Best accounting apps for UK gas engineers and plumbers (2026)

Bookkeeping, Making Tax Digital, CIS and business banking. Many show big first-months discounts, so we list the regular price.

8 options compared. Sorted by lowest starting price. Last checked 20 Oct 2026. We have not been paid by any vendor on this page.

Quick answer: The lowest paid starting price we verified is Countingup (from £5/mo). Free plans: Pandle, Tide. Cheapest isn't always best. Check the points below before you pick.

Side by side

Tool	Starting price	Free trial	Suits	Checked
Pandle Pandle Free; Pandle Pro £5/mo + VAT.	Free plan	14 days on Pro, no card	sole trader	20 Oct 2026
Tide Free plan (no plan fee); Smart £12.49/mo; Pro £27.49/mo; Max £69.99/mo.	Free plan	Free plan available	sole trader, small firm	20 Oct 2026
Countingup £5/mo (deposits up to £750), £12/mo (to £7,500), £20/mo (unlimited) after a 3-month free trial.	from £5/mo	3 months	sole trader	20 Oct 2026
QuickBooks Online Sole Trader Plus £10/mo, Simple Start £16, Essentials £38, Plus £56, Advanced £123 per month. The page showed 90% off for the first 6 months (or a 30-day free trial instead). VAT treatment was not stated on the page we saw.	from £10/mo	30 days (offered instead of the discount)	sole trader, small firm	20 Oct 2026
Coconut Several plans for sole traders, e.g. MTD filing £12.99/mo (or £129.99/yr); MTD Bridging £49.99/yr. Monthly/yearly toggle makes the table hard to read.	from £12.99/mo	14 days, no card	sole trader	20 Oct 2026
Xero Ignite £18/mo; Grow £39; Comprehensive £55; Ultimate £70 (ex VAT). Page showed 90% off for the first 6 months.	from £18/mo	Offer instead of trial at time of check	sole trader, small firm	20 Oct 2026
FreeAgent Sole trader £19/mo; limited company £33/mo (ex VAT). Page showed 50% off for the first 6 months.	from £19/mo	30 days	sole trader, small firm	20 Oct 2026
Sage Accounting Start £20/mo (1 user); Standard £43/mo (3 users). Ex VAT. Page showed 90% off for 6 months.	from £20/mo	Offer instead of trial at time of check	sole trader, small firm	20 Oct 2026

Head-to-head comparisons

How to choose

From 6 April 2026 sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must keep records with MTD-compatible software (see GOV.UK). Check the app is HMRC-recognised.
If you do CIS work, check CIS is supported.
Look at the price after the introductory offer ends.

Good starting points for sole traders

Pandle: Free plan. Free bookkeeping plan.
Tide: Free plan. Business bank account.
Countingup: from £5/mo. Business current account with built-in bookkeeping.
QuickBooks Online: from £10/mo. CIS calculation and submission.
Coconut: from £12.99/mo. Self Assessment and MTD for Income Tax.

Prices are as shown on each vendor's own pricing page on the date in the table, usually excluding VAT. "Price on vendor's site" means the vendor doesn't publish a price or we couldn't confirm one, so we don't show a figure. Spotted a change? Report it.

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