The Best Financial Tools for Online Founders in 2026

From accounting software to expense tracking to invoicing. Our recommended tech stack for managing your business finances.

The right tools make financial management dramatically easier. The wrong tools (or no tools) make it a constant headache.

After working with dozens of online businesses, we've developed strong opinions about what works. Here's our recommended stack, with options for different needs and budgets.

Accounting Software

This is the foundation of your financial system. Everything else connects to it.

Xero - Our Top Pick

Price: £15-50/month depending on plan

Best for: Most online businesses, especially those planning to grow

Why we like it:

• Excellent bank feed integration with UK banks
• Huge ecosystem of apps and integrations
• Clean, intuitive interface
• Great for collaboration (with accountants/bookkeepers)
• Scales well as you grow
• Strong multi-currency support

The starter plan (£15/month) limits you to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. Most growing businesses need the Growing plan (£35/month) for unlimited transactions.

QuickBooks - Strong Alternative

Price: £12-35/month

Best for: Businesses already familiar with QuickBooks, or those wanting a slightly simpler interface

QuickBooks is perfectly good. It does everything most small businesses need. Some people find it slightly more intuitive than Xero for basic tasks. The app ecosystem is smaller, but covers the essentials.

FreeAgent - Great for Freelancers

Price: £14.50/month (or free with NatWest/RBS/Mettle/Starling)

Best for: Freelancers and sole traders

FreeAgent is simpler than Xero or QuickBooks, which can be a feature. It has built-in UK tax estimates and Self Assessment filing. If you're a sole trader with straightforward needs, it's excellent.

Banking

Traditional banks are fine, but modern business banks are built for online businesses.

Wise Business - Best for International

Price: Free account, pay-per-use fees

Best for: Anyone receiving or sending money internationally

Wise is essential if you deal with multiple currencies. You get local account details in GBP, EUR, USD, and more. The exchange rates are mid-market (the real rate) with a small transparent fee. Dramatically cheaper than traditional banks for international transfers.

Starling Business - Best Free UK Account

Price: Free

Best for: UK-focused businesses wanting a solid free option

Starling's business account is genuinely free with no catches. The app is excellent, and it integrates well with Xero and other accounting software. Good for your primary UK business account.

Mercury - Best for US Presence

Price: Free

Best for: Businesses with US customers or operations

Mercury gives you a US bank account and has features designed for startups. Great interface, good integrations. If you're receiving a lot of USD, having a US account saves on conversion fees.

Revolut Business

Price: Free plan available, paid plans from £25/month

Best for: Multi-currency needs, expense cards for teams

Revolut offers multi-currency accounts with good rates, virtual cards for subscriptions, and team expense management. The free plan is limited but useful for testing.

Expense Management & Receipt Capture

Stop losing receipts. These tools make expense tracking automatic.

Dext (formerly Receipt Bank) - Most Powerful

Price: From £18/month

Best for: Businesses with lots of expenses to track

Dext is the gold standard for receipt capture. Take a photo, forward an email, or connect it to your email and let it find receipts automatically. It extracts the data and pushes it to your accounting software. Huge time saver.

Expensify - Good All-Rounder

Price: Free plan available, from $5/user/month for paid

Best for: Teams needing expense reports and approval workflows

Expensify has good receipt scanning plus expense report features. If you have a team submitting expenses, the workflow features are helpful.

Built-in Options

Both Xero and QuickBooks have mobile apps that can capture receipts. They're not as powerful as Dext, but they're included in your subscription. Fine for low volume.

Invoicing

If you send invoices, make it easy for clients to pay you.

Accounting Software Built-in

Xero, QuickBooks, and FreeAgent all have invoicing built in. For most businesses, this is sufficient. You create invoices, send them, and track payment status in one place.

Stripe Invoicing

Price: 0.4-0.5% per paid invoice

Best for: Businesses already using Stripe, wanting card payments on invoices

Stripe Invoicing lets you send invoices that clients can pay instantly by card. The fees are on top of normal Stripe processing fees, but the conversion rate (invoices actually getting paid) is typically higher than asking for bank transfers.

Payment Processing

Getting paid online requires payment processors.

Stripe - Best Overall

Price: 1.4% + 20p (UK cards), 2.9% + 20p (international)

Best for: Most online businesses

Stripe is the default choice for good reason. Reliable, developer-friendly, integrates with everything. The dashboard is excellent for understanding your revenue.

PayPal

Price: 2.9% + 30p standard

Best for: Buyer trust, especially for new businesses

PayPal is more expensive than Stripe, but some customers strongly prefer it. Offering PayPal as an option can improve conversion rates. Just watch the fees.

Shopify Payments

Price: 1.5-2% + 25p depending on Shopify plan

Best for: Shopify stores (obviously)

If you're on Shopify, using Shopify Payments simplifies things. It's powered by Stripe under the hood. The main benefit is tighter integration with your store data.

Payroll

If you pay yourself a salary or have employees, you need payroll.

Xero Payroll (UK)

Price: Included with Xero subscription

Best for: Xero users with simple payroll needs

Xero has built-in UK payroll that handles RTI submissions, pension auto-enrolment, and payslips. It's basic but covers most small business needs.

Gusto

Price: From $40/month + $6/person

Best for: US payroll

If you have US employees or contractors, Gusto is the standard choice. Handles all the US payroll complexity automatically.

Financial Dashboard / Reporting

Sometimes you need better visibility than your accounting software provides.

Fathom

Price: From $50/month

Best for: Businesses wanting deeper financial analysis

Fathom connects to Xero or QuickBooks and provides beautiful dashboards, KPI tracking, and forecasting. If you want to really understand your numbers, it's worth the investment.

Syft Analytics

Price: Free plan available

Best for: Getting better reports without much cost

Syft offers reporting and insights on top of your accounting data. The free tier is surprisingly useful.

The Recommended Stack

Budget Stack (< £50/month)

• Banking: Starling (free) + Wise (free)
• Accounting: FreeAgent (free with Starling) or Xero Starter (£15)
• Receipts: Phone camera + accounting software app
• Payments: Stripe

Growing Business Stack (£100-150/month)

• Banking: Starling + Wise + Mercury (if US income)
• Accounting: Xero Growing (£35)
• Receipts: Dext (£18)
• Payments: Stripe + PayPal
• Reporting: Syft (free tier)

Scaling Business Stack (£200+/month)

• Banking: Multiple accounts as needed
• Accounting: Xero Established (£50)
• Receipts: Dext
• Payments: Stripe + alternatives
• Reporting: Fathom ($50)
• Consider: Dedicated bookkeeper/finance support

Connecting Everything Together

The real magic happens when your tools talk to each other. Here's how to connect them:

Essential Connections

1. Bank accounts → Accounting software (automatic bank feeds)
2. Payment processors → Accounting software (Stripe, PayPal integrations)
3. Receipt scanner → Accounting software (Dext → Xero, etc.)

Nice to Have

• E-commerce platform → Accounting software (Shopify, WooCommerce integrations)
• Accounting software → Reporting tool (Xero → Fathom)
• Time tracking → Invoicing (if you bill hourly)

Getting Help With Setup

If connecting all these tools sounds overwhelming, consider getting help with the initial setup. A few hours of professional setup time can save you many hours of frustration and ensure everything is configured correctly from the start.

Final Thoughts

The best financial stack is one you'll actually use. Don't over-complicate things at the start. Begin with the essentials, add tools as you need them, and make sure everything talks to everything else.

And remember: tools are just tools. They make good financial habits easier, but they don't replace the habits themselves. Set up your stack, then build the routines to actually use it.