HelloBooks
Low-cost AI-native cloud ledger with auto-categorisation, reconciliation and UK VAT, from a free plan
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About HelloBooks
HelloBooks is AI-native bookkeeping and accounting software for small businesses, accountants and finance teams. It covers categorisation, receipt capture, invoicing, expenses, tax, consolidation, reconciliation and reporting, and users can query their books in plain language while an agent takes actions after approval. The company claims more than 95 per cent automatic matching in reconciliation and 99.5 per cent line-item accuracy for bill OCR.
The product is localised for the US, India, the UK, Australia, Canada, the UAE and Singapore; for the UK it lists VAT, MTD compatibility and pricing in pounds. Integrations named include QuickBooks Online, Xero, FreshBooks, Zoho Books, NetSuite, Odoo, Tally, Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, Plaid and Avalara, and a public MCP server lets other AI agents query it. The company states it is SOC 2 Type II certified. UK prices are a permanent free plan (200 transactions a year, one bank connection, two users), Pro at £14.99 per entity a month and Business at £59.99, with unlimited users on paid plans.
HelloBooks was founded in 2024 by chartered accountants Rushabh Shah and Harnish Shah and is part of Meru Fin Tech, with entities in the US and India. Accountants join a free partner programme and resell plans to clients at discounts of up to 20 per cent, based on the number of active paid clients.
Key Features
- AI auto-categorisation and bank reconciliation
- Bill OCR with approval recommendations
- Conversational queries and an agent that acts after approval
- UK VAT with MTD compatibility listed
- Public MCP server and API on paid plans
Our in-depth review
HelloBooks is a full ledger that tries to do the bookkeeping itself: categorising, reconciling, reading bills and drafting reports, with the user approving what the agent proposes. For a UK practice the questions are whether it is safe to move a small client onto it, and whether the price makes up for the switch.
What it does well. The price is low. A permanent free plan suits very small clients, and Pro at £14.99 per entity a month includes unlimited users, unlimited bank connections, multi-currency and API access. UK VAT and MTD compatibility are listed, and integrations with Xero and QuickBooks Online ease migration or coexistence. The stated SOC 2 Type II certification is more than many tools at this price can show, and the public MCP server is forward-looking. The partner programme gives firms a margin on clients they bring.
Where it falls short. The site says MTD-compatible but does not name HMRC recognition, so a practice should check HMRC's list of compatible software before filing a VAT return through it. The accuracy figures are the company's own. The business is young, founded in 2024, and it covers seven countries at once, so UK depth may be thinner than in UK-first ledgers. The accountant model changed in June 2026 from a flat plan to resale discounts, which shows the commercial terms are still moving. Each legal entity needs its own subscription, and the free plan's 200 transactions a year will not cover an active small business.
Best for. Sole traders and very small businesses looking for a cheap ledger with AI help, and practices willing to resell it to price-sensitive clients. A practice wanting to keep clients on Xero or QuickBooks and add automation should look at Booke AI instead; one serving multi-currency freelancers could compare Fiskl.
Verdict. A capable, inexpensive AI ledger with stated SOC 2 and UK VAT support, but young and still settling its partner terms. Check the HMRC compatibility list, then run one new micro client on it for a full VAT quarter before moving anyone established.
At a glance
- Category
- Bank reconciliation
- Best for
- Solo practice
- Editor's score
- 4 / 5
- Pricing
- Free plan; Pro from £14.99 per entity per month; Business £59.99
- Last verified
- 2026-10-10
An inexpensive AI-native ledger with UK VAT support and stated SOC 2, but young, and its HMRC MTD status needs checking before VAT filing.
Integrations
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- FreshBooks
- Zoho Books
- NetSuite
- Odoo
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Shopify
- Plaid
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