Clear Books

clearbooks.co.uk
Accounting Software
Few Days

Simple Online Accounting Software For UK Businesses

How to Replace Clear Books

Overview

Clear Books is award-winning online accounting software designed for UK small businesses including sole traders, limited companies, partnerships, and landlords. The platform uses AI-powered technology to streamline bookkeeping and accounting tasks while ensuring HMRC compliance. Clear Books helps business owners save time on financial admin, get paid sooner, and maintain tax compliance with features like invoicing, bank feeds, and MTD tax submissions.

Features

38 features across 19 categories

Accounting(7)

Accountant ToolsPremium

Journals, lock date ranges, and audit log for accountant use

Dividends ToolPremium

Tool for managing and tracking company dividends

Fixed AssetsPremium

Track and manage fixed assets

Import FilesPremium

Import accounting files and data into the system

Multi-Currency AccountingPremium

Support for multi-currency transactions and accounting

Multiple Property TrackingPremium

Record and track profitability for multiple UK properties

Track Sales and PurchasesPremium

Monitor and track all sales and purchase transactions

Also in: Jobber, Melio, Lemonway

Administration(2)

Unlimited UsersPremium

Add unlimited users to your account

User PermissionsPremium

Configurable user permissions and access control

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Smartsheet

Automation(6)

AI-Streamlined BookkeepingAI

Advanced AI technology that completes bookkeeping effortlessly in one click

Auto BillsPremium

Optional add-on to capture bills and receipts quickly and easily without manual data entry

Automated Payment RemindersPremium

Convenient, automated payment reminder emails to ensure customers pay on time

Bank Feed with Automated MatchingPremium

Automated transaction recording from bank feeds with intelligent matching

Bill and Receipt ScanningPremium

Scan bills and receipts from photos and PDFs for automated record creation

Recurring Invoices and BillsPremium

Set up recurring invoices and bills for automated invoicing

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Bookkeeping(1)

Transaction CategorizationPremium

Flag transactions as personal or for business to maintain accurate records

CRM(1)

Contact ListPremium

Manage and organize customer and supplier contacts

Also in: monday.com, Setmore, HubSpot

Collaboration(1)

Invite Your Accountant

Invite your accountant to access your accounts

Also in: Notion, Airtable, Obsidian

Expenses(1)

Employee Expense ClaimsPremium

Track and approve employee expense claims

Integration(1)

Integrations and APIPremium

API and third-party integrations support

Also in: monday.com, Notion, Airtable

Inventory(1)

Stock and Product ItemsPremium

Track stock and product items in inventory

Invoicing(1)

Invoice Creation and EmailPremium

Create stunning, professional invoices with customization options and email delivery

Payments(2)

Instant Bank PaymentsPremium

Optional add-on to accelerate payments by offering instant bank payment options

Online Payment OptionsPremium

Multiple flexible payment options for customers including credit cards and bank transfers

Payroll(1)

Integrated Payroll SoftwarePremium

Built-in payroll functionality with 30-day free trial for unlimited employees

Procurement(2)

Purchase Order ApprovalsPremium

Approval workflow for purchase orders

Purchase OrdersPremium

Create and manage purchase orders

Productivity(1)

Power EditorPremium

Bulk search and edit functionality for efficient data management

Project Management(1)

Project AccountingPremium

Project-specific accounting with project-specific invoice templates and configurable project reports vs. budgets

Reporting(3)

Budgets and Budget ReportingPremium

Unlimited budgets with configurable budget comparison reporting

Business ReportingPremium

Comprehensive business reporting including balance sheet, customer and supplier overview

Customer StatementsPremium

Generate and send customer statements

Sales(1)

Quotes and EstimatesPremium

Create and send professional quotes and estimates to customers

Support(2)

Phone and Email Support

Unlimited access to UK-based support team via phone and email

Support Guides and Community Forum

Access to support guides and user community forum

Tax Compliance(3)

CIS Accounting SoftwarePremium

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) reporting and submissions for construction businesses

MTD Income Tax Compliance

HMRC-recognised software for Making Tax Digital Income Tax with quarterly updates and year-end tax return filing

MTD VAT ReportingPremium

HMRC-recognised MTD VAT submissions with support for flat-rate scheme VAT and Domestic Reverse Charge

Pricing

Sole Trader Free

Free
  • MTD Income Tax
  • Quarterly updates
  • Year-end tax return filing
  • Record income and expenses
  • Basic reports
  • Works for CIS subcontractors
  • No transaction limits
  • Invite your accountant
  • Support guides and community forum
  • Email support
  • Telephone support
  • Post on user community
  • Upgrade to a paid plan at any time

Sole Trader

£5/mo plus VAT
  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • Bill and receipt scanning from photos and PDFs
  • Automated transaction recording from bank feeds
  • Flag transactions as personal or for business
  • Invoice creation and email
  • Customise invoices
  • Prepare and send quotes
  • Business reporting, including balance sheet
  • Customer and supplier overview
  • Unlimited users
  • Accountant tools, including journals, lock date ranges, and audit log
  • Email support
  • Telephone support
  • Post on user community

Sole Trader + VAT

£15/mo plus VAT
  • Everything in Sole Trader, plus:
  • MTD VAT reporting
  • Flat-rate scheme VAT
  • Domestic Reverse Charge

Property Free

Free
  • MTD Income Tax
  • Quarterly updates
  • Year-end tax return filing
  • Record income and expenses for one property or grouped
  • No transaction limits
  • Invite your accountant
  • Support guides and community forum
  • Upgrade to a paid plan at any time
  • Email support
  • Telephone support
  • Post on user community

Property

£5/mo plus VAT
  • Everything in Free, plus:
  • Record and track profitability for multiple properties
  • Bill and receipt scanning from photos and PDFs
  • Automated transaction recording from bank feeds
  • Flag transactions as personal or for business
  • Business reporting, including balance sheet
  • Customer and supplier overview
  • Unlimited users
  • Accountant tools, including journals, lock date ranges, and audit log
  • Email support
  • Telephone support
  • Post on user community

Small

£15.00/mo (£7.50/mo for first 3 months)
  • Bank feed with automated matching
  • Track sales and purchases
  • Invoice creation and email
  • Quotes and estimates
  • Contact list
  • Full reporting suite
  • Customer statements
  • Automated payment reminder emails
  • Recurring invoices and bills
  • Stock and product items
  • Integrations and API
  • Journals and accountant tools
  • Power Editor (bulk search and edit)
  • Import files
  • Dividends tool
  • User permissions

Medium

£31.00/mo (£15.50/mo for first 3 months)
  • Everything in Small, plus:
  • MTD VAT submissions
  • Purchase orders
  • Purchase order approvals
  • CIS reporting and submissions, for construction
  • Unlimited budgets
  • Configurable budget comparison reporting

Large

£41.00/mo (£20.50/mo for first 3 months)
  • Everything in Medium, plus:
  • Project accounting
  • Project-specific invoice templates
  • Configurable project reports vs. budgets
  • Multi-currency
  • Employee expense claims and approval
  • Fixed assets

Cost Calculator

Keep Paying Clear Books

Monthly$5/mo
Yearly$60/yr
5-Year Total$300

Build It Yourself

Est. Build Time~4 hrs
Hosting$20/mo
DifficultyEasy

Total Cost Comparison

1 Year
SaaS
$60
DIY
$240
3 Years
SaaS
$180
DIY
$720
5 Years
SaaS
$300
DIY
$1.2k

DIY hosting estimate based on Vercel + Supabase free/pro tiers (~$20/mo). Build time estimated from 38 features at easy complexity.

Build vs Buy

Should you build a Clear Books alternative or buy the subscription? Estimate based on 38 features.

Buy Clear Books

Better Value
Monthly cost$50/mo
3-year total$1,800
Time to deployDays

Build Your Own

Development cost$36,000
Maintenance$540/mo
3-year total$55,440
Dev time~3 months

Buying Clear Books saves ~$53,640 over 3 years vs building.

Estimates based on 38 features and a BuildScore of 4/5. Actual costs vary.