2021 will be a year that we’ll remember at Coconut for a while. This year saw a big change in our business come to fruition.
The fundamental change we made this year
As you may already know, this year we stopped opening new current accounts and we’ve since doubled down on bank statement feeds through Open Banking. By taking advantage of Open Banking, we’ve been able to build a bookkeeping and tax app for sole traders, that helps them stay organised and on top of their books all year round.
We no longer believe that combining a current account with a tax tool is the best solution for sole traders. Open Banking has completely transformed the financial landscape, and by requiring customers to switch their bank account, it limits their choice and risks not meeting their needs.
Furthermore, most sole traders have business transactions in their personal accounts or credit cards. With Open Banking, Coconut can now help them unmuddle these two worlds; and by ensuring they have real-time information at their fingertips (and those of their accountants), keeping on top of their finances will require much less manual effort from both themselves and the accountants they rely on.
Sole traders have been left behind by cloud accounting
Not only is a bookkeeping and tax app, powered by Open Banking, the best solution for Sole Traders, it’s now the only viable option for MTD ITSA.
But, what about cloud accounting I hear you ask?
Well, the cloud accounting revolution, while revolutionary for companies and accounting firms, left behind the smallest businesses that make up the majority of enterprises in the UK - sole traders. Cloud accounting solutions serve companies well, that there’s no doubt, but they're too complex and feature-rich (thus cost prohibitive in most cases) for the simple needs of a sole trader business. Because of that, sole traders have, until now, been left behind in the world of disparate single use tools, spreadsheets, and very often still, paper and pen.
With MTD ITSA on the horizon, that simply won’t do.
More accountants than you think are preparing for MTD ITSA right now
We’re far from alone in this way of thinking. AccountingWEB Live in early December afforded us the opportunity to speak to some awesome accountants over the two days. Of the many firms and individuals that we got to chat with, all of them are already on the hunt for the tools they can begin to build processes, and even new service lines around, in anticipation of MTD ITSA.
These accountants are dialled into the needs of their sole trader clients - they know that simply multiplying their current annual Self Assessment fee by four will simply not work for sole traders - those with little wiggle room for an increase in costs. So their aim is to increase efficiency through automation, in order to reduce man hours to be able to service these clients more often, for not a lot more money, if any. Some are even viewing MTD ITSA as their opportunity to win new clients, so creating capacity is even more critical to those - it’s all very exciting!
Thank you to our Coconut Accountant Partners for everything
But, with 2021 coming to a close and 2022 slightly ajar, we’d just like to thank each and every one of our Accountant Partners who made this year what it was. Thank you from all of us at Coconut for your support, continuous feedback, and most importantly your partnership as we moved forward with our business. We've had a fabulous time with you and can’t wait until next year.
Now all that’s left is to wish all of our Accountant Partners, customers and friends a relaxing festive season and a smooth January. We look forward to connecting with you all in the New Year (aka February).
Take care out there!
