Clear Books
Clear Books Limited provides HMRC-recognised cloud accounting software to over 15,000 UK small businesses, covering limited companies, sole traders, partnerships and landlords with bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, CIS, bank feeds and MTD-compliant tax submissions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Clear Books does
Clear Books Limited is a UK-based provider of cloud-based accounting software for small businesses, founded in 2008 and headquartered in London. The platform serves more than 15,000 UK small businesses across limited companies, sole traders, partnerships, and landlords, with vertical depth in construction (CIS), property, retail, IT and professional services. It is HMRC-recognised across all four core UK digital tax regimes — MTD for Income Tax (since 10 October 2025), MTD for VAT (since 2019), RTI for PAYE, and CIS filings (recognition reference 4TLCTU) — and is FCA-registered (no. 843585).
The core product combines double-entry bookkeeping, invoicing, bank reconciliation against hundreds of UK bank feeds, payroll, CIS submissions, multi-currency accounting, and management reporting in a single web and mobile application. Recent product development has layered automation on top of this base: an OCR-based Auto Bills receipt-capture add-on, an AI-powered accounting categorisation API (also exposed to external developers), and Instant Bank Payments via a Plaid Open Banking integration. The company operates a freemium-to-paid model with a free MTD-compliant tier targeting sole traders and landlords, a 30-day full-feature trial, and a sales-led motion for accountant/bookkeeper practices via a dedicated PRO module and accountants.clearbooks.co.uk portal. Revenue is generated primarily through monthly SaaS subscriptions, with no disclosed revenue figure, no public listing, and no external funding rounds since 2013 — the company is privately held and operates from a single UK entity.
Clear Books firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clear Books
- Legal name
- Clear Books Limited
- Website
- https://clearbooks.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2008
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Clear Books Limited provides HMRC-recognised cloud accounting software to over 15,000 UK small businesses, covering limited companies, sole traders, partnerships and landlords with bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, CIS, bank feeds and MTD-compliant tax submissions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clear Books industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Accounting Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts) (FSAGAAAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms (BPAMAFAF)
Keywords
Where Clear Books is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Clear Books business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS (Accounting Software): Clear Books generates revenue primarily through subscription-based pricing for its online accounting software. The company offers a free tier for sole traders and landlords with basic MTD compliance needs, with paid tiers providing full-featured access including advanced reporting, multiple users, and enhanced automation capabilities. The 30-day free trial serves as the primary conversion mechanism.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free MTD software for sole traders and landlords |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid plans for small businesses and organisations |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Clear Books product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clear Books provides cloud-based online accounting software for UK small businesses, including invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, payroll, CIS accounting and HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital submissions for Income Tax, VAT, RTI PAYE and CIS. The platform is augmented by AI-powered automation such as OCR receipt scanning, AI-driven bank transaction categorisation, and an Open Banking-based instant payment rail. A free tier is offered to sole traders and landlords, with paid subscription plans providing full-featured access for limited companies, partnerships and accountancy practices.
Product overview
Clear Books is a UK-based online accounting software platform designed for small businesses, offering a unified core product with integrated modules. The main Clear Books platform provides core accounting functions (invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation) while add-on modules extend capabilities for payroll, mobile access, bill capture (Auto Bills), payment processing (Instant Bank Payments), and MTD compliance. A separate free tier (Clear Books Free) serves self-employed sole traders and landlords. The platform also offers an AI-powered accounting categorisation API for developers. All products are HMRC-recognised and designed specifically for UK tax compliance including MTD for Income Tax, MTD for VAT, RTI for PAYE, and CIS.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Clear Books (Core Online Accounting Software) Online accounting platform for UK limited companies, sole traders and partnerships covering invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, VAT returns, payroll, CIS accounting and MTD-compliant tax submissions.
- Clear Books Free Free HMRC-recognised MTD software tier for self-employed sole traders and landlords, supporting MTD for Income Tax submissions and basic accounting features.
- Clear Books Payroll Integrated payroll module automating PAYE and National Insurance calculations, filing FPS and EPS via RTI to HMRC, and generating employee payslips; HMRC-recognised for PAYE submissions.
- Clear Books Mobile Native mobile application for iOS and Android enabling users to create and send invoices, capture receipts, manage contacts and view real-time business insights on mobile devices.
- Auto Bills OCR-based bill and receipt capture add-on that extracts supplier, amount, date and VAT information from images, scanned invoices and emails and matches them with suppliers.
- Instant Bank Payments Open Banking payment feature that lets customers pay invoices directly via bank transfer using 'Pay now' buttons and QR codes, with automatic invoice reconciliation.
- AI Account Code Suggestion API AI-powered REST API that turns raw source data (text, documents or images) into accounting and tax metadata, returning account codes, HMRC SA form box numbers, VAT rates, and supplier/customer information; powers Bank Explain and Auto Bills in-product.
- CIS Accounting Software Construction Industry Scheme module supporting CIS return preparation and filing to HMRC, subcontractor verification, deduction tracking and payment statement generation.
- MTD VAT Software HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital VAT module for generating and submitting VAT returns, supporting standard, flat rate, Domestic Reverse Charge, cash accounting and imported services reverse charge schemes.
Quantifiable outcome
- Auto Bills OCR scans and extracts receipt data in approximately 4.6 seconds
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Clear Books
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Clear Books technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability7 records
Feature4 records
Clear Books partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- PlaidcorePlaid is a world-leading Open Banking platform, regulated by the FCA, that enables Clear Books' Instant Bank Payments feature. This integration allows Clear Books customers to pay invoices directly via bank transfer with 'Pay now' buttons and QR code payments. The partnership provides secure payment processing with the same level of protection as direct bank transfers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Clear Books competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- FreeAgent: FreeAgent is a UK-focused cloud accounting platform for small businesses, freelancers, and accountants, owned by NatWest. It competes head-to-head with Clear Books in MTD-compliant bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax submissions for the UK SMB segment.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks is a cloud accounting platform targeting SMBs, freelancers, and service-based businesses with invoicing, expense tracking, and reporting. While primarily North American, it competes with Clear Books on SMB-focused cloud accounting workflows.
- Crunch: Crunch is a UK online accounting service for freelancers, contractors, and small limited companies, offering bookkeeping, MTD filings, and tax support. It is comparable to Clear Books on UK SMB and contractor-focused accounting.
- Wave Accounting: Wave provides free and paid cloud accounting, invoicing, and receipt scanning for very small businesses and freelancers. It overlaps with Clear Books on SMB bookkeeping, AI/OCR receipt capture, and freemium accounting SaaS.
- Xero: Xero is a leading cloud accounting platform with a strong UK SMB presence, offering invoicing, bank reconciliation, payroll, and MTD compliance. It directly competes with Clear Books for UK limited companies, sole traders, and accountants, with overlapping product functionality and target customers.
- KashFlow: KashFlow is a UK SMB cloud accounting software offering invoicing, bank feeds, MTD VAT, and payroll. It directly competes with Clear Books on UK small business accounting and tax compliance, with a similar target customer base.
Broad incumbents
- QuickBooks (Intuit): QuickBooks is Intuit's global SMB accounting platform with a UK presence covering invoicing, expense tracking, payroll, and tax compliance. It overlaps with Clear Books on core SMB accounting workflows and target customers, though it operates as part of Intuit's broader portfolio.
- Sage: Sage is a long-standing UK accounting and payroll software provider with broad offerings across SMB and mid-market segments. It overlaps with Clear Books in invoicing, payroll, and MTD compliance for UK small businesses, though Sage operates across a much wider portfolio.
Emerging players
- Pandle: Pandle is a UK cloud bookkeeping platform for small businesses, sole traders, and bookkeepers, offering bank feeds, invoicing, and MTD VAT. It competes with Clear Books in the UK entry-level SMB accounting segment.
- ANNA Money: ANNA Money is a UK business current account and tax/expense management app targeted at freelancers, sole traders, and small businesses. It overlaps with Clear Books on UK SMB invoicing, expense tracking, and tax-time workflows, combined with embedded banking.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clear Books social profiles
Digital presenceClear Books compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Clear Books financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clear Books leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Clear Books funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clear Books 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 Clear Books
What does Clear Books do?
Clear Books provides cloud-based online accounting software for UK small businesses, including invoicing, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, payroll, CIS accounting and HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital submissions for Income Tax, VAT, RTI PAYE and CIS. The platform is augmented by AI-powered automation such as OCR receipt scanning, AI-driven bank transaction categorisation, and an Open Banking-based instant payment rail. A free tier is offered to sole traders and landlords, with paid subscription plans providing full-featured access for limited companies, partnerships and accountancy practices.
Is Clear Books a public or private company?
Clear Books is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Clear Books founded?
Clear Books was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Clear Books based?
Clear Books is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Clear Books make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS (Accounting Software).
Who are Clear Books's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Crunch, Wave Accounting, Xero and KashFlow. Broad incumbents are QuickBooks (Intuit) and Sage. Emerging players are Pandle and ANNA Money.
Does Clear Books have an API?
Yes. Clear Books offers an AI-powered accounting categorisation API that turns raw source data (text, documents, or images) into accounting and tax metadata. The API accepts text input and returns account codes. The roadmap extends this to include: account code, HMRC SA form box number, VAT rate, VAT amount, customer, and supplier. This is a REST API with straightforward request parameters. Available to developers - for full API specifications, contact sales. Developer documentation is at www.clearbooks.co.uk/support/api.
What industry is Clear Books in?
Clear Books's product category is Cloud Accounting Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAAAC, Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts), with a secondary code of BPAMAFAF, Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132.