This Content Was Last Updated on March 15, 2023 by Susan Albest
By now people should be aware of the impending arrival of Making Tax Digital.
VAT registered businesses are already required to have MTD compliant software, and it comes in on a phased basis for other businesses from April 2026.
Under MTD there is a requirement to use software to send quarterly updates to HMRC. This could be a cloud accounting package / app or a spreadsheet enabled with Bridging Software.
For cloud accounting packages / apps we recommend FreeAgent, as we’ve found it reliable, user friendly and to have a good balance of features versus pricing.
FreeAgent tracks income and expenses, linking to your bank account if you wish. It calculates and submits VAT, assists with invoicing, and generally aims to be a tool for all day to day number crunching.
What Does it Cost?
The pricing of FreeAgent when you subscribe through us is as follows:
| Free Agent Direct | Whitefield cost | |
| Sole Traders | £19/month monthly contract £190/year annual contract |
£16/month |
| Partnerships | £24/month monthly contract £240/year annual contract |
£20/month |
| Companies | £29/month monthly contract £290/year annual contract |
£25/month |
| All prices exclude VAT. Available to registered clients of Whitefield Tax only. Prices correct March 2023 | ||
As well as access to FreeAgent software the monthly charge from us includes a support package covering set up, informal training, and ongoing transaction support; our costs for this are offset by a reseller discount from FreeAgent.
Natwest, RBS and Mettle business customers are able to get FreeAgent free of charge, and we can add this to our portal to access your data, however depending on your support needs and the size of your business we may need to charge a Support Fee if you ask us to provide set up, support or training for your software (see below).
Likewise, if you have a direct FreeAgent subscription, we can add this to our portal to access your data, however again we need to charge a Support Fee if you ask us to provide set up, support or training for your software (see below).
As a firm we have an reseller agreement with FreeAgent to provide cloud based accounting and bookkeeping software to our clients, and under this arrangement we receive a discount from FreeAgent, part of which we pass on to our clients by way of a discount against monthly list price. Part of the discount offsets our time in supporting clients using FreeAgent.
FreeAgent Support
When you subscribe via ourselves we include a support package covering:
- Set up
- Informal training
- Periodic checking of your data and entries
- Ad hoc advice
This support package is based around our experience of what a typical client needs from us. It complements, but does not take the place of, technical software support provided by FreeAgent themselves.
Our costs for this are offset by a wholesale discount from FreeAgent.
If you subscribe to FreeAgent directly, or have a free subscription with NatWest, RBS or Mettle, then if you need support we charge £15/m for support for companies, £10/m for partnerships and sole traders, both plus vat. Of course, this isn’t compulsory, but we find most clients benefit from it.
Are There Other Choices?
There is no requirement for our clients to use FreeAgent – if you have other software in mind, that’s fine; we will try to support all of them, our aim is to be “open platform” and fit in with our clients’ choices.
However FreeAgent is “best of breed” in our view, and offers significant advantages in us being able to easily access and review your data. All other factors being equal it’s easier for us to have clients on common platforms.