Clear Books

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.

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

Product category

Cloud Accounting Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSAGAAAC

Core Banking & Ledger Systems (Cloud Core, Deposits, Accounts)

Financial & Insurance/Financial Technology (Fintech)/Digital Banking & Neobanking Platforms

SECONDARYBPAMAFAF

Bill Pay, Invoicing & Payables Platforms

Business & Public Services/Web, Mobile & Digital Platforms/Payments, Wallets & Digital Banking Platforms

Keywords

• Cloud accounting software
• Online bookkeeping software
• MTD compliance software
• Payroll accounting software
• Invoicing software

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. 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

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core 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

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability7 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PlaidcoreTechnology or IntegrationPlaid 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/clearbooks
• Facebookfacebook.com/clearbooks
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/clear-books

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Clear Books