Coconut
Coconut is a UK fintech that provides mobile-first bookkeeping, tax estimation, and HMRC Making Tax Digital compliance software specifically for sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors, monetised through tiered annual subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Coconut does
Coconut (@Coconut Platform Ltd) is a UK-based fintech that develops self-employed accounting and tax software aimed specifically at sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors. The company was founded in 2016, is registered in England and Wales (company number 09904418), and operates from Oldham, Greater Manchester with a London address. The product is delivered as a cloud-based mobile-first application (iOS and Android) plus web access, and is HMRC-recognised as Making Tax Digital software (recognition code 4YTVND) with FCA authorisation as an Account Information Service Provider (reference 931194).
The platform combines bank connectivity (via TrueLayer's open banking API across 25+ UK providers), receipt capture, automated expense categorisation, invoice management, real-time tax estimation (SA103), and MTD quarterly submissions directly to HMRC, alongside Self Assessment preparation covering the SA100–SA109 tax forms. An Accountant Portal enables real-time data sharing between sole traders and their accountants, and a payroll module targets the accountant segment. Coconut generates revenue through tiered subscriptions — Bookkeeping (£99.99/year), MTD Filing (£129.99/year), and Full (£159.99/year) — with a free tier available through a Zempler Bank account partnership and a 14-day free trial.
Distribution is product-led and self-serve, supported by a content/SEO knowledge hub, accountant referrals, and recent co-marketing partnerships with The Times/Times+ and Zempler Bank. The company reports 8,000 paying customers and 2,800 registered accountants, 174% revenue growth in 2020, and has raised approximately £9–11M across nine funding rounds between 2016 and 2022. Geographic scope is exclusively the United Kingdom.
Coconut firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Coconut
- Legal name
- @Coconut Platform Ltd
- Website
- https://getcoconut.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Coconut is a UK fintech that provides mobile-first bookkeeping, tax estimation, and HMRC Making Tax Digital compliance software specifically for sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors, monetised through tiered annual subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Coconut industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Small Business Accounting Software
- NAICS
- Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)
- SIC
- Finance Services (6199)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Tax Return Filing, Processing & Assessment (BPAIADAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Tax Planning & Personal Tax Optimization Tools (FSAGADAJ), Revenue Systems, E-Filing & Digital Tax Administration (BPAIADAO), Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)
Keywords
Where Coconut is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Coconut business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Revenue: Coconut generates revenue through tiered annual and monthly subscription plans. Customers pay to access bookkeeping, MTD filing, and Self Assessment submission features. The primary tiers are Bookkeeping (£99.99/year or £16.99/month), MTD Filing (£129.99/year or £21.99/month), and Full (£159.99/year). A free tier is offered in conjunction with a Zempler Bank account. Subscriptions auto-renew at standard rates after any promotional or free-trial period.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Bookkeeping — £99.99/year or £16.99/month |
| Subscription | Annual | MTD Filing — £129.99/year or £21.99/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Full — £159.99/year |
| Freemium | Multi-year contract | Free MTD Software (via Zempler Bank) |
| Subscription | Annual | Self Assessment add-on — £129.99/year |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Coconut product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Coconut provides cloud-based accounting and tax software designed specifically for UK sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors. The platform automates income and expense tracking via open banking, captures receipts, issues invoices, estimates tax liability in real time, and submits quarterly Making Tax Digital (MTD) returns and Self Assessment tax returns directly to HMRC. It is delivered as a mobile-first app (iOS and Android) with desktop web access and includes a dedicated Accountant Portal for collaboration with accounting professionals.
Product overview
Coconut is a UK fintech company offering self-employed accounting software designed specifically for sole traders and landlords. The product portfolio consists of three tiered subscription plans: Bookkeeping (£99.99/year) providing foundational income/expense tracking and receipt management; MTD Filing (£129.99/year) adding HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital compliance for quarterly submissions; and Full (£159.99/year) combining both with Self Assessment submission capabilities. The platform also offers a free MTD software option tied to Zempler Bank accounts, GoSimpleTax integration for tax return filing, a WFH calculator tool, and payroll software for accountants. Coconut's core value proposition centres on real-time profit visibility, automated expense categorisation, receipt capture, invoice management, and MTD compliance, with bank-level security and FCA authorisation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Coconut Self-Employed Accounting Software Cloud-based mobile-first accounting software for UK sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors. It automatically imports and categorises transactions from 25+ UK banks via TrueLayer open banking, captures receipts, issues branded invoices, calculates real-time SA103 and SA105 tax estimates, and prepares quarterly Making Tax Digital submissions for HMRC. Sold as a self-serve subscription via iOS, Android, and web.
- Self Assessment Tax Return Submission End-of-year Self Assessment tax return preparation and direct submission to HMRC, supporting all UK personal tax forms (SA100, SA102, SA103, SA104, SA105, SA106, SA107, SA108, SA109) with built-in tax saving suggestions. Targeted at sole traders and landlords completing their annual tax return.
- Free MTD Software (Zempler Bank Bundle) Free MTD-compatible accounting software bundle available for up to 2 years when a customer opens a free Zempler bank account within the Coconut platform. Provides access to Coconut's bookkeeping and HMRC MTD filing features at no subscription cost during the promotional period.
- Payroll Software for Accountants Payroll module designed for accountants and bookkeepers to manage payroll for their sole trader clients within the Coconut platform. Targeted at accounting practices serving self-employed clients who need payroll alongside bookkeeping and tax filing.
- WFH Allowance Calculator Free work-from-home allowance calculator that helps self-employed individuals calculate allowable WFH expenses for inclusion in their tax returns. A standalone free utility tool for sole traders working from home.
Quantifiable outcome
- 174% revenue growth in 2020
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Coconut
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Coconut technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Coconut partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Zempler BankcoreCoconut offers its MTD software free for up to 2 years to customers who apply for a free Zempler bank account within the Coconut platform. The partnership enables cross-promotional customer acquisition, with Zempler gaining access to Coconut's sole trader user base and Coconut gaining a free-tier acquisition channel. The partnership is governed by separate terms and conditions published on Coconut's legal pages.
- The Times and Times+minorJoint promotional campaign with The Times newspaper and its Times+ digital subscription benefit. Coconut offers a free 12-month MTD subscription to the first 500 eligible customers who sign up through the promotional route, or 50% off for subsequent customers. The Times and Coconut are joint promoters, with Coconut solely responsible for fulfilment. The promotion is featured in The Times print and online editions.
- TrueLayercoreTrueLayer is an FCA-authorised Authorised Payment Institution (FRN: 793171) that provides the open banking infrastructure enabling Coconut to connect customers' bank accounts. When users connect their payment accounts to Coconut, TrueLayer grants read-only access to transaction data. Transaction data obtained by TrueLayer is deleted from their system after one hour. This is a foundational technical integration without which Coconut's automatic bank transaction import feature would not function.
- PrePay Technologies / BarclaysminorFor the discontinued Coconut Legacy E-money Account (offered prior to 31 December 2020), funds were held in a ring-fenced account at Barclays by the regulated banking partner PrePay Technologies. This legacy arrangement is no longer active but referenced in the current user terms.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Coconut competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- GoSimpleTax: UK-based Self Assessment and MTD tax filing platform serving individuals and sole traders. Coconut has a live integration with GoSimpleTax, and the two products overlap directly on HMRC-recognised MTD filing for sole traders and landlords.
- FreeAgent: UK cloud accounting platform specifically designed for freelancers, contractors, micro-businesses and their accountants, now owned by NatWest. Highly comparable to Coconut on target persona (sole traders/landlords) and accountant-driven distribution model.
- Countingup: UK business current account with built-in accounting and tax features aimed at sole traders and small businesses. Competes directly with Coconut on the sole trader MTD use case, with a different monetisation model (banking-led bundle).
- Tide: UK digital business banking platform that has expanded into invoicing, expense management and accounting tools for SMBs and sole traders. Comparable on UK sole trader/SMB customer base and integrated accounting-plus-banking proposition.
- ANNA Money: UK business current account and tax tool aimed at freelancers, sole traders and small limited companies with built-in tax estimation and MTD features. Directly comparable on UK sole trader and landlord MTD workflows.
Broad incumbents
- QuickBooks Self-Employed: Intuit's UK self-employed product within the broader QuickBooks ecosystem, targeting freelancers and sole traders with expense tracking and tax estimation. Comparable on customer segment and core self-employed use cases, but backed by Intuit's scale and broader SMB suite.
- Xero: Global cloud accounting platform with significant UK SMB and sole trader presence, including MTD-recognised offerings. Comparable on MTD compliance and accountant ecosystem, though broader and less specialised for sole traders/landlords.
- Sage: Established UK accounting software provider serving small businesses and accountants with MTD-compliant products. Comparable on MTD readiness and UK accountant channel, but operates across a much broader accounting and payroll portfolio.
Emerging players
- Pandle: UK-based small business cloud accounting software offering bookkeeping, invoicing and MTD features to sole traders and micro businesses. Comparable on UK SMB accounting workflows and MTD compliance, positioned as a lower-cost alternative.
- Capium: UK cloud accounting suite serving accountants and small businesses with bookkeeping, Self Assessment and MTD modules. Comparable on the accountant channel and MTD-ready functionality for sole traders and landlords.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Coconut social profiles
Digital presenceCoconut compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Coconut financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Coconut leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Coconut funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Coconut M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Coconut
What does Coconut do?
Coconut provides cloud-based accounting and tax software designed specifically for UK sole traders, landlords, and CIS subcontractors. The platform automates income and expense tracking via open banking, captures receipts, issues invoices, estimates tax liability in real time, and submits quarterly Making Tax Digital (MTD) returns and Self Assessment tax returns directly to HMRC. It is delivered as a mobile-first app (iOS and Android) with desktop web access and includes a dedicated Accountant Portal for collaboration with accounting professionals.
Is Coconut a public or private company?
Coconut is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Coconut founded?
Coconut was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Coconut based?
Coconut is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Coconut make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription Revenue.
Who are Coconut's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are GoSimpleTax, FreeAgent, Countingup, Tide and ANNA Money. Broad incumbents are QuickBooks Self-Employed, Xero and Sage. Emerging players are Pandle and Capium.
Does Coconut have an API?
No public API is recorded for Coconut.
What industry is Coconut in?
Coconut's product category is Small Business Accounting Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIADAC, Tax Return Filing, Processing & Assessment, with a secondary code of FSAGADAJ, Tax Planning & Personal Tax Optimization Tools. Its NAICS code is 54121 and its SIC code is 6199.