Best Self-Employed Accounting Software (UK - 2024)

Keeping on top of your books can be a headache when you’re self-employed or running your own business. Self-employed accounting software can cut down some of the admin, and reduce the potential for errors. But which to pick?

This guide to the best accounting software for self employed people in the UK is here to help.

While you’re thinking about ways to make managing your business easier, we’ll also touch on Wise Business, which integrates with popular cloud accounting solutions and offers multi-currency accounts with no ongoing fees and ways to get paid in foreign currencies

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

Do self-employed people need accounting software?

When you’re self-employed you have to manage all aspects of your business - including keeping track of business accounting, as well as tax filing and payment, and any other obligations you may have with HMRC or other government agencies.

Chances are that bookkeeping isn’t your first love. That’s where dedicated accounting software tailored for the self-employed is ideal. Depending on your needs, and the provider you pick you could get help with VAT, self-assessment or income tax, stock management, inventory, reporting and more.

Use this guide to the best self employed accounting software in the UK to help you decide if this is the right solution for you.

Self-employed accounting software providers

Different accounting software providers offer their own packages and services for self-employed people. You might want support with invoicing and quotes, paying bills, reconciling incoming payments and expenses, VAT, project and time tracking, or even payroll if you’re employing others. You’ll be able to find what you need - but doing some research is essential to help you select the best match for your unique needs.

This review will help. Here are the providers we'll look at in this article:

• Quickbooks intuit
• Xero
• FreeAgent
• Freshbooks

Best self-employed accounting software: overview

We’ll start with an overview of some important features - the rating providers get on Trustpilot, which is a handy measure of customer satisfaction, and the ongoing costs.

Provider	Trustpilot score	Monthly fee
Quickbooks intuit	4.6 star, Excellent review from 14,000+ reviews1	£10 - £90, heavily discounted for first 6 months5
Xero	3.6 star, Average review from 7,000+ reviews2	£16 - £59, 90% off for 3 months6
FreeAgent	4.7 star, Excellent review from 2,000+ reviews3	£19 - £33 depending on account type, with 50% off for first 6 or 12 months7
Freshbooks	2.3 star, Poor review from 800+ reviews4	£15 - £35, 50% off for 3 months8

*Fees and promotional offers correct at time of writing, 16th September 2024 - promotions change frequently, so do check the live details before you sign up

Comparing accounting software for self employed: criteria

The comparison criteria we'll cover for all of the providers we look at here include:

• Features and services
• Fees: monthly fee and add-ons
• Integration with bank account

Ultimately, there’s not one best self-employed accounting software option - the right one for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. This guide can help you get a feel for your options before you research more deeply to make your final choice.

Quickbooks intuit

Quickbooks intuit offers 5 different account plans - the cheapest 2 are aimed at sole traders, while the most popular account is the Essentials plan, usually priced at £28 per month. All accounts can be integrated with your business bank account - or you can also link Quickbooks with a handy, low cost international account from Wise Business, to manage your money across multiple currencies.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Regarding additional features, with all but the very cheapest account you can also choose a payroll optional add-on which starts at £1 per month depending on your needs.

Features of the Essentials plan include:

• VAT deadline reminders, error checking and submission
• Self assessment and income tax preparation support
• Reporting services
• Upload receipts and track mileage for expense management
• Employee time tracking

If you select one of the more comprehensive plans you might also find features like project management, advanced reporting, automatic data backup, and budget management tools.

Xero

Xero has 4 different pricing plans for UK customers, from 16 GBP a month for the Ignite plan, to 59 GBP a month for the Ultimate plan. You can use Xero to create invoices, and also link your Wise Business account to Xerofor easy reconciliations across currencies. Optional extras on all plans include CIS returns - and there are some other fee-paid services which you can pick on some plans to cover additional users on expenses, project management and payroll functions.

Some key features of the Ignite plan include:

• Invoices, quotes and bills
• Bank reconciliation
• VAT returns to HMRC
• Cash flow and business performance reporting
• Automatic CIS calculations and reports

Other features on higher tier accounts can include advanced cash flow predictions and project tracking, as well as additional users for features like expense management.

FreeAgent

FreeAgent splits out its product offering by business entity type, with services for sole traders, limited companies, partnerships or LLPs, as well as landlords and accountants. Fee structures and available features can vary depending on the type of account you pick.

Looking at the FreeAgent account options for sole traders, you’ll pay either £19 per month, or £190 a year - with some promotions available at the time of writing. This unlocks lots of features such as invoicing, expenses, time management and project tracking.

You can also get help with tax including VAT, self-assessment and tax timelines to make sure you don’t miss deadlines. If you have a bank account or a Wise Business account you can link it to FreeAgent for reconciliations, and you’ll also get other support with things like reporting and cash flow insights.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Optional add-ons include £5 a month for the smart capture tool which makes expense management easier, and £6 a month to connect with an Amazon account to streamline your accounting if you sell online.

Freshbooks

Freshbooks has several different account plans but for self-employed professionals it recommends the Plus Plan and the Premium Plan. The Plus Plan has a monthly fee of £25 while the Premium Plan is £35 a month. Both offer a good suite of services, including invoices, expenses and quotes. Plus, for ease of reconciliation you can link Freshbooks with your business account, including using Freshbooks and Wise Business for cross currency reconciliations.

Some key features of the Plus Plan include:

• Invoicing, quotes and proposals
• Recurring estimates and client retainers
• Receive direct debit and credit card payments
• VAT returns
• Reporting
• Receipt capture tools

The main difference between the two plans is that the Plus plan has lower transaction limits before additional fees may begin - you’ll be limited to 50 invoices a month, for example, while this limit does not apply for Premium Plan holders. Premium Plan holders may also get lower fees to receive incoming payments.

Freshbooks add ons include £8 per user per month for adding team members to your account, and £15 a month to enable advanced payments.

FAQs - Self-employed accounting software in the UK

Do I need an accountant if I use accounting software?

Accounting software can be really helpful with managing your business finances, tax and other administration - but whether or not you can go without an accountant will depend on the complexity of your company finances and your comfort with bookkeeping.

Take a look at the self-employed accounting software products we’ve reviewed here to get a sense of the options and features available, and get professional advice if you’re ever unsure about how to manage your company money or tax obligations.

Can I use Excel for bookkeeping as a self-employed?

You can manage your self-employed bookkeeping and business finances in whichever way you feel is best as long as you comply with all the relevant reporting and tax rules. Using Excel can be cumbersome and does leave more room for human error compared to using accounting software which reconciles automatically with your business account. Many self-employed people find that having accounting software makes life easier, saves time, and gives peace of mind - even if you do pay a small fee for the service.

What's the easiest accounting software for the self-employed?

There’s no single best self-employed accounting software - different services have their own features which can suit different business needs. Getting a product which reconciles with your business account and which has an intuitive interface is important - this guide has some great ideas to start your research, many of which have discounts or free trial options to let you test them out with low risk.

Manage your international finances with Wise

All of the self employed accounting software providers we’ve featured here can be integrated with a smart multi-currency account from Wise Business - which can be ideal if you have customers, suppliers or contractors overseas.

Wise accounts let you hold and exchange 40+ currencies, send payments to 160+ countries, and get local and SWIFT account details to receive payments in multiple currencies by customers, PSPs and marketplace sites.

Allow your customers to pay you in their preferred currency and just hold your funds in select foreign currencies without unnecessarily converting back to GBP. This can be really handy if you need foreign currencies to pay suppliers or team members, and can cut down on currency management costs significantly.

When it’s time to convert currencies - to make a withdrawal, spend with your card, or to send money to someone else - you get the mid-market exchange rate with low fees from 0.33%. See how Wise can help you grow your UK business today.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Accounting software may cost you a few pounds a month but it can alleviate the pressure of managing some aspects of your bookkeeping manually, saving time and reducing the possibility of human error. This is well worthwhile for many UK self employed people. Use this guide to see if any of the popular self employed accounting software solutions we've looked at might suit your needs, and take a look at Wise Business at the same time, as a provider which integrates with all your favourite accounting software, with low cost international business accounts and cards.

Sources used in this article:

1. Quickbooks intuit Trustpilot
2. Xero Trustpilot
3. FreeAgent Trustpilot
4. Freshbooks Trustpilot
5. Quickbooks pricing
6. Xero pricing
7. FreeAgent pricing
8. Freshbooks pricing

Sources last checked 25-Sep-2024