What IncomeMAX CIC does

IncomeMax CIC is a Community Interest Company founded in 2009 by Lee Healey and headquartered in Romford, United Kingdom. The company provides free, confidential money advice to low-income and vulnerable individuals, helping them identify and claim unclaimed government benefits, grants, and financial support through trained welfare advisers. Services are delivered via telephone and online assessment, with customer access mediated entirely through a partner referral network that includes utility companies (EDF, E, Utilita, OVO Energy), banks and building societies (Nationwide, Vanquis), debt advice providers (Step Change), and sustainability organisations (Agility Eco). Partners fund the service at no cost to end customers.

The company's core product is the IncomeMax advice service, supported by a portfolio of sub-products: the MAX Digital Assistant (an AI-powered multilingual chatbot launched in 2024 for self-service benefit assessment), IncomeMax Messenger (a free messaging channel for adviser interaction), the IncomeMax Plus Partners service (enhanced hands-on case support), and the IncomeMax Self-Help Checklist (a customisable digital tool co-developed with the Money and Pensions Service and Nesta). Underlying technology is relatively lightweight, consisting of the NLP-driven chatbot interface, a content management system, and CRM-backed case management for advisers — there is no proprietary model or platform architecture beyond the conversational intake layer.

The business model is partner-funded: utility companies, banks, and debt advice providers pay IncomeMax to deliver money advice services to their customers, with costs scaling to project size and client volume. Since 2009, the company reports finding £58.6m of extra income for 171,427 people, with a 90% success rate and FY 2024-2025 alone delivering £5.1m in confirmed additional income for 16,533 households. The company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Reference 618767) and registered with the ICO, operating as a CIC with no external equity funding and reinvestment of surplus into its social mission.

Name

IncomeMAX CIC

Legal name

Income Max CIC

Website

https://incomemax.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IncomeMax CIC is a UK Community Interest Company founded in 2009 that provides free, confidential money advice to low-income and vulnerable individuals, helping them identify and claim unclaimed benefits, grants, and financial support through partner-funded referrals and trained welfare advisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Romford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Partner Funding: IncomeMax is a community interest company funded through partnerships. Partners (utility companies, banks, financial services firms) fund the service based on the size of projects and number of clients they want to help. The service is free for end customers - costs are covered by funding partners.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IncomeMax CIC provides free, confidential money advice to help low-income and vulnerable individuals identify and claim unclaimed government benefits, grants, and other financial support they are entitled to. The service is delivered by trained welfare advisers via telephone and online channels, supplemented by MAX, an AI-based multilingual chatbot that conducts interactive benefit entitlement assessments. The service is free for end customers and funded through partner organisations (utilities, banks, building societies, debt charities) that refer their customers for support.

Product overview

IncomeMax CIC operates as a single unified advice service rather than a modular platform, offering free confidential money advice to help low-income and vulnerable people maximise their income. The core service (IncomeMax) is the primary product providing telephone and online income maximisation advice through trained advisers. The product portfolio includes MAX, an AI-powered digital assistant that conducts interactive conversations to assess benefit entitlements; IncomeMax Plus Partners, an enhanced service for vulnerable individuals; IncomeMax Messenger, an optional chat functionality for adviser communication; and the IncomeMax Self-Help Checklist, a digital tool for independent benefit exploration. These products work together to extend support access through both human advisers and digital self-service channels, with the MAX chatbot representing the company's AI-enabled entry point for partner-referred customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MAX: A smart digital assistant that helps customers quickly unlock benefits, grants, and other support they might be missing out on.
• Stronger Than the System

Products and services

• IncomeMax Money Advice Service Free, confidential money advice service for low-income and vulnerable UK individuals, identifying unclaimed benefits, grants, and financial support and assisting with applications, appeals, and backdated payments. Delivered by trained welfare advisers via telephone and online channels.
• MAX Digital Assistant AI-powered multilingual chatbot that conducts interactive conversations with users, asking questions about their circumstances to assess potential benefit, grant, and support entitlements. Provides a self-service preliminary benefits assessment for referred and self-served customers.
• IncomeMax Plus Partners Enhanced service offering for partner organisations that provides dedicated end-to-end support to the most vulnerable customers throughout the benefits claiming process, including completing forms, making phone calls, and securing income.
• IncomeMax Self-Help Checklist Customisable digital self-help tool that helps individuals independently identify potential new sources of income and support using verified resources used by IncomeMax advisers. Co-developed with the Money and Pensions Service and Nesta.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% of people find new income through the service
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.

• EDF EnergycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Energy supplier partner that refers customers to IncomeMax for money advice services. One of the founding partners of the referral network.
• E (gas and electricity)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Energy supplier partner referring customers to IncomeMax for money advice services.
• Agility EcocoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Partner that refers customers (including pensioners) to IncomeMax for benefits and financial support assistance.
• UtilitacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Energy supplier partner referring customers to IncomeMax for money advice services.
• Step ChangecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Debt advice charity partner that refers customers to IncomeMax for income maximisation services.
• VanquiscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Financial services partner (credit card provider) that has identified over £15 million in unclaimed income for their customers through the partnership. Managing Director Fiona Anderson states the long-standing partnership has provided invaluable support.
• Nationwide Building SocietycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Building society partner. According to Director of Support Jasper Davy, the average successful claim for a Nationwide member is £3,000, showcasing the valuable outcomes IncomeMax provides for their members.
• OVO EnergycoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2009Energy supplier partner. Laura Bradley (Warm Home Discount and Green Deal Lead) states that working with IncomeMax has provided consistent outcomes for customers, identifying over £15 million in unclaimed income. Customers are referred including case study Mrs R.
• Money and Pensions ServicekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment-funded body that partnered with IncomeMax to develop the self-help checklist - a customisable tool designed to extend support to more people by unlocking access to verified resources used daily by advisers.
• NestakeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovation foundation partner that collaborated with IncomeMax and the Money and Pensions Service to develop the self-help checklist tool for income maximisation.
• British Gas Energy TrustkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner hosting an example of the IncomeMax self-help checklist on their website (bounce-back-checklist), extending the reach of IncomeMax resources.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Money Advice Trust: UK charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline and supports the wider free-advice sector. Comparable mission and sector stewardship role, though not a direct customer-facing competitor.

Direct peers

• PayPlan: Free debt advice and money management service providing structured repayment plans and benefits advice. Comparable as a partner-funded (often creditor-funded) advice provider for financially vulnerable individuals.
• StepChange Debt Charity: UK debt advice charity providing free debt advice and money guidance, also an IncomeMax referral partner. Comparable as a partner-funded advice organisation serving financially vulnerable customers with similar GTM.
• Entitledto: Provider of benefits calculators and income-maximisation software used by local authorities and charities. Comparable product offering (online entitlement assessment) overlapping with IncomeMax's MAX chatbot and self-help checklist.
• Money Wellness: Provider of free money guidance, debt advice and benefits support to vulnerable customers, often via partner referrals from utilities and local authorities. Closely comparable operating model and customer funnel.
• Citizens Advice: UK's largest independent advice network providing free, confidential advice on benefits, debt, housing and employment. Directly comparable in mission, customer segment (low-income/vulnerable) and partner-funded delivery model.
• Turn2us: National charity helping people in financial hardship access benefits, grants and support through an online benefits calculator and grant programmes. Directly comparable in benefits-entitlement focus and customer demographic.
• Christians Against Poverty (CAP): UK charity providing free debt counselling, money education and benefits support through a network of local centres. Closely comparable mission and target customer base, with overlapping benefits-advice capability.
• National Debtline: Free, confidential debt advice service funded by the Money and Pensions Service. Comparable partner-funded advice model serving low-income customers with overlapping benefits-and-income scope.

Emerging players

• Policy in Practice: Software provider of benefits-uptake tools for local authorities and housing associations, including analytics on unclaimed entitlements. Comparable in entitlement-identification technology but operates B2B rather than direct-to-consumer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2124791
• Xx.com/IncomeMax_CIC
• Facebookfacebook.com/incomemax

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 IncomeMAX CIC