FreeAgent vs LedgerSMB

FreeAgent is accounting software for business administration, invoicing, expenses, tax reporting and business reports. It builds real-time accounts from bank statements, invoices and expenses, with Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet and Trial Balance reports. Users can create recurring invoices, automate late-payment reminders, turn estimates into invoices and accept payments through Stripe and PayPal. FreeAgent can generate MTD-compatible VAT returns and file them directly to HMRC; payroll calculates PAYE and National Insurance and can submit Real Time Information payroll to HMRC. Its iOS and Android apps cover expense recording, time tracking, invoice management and bank transaction reconciliation. It supports bank feeds from most UK banks via Open Banking and connections to HMRC for MTD VAT. The software is designed for small businesses, accountants and bookkeepers. A free plan is listed, alongside paid plans such as Sole trader at £10 a month and Limited company at £33 a month. Smart Capture includes up to 10 receipts and bills per month as standard; a paid Unlimited add-on removes that cap.

LedgerSMB is free, open-source ERP and accounting software for small and mid-size businesses. It combines double-entry general ledger functions with quotations, sales and purchase orders, invoices, receivables, payables, and cash management. The application also supports inventory, light manufacturing, and fixed-asset depreciation and disposal. Transactions can use multiple currencies, while budgets can be tracked by project or department with variance reports. LedgerSMB produces PDF, HTML, CSV, and Office documents, can email documents from inside the application, and includes 45 languages. A web services API enables programmatic interaction; connecting an online store is not available out of the box and requires custom integration. The web application is intended for installation on the user’s own infrastructure, with Linux installers and production Docker images available. Official release tarballs are GPG signed. Free volunteer support is available through a users mailing list and Matrix, with paid professional support also offered. The project began in 2006 as a fork of SQL-Ledger.