Countingup is an electronic money system designed for corporate use. Opening an account with them is easy and takes no time at all. But does it provide all that an e-money account should?
Continue reading for an in-depth explanation of Countingup accounts, or skim the highlights in our “at a glance” summary.

At a Glance — Pros and Cons
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
✔️ When you sign up for a Countingup business account, you'll get a free trial for three months. | ❌ Not an actual bank; there are no checking, savings, credit-boosting, or loan options. |
✔️ Your Countingup business account may be activated the same day you sign up. | ❌ Due to the nature of an e-money account, rather than a traditional bank account, Countingup deposits are not covered by the FSCS. |
✔️ Both Android and iOS users may download the Countingup business app. | ❌ The Countingup mobile app is the sole way to access your company's account, with email-only support service that isn't available around the clock. |
✔️ Costs are manageable on a monthly basis. | ❌ Countingup is not a viable option for accepting check deposits. |
✔️ Includes advanced budgeting tools. | ❌ Fees attached to otherwise simple dealings. |
✔️ Positive feedback on Trustpilot. | ❌ Some critics have argued that alternative internet services are easier to use. |
Countingup Business Review — Overview
What is Countingup business?
The business e-money account (not a bank), which debuted in January 2018 for sole proprietorships and freelancers, is now open to limited liability businesses as well. According to Countingup, it has grown from 8,000 users in its first year to over 35,000 now.
Although Countingup is not a bank, the account is maintained with an FCA-regulated e-money institution.
Countingup is an accounting and e-money app for solo proprietors, limited liability businesses, and their accountants. The majority of the tasks associated with a checking account, such as tracking expenses, tallying up income and spending, and calculating taxes, are now quicker and more automated. The Countingup app makes opening and maintaining an account a breeze.
We'll be taking a close look at Countingup here, discussing its features, advantages and downsides, validity, and how to use it (including creating an account and using the app).
Introducing Countingup business?
Countingup is a web-based financial programme that streamlines bookkeeping for small companies. It's like having a company checking account, accounting program, and tax preparation resources in one convenient spot. As a result, all of your financial needs, including invoicing and spending tracking, may be met with a single programme.
Easy cash flow management, real-time account access, and company performance reporting are just some of the benefits of using Countingup. Countingup operates out of the United Kingdom and has a licence from the Financial Conduct Authority. Note that your account is not FSCS protected.
Countingup provides a convenient and user-friendly electronic money solution. Notably, it includes useful accounting features for streamlining your company's financial operations as part of its standard package.
Sharing access with your accountant and utilising a single app for all of your company's money and accounting needs may save you both time and effort. This account is geared toward single proprietors and small firms, who may benefit from financial insights and rapid alerts. However, you should feel confident using just the mobile app.
What you get:
☑️ Although Countingup does not provide a free account, the membership cost you pay each month might go up or down according to how well your company is doing, as measured by the total amount of money you deposit each month.
☑️ Every Countingup company account has in-house accounting software already installed. Your accounting tasks may now be completed automatically, tax estimations obtained, and information shared with your accountant with little effort.
☑️ Profit and loss may be monitored in real-time with the use of integrated company banking and accounting software.
☑️ Reviews from customers suggest that Countingup's lack of customer support options isn't a dealbreaker, since it has received high marks on Trustpilot, the App Store, and Google Play.
☑️ Loans for small businesses: Small businesses may qualify for loans of up to £5,000.
☑️ In a nutshell: According to Countingup, the average time it takes to create a business checking account is less than two hours.
However, watch out for the following:
❎ Countingup's smartphone app is the sole way to access your account or contact customer care; the website, physical locations, and telephone lines are all off-limits. Similarly, email is the only method of contact for customer service.
❎ The account limit might vary from one corporate structure to another. For those who are self-employed, for instance, daily cash deposits are capped at £200 and Mastercard purchases can't exceed £10,000. If you are a limited liability business, the same rules apply, but with more restrictions. A limited liability firm, for instance, is restricted to a £400,000 balance at any one time.
❎ Each purchase made with your Countingup business account will incur transaction fees.
❎ Your deposits with Countingup are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme since they are an electronic money service. The service, however, is backed by the FCA and safeguards your money by holding it in a separate account from that of its parent firm, Prepay Solutions (PPS).
❎ Checks cannot be deposited at any Post Office or PayPoint facility, although cash deposits may be made at either.
❎ Businesses organised as partnerships, charities, or trusts cannot open a Countingup business account.
Who is Countingup business for?
Entrepreneurs and company owners in today's fast-paced world have a lot on their shoulders.
They have a lot of financial tasks to do, such as managing bills and costs. The introduction of online finance has made it much simpler to keep track of all your finances. Countingup is a mobile money service designed specifically for independent contractors, small company owners, and other self-employed individuals.
Accounting features are included in Countingup's business checking accounts. You may do your regular banking and other money management using the app. Invoices can be made and followed up on, expenses can be managed, payments can be notified instantly, and taxes may be estimated.
Sharing your books with your accountant might simplify the end-of-year tax process for both of you. The monthly charge for this business checking account is tied to the amount of money deposited and the number of transactions made by sole proprietors, independent contractors, and small businesses.
- For £3 a month, get max monthly deposits of £750.
- Monthly deposits of £750–£7,500 cost £9 per month.
- Unlimited monthly deposits come for only £18 a month!
Your membership charge may go up or down each month, based on the sum of your contributions.
How to open an account 📁
You need to meet the following requirements to sign up for a Countingup business account:
- 18 or older.
- Self-employed or a CEO.
- Passport, driving licence or European ID card issued in the United Kingdom; have a valid UK cellphone number; and have access to a valid email account.
Additional criteria apply if your business structure is a limited liability corporation.
In order to:
- Have a current registration with Companies House.
- Be bounded by a share cap.
- Limited to no more than two board members.
- Require that all Key Individuals residing in the United Kingdom.
- Own 100% of the stock yourself.
Creating a Countingup account for your company
The following are the requirements for signing up for a Countingup business account:
- Get the Countingup app.
- Indicate whether you are a solo proprietor or a limited liability corporation and provide some basic information about yourself and your firm.
- Verify your identity by uploading a selfie.
- Hold tight while they verify your account information.
Counting Up Business Review — What features do you get?
What features does Countingup business banking offer you as a business?
We explore their key features in this section…
1. Bookkeeping and accounts
You can do transactions and bookkeeping using the Countingup current account. You can open an account and have your contactless debit MasterCard in the mail in just a few minutes.
Standing orders, Direct Debits, and the sending and receiving of payments may all be handled using the app at any time of day or night. If your card is lost or stolen, you may freeze it and then unfreeze it.
Sending and monitoring invoices, automatic bookkeeping, profit and loss calculations, and spending management are just some of the accounting capabilities available.
Prices for Countingup's business account start at £4.95 per month and go up to £9.95 per month, depending on the volume of transactions processed. Withdrawals from ATMs, deposits of cash (including those made at the Post Office), wire transfers, and currency swaps all have their own fees.
The number of transactions allowed per day and the maximum amount allowed per month vary between sole proprietorships and limited liability firms.
2. Countingup app
There is an official Countingup app for both Apple and Google mobile platforms. The software is designed to be simple and straightforward to use, facilitating the financial management needs of mobile entrepreneurs and independent workers. Bugs are squashed and new features are added to the app on a regular basis.
Countingup is used by many small companies because of its many useful features. Some of its more notable qualities are as follows:
- 📖 Instant transaction alerts and real-time balance viewing.
- 📖 Invoices created and sent straight from the app.
- 📖 Automated tagging and categorization of financial dealings for quick retrieval.
- 📖 Manage your taxes by recording your receipts and calculating an estimate.
- 📖 Countingup supports integration with Xero and QuickBooks, among others.
- 📖 Do your payments, including bill pay, wire transfers, and direct debits.
3. Accessibility of business services
Countingup offers business current accounts to single proprietors, partnerships, and limited liability corporations. single traders including freelancers and contractors. They're also going after CPAs because the app's built-in accounting software streamlines the accountant's workflow and benefits their small company clientele.
Applicants must be UK residents, above the age of 18, and in possession of a smartphone running iOS 10 or Android 5+, as well as an email account. The maximum on their company's current accounts is £50,000 for sole proprietors and £120,000 for corporations.
Countingup Business Review — Buying Guide
With that, let's go on to the next section of our Countingup business review, where we'll talk about cost.
Let’s explore choosing a business account.
Countingup business fees
A higher volume of transactions results in higher monthly fees for your Countingup account. For the first three months, every account is free of charge.
If your monthly sales are less than £750, your account is free. Monthly fees of £9 are open to accounts with monthly sales of £750 to £7,500. After that, with a monthly fee of £18 and a maximum balance of £40,000, limitless accounts are available.
Is Countingup safe?
Your deposits with Countingup will not be protected up to the regular £85,000 limit by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme since they are not a bank.
The Countingup account, on the other hand, is an electronic money account issued by Prepay Technologies, a firm that is licenced and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Your funds are held in a “safeguarding” account with Barclays bank, as required by law for an electronic money institution.
This implies that in the event of bankruptcy, the firm would be prohibited from using customer deposits to pay off debts. There is no upper limit on the amount that may be protected in this manner; but, in the case of bankruptcy, administrators may deduct expenses from the protected sum.
What about customer service?
On Trustpilot, 82% of reviewers give Countingup a perfect “Excellent” rating. Despite widespread praise for our streamlined account management, we have heard some complaints about the length of time it takes to initiate a bank transfer.
There are others who feel that Countingup is not as straightforward as competing online banking options. The vast majority of Smart Money People customers are satisfied with the services they provide.
There is just one public review on Reviews.co, and it's a one-star one that's rather harsh. You won't find Countingup in Which?'s list of best and worst banks.
In September of 2018, Countingup received £2.3 million in startup investment. The software was able to add invoicing and other payment processing functions as a result of this. Countingup, having attracted many new Making Tax Digital users, revealed in April 2019 that it was seeking further finance.
What other features set Countingup business apart from the rest?
With the goal of helping small companies save time and energy on accounting and tax administration, Countingup was founded in 2017. Their business checking account was developed with in-built accounting software and the option to communicate financial information with your accountant.
They serve individual proprietors, independent contractors, and small companies. Accountants are another target audience; both the accountants' clients and the accountants themselves may profit from utilising the company's software.
The Countingup app streamlines your accounting processes by letting you snap photos of receipts, assign auto-categories to your expenditures, send out invoices, track payments, calculate your tax liability, and examine your profit and loss statements.
Around 1,400 customers have given Countingup a 4.7 star rating in the App Store, while more than 650 users have given it a 4.6 star rating on Google Play.
With almost 1,500 reviews, Countingup has earned an “Excellent” rating and 4.5 stars on Trustpilot. Reviews on this site are mostly positive, with the exception of a few comments from consumers who would prefer the option of having several bank cards associated with their account. All in all, Countingup has a fantastic internet reputation.
Some customers have stated that Countingup has abruptly cancelled their accounts and is sluggish to reimburse monies that are promised to them, yet this profile purports to address and explain all of these issues. It would seem that anybody may utilise Countingup with complete peace of mind for their company's financial needs.
Countingup Business Review: The Verdict
For small enterprises and independent contractors, Countingup is a one-stop tool that streamlines money and accounting. It consolidates a number of functions — including real-time balancing, invoicing, classification, and tax management — into a single location.
Despite several drawbacks, such as poor support for multiple users and integration, Countingup remains a dependable and straightforward choice for organisations in the UK. Countingup is an excellent option for those in need of a comprehensive financial management system.

The apparent benefit of integrated accounting in a business account is the time and money it may save small companies by eliminating the need to purchase additional accounting software. The features of Countingup are clever and convenient, and they include everything necessary for running a company checking account as well as keeping financial records.
Both monthly account costs (unless you qualify as a very small company utilising the free plan) and transaction fees are included in the final tally. There are other online money apps that provide business checking and savings accounts with lower rates than Countingup.
Keep in mind, however, that this is still a relatively novel offering given the dearth of accounting and money apps that combine the two.
To get going, go on over to Countingup's website and create an account. Countingup's account may not be right for your company, but there are many alternatives to consider if you've read this review.
More about Countingup business
If you're a lone proprietor or small business looking for a way to save money on accounting services but don't want to outsource, Countingup might be the right and affordable answer you've been looking for.
Challenger banks may be cheaper and simpler for startups with basic company models, but if your books are more complicated and you want to keep track of everything in one place, you should give Countingup significant attention.