!Coconut is a simple bookkeeping and tax app designed for self-employed people, sole traders, and landlords.

 

What other alternatives are there to !Coconut?

!Coconut is a beginner-friendly option, ideal for self-employed individuals and landlords who need the essentials, such as automatic bank feeds, transaction categorisation, invoicing, and receipt storage. The software is deliberately designed to be jargon-free and easy to use.

But, if you’re looking for software that can grow alongside your business, with features like unlimited user access, and the ability to submit VAT returns directly to HMRC – it may be time to consider a more scalable solution.

In this article, we weigh up Pandle and Xero as strong alternatives to !Coconut as your business needs evolve.

 

Comparing !Coconut to Pandle

Pandle is similar to !Coconut in that it’s well suited to sole traders and landlords. Both platforms offer strong income and expense tracking, along with automated bank feeds to help keep your records up to date with minimal effort.

Switching from !Coconut to Pandle would be a smooth transition. Both platforms are user-friendly and avoid complex financial jargon, so you won’t feel like you’ve been thrown in at the deep end.

 

Key features Pandle has in comparison to !Coconut

  • Full bookkeeping & reports: !Coconut doesn’t offer things like detailed balance sheets, in-depth profit and loss statements, or a general ledger report like Pandle does. This type of information gives you the complete financial picture of your business – not just what you’ve earned, but how healthy and sustainable your business is.
  • Direct VAT filing: !Coconut doesn’t allow direct filing of VAT returns, so you’d need to prepare your VAT return on !Coconut, and then use bridging software to send it. With Pandle you can send your VAT returns straight to HMRC.
  • Unlimited collaboration: Pandle includes unlimited multi-user access (which you can control with user permissions), whereas !Coconut is designed for a single-user experience (although this does provide access for your accountant).
  • Multi-currency conversion: Pandle users can handle foreign currency transactions automatically (as well as invoices and bank feeds – all using live exchange rates). !Coconut currently does not support other currencies; all of their invoices are set in GBP for the time being.

 

Plans & pricing comparison

Pandle offers two plans: a completely free plan that includes core accounting features, and Pandle Pro, priced at £5 per month plus VAT. Pandle Pro adds extra functionality such as receipt uploads, a mileage tracker, project reporting, cash flow forecasting, and bank feeds, which are not available in the free version.

!Coconut provides four plans: Essentials, +MTD, +Self Assessment, and Full. The Essentials plan, starting £16.99 per month, covers the basics, while the Full plan at £159.99 per year offers comprehensive support, including filing Self Assessment to HMRC, submitting Making Tax Digital (MTD) quarterly updates, and completing the MTD end-of-year tax return.

See our full review of Pandle

 

Comparing !Coconut to Xero

Now Xero is similar to !Coconut in that it supports sole traders and small businesses, but it’s built to scale – offering you more comprehensive accounting.

Both platforms offer income and expense tracking, along with bank feeds to keep your records up to date, though Xero goes further with full bookkeeping and reporting.

Switching from !Coconut to Xero may feel like a bigger step, as Xero has more features and can seem slightly more complex at first. However, it’s still designed to be approachable for small business owners, ditching the unnecessary financial jargon.

 

Key features Xero has in comparison to !Coconut

  • Advanced features: Xero includes options like payroll, project tracking, inventory management, and cash flow forecasting, which !Coconut does not offer. (In comparison, Pandle includes all of these except for payroll, although you can still create payroll journals to record this in your accounts)
  • Full bookkeeping & reports: Unlike !Coconut, Xero provides detailed balance sheets, in-depth profit and loss statements, a general ledger, and full accounting reports. This gives you a complete financial picture of your business – not just your income and expenses, but also your overall financial health and sustainability.
  • Direct VAT & MTD filing: Xero allows you to file VAT returns directly through the platform without needing any bridging software, while !Coconut requires you to prepare VAT reports and submit them via bridging software.
  • Third-party integrations & extensions: Xero has a large app ecosystem including CRM, inventory, payment processors, time tracking, ecommerce, etc. as well as automations that link with business tools like Stripe, Square, HubSpot, Shopify and more.

 

Plans & pricing comparison

Like !Coconut, Xero offers four plans; Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive, and Ultimate. Prices start at around £15–£16 per month for sole traders, scaling up to £37–65 per month for businesses needing payroll, multi-currency, and full-featured accounting.

See our full review of Xero

Still looking for more options? See all our accounting software reviews.