Federation of Small Businesses

Name

Federation of Small Businesses

Legal name

National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Limited

Website

https://www.fsb.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is a UK non-profit membership organisation founded in 1974 serving 500,000+ small businesses. It bundles legal, financial, HR, training, and advocacy services through tiered annual subscriptions delivered via 12 regional teams and partner ecosystems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Blackpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Subscriptions: FSB generates revenue through tiered annual membership subscriptions based on the number of employees in a member's business. Pricing ranges from £195 for sole traders (0 employees) to £1,295 for businesses with 101+ employees, with an associate tier at £97.50. The organization is described as non-profit making, with membership fees reinvested into member services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels9 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

FSB is a UK non-profit membership organization that provides small businesses and self-employed individuals with tiered annual memberships (£195–£1,295) that bundle legal advice, employment protection, tax investigation cover, debt recovery, training, banking access, healthcare, payroll, and government advocacy. Members access a 24/7 legal/employment helpline, an online document library, insurance broking, and discounts negotiated with partner banks, payment processors, pension providers, and training platforms.

Product overview

FSB operates as a membership-based trade organization offering a comprehensive platform of services for small businesses across the UK. The core product is the FSB Membership program with tiered pricing (£195-£1,295 annually based on employee count), which serves as the gateway to an integrated suite of business support modules. The product portfolio encompasses four main categories: (1) Legal and Compliance tools including the Legal and Business Hub, Employment Protection, Tax Investigation Protection, and Legal Protection Scheme; (2) Financial Services including FSB Business Banking (through partners Allica Bank, The Co-operative Bank, Zempler Bank), the Funding Platform (via Capitalise), Debt Recovery, and Payments (Tyl by NatWest); (3) HR and Operations including Payroll and Pensions, Health and Safety, Workplace Health, and FSB Healthcare; and (4) Business Tools including Making Tax Digital software and FSB Training (750+ courses). The individual modules are available exclusively to members and are designed to work together, with the Legal and Business Hub providing document templates, the Legal Protection Scheme providing insurance coverage, and the various advisory services providing ongoing support across legal, tax, employment, and financial matters.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FSB Membership Tiered annual membership for small businesses and self-employed individuals across the UK, priced from £195 (sole trader / 0 employees) to £1,295 (101+ employees), with an associate tier at £97.50. Includes 24/7 legal and employment helpline, legal document library, employment tribunal insurance up to £100,000, tax investigation cover up to £100,000, and access to all member benefits.
• FSB Healthcare All-in-one health and wellbeing app for FSB members and their employees, priced at £39+VAT per person per year. Includes unlimited 24/7 virtual GP appointments, physiotherapy, mental health counselling, Employee Assistance Programme, gym discounts, and health MOTs.
• FSB Training Online training platform with 750+ CPD-certified courses covering sales, marketing, finance, professional development, and management, priced from £80+VAT per person for 12 months access, with volume discounts for 2+ users.
• FSB Payroll and Pensions Full-service payroll processing for FSB members at £5.00+VAT per payslip (price locked for 12 months), including PAYE calculations, HMRC RTI submissions, payslip distribution, and workplace pension management via SMART Pensions.
• FSB Making Tax Digital App HMRC-recognised MTD-compliant app for sole traders, landlords, and small businesses to maintain digital records and submit quarterly income/expense returns. Priced at £7+VAT per month with a 30-day free trial and discounts for annual billing or combined Income Tax/VAT subscriptions.
• FSB Workplace Health Occupational health service for FSB members priced at £75+VAT per case (pay-as-you-go), £125+VAT annual support for businesses under 50 employees, or £250+VAT annual support for 50+ employees. Includes health questionnaires, occupational health triage, wellness care action plans, and stress interventions.
• FSB Insurance Service Award-winning full general insurance broking service operated by FCA-regulated FSB Insurance Service Limited (FCA Registration No: 788654), offering tailored small business cover, a free insurance advice line, and policy audit support exclusively to FSB members.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £6 million recovered for members through the FSB debt recovery service
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

28 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Tyl by NatWestcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTyl by NatWest provides payment processing services (in-person, phone, online card payments) exclusively to FSB members with FSB member-exclusive rewards (£100 or £50 credited to account). Tyl cross-promotes FSB membership to its small business customer base. Tyl offers transparent pricing based on annual card turnover with next-business-day settlement.
• CapitalisecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerCapitalise provides FSB's all-in-one funding platform for small businesses, including access to 100+ banks and lenders, free basic credit checks, funding applications, and credit monitoring. Capitalise serves as FSB's exclusive funding platform partner.
• Allica BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAllica Bank partners with FSB to offer its Business Rewards Account exclusively to FSB members, featuring no monthly fees, up to 1.5% cashback on card spend, a 0.25% FSB Bonus Boost on savings, free Faster Payments and BACS, and a dedicated relationship manager.
• The Co-operative BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Co-operative Bank partners with FSB to offer free everyday banking (no introductory period), no arrangement fees on overdrafts, free cash deposits up to £1,000 per charging period, and ethical banking with no profit-first principles. Rated UK's best ESG high street bank by Sustainalytics.
• Zempler BankcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerZempler Bank provides smart digital banking built for small businesses and start-ups, available to FSB members with the first year's account fee refunded after opening and again on the first anniversary. Offers 1% cashback up to £1,000/month on eligible card spend.
• SMART PensionscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerFSB has partnered with SMART Pensions to provide workplace pension management services to FSB members, with exclusive pricing terms negotiated for members. FSB's payroll service integrates with SMART Pensions for seamless auto-enrolment compliance.
• Staff Skills Academy+minorGTM or Marketing PartnerStaff Skills Academy+ serves as FSB's official training partner for employment law and HR compliance, providing a free CPD-certified course on the Employment Rights Bill exclusively for FSB members and prospects.
• HealthyshootscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHealthyshoots provides FSB's Workplace Health services, including occupational health assessments, triage, wellness care action plans, and stress interventions. Services are specifically tailored for small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
• FSB Healthcare ProvidercoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFSB Healthcare provides an all-in-one health and wellbeing app for small businesses, including 24/7 private GP, physiotherapy, counselling, Employee Assistance Programme, and gym discounts. The provider was sourced specifically for small businesses at an exclusive rate of £39 + VAT per person per year for FSB members.
• Rhino Apps (Making Tax Digital)coreTechnology or IntegrationRhino Apps provides the FSB Making Tax Digital app, an HMRC-recognised MTD solution for sole traders, landlords, and small businesses. The app integrates with bank accounts for automatic transaction import and provides live tax position views. FSB offers a 10-20% discount to members.
• OktacoreTechnology or IntegrationFSB uses Okta for secure single sign-on (SSO) across FSB websites and apps, with multi-factor authentication (MFA) via device fingerprinting (DT cookie). Okta provides the security infrastructure for the FSB customer portal and account systems.
• Cookiebot (Usercentrics)coreTechnology or IntegrationFSB uses Cookiebot (by Usercentrics) for cookie consent management on its website, ensuring GDPR compliance by allowing users to accept, deny, or customise cookie preferences via the CookieHub tool.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)coreTechnology or IntegrationFSB uses AWS for cloud infrastructure, including load balancing (AWSALB, AWSALBCORS cookies) for its customer portal and join flows, powered by Nice InContact for contact centre functionality.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationFSB uses Cloudflare CDN and security services (__cfduid, cfid, cftoken cookies) to speed up page response times and provide security across fsb.org.uk.
• DotDigitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationFSB uses DotDigital email marketing platform for sending and tracking email campaigns, monitoring delivery status, opens, clicks, forwards, and unsubscribe requests.
• Confederation of British Industry (CBI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe CBI is listed alongside FSB as an industry partner supporting the UK government's AI Skills Hub, which aims to train 10 million workers in practical AI skills by the end of the decade.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGoogle is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub and provides free AI mentoring to UK small businesses and charities in association with FSB. Google is also an enterprise technology partner supporting FSB's operations.
• MicrosoftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub and provides enterprise technology support to FSB's operations, including Microsoft Advertising and LinkedIn marketing.
• AmazoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmazon is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub, which has delivered over one million courses since June 2025.
• CiscocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCisco joined as a new industry partner in the UK government's AI Skills Hub expansion targeting 10 million workers with AI skills by the end of the decade.
• IBMcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIBM is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub, contributing to AI skills training for UK workers.
• SalesforcecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSalesforce is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub, contributing enterprise technology support to the initiative.
• BarclayscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBarclays is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub, contributing to AI skills training for UK workers.
• CognizantminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCognizant joined as a new industry partner in the UK government's AI Skills Hub expansion, alongside Cisco, Multiverse, and Pax8.
• MultiverseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiverse joined as a new industry partner in the UK government's AI Skills Hub expansion, alongside Cognizant, Cisco, and Pax8.
• Pax8minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPax8 joined as a new industry partner in the UK government's AI Skills Hub expansion, alongside Cognizant, Cisco, and Multiverse.
• AccenturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccenture is a founding partner of the UK government's AI Skills Hub, supporting AI skills training for UK workers.
• University of York Enterprise WorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFSB partnered with University of York's Enterprise Works on research highlighting barriers facing women entrepreneurs in York and North Yorkshire. The research, which included input from local female entrepreneurs, informed a 10-point plan to address systemic challenges and estimated that removing barriers could generate 165,000 jobs and £2.6bn in regional GVA.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• SCORE: US nonprofit network providing free mentoring, education and resources to small businesses, supported by the SBA. Comparable to FSB in non-profit, member-style support and training services for SMBs, though delivery is mentor-led rather than bundled insurance and SaaS.
• Small Business Britain: UK organisation supporting small businesses through campaigns, awards, events and research with a focus on diverse founders. Comparable to FSB in targeting UK SMBs with advocacy, events and member-style programming, albeit without FSB's scale and breadth of bundled services.
• British Chambers of Commerce: UK-wide network of accredited chambers representing and supporting businesses, including SMEs, through local advocacy, networking and member services. Directly comparable to FSB as a competing SMB-facing UK membership and advocacy body.
• National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): US-based membership organisation representing small and independent businesses with advocacy, benefits and policy influence. Closest international analogue to FSB in mission, structure and bundled member services for micro and small businesses.
• Institute of Directors (IoD): UK membership organisation for company directors providing policy advocacy, director training, networking and business services. Comparable to FSB in offering tiered membership with advisory, training and lobbying benefits, though skewed toward larger SMEs and mid-market firms.

Emerging players

• Enterprise Nation: UK membership and community platform supporting small businesses and founders with events, training, mentoring and policy engagement. Comparable to FSB as a younger, more digital-first SMB membership and advocacy alternative targeting similar customers.
• Startup Coalition (formerly Coadec): UK policy and membership organisation advocating for early-stage and growth-stage startups, providing founder benefits and government engagement. Comparable to FSB in advocacy plus member benefits model, but with a narrower startup-only focus.

Broad incumbents

• Confederation of British Industry (CBI): UK's largest business membership organisation advocating for companies of all sizes with a strong policy and lobbying remit. Comparable to FSB in advocacy focus but serves a broader enterprise-heavy membership base, and is already an explicit AI Skills Hub co-partner with FSB.
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce: America's largest business federation representing companies of all sizes with strong policy, advocacy and member services operations. Comparable to FSB as a large incumbent SMB-inclusive federation, though with broader enterprise scope.

Others

• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses: UK and US education and support programme providing business education, mentoring and access to capital for small business owners. Comparable to FSB in serving SMBs with training and growth support, but as a philanthropic programme rather than a paid membership organisation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FSB_Scotland
• Facebookfacebook.com/FSBScotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fsb-scotland

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 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 Federation of Small Businesses