FreeAgent

FreeAgent is UK accounting software with a clear audience: freelancers, contractors, sole traders, and small limited companies. It is owned by NatWest Group, which shapes one of its most distinctive features, but the core is everyday accounting for small UK businesses.

The day-to-day covers invoicing, expense tracking, bank feeds, and the UK compliance jobs that come with running a small business: MTD VAT, Self Assessment, Corporation Tax for limited companies, payroll, and the Construction Industry Scheme. It files directly to HMRC, so a sole trader can run their books and submit their return from the same place.

For firms, FreeAgent offers a free practice dashboard. A bookkeeper or accountant manages every client from one view, runs bulk operations, and passes on discounted client licences, which makes it a low-cost option for a small practice standardising clients on one ledger.

The pricing is in GBP, with sole trader plans from about GBP 19 a month and limited company plans from about GBP 33, both with introductory discounts and a 30-day trial. The notable wrinkle is that NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank, and Mettle business account holders get it free.

It connects to Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless, Dext, AutoEntry, Zapier, Fathom, and Chaser, among others, and runs on web and mobile. FreeAgent is UK-only, built around HMRC, and best suited to freelancers, small companies, and the small firms that look after them.