Countingup is the first UK  challenger bank to focus on the 4.5 million sole traders, freelancers and  contractors; and the first to promise plug and play accounting built in. Sole  traders looking to simplify self-assessment can join the wait-list as more  accounts and Mastercards are made available. 

Tim Fouracre, the founder and CEO of Countingup, commented, “Countingup  is the fastest Challenger bank to launch in the UK. Inception to launch of our  business current account has taken just over four months and that’s down to  a fantastic team who are determined to make running your business as simple  and as automated as possible”. 
With the 31 January self assessment tax deadline looming, many sole traders  and their accountants will be frantically trying to get their tax return  submitted. In 2017 some 5m tax returns were filed at the last minute. Add to  this the Government’s Making Tax Digital plans to increase the number of tax  filings to 5 per year from April 2020 and the size of the burden on business owners becomes apparent. Countingup will change all this with automated  bookkeeping and tax returns. 

The launch of the Countingup banking app allows a sole trader to open a  current account on their smartphone in just 5 minutes. The account comes  complete with a UK sort code & account number and a contactless  Mastercard. Tim Fouracre commented, “Sole traders have been neglected by  the mainstream banks who focus on larger businesses. Often sole traders are  forced to use personal accounts because the process of setting up a business  account is arduous, slow and expensive. This creates a huge headache when  trying to make sense of your business finances.”  

In addition to the banking hurdles faced by small businesses, the vast majority  don’t use accounting software. This means that often their only engagement  with their business finances is at the end of the tax year. They and their  accountants miss opportunities to improve the profitability of their business.  Fouracre recognises this and adds, “We’re launching today with banking. The  accounting functionality will be rolled out throughout 2018. We’re already  providing a profit and loss report and automatically categorising transactions  from the beginning”. 

Today you can join the wait-list by downloading the Countingup app from  Google Play or the App Store. The business current account is free to get  started with and accounts will be made available to sole traders under a  controlled roll out.