FreshBooks, the #2 small business accounting software in America with paying customers in 100+ countries, announced that it has partnered with Barclays to bring joint solutions to UK customers in an effort to help small business owners in the UK on a larger scale. The two organizations are working on innovative approaches to invoicing and business management, and will integrate Barclaycard Payments solutions into FreshBooks’ award-winning cloud invoicing and accounting platform.
Nicole Olbe, Managing Director of Partnerships at Barclaycard Payments, said: “Our goal is to develop best-in-class payment solutions to help our clients grow, and integrating with FreshBooks’ award-winning platform offers us a fantastic new avenue to achieve that. We look forward to sharing more information about this exciting partnership in 2021.”
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FreshBooks customers in the UK already have access to a recently-released suite of features to help small business owners independently manage their day-to-day, including:
- Making Tax Digital: To assist UK business owners during tax time, FreshBooks has launched FreshBooksMTD, which provides an easy-to-use tax filing integration compliant with the UK’s government-mandated VAT filing regulations for small businesses. Customers’ VAT returns are automatically populated based on digital invoice and transaction history, and can be filed from within the customer’s FreshBooks account within a few clicks.
- Mileage Tracker: The new mileage tracker feature allows business owners to automatically track their mileage on the FreshBooks iOS app to aid in accurate billing. With one swipe, users can categorize trips as personal or business-related, and can also view an estimate of their potential tax deductions at any time.
- Direct Debit: This option allows business owners to accept invoice payments from their clients via bank transfer, and provides the option to automate the invoice reconciliation process or store direct debit information for clients to collect recurring payments.
“Above all else, FreshBooks prides itself on being software that is built for owners,” said Mike McDerment, CEO and Co-Founder of FreshBooks. “With the release of recent UK-specific features like Direct Debit and FreshBooksMTD, we’re excited to deliver more ways for business owners in the UK to easily manage their day-to-day business needs, all from within FreshBooks.”
According to the UK’s Federation of Self Employed & Small Businesses, the number of small businesses in the UK is growing 3% per year, on average. There were 5.94 million small businesses at the beginning of 2020, which is an increase of 2.4% compared to the previous year. SMEs account for three fifths of the employment, while total employment in SMEs stands at 16.6 million people. According to a report from Simply Business, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 85% of small business owners intend to remain self-employed.
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