FreeAgent Launches IPhone App for Financial Record-Keeping
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EDINBURGH, Scotland - FreeAgent has launched a unique record keeping iPhone app designed to help self-employed people and very small businesses in the UK to stay on top of their finances and tax commitments.
FreeAgent, a leading online accounting software [http://www.freeagent.com/tour/accounting] provider, has developed the app - called Earnest - after being tasked by HM Revenue & Customs to create a free resource allowing self-employed workers and very small businesses across the country to keep track of their income and expenses and estimate the amount of tax that they owe.
Under HMRC guidelines, many micro-business owners and self-employed people only have
to file three-line accounts: recording income, expenditure and profit for the year.
However, many of these people still find it difficult to manage their accounts - which
prompted HMRC to request software companies to develop an app that would provide
assistance.
FreeAgent has designed Earnest to be an easy-to-use, intuitive app that provides very
small business owners with simple information and record-keeping functions that they
require. Currently available to download in the iTunes App Store, Earnest enables users to
easily track their income and expenses on their iPhone, and it is the only free app
currently available under the HMRC initiative that also forecasts their tax commitments.
Ed Molyneux, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said: "HMRC challenged the software
industry to create an easy-to-use-app that would help self-employed people and very small
businesses keep track of their finances, and we've designed Earnest to do exactly that.
It's a simple, intuitive app that lets them monitor their cash flow, input expenses and
see how much tax is owed - and we think it's going to be an invaluable tool for small
business record-keeping.
"Our hope is that very small businesses will receive the support they require from
Earnest - and as they grow and start to require more in-depth features for their finances,
their experience with the app will encourage them to 'trade up' to use FreeAgent. We're
essentially trying to create a hassle-free journey that small and early-stage businesses
can follow when it comes to managing their finances and bookkeeping."
The Earnest app enables users to:
- Record income and expenses
- See their bottom line profit or loss
- Get estimates on how much tax they owe
- See upcoming tax deadlines and dates with a "Tax To-do" list
- Capture and store image receipts using their iPhone camera
- Create alerts to remind them of important tax dates and as they near the VAT
Threshold
- Categorise transactions by payment method
- Record cash and non-cash transactions
- Add notes to entries
- Record CIS deductions made on income
- Back up their data by email
More information about Earnest can be found on the website
http://www.earnestapp.com or by visiting the iTunes App Store.
About FreeAgent:
Edinburgh-based independent FreeAgent has pioneered online accounting since the launch
of its service in 2007. It has rapidly grown a loyal community of freelancers and small
businesses, who pay either monthly or annually for access to its software offering many
easy to use features.
In a survey, 99.5% of FreeAgent users said they would recommend the software to
others, and the service won the prize for Best Newcomer at the 2009 SIFT Media Software
Satisfaction Awards. In 2010 it won the SIFT SME Accounting and Finance Software
Satisfaction Award, beating all of its desktop and web-based competitors to take the
title. The company also offers a free accountancy software trial to those who may be
interested in the company's products. More information can be found at
http://www.freeagent.com.
PR Contact:
Ed Molyneux
CEO
FreeAgent
40 Torphichen Street
Edinburgh
Scotland
United Kingdom
EH3 8JB
+44(0)131-447-0011
www.freeagent.com
Source:
FreeAgent
