Find the best accounting software solution for your UK-based business. We review top accounting programs including Xero, QuickBooks and Sage.
Choosing the right accounting software is one of the most pivotal decisions you’ll ever make as a business owner. With the right accounting service, your business can effectively manage your books, discover key financial insights and chart a path to business growth.
For most UK businesses, we recommend either QuickBooks Online, Xero or Sage 50 as the ideal accounting solution. To find out which, if any, of these solutions will work best for you, read on—we review six accounting software solutions for UK businesses of all sizes.
| Vendor | Starting price | Free trial | Built-in payroll tool | Making Tax Digital ready | Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | £10/mo.* | 30 days** | Yes | Yes | Try QuickBooks |
| Xero | £15/mo.* | 30 days | Yes | Yes | Try Xero |
| Sage 50 | £92/mo.* | 30 days | Yes | Yes | Try Sage 50 |
| FreeAgent | £0/mo.* | 30 days | Yes | Yes | Try FreeAgent |
| Zoho Books | £0/mo.* | 14 days | No | Yes | Try Zoho Books |
| FreshBooks | £16/mo.* | 30 days | No | Yes | Try FreshBooks |
Plan and pricing details up to date as of 11/30/2023.
*Price excludes VAT.
**One-month free trial or 50% off for six months.
Intuit QuickBooks Online is the gold standard for accounting software. With five plan tiers ranging from a self-service, self-employment plan to a corporate-level, highly customisable plan, it’s extremely scalable. It’s also extremely user friendly, which makes it an ideal starting software for first-time business owners without a background in accounting.
As a cloud-based accounting solution, QuickBooks Online can be securely accessed from any web-enabled device. Its mobile accounting app is also more fully featured than those of many competitors. You can use it to scan receipts, track expenses, track mileage, send invoices, collect customer payments and more.
For more information, read our complete QuickBooks Online review.
Intuit QuickBooks only has five plans, all of which are available to new customers at a 50% discount for six months:
UK companies can opt to pay annually rather than monthly for additional savings.
Each QuickBooks Online plan limits you to adding a set number of users. Self-Employed and Simple Start include free access for one user, Essentials for three users, Plus for five users and Advanced for 25 users. Unlike top QuickBooks competitors like Zoho Books and FreshBooks, the company doesn’t usually let businesses add extra users, even for a monthly fee.
QuickBooks’ top third-party integrations include PayPal, Acuity, Sage Construction Management, Dext Commerce and hundreds more.
| QuickBooks pros | QuickBooks cons |
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Try QuickBooks Online
As user-friendly as QuickBooks Online is, Xero’s accounting software is even easier to set up and use. It’s also a more collaborative platform: Each plan includes an unlimited number of users (for most features — a handful of accounting features cost an extra per-user fee). Most importantly for small-business owners, Xero includes some advanced features like stock management and VAT calculation and filing with each plan.
However, Xero charges an extra per-user fee for some essential features that its competitors include free. For instance, Xero’s expense tracking tool (which includes employee expense reimbursement, receipt scanning and mileage tracking) is only available at an additional fee with all but the most expensive Xero plan.
On the other hand, Xero Ultimate — Xero’s most expensive and advanced plan — is £15 cheaper per month than QuickBooks’ priciest plan. It also packs in more features, including more affordable payroll. So while Xero’s cheaper plans aren’t as budget-friendly for small businesses, especially compared to top Xero competitors like Zoho Books or QuickBooks Online, its higher-tier plans are ideal for growing businesses looking for affordable accounting.
For more information, read our complete Xero accounting review.
Xero has four plans plus an optional payroll add-on tool. (In our opinion, Xero Payroll is one of the best payroll software solutions for many UK-based businesses.) Plans start at the following price points:
Apart from Xero Ultimate, which includes the following features free for up to five users, Xero offers the following services at an additional monthly fee:
Xero integrates with over a thousand third-party apps, including several expense tracking, project tracking and reporting tools that may be available at a lower cost than Xero’s add-on fee. Top Xero integrations include ApprovalMax, Ignition, Shopify, Invoice Away, Square, GoCardless and many more.
| Xero pros | Xero cons |
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Try Xero
Sage 50 Accounting is an expansive desktop-based tool. While the software is locally installed, it includes cloud capabilities for easy anywhere access and collaboration. Both of the two Sage 50 accounting plans are exceptionally fully featured with tools like bespoke reporting, stock management, cash flow tracking and supplier payments — bookkeeping features that providers like Xero and QuickBooks typically relegate to their higher-tier plans only.
SEE: Best Practices for Choosing the Right Accounting Software (TechRepublic)
However, Sage 50 is much, much pricier than comparable small-business accounting software. While Sage’s features definitely justify the cost, it’s not an affordable solution for budget-conscious small businesses. Additionally, Sage isn’t compatible with Mac operating systems (iOS). It only runs on Windows, meaning Mac users will need to install Windows OS on their desktop computer to run Sage.
But if you have the budget and computer software for it, Sage 50 is a solid solution for growing businesses, especially those with employees. Sage’s built-in payroll solution has more features and better automation than nearly any other UK payroll provider.
For more information, read our Sage Accounting review.
Sage 50 is definitely one of the more expensive accounting solutions on the market. Its two plans start at the following prices:
New customers can try either plan free for 30 days. Sage doesn’t clearly list how many user licences are included with each plan, but it does clarify that additional users can be added for a monthly fee.
| Sage Accounting pros | Sage Accounting cons |
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Try Sage 50
FreeAgent’s all-in-one payroll and accounting software was built specifically for small businesses with up to 10 full-time employees. Although FreeAgent’s software is fairly bare bones, it has the basic tools small businesses need to track finances, pay employees, file taxes and bill customers.
In stark contrast to pricy software like Sage 50, FreeAgent’s cheap accounting software starts at less than £10 per month (excluding VAT). It’s also available free for customers who maintain business bank accounts at NatWast, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank.
Even if you don’t qualify for a free FreeAgent plan, the software stays comparatively affordable and has plenty of built-in discounts. All new customers get 50% off FreeAgent’s base price for six months if paid month to month. If you opt for an annual plan instead, you’ll get 50% off for a full year.
FreeAgent is free for users who have business bank accounts at the following establishments:
You can also access FreeAgent free if you make at least one transaction with a Mettle bank account each month.
If you don’t qualify for free plan access, FreeAgent’s paid plans are broken down by business type:
FreeAgent also offers a plan for landlords that costs £5 per month or £50 for a full year.
All plans include a 30-day free trial and 50% off for six months. New customers can opt to pay year to year instead of month to month to lock in 50% off for a full year.
FreeAgent includes payroll features at no additional charge, but it does have optional add-on features available for an extra monthly fee:
FreeAgent integrates fully with dozens of popular third-party apps, including Stripe, Amazon, Billsby, PayPal, BrightPay and more. You can also use Zapier to sync FreeAgent with any business software that currently lacks a native FreeAgent integration.
| FreeAgent pros | FreeAgent cons |
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Try FreeAgent
Zoho Books has six plans that support businesses of all sizes, making it the most scalable accounting software provider on our list. Sole traders can start out using Zoho Books’ free plan as they build their client base, get used to business taxes and gather enough financial data to make calculated business decisions.
From there, business owners can scale up to more advanced Zoho Books plans with accounting tools for midsize businesses and some enterprises. These plans include additional advanced features, levels of support, user limits and customisations.
SEE: Vendor comparison: Small business financial accounting software (TechRepublic Premium)
Zoho Books is just one of Zoho’s full suite of business products, which include Zoho Expense, Zoho Invoice, Zoho People, Zoho Inventory and many more. Zoho’s impressive list of tools can help you manage just about every aspect of your business all within the same integrated system, which makes Zoho a good investment if you like its interface and automations.
For more information, read our complete Zoho Books review.
Zoho Books has a completely free plan for businesses with an annual revenue below £35K GBP. The plan is free for however long your revenue remains below that amount.
Zoho Books’ paid plans start at the following price points:
If you want to add more users beyond your preferred plan’s limits, you can do so for £2 per user per month when billed annually.
The number of integrations you can access with your Zoho Books plan depends on which plan you choose. Zoho’s free plan syncs with most, but not all, other Zoho products, as well as with Google Drive, Slack, Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless and more. Higher-tier plans introduce more Zoho suite integrations as well as third-party apps like Uber, Zendesk, Square, Braintree and Twilio.
| Zoho Books pros | Zoho Books cons |
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Try Zoho Books
If you generate most of your money by invoicing customers, FreshBooks could be a good accounting software choice for you. FreshBooks’ easy-to-generate invoices include automations like quote-to-invoice conversion, recurring invoicing, overdue payment reminders and scheduled late fees. You can also track time by project, then sync that information directly to the invoice to ensure you and your clients are on the same page about what you’re owed.
Apart from its priciest plan, which includes free access for two users, FreshBooks limits each plan to just one user. Every additional user costs a monthly fee, which makes Xero, QuickBooks and Zoho Books cheaper options for businesses that collaborate on finances.
For more information, read our complete FreshBooks review.
FreshBooks has three plans with transparent upfront pricing and one enterprise-level plan that requires customers to request a custom quote:
Customers can save 10% by opting to pay annually instead of month to month. FreshBooks also tends to run frequent discounts and sales. Customers can also sign up for a 30-day free trial, though doing so waives any access to discounts.
FreshBooks doesn’t have many add-on fees beyond a per-user fee of £8 per extra user per month. However, since FreshBooks includes just one user licence per plan, additional user costs will add up quickly for collaborative businesses.
FreshBooks doesn’t integrate with as many third-party apps as Xero or QuickBooks, but it does offer native integrations with 100+ business apps. Popular FreshBooks app integrations include Square, Stripe, Payescape and Trello. FreshBooks also integrates with Gusto and BrightPay for payroll.
| FreshBooks pros | FreshBooks cons |
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Try FreshBooks
To find the best accounting software for UK businesses, we evaluated how software performed in the following key areas:
To conduct our research, we tested the software firsthand whenever possible. We also signed up for demos, reached out to customer service reps and read verified reviews on third-party sites like Gartner Peer Insights to ensure our review reflected multiple user perspectives. You can learn more about how we conduct our research by reading our payroll methodology overview.
Now that you know more about the best UK accounting systems, you can start the hard work of determining which accounting software will work best for you. Ask yourself crucial questions like the following:
Every accounting company on our list offers a free trial. Even though opting into a free trial often means waiving any upfront discounts (such as QuickBooks’ offer of 50% off for six months), it’s worth signing up for a free trial if you’re struggling to choose between several good software options.
While doing your own hands-on testing is the best way to find the right accounting solution, you can also get a feel for how the software works by viewing demos, talking to customer service representatives and viewing product walk-throughs.
Finally, if you sign up for an accounting service that ultimately doesn’t meet your needs, don’t be afraid to cancel. Starting over your search for software is a hassle, but finding the perfect accounting solution is well worth it.
The most popular accounting software solutions for UK businesses include Intuit QuickBooks, Xero and Sage. Bear in mind that the best accounting software for your business isn’t necessarily the most popular software — instead, consider which features you need and what price you can afford as you narrow down your accounting software options.
Both QuickBooks Online and Xero are two of the best UK accounting systems. Both accounting providers have fully featured mobile apps, built-in payroll options and support for multiple users.
Generally speaking, Xero’s user-friendliness makes it the best accounting software for first-time business owners and freelancers. QuickBooks Online is the best UK accounting system for growing businesses that want to stick with the same accounting service as their operations expand.
QuickBooks Self-Employed starts at £10 per month + VAT. However, QuickBooks Self-Employed is fairly basic and doesn’t support VAT management and filing. QuickBooks for small businesses starts at £14 per month + VAT.
Depending on the time of year, QuickBooks offers discounts as deep as 50% off for six months.
Kylie McQuarrie has been writing about small businesses, payroll, and finance for ten years. While wrapping up her master's degree in English, she simultaneously leant her writing to small businesses struggling to reach customers in Canada, the US and Australia. She's been pursuing a professional writing career with a focus on business payroll and accounting ever since.
