Countingup
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Countingup is a fintech platform that bundles a business current account, automated accounting software, and tax management tools into a single mobile and web application. Instead of maintaining separate banking, bookkeeping, and tax software, a sole trader or small business owner can do everything in one place: receive customer payments, manage invoices, categorise transactions, file VAT returns, estimate tax bills, and export records for their accountant. The platform was founded in 2017 by Tim Fouracre, the former CEO of Clearbooks, a well-established accounting software company. This background means the platform was designed by someone who understood both the accounting and tax needs of small businesses and the friction points that come from juggling multiple tools. The company has grown to serve over 100,000 UK customers and has processed more than ten billion pounds in customer transactions. Investors backing the platform include Gresham House Ventures, ING, Molten Ventures, and Sage, indicating confidence from major financial and software industry participants.
Countingup must be understood correctly as a regulatory matter before deciding whether it fits a business's needs. Countingup is not a bank. It is an electronic money institution, regulated under different rules than traditional banking. The actual e-money licence is held by Prepay Technologies Ltd (trading as PPS), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 (FCA registration 900010). Countingup operates as a registered agent of PPS, meaning PPS is the licensed entity and Countingup is the customer-facing platform. This distinction matters for how customer funds are protected. Money held in a Countingup account is safeguarded by PPS under the electronic money safeguarding regulations, which means customer money is kept separate from PPS's own funds in designated bank accounts. This is different from FSCS deposit protection, which covers money held in traditional UK banks. Safeguarding provides protection through segregation of funds, whereas FSCS protection is a compensation scheme (up to £85,000) if the bank fails. For a sole trader managing business money, the key point is that deposits are not covered by FSCS insurance, they are protected through safeguarding of the underlying funds. Customers should understand and be comfortable with this regulatory framework before opening an account.
The account delivers all the essentials of a business current account: a sort code and account number, the ability to receive Faster Payments and Direct Debits, and a Mastercard debit card for online and in-store payments. The business can also accept card payments from customers directly through the app, powered by Stripe integration. Invoicing is built in: a sole trader can create an invoice, send it to a customer, share a payment link, and track whether the invoice is paid or still outstanding. The system sends automatic reminders for unpaid invoices. Cash can be deposited at Post Office branches or PayPoint locations, giving businesses a physical route to handle cash without requiring a bank branch nearby. The payment notifications are instant, so when a customer pays an invoice, the business owner sees it immediately in the app.
The accounting functionality distinguishes Countingup from a conventional business account. Transactions are automatically categorised as they come in, so the act of spending or receiving money simultaneously creates bookkeeping records. Receipts are stored securely within the app, capturing the expense information needed for tax filing. For VAT-registered businesses, the platform calculates VAT due and can file VAT returns directly to HMRC. The system generates real-time estimates of tax bills, so business owners know what they'll owe throughout the year rather than discovering a large bill at the tax deadline. Bank transactions are automatically pulled into the accounting records, eliminating the manual data entry that creates friction with standalone accounting software. This integration between banking and accounting is the core value proposition: what once required three separate tools, a business account, accounting software, and tax software, now happens in one place as the money moves.
The tax tooling extends to automatic tax savings through tax pots. As the business earns income, the platform sets aside estimated tax based on the business's tax bracket and profit levels, helping sole traders avoid the common problem of spending money that will be needed for tax bills. This automated approach to tax provisioning addresses one of the primary reasons self-employed people run into financial trouble: earning money but not accounting for tax until the bill arrives. The platform also stores all the records needed for accounting support, including transaction history and receipt documentation, making it trivial to share data securely with an accountant via the Accountant Hub feature if the business wants professional help. For many small sole traders, this combination of built-in bookkeeping, tax handling, and accounting-ready records means they don't need to hire a dedicated accountant unless their business becomes more complex.
Countingup's pricing runs from around three pounds to eighteen pounds per month depending on the business's annual turnover, scaled so that a sole trader just starting out pays less than an established business with larger revenues. The platform offers a free three-month trial, so prospective users can try all the features without financial commitment. This pricing sits lower than the cost of maintaining separate banking, accounting software, and bookkeeping tools, particularly for the self-employed and small business owners who represent the platform's core market. The low entry price and free trial reduce the friction to trying the service, particularly for businesses that might struggle to justify the cost of traditional accounting software on top of a business account.
The fundamental question for a sole trader or small business owner is whether the all-in-one convenience of Countingup outweighs the regulatory difference of using an EMI rather than a traditional bank. For businesses that are extremely concerned about FSCS protection or that need to maintain large cash balances with full deposit insurance, a traditional bank account might be more reassuring despite the friction of managing accounting software separately. For sole traders and small businesses comfortable with the safeguarding protection model and valuing the time saved by integrated accounting and tax tools, Countingup removes enormous friction. A freelancer or small consultant can open the account in minutes on their phone, start receiving customer payments immediately, have bookkeeping happen automatically, and file tax returns without leaving the app. This appeal to businesses for whom time is scarce and complexity must be minimised is what drives the platform's growth. The combination of automated accounting, built-in tax handling, and payment processing makes Countingup the obvious choice for a self-employed person who wants banking and bookkeeping to stop being an administrative burden.
Notes on Regulatory Status: Countingup is NOT a bank and does not hold a UK banking licence. It is an electronic money institution: customer funds are safeguarded by Prepay Technologies Ltd (PPS), an FCA-regulated e-money issuer (FRN 900010), under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011. Safeguarding differs from FSCS deposit protection, money is protected by segregation rather than insurance. This is appropriate for small business operating balances but readers should verify this aligns with their needs. Countingup also operates with separate FCA authorisation from Superscript (via Enro Ltd, FRN 656459) for insurance broking services related to its business insurance partnership.