Scottish Enterprise Awards 2019

19 | SME NEWS - Scottish Enterprise Awards 2019 As the operations and financial concerns facing small businesses rise, the higher the need for accounting software that takes into account the specific problems that these companies face. FreeAgent is specifically designed for this purpose and used by over 90,000 small business owners and freelancers alike. As the firm celebrates its awards success, we take a closer look at the company to find out more. Based in Edinburgh, FreeAgent is the brainchild of Ed Molyneux, Olly Headey and Roan Lavery. All three had worked as freelance designers or developers and were convinced that there must be a simpler solution to the challenges of business admin. Since beginning operations in 2007, the three-man-band has grown to a team of over 200 employees. United in the work of streamlining admin for small businesses, FreeAgent sets the bar for success in this sector. FreeAgent is a tool which empowers small business owners to manage their accounts more effectively. With the ability to track time against projects, raise invoices and file tax returns, this ingenious software allows businesses to focus on the work they love and not on the paperwork. By understanding their finances better, clients at FreeAgent are able to utilise their accountants for the delivery of more valuable services like tax or business advice. As an evolving piece of software, every decision that is made at FreeAgent is for the benefit of small business owners and their accountants. Rather than a generic one-size-fits-all package, FreeAgent is laser-focused on the ease-of-use for smaller businesses. Functionality is tailored to freelancers, solopreneurs, partnerships and businesses and limited companies with up to 10 employees. Since being acquired by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group in 2018, FreeAgent remains the only UK cloud accounting software owned by a high street bank. This access to expertise from an experienced organisation brings the advantage to clients of being positioned at the forefront of the industry when it comes to issues such as smart data management and Open Banking. It also means that users with Royals Bank of Scotland and NatWest business banking current accounts can access the software free of charge. The way in which businesses interact with financial data is beginning to shift, with accounting software like FreeAgent rapidly becoming a hub for managing a range of different business admin, not just staying on top of the day-to-day numbers. Best SME Accounting Software 2019 FreeAgent has already begun to take advantage of this trend, exploring ways in which professional services like accountancy, insurance and lending can be integrated into the software. Setting up in Scotland has proved to be a great decision for FreeAgent. When most businesses were setting up in London, this start-up went against the grain and established an Edinburgh base. As a major financial centre in Europe, an impressive technology hub and more affordable business premises costs than London, Edinburgh has a great appeal that is reflected in the culture of FreeAgent. Through every stage of development, the attitude of an inclusive, fun and creative startup has been maintained. It’s been essential to the continued success of the company, drawing a great deal of praise from customers as staff provide helpful, clear information in a friendly, approachable manner. A world-class Net Promoter Score of 69 puts FreeAgent well ahead of competitors with the in-house support team offering a highly-rated USP for the business. An incredible 97% of customers rate the support experience as ‘good’ or higher and shows just why customers rave about their love of FreeAgent. The future for FreeAgent is set to follow the same path as its past – one of constant evolution. More new features and functionality are always being added, with increasingly sophisticated insights on the cards in order to give clients faster and more practical analysis of their finances. Harnessing the considerable power of smart data is also in the company’s sights, with innovative partnerships, the integration of data through Open Banking and advancements in AI and machine learning potentially revolutionizing the way people run their businesses. Still managing to maintain their warm and personable approach to managing finances, FreeAgent stand apart from competitors by offering an exceptional service to clients. Laser-focused on making sure that every aspect of the service is appealing and useful to small businesses, it is no surprise that this accountancy software sets the standard in the industry, across the country. Company: FreeAgent Contact: Adrian Mather Web Address: https://www.freeagent.com/ Email: [email protected]