FreeAgent Alternative for Sole Traders: Is There a Better Option?

FreeAgent is one of the better-known accounting tools for UK freelancers and sole traders. It handles bookkeeping, VAT returns, Self Assessment, and invoicing in a single platform. For many small businesses, it is a solid choice. But for tradespeople, the fit is not always obvious — and the cost is significant once the introductory pricing ends.

What FreeAgent costs

FreeAgent is available free if you bank with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, or Ulster Bank. Without that, it costs around £19 per month (sole trader plan), rising after the introductory discount period. That covers accounting and Self Assessment but not receipt scanning or trade-specific features like CIS tracking.

What FreeAgent does well

FreeAgent handles the accounting layer properly. Bank feeds pull in transactions automatically, VAT returns can be submitted directly to HMRC, and the Self Assessment module walks sole traders through their return with clear summaries. If you have an accountant, they can log in and work alongside you. The interface is well designed and the support is UK-based.

For a sole trader with a straightforward business — regular income, a mix of expenses, and a need for clean annual accounts — FreeAgent works well.

Where FreeAgent falls short for tradespeople

Invoicing is functional but not fast. FreeAgent was designed for office-based freelancers, not tradespeople working from a phone on site. Creating an invoice in the mobile app takes more steps than it should. If you want to bill a customer the moment a job is done, from your van in a car park, FreeAgent creates friction.

Receipt capture is basic. There is a mobile capture feature, but it requires manual data entry rather than automatic extraction. Photographing ten receipts from a merchant run still means typing in the amounts.

CIS support is limited. Subcontractors who have CIS deducted from payments need to track those deductions and offset them through Self Assessment. FreeAgent handles this partially but not in the joined-up way a trade-specific tool does.

Quoting is not built in. If you send quotes before jobs, you need a separate tool or a workaround.

FreeAgent alternatives for tradespeople

TradeTally is built specifically for UK sole trader tradespeople. At £12 per month, it combines fast mobile invoicing, quote creation, AI receipt scanning, expense tracking, CIS handling, and SA103F export in one product. It costs less than FreeAgent and does more of the things tradespeople actually need day to day.

The trade-off is depth of accounting. TradeTally is not a full bookkeeping platform. There are no bank feeds, no VAT return submission, and no multi-currency. If you need those, or if you have an accountant who relies on FreeAgent specifically, that matters.

QuickBooks Simple Start sits at a similar price to FreeAgent with stronger invoicing but limited trade-specific features and no SA103F export.

Xero is more capable but costs £37 per month for the growing plan — hard to justify as a sole trader unless your accountant requires it.

Which makes sense?

If your main pain points are invoicing, receipts, and tax export for Self Assessment — without needing full bookkeeping or VAT return submission — TradeTally does the job at a lower cost with a workflow built around how trades actually work.

If you need bank reconciliation, VAT return submission to HMRC, or your accountant is already on FreeAgent, FreeAgent remains a strong choice.

The honest answer is that for most sole trader tradespeople, the right tool is the one you will actually use every week. TradeTally has a 14-day free trial with no card required. Try it on a real week of work alongside whatever you currently use and see which one you reach for first.