Clear Books Accounting Software Reviews 

As with many users, I was looking for a free, simple way to carry out the new MTD process with HMRC. I am both a sole trader and have rental income from property, which simply requires setting up two tabs in the same account. I haven't linked invoicing or banking, keeping it very simple for now, but it seems - so far - easy to link with HMRC and input invoices and expenses.

This is a partial review of using ClearBooks for MTD ITSA, having started using it this April a couple of weeks ago. So far it's all I wanted, just a free software that I can manually enter transactions without having to link bank accounts etc. Setup was easy, and so far I haven't needed to look at any guides or support as it's quite straightforward. So in that sense I am as happy as I can be about MTD.

I will update this review in future either after filing the quarterly's and final return to add how that goes, or if anything changes with the product for the worse. If you're reading ClearBooks, thank you so much for providing a free option, it's really appreciated for everyone that is struggling right now and I hope you keep things how they are.

Edit 5 May:

I accidentally put the wrong date on one of my manually recorded expenses, at first I couldn't see a way to edit or delete it to add it again, but you have to go into the transaction and then click void to delete it and then re-add it again correctly. However, for some reason I cannot post to the forum as it's all greyed out and disabled! (trying to enable the fields just made it say "You do not have the required permissions to perform that action. Please contact your account administrator." on submission. CB, I thought free users could still use the free forum support, is that no longer the case?

Set up MTD for Self Assessment and also set up MTD for VAT. Spent hours setting up the systems and linking bank accounts etc. I now find out that they do not support customers with income from property. Part of my income is from property so they tell me I cannot use their system after all. There is nothing on the Clearbooks site that makes it clear before you sign up that you cannot use their software. How many other people have set up MTD who earn from property and find themselves in the same situation? Helpdesk is patronising and unhelpful.

The software is impressive but it's the quality of support available that has surprised me... A pleasant surprise!

I signed up for an account with clearbooks as part of getting ready for MTD. Inspite of sending me lots of marketing info they want me to verify my email in order to log in which is fine but even though I have clickec send verification email several times nothing arrives in my inbox or my spam folder. I also added as advised in their website the non reply email address to my contacts but still no progress I emailed their customer support several days ago but have had no response. I also responded to one if the many marketing emails but no response there either. So it seems they are more about marketing than wanting accounts clients. No point in me spending money on them.No help from them at all. Joy Venturi

I have been using clear books for just over 12 months. I have a Ltd company package and the landlord package. They are very easy to contact, they respond quickly to questions. The product is so easy to use, and its ability to capture and AI analyse receipts at the time of purchase has saved me a fortune in lost expenses which should have been claimed. I was reluctant to start using a new package but MTD forced my hand. Its been well worth it, as its actually saving me money now, which I didnt expect to see. I have my CB accounts linked to my bank accounts so reconciliation is very easy and has reduced my annual accountant costs significantly.
They are developing the product and are open to new ideas and identifying problems for customers which they may be able to solve within their next release. All in all they are very good.

I am looking at different software companies as I am being pulled into MTD for ITSA. They were very quick at responding to my questions and very helpful. One of the few that actually do have free software that is compliant on the HMRC list and not just actually offering a free trial! There should be more like this for people who have multiple income streams and have so far been able to simply file once a year for free.

We are using Clear Books for a few years now and we are very satisfied with the level of customer services. Highly recommended!

This is how customer service should be done - Bravo!

I find the support team brilliant, they are very quick to respond & really helpful.

You have to provide a bank or credit card to access the trial.

You CANNOT just cancel - there is no option to do so.

To clarify, whilst the response from Clearbooks is accurate, I never want to have to give over a credit card to get to even see the software which is the case here.
Too many companies take advantage and make it difficult to cancel - this is a behaviour exhibited here.
If I get into a trial by giving over a card, I will cancel the subscription immediately so there is no potential for companies to just charge me - as happens too many times.

In this instance, there is no cancel subscription option - it is necessary to close the company to cancel the trial and I'm not leaving my card on file with you without even ascertaining if the software is any good, with these cancellation behaviours in place.

The Making Tax Digital landscape is getting over-crowded thanks to HMRC - with a lot of dross system out there, so do I sign up for 10 trials with credit cards every time - errr, no. Move on - next.

Make it simple to cancel the card immediately and allow the trial to continue without automatic renewal.

And now I am getting emails suggesting I organise a one 2 one session - after I have cancelled!
Will stick with Xero - easier and around the same price.

Just been beautifully sorted out by Mr Martin Ludd.

Making the change to MTD and it's all very confusing. Have been in touch with a few companies over the past couple of months and Clear Books is the only one that's responded to every enquiry pretty much straight away and always in a helpful manner. I feel pretty confident using the software now, and the fact that it's easy to get help should you get stuck is very valuable. Many thanks to Senior Support Agent Tommy Chung.

I signed up to the free version of Clearbooks as I was looking for a new accoutning sofwtare to use. I thought I try the free version before I subscribe to test out the UX/usability etc. I couldn't have been more disappointed. While I appreciate the free version can't have all the paid function - being able to mark an invoice as PAID should be a straightforward affair. Unfortuately that hasn't been the case. I even reached out the support service and they gave me a number of steps to follow, which i did, but the invoice still comes up as upaid. Their customer service didn't provide any further help other than "oh tell us which step you're stuggling with" even though I specifically state the issue wasn't a specific step, but the overall outcome. Beyond disappointed.

Rest assured, I won't be changing to a paid subscription. I wouldn't recommend this software to anyone I know.

Overall the software works well and there are many useful features. However, it is often not very intuitive to use. When you message customer support, you generally get helpful and prompt responses, but when you ring them, the guy who answers (it seems to be the same person) sounds totally disinterested and seems to enjoy patronising you. If you ask for futher clarification after an unclear explanation, he repeats the same thing back to you with an irritated, exasperated tone. I've never come across support that seems to enjoy humiliating you, rather than trying to help you. I'm reasonably IT savy, but always come away feeling stupid, which I think is his aim.

OK, defo improved since my first (hasty) review - human contact - still finding it hard to set up, but will keep trying.

Looking for free software for making tax digital. I had a few questions to ensure it’s the right software for me and they responded within an hour both to the first and follow up set of questions. The answers were very full and answered my questions directly, not just a dump from a user manual. I will definitely be using this software as good support is invaluable.

I have been using ClearBooks for several years now. I originally started my small practice with another commercial accounting software, but once I discovered ClearBooks, I knew I didn’t need to look any further. The software is extremely intuitive, easy to use, and offers all the essential features you could need. For what it provides, the price is truly excellent.

What I value most about ClearBooks, however, is the support team — they are simply outstanding. You can reach out to them with absolutely any question, even the smallest one, and their responses are always incredibly fast. I have never had an issue that they were unable to resolve successfully.

I’m genuinely surprised that relatively few people know about this software and everything it has to offer. I always recommend it to my clients because it is remarkably straightforward to use and suitable for almost any type of business.

My heartfelt thanks go to the entire ClearBooks team. You’re doing an amazing job! Over the years, I’ve seen how the software continues to evolve and adapt to new requirements in the accounting environment. You are truly reliable. Thank you for making my work easier and for providing such exceptional support.

I had 'free' option only after investigating never ever using it found out if I did not cancel after the 'free' period I would be charged so if opting for the free and then do nothing having found a more suitable option as I have be sure to go through cancellation. Not using should automatically lead to cost free cancellation.
Thanks for clarification

Thank you, you are awesome! Things I love:

- The dashboard is pleasing on the eye, very easy to understand and navigate.
- The ability to link bank accounts and reconcile / assign items is super-helpful.
- Customer Support is great - quick, responsive and actually reads my questions and provides real (and useful!) responses.

Please keep up the great work!

Poor investor experience. No replies to emails and consistently late/absent dividend payments.