Search “best accounting app for self employed UK reddit” and you'll find the same debate on repeat — Xero vs QuickBooks vs FreeAgent vs a spreadsheet. Here's the honest take for a one-person business.
Try Amy free for 14 days →Most of the recommended names — Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage — are proper accounting packages built for bookkeepers and accountants. They’re great if you live in a ledger. If you’re self-employed and your “office” is a van or a kitchen table, they’re usually more than you need and end up half-used.
The honest split: if you want to *do your own books* properly, FreeAgent (free with some bank accounts) or Xero are the usual picks. If you just want the records kept so your accountant can file — without learning software — the simplest tool wins.
A mix — a fair few admit to a spreadsheet plus a shoebox, some use FreeAgent (free via Mettle/NatWest), others Xero or QuickBooks. The common regret is paying for software they barely open. For a sole trader, “the one I’ll actually keep up with” beats “the one with the most features” every time.
Often, yes. They’re built for bookkeeping workflows. Plenty of self-employed people keep an accountant on Xero/QuickBooks and just need an easy way to capture income and expenses as they go. That’s a different job — capture, not bookkeeping.
TradesOffice runs in WhatsApp — you text Amy “invoice Dave £2,400”, snap a receipt, and every entry is stored as an MTD-categorised digital record automatically. No app to download, no login, no learning curve. £19.99/month, 14-day free trial, no card. It’s the capture layer that feeds your accountant or your Xero/QuickBooks.
No — it feeds them. You get clean, categorised records and a quarterly pack; they file. If you don’t have an accountant yet, the records are tidy enough that getting one set up is painless.
Yes — that’s the point. MTD for Income Tax starts April 2026 for over-£50k sole traders (then £30k, then £20k). TradesOffice keeps the digital records as a byproduct of normal work, so the quarterly update is already done.
Text Amy as you work and your records build themselves — clean and ready for your accountant. No app, no new number. Free for 14 days, no card.
Try Amy free →