Clear Books vs IRIS KashFlow (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Clear Books if

• Fits if you're a UK sole trader who needs MTD filing and little else
• Works for small UK limited companies that want invoicing, VAT and bank feeds

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you need invoicing or bank feeds on the free plan: it has neither
• Not for you if you're outside the UK, because it's built for UK tax rules
• Watch out: payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills are add-ons
• Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and MTD VAT reporting needs Sole Trader Plus at £15 a month
• Pricey if you need projects, multi-currency or fixed assets: that's the Large plan at £39.60 a month

Pick IRIS KashFlow if

• Fits if you're a UK limited company that wants VAT returns and payroll in one product
• Works for sole traders who sell through Shopify, WooCommerce or Amazon

Look elsewhere if

• Tight if you're on Starter: one user, 10 invoices and 25 bank transactions
• Not for you if you're outside the UK, since VAT goes to HMRC and prices are in pounds
• Watch out: the £1.35 and £2.75 months and the annual prices are new-customer offers
• Pricey if you need more than one user: Business is £27.50 a month plus VAT

Clear Books

• All prices are in pounds and exclude VAT, and the product is built for UK tax rules.
• Property and Foreign Property plans (free or £5 a month) are not shown in the plan list above.
• Payroll, Instant Bank Payments and Auto Bills (on Small, Medium and Large) are optional add-ons.
• Accountants use a separate partner programme, with unlimited MTD from £50 a month.

IRIS KashFlow

• Built for UK businesses: VAT submission goes to HMRC, and prices are in pounds.
• Starter is limited to a single user, 10 invoices and 25 bank transactions to reconcile; Business lifts those limits.
• The page marks the annual prices (£97 and £178 plus VAT) as discounted offers for new customers only.
• The pricing page names a mobile app but not which operating systems it runs on.

Clear Books

Making Tax Digital

Free plans cover MTD Income Tax quarterly updates and year-end filing, and the vendor calls itself HMRC recognised software.

Invoicing and payments

Create and email invoices with pay buttons for Stripe and GoCardless; Instant Bank Payments is an optional add-on.

Bank feeds and reporting

Paid plans bring in bank feeds with automated matching and a full reporting suite including a balance sheet.

VAT and CIS

MTD VAT reporting starts on Sole Trader Plus and Medium, and CIS reporting for construction subcontractors on Medium.

Auto Bills and receipt capture

Forwarded supplier bills are read and posted automatically, and receipts can be snapped in the mobile apps.

Payroll add-on

Optional payroll with RTI submissions to HMRC, charged for the employees you run, with its own 30-day trial.

IRIS KashFlow

Invoicing and quotes

Send quotes and invoices, set up repeat invoices and purchases, schedule customer statements and set credit limits.

VAT returns

VAT is managed in the software and can be submitted online to HMRC; the vendor also has a Making Tax Digital page.

Bank feeds and reconciliation

Bank feeds bring in transactions to reconcile, capped at 25 on Starter and unlimited on Business.

Purchases, expenses and receipts

Manage purchases and expenses, track mileage and capture receipts with a mobile app.

Payments

KashFlow Payments and IRIS Pay let customers pay invoices online.

Payroll and reports

Both plans list payroll for up to 5 employees, over 50 reports, multi-currency and a customizable dashboard.

Clear Books

• Sole Trader Free£0

  Making Tax Digital for Income Tax filing and income and expense records, with no bank feeds or invoicing.

• Sole Trader£5

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  For sole traders not registered for VAT: bank feeds, invoicing, receipt scanning, reporting and unlimited users.

• Sole Trader Plus£15

  per month, plus VAT, billed monthly

  Adds MTD VAT reporting, the flat-rate scheme and the VAT domestic reverse charge for VAT-registered sole traders.

• Small£14.40

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£16 billed monthly)

  Limited companies, partnerships and charities: bank feed matching, invoicing, API, dividends tool; £12.80 billed every 2 years.

• Medium£30.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£34 billed monthly)

  Adds MTD VAT submissions, purchase orders, CIS returns and unlimited budgets; £27.20 billed every 2 years.

• Large£39.60

  per month, plus VAT, billed yearly (£44 billed monthly)

  Adds project accounting, multi-currency, employee expense claims and fixed assets; £35.20 billed every 2 years.

IRIS KashFlow

• Starter£13.50

  per month, billed monthly (£97 a year, new customers)

  Single user; unlimited quotes, 10 invoices and 25 bank transactions to reconcile. New customers pay £1.35 a month for 6 months.

• Business£27.50

  per month, billed monthly (£178 a year, new customers)

  Multi-user; unlimited quotes, invoices and bank transactions. New customers pay £2.75 a month for the first 6 months.

Clear Books

• Other savings

  50% off the first 3 months

  New monthly, yearly or two-year subscriptions are 50% off for 3 months when bought within 30 days of registration.

• Annual discount

  Save 10% yearly, 20% every two years

  Paying yearly saves 10% and paying every 2 years saves 20% on the Small, Medium and Large plans.

IRIS KashFlow

• Other savings

  90% off the first 6 months

  New customers on monthly billing pay £1.35 (Starter) or £2.75 (Business) a month for 6 months, then the regular monthly price.

• Annual discount

  Annual plans for new customers

  New customers can pay £97 a year for Starter or £178 a year for Business, plus VAT, against listed RRPs of £162 and £291.50.