15th April 2019 – As SMEs come to terms with the need to comply with the Government’s new Making Tax Digital (MTD) initiative, growing fintech firm Countingup, the UK’s number one small business banking and accounting app, has raced past the 10,000 customer accounts milestone less than 12 months after launch.
Countingup’s momentum is being assisted by Making Tax Digital, a disruptive transformation of tax, which is driving SMEs’ need for simpler banking and accounting solutions. Although HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for VAT launched on April 1, 2019, a recent Research Report commissioned by HMRC revealed that 30% of the VAT mandated businesses surveyed didn’t recognise the name “Making Tax Digital”. Yet from April 2019, they will need to be filing VAT returns using a Making Tax Digital solution.
Countingup CEO Tim Fouracre said: “Countingup is launching Making Tax Digital-compliant VAT returns in time for the first filings for the April-June quarter, so our SMEs won’t be affected by this change. With filings for this quarter due by 7 August 2019, any business that takes up the Countingup app before that date will avoid the scare and hassle of having to change their whole approach themselves at the last minute. Joining Countingup is the simplest way for businesses to comply with the new VAT regulations without spending large sums on accounting software.”
The rapid growth Countingup has already achieved heralds the company’s arrival as a disruptor in the marketplace, challenging the established accounting software providers and leading business banks. Countingup has already raised £2.8 million in venture capital and is now working on the next funding round. It is also applying for a grant of £5 million from the Banking Competition Remedies Ltd (BCR) Pool D Capability and Innovation Fund.
Fouracre added: “These plans are made possible by our ongoing growth. Our customers have transacted more than £200 million and have already created more than 2,000 invoices. We’re delighted to have surpassed the 10,000 customer mark in under a year, considering it took Xero over two years to reach the same number, and we are continuing to push forward having now reached 12,000 customers in total.”
The Countingup app is primarily targeted at micro businesses: from freelancers to plumbers to gig economy workers. There are 4.3 million businesses in the UK that are just one person, which is nearly 90% of all SMEs. Countingup is not just accounting software; it’s a business current account too. As well as invoicing and automated bookkeeping, SMEs get a sort code, account number and Mastercard, all from Countingup, in one simple app.
