Free accounting software, honestly
Free tiers are real, and they are also a funnel. It is worth knowing where the line usually sits before you build a year of records on one.
What free usually covers
Recording income and expenses, basic invoicing, and the calculators. For someone just starting, below the VAT threshold, with a handful of transactions a month, that is often genuinely enough.
Where free tiers usually stop
The limits tend to appear in the same places across the market.
- A cap on entries or invoices per period
- Bank feeds and automatic imports
- Receipt scanning and email capture
- Reports beyond a basic summary
- Anything that submits to HMRC
When paying is cheaper
The honest test is whether the admin is costing you more in time than the subscription costs in money, and whether you are missing deductions because receipts go astray. One forgotten expense a month usually outweighs a monthly fee, which is an argument for paying rather than a sales line.
Common questions
Is free software MTD compliant?
Some is, some is not, and the free tier of a paid product often is not even when the paid tier is. If you are VAT registered, check that the specific plan you are on supports digital record keeping and submission before relying on it.
Can I start free and upgrade later?
Yes, and that is the sensible path if you are unsure. What matters is that your data comes with you when you upgrade, rather than the free tier being a separate product you have to migrate out of.
What does Taxmo's free plan include?
A capped number of entries per quarter, the dashboard, invoicing, the calculators and the filing guide. Bank feeds, receipt scanning and the fuller reports sit on the paid plans. The pricing page lists it line by line rather than in prose.
Last updated 2026-04-25. Thresholds, rates and allowances are indexed or reset at fiscal events and are deliberately not quoted here; check GOV.UK for current amounts.