FreeAgents online accounting system chosen as key component of Barclays Banks start up package
Online accounting pioneers FreeAgent are delighted to announce that they have been chosen to provide the critical bookkeeping component of MyBusinessWorks, Barclays Bank’s new business support package. MyBusinessWorks is provided by Business Centric Services Group (‘BCSG’) and has been designed to give people the essential business tools needed to start and run a new business.
FreeAgent’s online accounting system helps to give users a clear picture of their financial position, and put them in control of their finances. Hosted ‘in the cloud’, FreeAgent is accessible around the clock from any internet connection, which is ideal for the way many small business owners and freelancers work. Much more intuitive and accessible than conventional accounting software, FreeAgent users can send invoices, track time and expenses as well as monitor the financial health of their business and manage projects and payments. Uniquely it also automatically prepares and files VAT returns, projects self-assessed income tax and corporation tax obligations and helps
manage payroll.
FreeAgent is run by founders Ed Molyneux, Olly Headey and Roan Lavery who set out in 2007 with the proclaimed aim of ‘Democratising Accounting’. They had all been working for themselves and saw the need for an online accounting system especially designed to meet the needs of freelancers and small businesses.
Since then FreeAgent has pioneered the concept of online accounting, rapidly growing a loyal and enthusiastic community of thousands of freelancers and small business users.
The company is included in the Guardian’s TechMedia Invest 100 list published in 2010, has won two Software Satisfaction Awards* and was recently selected by PCPro to join their A-List of best-in-class products.
Businessman and serial angel investor Robin Klein of The Accelerator Group was quick to recognise the potential of FreeAgent when he invested in the company in 2009. He said: “FreeAgent is an innovative and dynamic company run by passionate people who really understand the problem they’re working to solve and have a very compelling vision of a solution. I had no hesitation in giving Ed and his team my backing and support. This new partnership with Barclays and BCSG is a great affirmation that they’re on the right track.”
Founder and CEO of FreeAgent Ed Molyneux added: “There are over 270,000 businesses getting up and running every year in the UK alone and they need expert help. Our users already tell us that we take the hassle, fear and pain out of the accounting process, as well as saving huge amounts of time. We believe that by helping startups get on top of their finances from the very outset, FreeAgent can reduce the risk of failure and help them to be more successful going forward.
“We are delighted that Barclays has incorporated FreeAgent’s accounting system into MyBusinessWorks to give its start-up customers the best start possible. Just four years on from being in a start-up position ourselves we now have a proven business model, the right product, team and experience to further our ambitions, and the credibility that comes with the backing of the likes of Robin Klein and Barclays.”
