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ClearBooks

Features
Ease of use
Ease of management
Quality of support
Affordability
Market presence
Take the quiz to check if ClearBooks and its alternatives fit your requirements.
Pricing from
£5 plus VAT per month
Free Trial
Free version
User corporate size
Small
Medium
Large
User industry
  1. Media and communications
  2. Information technology and software
  3. Professional services (engineering, legal, consulting, etc.)

What is ClearBooks

ClearBooks is an accounting software product used to manage core bookkeeping workflows such as invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting. It targets small businesses and accounting practitioners that need a cloud-based system for day-to-day accounting and collaboration. The product emphasizes straightforward accounting workflows and online access rather than broad enterprise resource planning coverage.

pros

Core bookkeeping coverage

ClearBooks focuses on essential accounting functions such as sales invoicing, purchase/expense tracking, and bank reconciliation. This scope fits organizations that need general ledger accuracy without deploying a broader ERP suite. For many small teams, this can reduce implementation time compared with systems that require extensive configuration across multiple modules.

Cloud access and collaboration

As a cloud product, ClearBooks supports access from multiple locations and can be used by both business users and external accountants. This model typically simplifies sharing books, reviewing transactions, and closing periods without exchanging files. It aligns with common small-business workflows where finance work is distributed across internal staff and advisors.

SMB-oriented usability

ClearBooks is positioned for small and mid-sized organizations that prioritize ease of use over highly specialized finance operations. The feature set is generally oriented around common accounting tasks rather than complex multi-entity consolidation or advanced automation. This can be a practical fit for teams that want predictable, standard processes.

cons

Limited ERP depth

Despite being associated with broader categories such as ERP retail software, ClearBooks is primarily an accounting system rather than a full ERP. Organizations needing integrated inventory, procurement, manufacturing, or advanced order management may require additional systems. This can increase integration effort and create process gaps compared with suites that provide these modules natively.

Unclear vertical specialization

The category list includes church and school accounting, but ClearBooks’ publicly visible positioning is not consistently centered on nonprofit fund accounting or education-specific requirements. If an organization needs features like fund/restricted reporting, grant tracking, or tailored compliance workflows, it may require workarounds or add-ons. Buyers should validate these requirements in a product demo and documentation.

Integration and automation breadth

Compared with platforms that emphasize extensive app marketplaces, AI-assisted AP automation, or document capture ecosystems, ClearBooks may offer a narrower set of prebuilt integrations and automation capabilities. This can affect teams that want end-to-end automation from receipt capture through approvals and posting. Integration availability should be confirmed for payroll, payments, banking, and tax tooling used in the target region.

Plan & Pricing

Plan Price Key features & notes
Sole Trader (Free) FREE (Free forever) HMRC recognised; MTD Income Tax quarterly updates & year-end filing; record income & expenses; no transaction limits; invite your accountant; self-service.
Sole Trader (paid) £5 plus VAT per month HMRC recognised; all Free features plus bill & receipt scanning, automated bank feeds, invoices & quotes, business reporting, unlimited users, accountant tools, phone & email support.
Sole Trader + VAT £15 plus VAT per month HMRC recognised; includes MTD VAT reporting, Flat-rate scheme support, VAT Domestic Reverse Charge; phone & email support.
Property (Free) FREE (Free forever) HMRC recognised; MTD Income Tax for landlords with basic needs; record income/expenses for one property or grouped; invite accountant.
Property (paid) £5 plus VAT per month HMRC recognised; tracking for multiple UK properties, bank feeds, bill/receipt scanning, reporting, unlimited users, accountant tools, phone & email support.
MTD Income Tax FREE HMRC recognised; for self-employed sole traders and landlords; MTD Income Tax quarterly updates & year-end filing; no transaction limits.
Small £15.00 per month (new customers: £7.50/month for first 3 months) For limited companies, sole traders, partnerships, charities; bank feeds, invoicing, quotes, reporting suite, stock & product items, integrations & API, unlimited users, accountant tools.
Medium £31.00 per month (new customers: £15.50/month for first 3 months) Everything in Small plus MTD VAT submissions, purchase orders & approvals, CIS reporting & submissions, unlimited budgets, budget comparison reporting.
Large £41.00 per month (new customers: £20.50/month for first 3 months) Everything in Medium plus project accounting, multi-currency, employee expense claims & approvals, fixed assets, project-specific templates & reports.

Notes: Prices exclude VAT. Subscription billing options include monthly, yearly (10% off) and two-year (20% off). The site also states a 50% discount for the first three months will be applied at checkout for new subscriptions bought within 30 days of registration. Optional extras mentioned on the official pricing page include Payroll (30-day free trial for payroll add-on), Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills (pricing for these extras is not listed on the pricing page). The official site also advertises a 30-day free trial for Clear Books accounting.

Seller details

Clear Books plc
London, United Kingdom
2008
Public
https://www.clearbooks.co.uk/
https://x.com/clearbooks
https://www.linkedin.com/company/clear-books-plc/

Tools by Clear Books plc

ClearBooks

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