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[simondolan]

Only if you sign up via NatWest or RBS I believe where you agree to share your account transactions with the bank....

Account transactions are the bank transactions?

[eek]

Account transactions are the bank transactions?

I suspect its every entry against everything - invoices, receipts.... otherwise its information the bank already has.

[Maslins]

Also exactly how much can Freeagent expand? It has a software product that is very tied to the accounting rules of a particular country in a niche where probably over 50% of the possible market now use it.

Re your 50% comment, I think FreeAgent have something like 50k users. In percentage terms depends whether you're just talking about your typical contractor, or also including the huge number of other 1 person micro businesses. Including the latter, I'd guess they were at more like 1-2%, though I accept many of those businesses would be so small as to not consider something like FreeAgent. With MTD coming in (eventually), many more micro businesses will be forced to use something a bit more official than the shoebox of receipts or Excel, possibly that can be something FreeAgent does very well out of.

If it does stay predominantly with contractors, then they're pretty vulnerable IMHO, same way most of the accountancy firms on here are. One particularly nasty change in tax law (ie IR35 v2.0) and much of their/our client base could disappear.

I do think you're right re international though. Having the tax stuff being such an integral part of it and something that makes it stand out from the competition does mean expanding to other countries with different tax rules becomes far harder.

[simondolan]

Interesting. I remember they said they had 30,000 users a few years back. Its not a great growth story for an exit in this particular area

Re your 50% comment, I think FreeAgent have something like 50k users. In percentage terms depends whether you're just talking about your typical contractor, or also including the huge number of other 1 person micro businesses. Including the latter, I'd guess they were at more like 1-2%, though I accept many of those businesses would be so small as to not consider something like FreeAgent. With MTD coming in (eventually), many more micro businesses will be forced to use something a bit more official than the shoebox of receipts or Excel, possibly that can be something FreeAgent does very well out of.

If it does stay predominantly with contractors, then they're pretty vulnerable IMHO, same way most of the accountancy firms on here are. One particularly nasty change in tax law (ie IR35 v2.0) and much of their/our client base could disappear.

I do think you're right re international though. Having the tax stuff being such an integral part of it and something that makes it stand out from the competition does mean expanding to other countries with different tax rules becomes far harder.

[Maslins]

Interesting. I remember they said they had 30,000 users a few years back. Its not a great growth story for an exit in this particular area

I'm probably a little way off. Per their crowdfunding 2 years ago they had "over 40,000" paying subscribers, so may well be more than 50k now, but I can't imagine dramatically so. Certainly when compared to the number of micro businesses there allegedly are, there's lots of scope for expansion. Question is how many of those businesses they can persuade to use them. MTD will likely help push quite a few, though of course there are competitors out there who will win some of the market.

[simondolan]

I'm probably a little way off. Per their crowdfunding 2 years ago they had "over 40,000" paying subscribers, so may well be more than 50k now, but I can't imagine dramatically so. Certainly when compared to the number of micro businesses there allegedly are, there's lots of scope for expansion. Question is how many of those businesses they can persuade to use them. MTD will likely help push quite a few, though of course there are competitors out there who will win some of the market.

I think perhaps the main problem is that in essence its just double entry bookkeeping. No great barrier to entry, lots of products do the same thing,some for free. Now if they could build some sort of AI into it, that would start to be exciting....

[Fred Bloggs]

I think perhaps the main problem is that in essence its just double entry bookkeeping. No great barrier to entry, lots of products do the same thing,some for free. Now if they could build some sort of AI into it, that would start to be exciting....

I'm with Maslins on this. MTD is going to change everything.

[simondolan]

I'm with Maslins on this. MTD is going to change everything.

Not sure about that. Can't think of another sector that has changed radically just because things get filed on line?

[Fred Bloggs]

Not sure about that. Can't think of another sector that has changed radically just because things get filed on line?

Because nowhere else is it compulsory. MTD will be compulsory. It will require monthly, quarterly and annual submissions for various taxes. I am betting that FA will make MTD simple, just like it does everything else. But, then that's my gamble. I'm not really encouraging others to do the same without DYOR etc.....

[Fred Bloggs]

Update -

UK Oil and Gas - UKOG - Problems with the latest well being developed for flow testing prior to production. Share price hammered as you'd expect. A good opportunity to buy.

Angus Energy - ANGS - Much better news. Completed drilling the latest well in the Southern Wield basin and setting up to test flow rates. Angus already have production and permission to put the latest well into production. Share price has crept up but is still i bargain basement territory.

DYOR, plenty of other opinions out there etc....