on 20% (the brief's rule F9). Use their word first, then the proper term: "payslip" before "payment and deduction statement".
Taken from 150 sourced quotes on forums, app reviews and accountants' Q&As. Subbies never used accountant terms such as "CIS suffered", "verification" or "gross up".
| They say | The proper term | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| "stopped", "taken" | deducted | Headlines say "stopped"; body copy explains deduction |
| "the 20%", "the 30%" | standard / higher deduction rate | Only to the matching segment; "your rate" when we don't know |
| "payslip" | payment and deduction statement | Say both the first time |
| "rebate" | repayment through Self Assessment | We don't use it in marketing. It's the refund promise the register rules out |
| "the tax man" | HMRC | HMRC in copy; fine in a creator's own mouth |
| "subbie", "sparky", "chippy", "brickie", "spark" | subcontractor, electrician, carpenter, bricklayer | Use in social and creator content; "subcontractor" in the store listing for search |
| "doing the books", "OH/DH does my books" | bookkeeping | We say "whoever does the books": it covers partners without assuming who they are |
Fintech: seamless, streamline, empower, solution, platform (in consumer copy), workflow, effortless, revolutionise, compliance as a benefit. Red-line words: refund, rebate, reclaim, overpaying, "save you money", guaranteed, HMRC-approved, HMRC-recognised, MTD-compatible, "we file for you", "never worry about tax".
| Fear (from the research) | What we can say | Status |
|---|---|---|
| An app getting into their bank account | "We never connect to your bank." Valla's Terms: "We do not connect to your bank" | Ready to test |
| Handing over a Government Gateway password | "We never ask for your Government Gateway password." | Blocked until Valla confirms it's true |
| Why an app wants their UTR | A plain explanation on the landing page and in onboarding (see section 07) | Needs register |
| Another subscription | "Free. No card." with the trial explained | Ready to test |
| Money going through a stranger | "We never touch your money. You pay and get paid from your own bank." From the Terms | Needs register (the brief's red line on money) |
The money side of the trade, sorted, and free to start.
Brief: "Invoices contractors actually accept." Ours: "See what you'll be paid before you send it."
Proof: labour and materials split, deduction at your verified rate shown before sending (brief §2). No live UK ad says this (0 Meta ads for "CIS invoice"). Reviews complain mainstream apps "can't put a minus figure in".
Brief: "Know where your CIS money went." Ours: "Every payslip in one place."
Proof: statements from contractors and the CIS pot (brief §2, Free tier). Caution: "every payslip" is only true for contractors on Zee Hub unless Valla confirms otherwise.
Brief: "Free to start. No card." Ours: "Built for subbies, not office workers."
Proof: the Free tier (£0, no card, invoicing and statements). "Built for office workers, not tradespeople" is a direct review quote about other apps.
Brief: "Quarter-end without the shoebox of receipts."
Proof: expenses by category, quarterly summaries, MTD-ready records (Terms §3). Timing: leads January to March, before the £30,000 threshold arrives in April 2027. It must never imply filing: the Terms say Zee Solo doesn't submit to HMRC.
Pillars 1 and 3 carry the launch. Pillar 2 grows as more contractors join Zee Hub. Pillar 4 is seasonal.
| Who | Their situation | Lead line | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The invoicing subbie (20%, the majority) | Invoices on paper or WhatsApp; working out the deduction by hand | See what you'll be paid before you send it. | Ready to test |
| The payslip subbie | Hands in hours, gets a "payslip" or a text; loses them | Every payslip in one place. | Blocked until statements from contractors not on Zee Hub are confirmed |
| Stuck on 30% | New starter, no UTR yet, or a record mismatch | On 30%? See it on every invoice, and know what's been stopped. | Needs register (the brief's own "overpaying" and "that's your money" are out) |
| Gross status | No deductions; sets tax aside themselves | Not a launch audience | Later |
| Whoever does the books (often a partner) | Googles for days; does the setup and asks the questions | Whoever does the books can set it up in minutes. | Needs register ("in minutes" needs timing evidence; drop it if not) |
| Invited by a contractor | Contractor is on Zee Hub and sends an invite | Your contractor's on Zee Hub. Join free and invoice them in the app. | Ready to test |
| Accountants and bookkeepers | Set up clients' software; wary of apps that go around them | Your subbie clients' invoices and statements, tidy before they reach you. | Needs register (Plus = accountant review, so never position against them) |
These drafts show the voice at work. None is approved: each goes through the register before use.
Other apps already use "Solo" in this space (Kletta Solo, Dext Solo, ApariSolo), so the descriptor carries the search terms either way.
Needs a product check: who runs verification, and when.
Luke, Lena and Sam write and approve their own quotes. We never draft words for a real person to sign as their own.
| Tempting | Why not | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Get your CIS refund" | Tax-outcome promise; refunds aren't in the product | "Every deduction recorded, ready for your tax return." |
| "Stop overpaying" | Implies an outcome; the rate is HMRC's | "Know your rate, and see it on every invoice." |
| "That's your money" | Refund framing | "Know what's been stopped." |
| "HMRC-approved" | Not true; recognition means something narrower | Nothing, until recognised. Then only HMRC's exact wording |
| "MTD-compatible" | HMRC's software finder isn't taking new products for 2026–27 | "MTD-ready records" (the Terms' own words) |
| "Right-to-work checks built in" | The brief puts it in the register's conditional section: not in ads yet | In PR only as an explainer of the new rule, with no product claim |
| "CIS already takes the 20%" | Assumes everyone's on 20% (rule F9) | "CIS already takes its cut. The paperwork's still yours." |
| "Never worry about tax again" | Outcome promise; the tax is still theirs | "The numbers worked out, the records kept." |
| "Better than [competitor]" | Named comparison | "Built for subbies, not office workers." |
| "£25 a month" | Price without VAT | "£25 a month +VAT" |
Every candidate line from the brief, the plans and the naming work, in one list. Filter by status.
| Line | From | Why this status | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| See what you'll be paid before you send it. | Six-month plan | Product fact (brief §2) | Ready to test |
| Free. No card. | Six-month plan | Free tier (brief §4) | Ready to test |
| Invoice your contractors. £0. No card. | Brief §4 | Valla's own hook | Ready to test |
| Free to start. No card. | Brief §5 | Valla's pillar | Ready to test |
| Built for subbies, not office workers. | Six-month plan | No competitor named; from reviews | Ready to test |
| Labour on one line. Materials on another. Your deduction worked out before you send. | This page | Product fact | Ready to test |
| The money side of the trade, sorted. | This page | Describes scope, no outcome | Ready to test |
| We never connect to your bank. | Terms §3–4 | In Valla's published Terms | Ready to test |
| Your contractor's on Zee Hub? Join free. | Plan (invite route) | Product fact | Ready to test |
| Nobody picked up a trowel for the paperwork. | This page | Tone line, no claim | Ready to test |
| The rules around subbies are changing. Here's what it means for you. | PR plan | Explainer framing | Ready to test |
| Invoices contractors actually accept. | Brief §5 | Needs evidence that they do | Needs register |
| Know where your CIS money went. | Brief §5 | "Money" edges towards outcome | Needs register |
| Know what's been stopped. | Six-month plan | Record framing, their word | Needs register |
| Quarter-end without the shoebox of receipts. | Brief §5 | Must not imply filing | Needs register |
| On 30%? See it on every invoice, and know what's been stopped. | This page | Segment-only; replaces the brief's "overpaying" framing | Needs register |
| Still on 30%? | Brief §5 | Segment-only (rule F9) | Needs register |
| Whoever does the books can set it up. | Six-month plan | Setup claim; fine if onboarding allows it | Needs register |
| Every deduction recorded, ready for your tax return. | This page | Safe version of the refund idea | Needs register |
| MTD-ready records. | Terms §3 | MTD wording is gated | Needs register |
| CIS already takes its cut. The paperwork's still yours. | Audience research (reworded) | MTD empathy, Jan–Mar | Needs register |
| We never touch your money. | Terms §4 | Brief red line on money topics | Needs register |
| Ready for April, without the shoebox. | Audience research | One word from a refund promise | Needs register |
| Every payslip in one place. | Six-month plan | Only true for Zee Hub contractors until Valla confirms | Blocked |
| We never ask for your Government Gateway password. | Audience research | Not yet confirmed as true | Blocked |
| Right-to-work checks built in. | Product (brief §2) | Register conditional: not in ads yet | Blocked |
| MTD-compatible / submit to HMRC from the app. | — | Not true; finder closed for 2026–27 | Blocked |
| Still on 30%? That's your money. | Naming work | Refund framing | Blocked |
| Stop overpaying every week. | Brief §3 (audience note) | Outcome promise | Blocked |
| Claim your CIS rebate. | — | Refunds aren't in the product | Blocked |
| Compl. Sorted. · Compl. Get paid. Get on. | Naming work | Name not in use | Parked |
| We took the Y out of comply. Because it just happens. | Naming work | Name not in use | Parked |
| "Quietly done" (anthem) | Identity work | Tied to the Compl identity; the idea could move to any name | Parked |
When the register arrives, every line gets a final status. The approved set becomes the copy bank for ads, store listings, the landing page and creator briefs.
Tick it if the voice is right, or tell us which lines and rules to change. Put rulings on section 10 in the box too.
Goes straight to Greg. No email app needed.
You've read deep-dive 1 of 5. They follow the plan's order, starting with the voice guide and ending with outreach.