Starling Bank Bookkeeping

HMRC-recognised for MTD Income Tax, built directly into the Starling Bank business app. Covers quarterly updates and the Final Declaration flow for sole traders with simple affairs. No MTD VAT support, the bookkeeping tool is Income Tax only.

Light. You get a categorised view of income and expenses, a tax estimate based on transactions to date, and quarterly summaries ready for HMRC. No formal profit and loss, balance sheet or cash flow reports, this is a tax-prep tool, not a management-accounting tool.

Transaction-led rather than double-entry. Starling categorises money flowing through your Starling business account and uses that as the bookkeeping record. It can't pull in transactions from other banks, so if you have a personal Stripe payout, a PayPal balance, or a second business account elsewhere, those need to land in Starling or be added manually. Fine for solo traders banking entirely through Starling; awkward for anyone with split banking.

Not supported. No stock tracking, SKUs, or cost-of-goods accounting. If you sell physical products at any volume you need a proper accounting tool, Xero, QuickBooks or Zoho Books.

Not supported. No project profitability, time tracking, or per-engagement reporting. Freelancers and consultants who want job-level margins should look at FreshBooks, FreeAgent or Xero Starter.

Strong for the Starling-only case. Each transaction in the Starling business account can be tagged as a business expense, categorised, and have a receipt photo attached from the mobile app, all without leaving banking. No mileage tracking and no multi-bank receipt capture.

Starling-integrated. The bookkeeping data feeds Starling's own lending journey (overdrafts, business loans) so the bank can underwrite on real cashflow rather than asking for separate management accounts. Less useful if you'll apply for credit outside Starling, external lenders generally want exports from a fuller accounting tool.

Excellent starting point if you're a new sole trader, low transaction volume, and willing to open a Starling business account. The account is free, the MTD tool is free, the mobile-only workflow suits people who aren't accountants. Not the right starting point if you already bank elsewhere or expect inventory, payroll or multi-bank complexity within a year.

Not applicable. Starling's MTD bookkeeping tool has no ESG or sustainability reporting features, and UK MTD itself doesn't require sustainability disclosures from sole traders. Larger businesses needing this would be on Sage 50 or a dedicated ESG platform, not bank-integrated bookkeeping.

Best-in-class for the mobile-first, non-accountant user. Bookkeeping happens inside the same app you use to bank, transactions categorise as they appear, and the tax estimate updates in real time. The trade-off is depth, when you need anything beyond simple income and expense tracking, the tool runs out of room quickly.