What is the best self-employed business account?

If you’re self-employed, then the best business account for you is one that will help you make your financial management easier, less time-consuming, and more accurate. 

This guide will cover all the different features that the best business accounts will offer you. 

If you’re a self-employed business owner, it’s important to keep your personal and business finances separate from the beginning. Mixing them up will make it much harder to assess your business’ financial situation. 

All your business transactions are in the same place with a business account, making it much easier to manage your business finances. But you also want a tool that does more than just hold your money, like Countingup. The Countingup business current account and app comes with built-in accounting software. As a result, you and your business will have access to loads of helpful accounting tools, making it the best business account for self-employed business owners. 

But it doesn’t stop there. Countingup’s business current account and app will actually improve your financial management with features like these:

• Invoice creation
• Tax estimates
• MTD compatibility
• Expense categorisation
• Cash flow insights
• Profit and loss statements 
• Accountant access 

As a self-employed business owner, invoicing will probably become a common activity for you. As you attract more clients, you may find yourself spending more and more time creating, managing, and logging invoices. 

The Countingup business account and app come with accounting software that lets you create countless professional invoices with ease. 

With the Countingup app, you can:

• Create unlimited customised invoices.
• Add a logo to invoice templates.
• Send invoices to customers.
• Receive a notification when an invoice is paid.
• Match payments to specific invoices.
• Duplicate invoices.
• Change an invoice’s due date.

With less time needed for invoicing, you can spend your valuable time getting on with the more exciting parts of running your own business. 

Running your own business means you’re responsible for submitting a Self Assessment tax return. Because you only submit it once a year, it can be easy to lose track of the final bill. 

The Countingup business account shows you accurate tax estimates based on your earnings, so you’ll know how much to set aside each year. 

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the UK government’s plan to transition all VAT-registered businesses to online VAT payments.  

MTD is mandatory for businesses earning over £85,000 per year, and those earning under will do the same starting April 2022. VAT deadlines are quarterly, and missing those deadlines could lead to issues with HMRC, so registering with MTD is important. 

The Countingup business account is compatible with Making Tax Digital, making it the perfect way for self-employed business owners to pay their VAT. 

The app’s digital tax filing service automatically calculates the VAT associated with your business transactions. Then you can file your tax return directly with Countingup’s free accounting software. 

As part of filing a self-assessment tax return, you can claim income tax relief on any business expenses you’ve made. Some common expenses include:

• Office costs
• Travel costs
• Clothing expenses
• Staff costs
• Things you buy to sell on
• Financial costs
• Costs of your business premises
• Advertising or marketing
• Training courses related to your business

To claim the relief, you need to record and organise your business expenses throughout the year. The Countingup business account can automate this for you. 

The automatic expense categorisation and receipt capture tool make it simple to keep an accurate, digital record of your business expenses. After you scan a receipt with the app, each expense is automatically categorised into an HMRC approved category. 

Find out more about how it works here. 

Cash flow measures how much money is moving in and out of your business account over a period of time. Tracking cash flow helps you better understand the current financial health of the business. 

The Countingup business app shows you cash flow insights in real time, so you’ll see any transactions as soon as they happen. 

Profit and loss statements summarise your income, costs, and expenses over a certain period. Typically produced every quarter, they can be used for:

• Tax purposes: You need accurate financial records when filling in a Self Assessment tax return. 
• Proving the financial state of your business: If you apply for funding, banks and investors will ask to see profit and loss statements.
• Improving your business: You’ll see where you’re making and losing money, allowing you to make better spending decisions. 

The Countingup business account automatically generates profit and loss statements based on financial transactions, so you can quickly and easily see how all of your decisions affect your long term finances. 

The best self-employed business account is normally one that your accountant likes too. 

Unlike other business current accounts, Countingup lets you share live bookkeeping data directly with your accountant. 

Overall, it’s a faster, easier, more secure way for you and your accountant to share sensitive information. Find out how this works by clicking here.

Countingup is the unique business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. 

With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

Find out more and start your 3-month free trial here.