Tide Accounting Review for UK Businesses

Tide works with UK freelancers, sole traders and registered business owners, to provide business banking services, loans and funding, and extras like Tide accounting software¹ which can save time and streamline bookkeeping. But is Tide accounting any good? This Tide accounting review explores all you need to know.

We’ll look at how Tide accounting works, the Tide accounting integrations available, and how the software works - and also introduce Wise Business, a powerful international business account which works with all your favourite cloud accounting solutions.

💡 Learn more about Wise Business

What is Tide accounting?

New to Tide? Learn more about Tide Business Account here.

Tide accounting software helps UK business owners and entrepreneurs manage their business finances, from a laptop or smartphone. You can integrate Tide accounting with a Tide business account, or with another business bank account of your choice, to access features such as account reconciliation, invoicing, VAT support and more.

Using cloud accounting solutions is popular as a way of cutting out administration, and can also reduce user error. You’ll pay a fee to access Tide accounting software, but this can be far lower than using a bookkeeper, and can pay dividends in terms of time saved. That means you can get back to doing what you do best, instead of spending hours combing through financial paperwork and reports.

Tide accounting review

Tide accounting offers varied features, which you can access depending on your specific needs and the type of business entity you have. All customers can view their accounts from their phone, allowing for easy on the go money management, and you can also get invoicing solutions and an overview of upcoming bills that you need to pay. Some customers can use Tide for VAT returns, or for HMRC tax self assessments - access to these features can depend on the nature of your business.

Overall, Tide accounting is designed for sole traders and directors of UK registered limited companies, and can be used alongside other Tide products like the Tide business account and loans. However, you don’t have to have a Tide business account to use the accounting service - simply integrate your existing business account or business bank account with Tide to manage your money on the move. We’ll look at how to use Tide accounting a little later.

First, here’s a quick overview of the Tide accounting features which different customers can access:

Tide accounting cost

Tide accounting costs 9.99 GBP plus VAT a month. Some new customers may benefit from a free trial period or other promotions, which can cut or waive fees to let you test out the software and see how it suits you.

Tide accounting integrations

Tide accounting does not integrate with other tools, however the Tide business account has integrations available with popular cloud accounting solutions such as Xero, Sage, FreeAgent, and QuickBooks³.

This means that you could use the Tide Business account with Tide accounting, or choose to use a Tide Business account with a different cloud accounting solution if you prefer.

Who can use Tide accounting?

Tide Accounting is aimed at sole traders and directors of UK registered limited companies. You can connect Tide accounting with a Tide business account, or with another business account from a different bank or non-bank provider.

There are a couple of other important eligibility criteria to access some Tide account features:

• To use Tide Accounting for Self Assessment, you must be a Sole Trader who is not using the construction industry scheme.
• To use Tide Accounting for submitting your VAT return, you must be a VAT registered business and not using the VAT Flat Rate Scheme.

How do you use Tide accounting?

You can use Tide accounting with desktop site or the mobile app, to manage accounts and subscriptions and to view all the available reports⁴. This gives flexibility to keep up with your business finances wherever you are.

Here’s a step-by-step overview of how to open an account with Tide accounting and get ready to use the software:

1. Download the Tide app, or open the desktop site
2. Click Get Started
3. Select the option to connect your bank account
4. Enter your personal and business contact information
5. Select the bank or provider you want to connect with
6. Connect your bank account using the secure open banking tool
7. Add a few more details about yourself and your business
8. Once verified and checked, your account is ready to use

Connecting your bank account to Tide accounting through open banking is safe and easy to use. You’ll be directed to your own bank’s login page for online or mobile banking, which acts as an authentication step. Once you’ve logged in, your account will connect with Tide to allow you to view and reconcile your books.

When you sign up for Tide accounting you’ll also be given the option to open a new Tide Business account if you’d prefer rather than connecting an existing account. In this case you’ll need to sign up for Tide using a valid ID, and provide information and documents about your business.

Exactly what’s needed will depend on your business entity type, but there’s plenty of help on the Tide website and app, and you can reach out to customer service for support if you have any specific questions or challenges.

Discover Wise Business and connect with Quickbooks, Xero and more

Save time and money with Wise Business, which offers low cost ways to manage your company finances across currencies, alongside smart accounting integrations to cut down on admin.

Wise Business accounts can hold and exchange 40+ currencies, send payments to 140+ countries and get paid in 8+ currencies like a local, with debit and expense cards you can use in 150+ countries.

Wise currency exchange uses the mid-market exchange rate, with low, transparent fees.

UK freelancers, entrepreneurs and business owners also get Wise extras like integrations with your favourite cloud accounting software, batch payment solutions, multi-user access and a powerful API to streamline workflow. Spend less time on admin, and more growing your business, with Wise.

Get started with Wise Business 🚀

Using accounting software is an easy way to allow UK freelancers, sole traders and business owners to save time. It also ensures you’ve always got a clear overview of your company’s financial health, including profit and loss, balance and cash flow. Tide accounting software offers some great features which you can use either with a Tide business account, or a business bank account from more or less any other UK provider. By connecting your bank to Tide you’ll be able to manage invoices and expenses, and can even get help with VAT and HMRC self assessment.

Use this guide to decide if Tide accounting is right for you - and if you’re looking for a simple way to manage your business finances across currencies, why not also check out Wise Business. With Wise Business you can hold, send, spend, exchange and receive a broad range of foreign currencies, making it easier and cheaper than ever to connect with customers, contractors and suppliers overseas.

Sources used in this article:

Sources last checked 24/05/2024