Clear Books

Clear Books is browser-based accounting software for UK businesses, sole traders, and landlords, with mobile apps for Android and iOS. It supports bank feeds, automated reconciliation, invoice creation, receipt capture, inventory tracking, and accountant access. Users can send branded invoices, schedule recurring invoices, and automate late-payment reminders. Tax features include VAT submissions, MTD Income Tax, and quarterly updates; Clear Books describes itself as HMRC recognised and MTD-ready. Sole Trader Free and Property Free are ongoing free plans with no transaction limits and no card needed. Property Free covers one property or grouped properties, while Foreign Property Free covers one overseas property. Paid plans start at £5 per month plus VAT. Paid plans include a full-access 30-day trial, unlimited users, and accountant tools; the trial can be cancelled without payment, and subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. Small, Medium, and Large plans include integrations and an API, with Stripe and GoCardless built in. Support options range from self-service and email to phone support, with UK-based support.

Clear Books offers accounting, invoicing, and tax tools for a range of UK business types. The free tiers have specific property scopes, while paid plans start at £5 per month plus VAT.

Clear Books suits UK sole traders, landlords, and businesses that need bookkeeping and tax tools. Its free plans are relevant to sole traders and property owners with the stated property limits.

Clear Books is UK-focused accounting software for sole traders, landlords and organisations that need invoicing and tax tools. It suits users whose work matches one of its distinct business or property plans. Its strongest case is UK tax support; the trade-off is that bank feeds and broader business tools sit on higher-tier plans.

Overview

Clear Books combines bookkeeping, invoicing and tax functions across browser-based software and mobile apps for Android and iOS. HMRC recognition and support for VAT submissions, MTD Income Tax and quarterly updates make it especially relevant to UK businesses working within those requirements.

The plan structure is unusually specific: separate options cover sole traders, UK property and overseas property, alongside packages for organisations. That can keep costs aligned with a narrow use case, but readers should check which functions are included rather than assume every paid plan has the same accounting tools.

Key features

Branded invoices, recurring invoices and automated late-payment reminders are useful for businesses that bill clients regularly. Receipt capture and inventory tracking support record-keeping, while Small adds sales and purchase tracking and a full reporting suite.

Small, Medium and Large include bank feeds with automated matching, which can reduce manual reconciliation.

Paid plans include unlimited users, accountant invitations and accountant tools, which suits businesses sharing their books with an adviser. Small, Medium and Large also include integrations and an API; Stripe and GoCardless are built in. Support ranges from self-service and email to phone and email, with UK-based support.

Pricing

The free plans are forever-free and require no card. Sole Trader Free is MTD-ready bookkeeping for sole traders; Property Free covers one property or grouped properties, while Foreign Property Free covers one overseas property. Free plans have no transaction limits, but their narrow scope makes them a poor fit for users managing a broader portfolio or seeking the additional features of paid tiers.

Sole Trader costs £5 per month plus VAT for self-employed people without VAT. Sole Trader Plus is £15 per month plus VAT and adds MTD VAT reporting, the flat-rate scheme and VAT Domestic Reverse Charge. The £5 Sole Trader plan is therefore a lower-cost fit for non-VAT self-employed users, not a substitute for the VAT package.

Property and Foreign Property each cost £5 per month plus VAT; they are aimed at landlords managing multiple properties in the UK or overseas, respectively. Small costs £16 per month plus VAT and is aimed at limited companies, sole traders, partnerships and charities. Its stated inclusions—bank feeds with matching, sales and purchase tracking, invoicing, full reporting, integrations, an API and user permissions—make it the more rounded choice for organisations that need those tools.

Medium costs £34 per month plus VAT and is aimed at businesses filing VAT and CIS; it adds unlimited budgets. Large has custom pricing and is aimed at growing businesses with complex needs. Annual billing saves 10%, and two-year billing saves 20% on All Organisations plans. Paid plans include a full-access 30-day free trial; trials can be cancelled without payment, and subscriptions can be cancelled anytime. Customers can pay by direct debit, credit card or debit card.

Platforms

Clear Books offers browser-based software and mobile apps for Android and iOS. That combination suits users who want to manage accounting from a computer or phone.

Who it's for

Clear Books is a strong fit for UK sole traders and landlords whose needs match its dedicated plans, as well as organisations that need UK tax support, accountant access or bank-feed reconciliation. It is less compelling for a business that needs the latter functions at the lowest price: bank feeds and automated matching are specified for Small, Medium and Large, not the £5 paid plans.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Forever-free plans have no transaction limits, with separate scopes for sole traders, UK property and overseas property.
• Pros: UK tax support includes HMRC recognition, VAT submissions, MTD Income Tax and quarterly updates.
• Pros: Paid plans allow unlimited users and accountant access; Small and higher organisation tiers include bank feeds with matching.
• Cons: Free plans are restricted to specific sole-trader or property scopes, rather than serving as general organisation plans.
• Cons: The £5 paid plans do not have stated bank feeds or automated matching, so users who need those must consider more expensive organisation plans.
• Cons: VAT support for sole traders requires Sole Trader Plus at £15 per month plus VAT, rather than the £5 Sole Trader plan.

Alternatives

FreeAgent is worth comparing for sole traders or partnerships seeking a freemium accounting option; its stated monthly plans are £10 for a sole trader and £19 for a partnership or LLP.

Odoo Accounting is another freemium option, with Android, iOS, web and self-hosted platforms.

Zoho Books has a free plan for solopreneurs and micro businesses, available while annual revenue stays below $50K; its stated free tier allows one user and one account.

Wave is a freemium alternative whose Starter plan includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records; online card payments incur 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.

Vyapar is a freemium Android and iOS alternative with annual Silver and Gold plans priced at $79.99 and $99.99, respectively.

FreshBooks is a paid alternative with Lite at $23 per month, Plus at $43 per month and Premium at $70 per month.

MYOB Business is a paid Android and iOS option; its Lite plan is $315 AUD per year and covers two employees.

Reckon One is a paid Android and iOS alternative, with Accounting Plus at $24 AUD per month and unlimited users.

Readers comparing industry-focused options can also browse Gym Accounting Software and Salon Accounting Software.

Verdict

Choose Clear Books if you are a UK sole trader, landlord or organisation that can use its purpose-matched plans and wants UK tax support, accountant access or higher-tier bank reconciliation. Its main reason to look elsewhere is the gap between the inexpensive specialist plans and the organisation tiers: users who need bank-feed matching or broader business tools should weigh the higher monthly cost plus VAT against alternatives.