Free accounting tools for small businesses

Making sure that your cash flow stays healthy is essential if you want your business to succeed and grow. “Cash is the life blood of all businesses, which is why cash-flow management must remain a key priority,” stresses Phillip Dominique, acting Head of Small Business, SME Business Banking, HSBC UK.

“We‘re always looking for ways to help our clients to keep their cash flow healthy and grow their business, which is why we partnered with Ember to create My Business Finances. It provides innovative online tools that give small businesses a much greater understanding of their cash flow, while offering many other fantastic benefits.”

My Business Finances

“My Business Finances simplifies many accounting tasks, which saves business owners time and effort that they can dedicate to tasks that contribute more value,” he adds. Most importantly, users can quickly and effortlessly gain clearer insights into their estimated tax obligations. As Hogan explains: “This enables them to make better-informed day-to-day and long-term decisions based on more reliable and current information.”

Top tip! It’s very easy to start using My Business Finances. Just log in to your account and locate My Business Finances in the left-hand main menu, positioned right above ‘Contact and Support’.

Hogan describes My Business Finances as a “real game-changer” for small businesses that bank with HSBC UK. “It not only enhances their financial understanding, but it also equips them with the tools they need to manage their finances more efficiently,” he says.

Through the My Business Finances online dashboard, users can access reminders for upcoming accounting deadlines, view cash flow reports and track profit and loss. Small limited company owners can also see how much they can withdraw as share dividends. “My Business Finances also takes the hard work out of invoicing. In just a few clicks, you can create and send an invoice to your clients,” Hogan says.

My Business Finances is available via the bank’s Business Internet Banking platform for free to eligible customers and primary users, such as sole traders and limited companies. Limited companies can view their estimated Corporation Tax bill, while sole traders can also get an idea of how much Income Tax they’ll owe, enabling them to better budget for paying their tax bill. To fuel growth, they can also get a better idea of how much they can re-invest or how much investment they need to attract.

Hogan says My Business Finances can also help sole traders to start to prepare for the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment. Despite the many advantages of using accounting software, some sole traders still don’t keep digital records of their income and expenses. Soon, they may have no choice.

Since it was first announced back in 2015, the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment has been delayed four times. However, the first phase of introduction – which will impact sole traders and small private landlords with a gross trading/rental income of more than £50,000 – will go ahead on 6 April 2026.

Then those with a gross trading/rental income of £30,000-£50,000 will be impacted from 6 April 2027. Those with a gross trading/rental income of £20,000-£30,000 will follow, most likely in 2028 (yet to be confirmed)

When introduced, sole traders and landlords must maintain accurate, updated digital financial records of their income and costs, using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment-compliant accounting software that creates quarterly updates, summarising their trade or rental income and expenses and communicating them to HMRC every quarter.

• After a quarterly summary update has been sent to HMRC, sole traders/landlords can view an estimate of how much tax they owe, leaving them better placed to budget for paying their annual tax bill. According to HMRC, this is a key reason why Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment is being introduced.
• After the fourth quarterly update, income and expense figures for the whole tax year will be shown within the software. Adjustments can then be made and once all the figures have been added up, an updated tax bill estimate for the year will be shown.
• Where relevant, sole traders/landlords must also report their other taxable income to HMRC via their Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment-compliant accounting software. They then make a final declaration, confirming that the information they’ve provided is accurate and complete.

“The coming of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment means many sole traders won’t be able to keep paper-based financial records, they’ll have to use accounting software to run their business,” stresses Dan Hogan. “Our Making Tax Digital--ready software and My Business Finances offer the perfect readymade solution. My Business Finances can help you to start digitising your business accounts now and start to prepare for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment.”

Pamela Sigsworth, Director of West Yorkshire-based Manvers Family Support Solutions Ltd, is already a big fan of My Business Finances. “It’s been kind of a lifesaver,” she smiles. “It records all of the information we need, so it’s much easier to run a P&L report, which can help you to understand how your business is doing before your final accounts.” Pamela says it also makes it simpler to look for ways to reduce costs.

“We don't forget about any expenses any more either, which helps us to calculate our Corporation Tax bill” she explains. “And when our tax returns are due, I don’t have to sit there going through piles of receipts and diaries to check when we’ve spent money. I would recommend My Business Finances to anyone.”

Phillip Dominique concludes: “We’re confident that My Business Finances could make a big difference to small-business cash flow in 2025, while enabling some to start to get ready for the introduction of Making Tax Digital.”