ONLINE BOOKKEEPING SOFTWARE

Your bookkeeping, invoices and VAT, MTD-ready in one place.

BrightBooks gives small UK businesses and their accountants one cloud bookkeeping platform for invoicing, VAT and bank reconciliation. It is MTD-ready for VAT and Income Tax, connected to your accountant and your bank, and available as BrightBooks Bureau for practices managing clients’ books.

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Key benefits of BrightBooks

Stop using Word and Excel for invoices

Create, send and track professional invoices, quotes and orders from one dashboard.

VAT that keeps its own records

VAT captured automatically from invoices and purchases, with MTD returns ready to file to HMRC.

Reconciliation in minutes, not hours

Connect the bank and match transactions to invoices and expenses automatically.

Get paid faster with Payments Manager

Add a Pay Now button to every invoice. Customers pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or instant bank transfer, and BrightBooks matches each payment automatically. Reminders chase late payers. No monthly fee, no extra logins. Powered by Unipaas.

One set of records, shared with your accountant

Business and accountant work from the same live data, with no emailed spreadsheets.

HOW IT WORKS

Bookkeeping software designed for small business, built for accountants

BrightBooks keeps your books accurate, your VAT and MTD returns ready to file, and your bank reconciled, so you spend time on the business, not the spreadsheets. It supports every client, whether they work in the cloud, in Excel, or bank-only.

Invoicing and quotes

Create professional invoices and quotes in minutes, with your logo, payment terms and line items, then send to clients and track payment status from one dashboard.

MTD-ready VAT and ITSA

VAT records kept automatically from invoices and purchases, MTD VAT returns prepared for HMRC at each period end, and MTD for Income Tax quarterly submissions for self-employment, UK property and foreign property, across cloud, Excel-bridging and bank-only client workflows.

Bank reconciliation

Connect the bank account and match transactions to invoices and expenses automatically, so the accounts stay up to date without manual statement imports.

Built for practices, too

BrightBooks Bureau lets accountants manage every client’s bookkeeping from one place, including clients who aren’t on full digital bookkeeping software and only share Excel or bank data. It’s designed to complement BrightAccountsProduction, for a more efficient year-end.

BRIGHT AI

AI in BrightBooks

Bright’s approach to AI is to remove the admin, not the accountant.

BrightBooks’ AI document capture for MTD

Clients take a photo of a receipt or invoice on their phone. It extracts the data and splits the VAT, and once the transaction is published it appears in BrightBooks alongside your other entries. It lets practices bring paper-based clients into MTD for Income Tax efficiently, while keeping full visibility.

What customers say

Bookkeeping software used by small businesses and the practices that support them

I have a few favourite features. One is the ‘Quick add’ feature for payments and receipts. I can do all the lodgements on one window & all the payments in one window which stop me going in and out of clients and saves time.

Very user-friendly love how accessible it is. Dashboards are brilliant and I can see all accounts at a glance.

I'm very happy to be a Bright customer and I find it very convenient to have the same provider for my practice's payroll and accounting tools.

BETTER TOGETHER

BrightBooks connects with BrightPay and BrightAccountsProduction

BrightBooks sits at the centre of day-to-day finances: payroll flows in, and the year-end accounting data flows out to your accountant.

BrightPay

Payroll journals flow from BrightPay into BrightBooks, so salary transactions are reflected accurately in the books.

BrightAccountsProduction

BrightAccountsProduction works directly from the BrightBooks data at year-end, with no import step, and any adjustments or journals posted in BrightAccountsProduction flow back into BrightBooks, so there’s no double entry.

Learn About BrightPay

Learn About BrightAccountsProduction

BrightPay
Payroll journal
BrightBooks
BrightAP
Year-end accounts

GO DEEPER

Bookkeeping features

Everything BrightBooks does day to day, from raising an invoice to handing clean data to your accountant at year-end.

For SMEs and Businesses

Start Free Trial

For Accountants and Bookkeepers

Prefer to Talk? Call 0345 241 5030

Invoicing, quotes and customers

Create, send and track: professional invoices, quotes and orders with your branding, sent to clients and tracked to payment from one dashboard.

Get paid faster: convert quotes into invoices and send them with online payment links, then see what’s been paid and what’s still outstanding.

Built-in CRM: track contacts, log interactions and manage your sales pipeline alongside your accounts, with no separate tool.

Mobile app: invoice customers, capture expenses and check your finances on the go, with the BrightBooks app for iOS and Android.

VAT and MTD

Automatic VAT: VAT calculated on every transaction and kept from invoices and purchases, with no separate records.

Multiple VAT schemes: standard, flat rate, cash accounting and other schemes; set your scheme once and BrightBooks calculates and reports it correctly.

MTD VAT returns: MTD-compliant VAT returns prepared and submitted directly to HMRC at each period end.

MTD for Income Tax: quarterly submissions for self-employment, UK property and foreign property, including simplified three-line accounting, across cloud, Excel-bridging and bank-only client workflows.

Bank reconciliation and data capture

Direct bank feeds: connect one or more bank accounts and import transactions automatically every day.

Smart categorisation and matching: transactions categorised automatically and matched to invoices and expenses without manual entry.

Document capture: BrightBooks’ document capture tool captures invoices and receipts and extracts the data automatically to cut manual keying.

Excel and CSV imports: import from Excel, including Bright’s preformatted worksheets, or by CSV file from any other bookkeeping software.

Reporting, stock and more

Clear financial reports: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow and VAT reports, for an instant view of how the business is performing.

Optional stock management: track inventory levels and link stock to invoices, for product-based businesses.

CIS and multi-currency: available on the Enterprise plan for businesses that need them.

Collaboration and year-end

Shared access: accountants and clients work from the same up-to-date data.

Review-ready records: clean, structured records kept year-round, ready for review and submission.

Straight into year-end: BrightAccountsProduction works from the BrightBooks data, so statutory accounts are not started from a blank page.

Real human support: help from teams who understand UK and Irish accounting legislation.

FAQS

Frequently asked questions

What is BrightBooks?

BrightBooks is cloud-based bookkeeping and accounting software for invoicing, VAT returns, MTD submissions and compliant record-keeping, built for UK and Irish practices and the businesses they support.

Is BrightBooks HMRC-compliant?

Yes, BrightBooks is HMRC-compliant. It supports Making Tax Digital for VAT and Income Tax and connects directly to HMRC for submissions.

Is BrightBooks suitable if I’m not an accountant?

Yes, BrightBooks is suitable if you’re not an accountant. It’s designed to be easy to use, with clear workflows and guidance for business owners.

Who should use BrightBooks?

BrightBooks is for UK and Irish accounting practices and small and medium businesses that need accurate, compliant bookkeeping, including clients who are not yet on full digital bookkeeping software.

Is there a version of BrightBooks for accounting practices?

Yes, BrightBooks Bureau is the version for accounting practices. It lets you manage your clients’ books from one place. Book a demo or request a quote, and our team will set you up.

Can accountants and clients work together in BrightBooks?

Yes, accountants and clients can work together in BrightBooks. Shared access lets them work from the same up-to-date data.

Can I still use Excel?

Yes, you can still use Excel. BrightBooks supports importing from Excel if you’re moving to digital bookkeeping.

Does BrightBooks include a mobile app?

Yes, BrightBooks includes a mobile app for iOS and Android, for invoicing, expenses and on-the-go access.

Does BrightBooks connect to other Bright products?

Yes, BrightBooks connects to other Bright products. Payroll journals flow in from BrightPay, and BrightAccountsProduction works directly from BrightBooks data at year-end.

I used Surf Accounts. What happens now?

Surf Accounts’ bookkeeping lives on in BrightBooks. If you used Surf Accounts Production, that work continues in BrightAccountsProduction.

How do I log in to BrightBooks?

To log in to BrightBooks, go to books.brightsg.com and sign in.

How much does BrightBooks cost?

BrightBooks for businesses has three plans (Starter, Standard and Enterprise), paid annually or monthly, with a free trial; see pricing below. For accounting practices, BrightBooks Bureau is priced to your practice, so request a quote.

PRICING

Pricing

Plans for businesses, paid annually or monthly, with a free trial. Accounting practices get a package tailored to their client base.

For businesses: choose Starter, Standard or Enterprise, and start with a free trial.

For accounting practices: BrightBooks Bureau packages are tailored to your practice. Request a quote and our team will set you up.

Starter

25 purchase & sales invoices

£171.63 +VAT

Per year

Invoicing

VAT filing

Banking

Purchases

General Ledger

Dashboard & Reporting

Keep your books without the bookkeeping headache

BrightBooks gives small businesses a complete, MTD-ready bookkeeping and invoicing platform, connected to your accountant and your bank. Practices on BrightBooks Bureau get set-up support included.

Start Free Trial Prefer to Talk? Call 0345 241 5030