Source: Coconut
Coconut, an app-based smart current account combining banking and accounting services, designed specifically for the UK’s ever-growing freelance and self-employed workforce has reached a significant milestone in opening 1,000 business current accounts since its launch on 31st January.
On top of this, an additional 10,500 freelancers, self-employed people and limited companies have signed up to the waiting list.
The overwhelming response Coconut has received in such a short space of time highlights the need for a product that helps people who work for themselves. There is a distinct lack of digital solutions available that are specifically tailored to the needs of the ever-growing freelance and self-employed community.
The Coconut Start account is free and can be opened in minutes on a mobile, instead of waiting for weeks which is the current norm. Coconut gives you visibility into how much tax you owe with a real-time estimate, categorises your expenses for tax and allows you to stay on top of client payments with instant notifications. It also solves a major headache by filling out your tax return as you go, saving a lot of time and stress when it’s due.
The company is planning to make use of new APIs developed by HMRC to automate tax and VAT returns. The aim is to make tax and VAT returns seamless end to end for the customer or their accountant, saving a huge amount of time and money.
By being amongst the first 1,000 customers to get a Coconut account, their 2018/19 tax return will now be filled out as they go, saving them a huge amount of time and pain when it comes to the tax return deadline.
Sam O’Connor, Co-Founder and CEO of Coconut said:
“We’re seeing a massive shift in how people work - since 2000, 90% of new businesses have no employees, highlighting this trend towards entrepreneurship and self-employment. Our vision at Coconut is to build the platform that underpins this movement, giving personal business owners the tools they need to thrive.
“We've been totally amazed by the response so far to our first product. Since launching, we’ve opened more than 1,000 sole trader current accounts and the number of sign ups has grown to 10,500.
“We're really grateful for the support we've received from the freelance and self-employed community. We are pushing on to get the Android app launched and have a lot of exciting features in the pipeline.”