QuickBooks Online is the US giant that bolted on UK features. Ledgers was built UK-first — MTD VAT, CIS, RTI payroll, Companies House — by people who actually file these returns. And unlike QuickBooks, the books keep themselves.
QuickBooks was built in the 1990s for US small businesses and adapted for the UK. It's mature, well-known, and fundamentally a tool for someone to do the bookkeeping in. Ledgers was built in the 2020s for UK founders who don't want to do the bookkeeping at all.
| Capability | QuickBooks Online | Ledgers |
|---|---|---|
| UK-first design | Adapted from US version | Built in the UK for UK SMEs |
| MTD VAT recognition | ✓ | ✓ + AI-prepared return |
| CIS subcontractor scheme | Manual entry, separate workflow | Verify → deduct → CIS300 prepared |
| UK payroll + RTI | QuickBooks Payroll add-on (£4-£8/mo) | Built in; approximate engine |
| Companies House filings | Not tracked | Auto-seeded from incorporation |
| Categorisation | Rules-based + manual | AI ≥90% confidence auto-commits |
| Receipt OCR | Built in (decent) | Built in via Claude vision |
| Bank reconciliation | Line-by-line matching | Auto-match + nightly cert + Confidence Score |
| Invoicing | Mature, customisable | Built in + Stripe links + auto-chasing |
| Reporting depth | Deep, US-style | UK-style: P&L, BS, TB, CF, HMRC pack |
| Mobile app | Mature native | Responsive web |
| Accountant familiarity | Common in UK SMEs | New — designed to hand over to your accountant |
| Multi-entity | Limited | Custom tier |
| AI doing the work | Some categorisation suggestions | Six agents, confidence-routed, you approve the edges |
| Daily Briefing | — | Email + WhatsApp every 06:00 |
| Trust Receipt | — | Monthly signed (SHA-256), public URL |
| Cap table / EMI options | — | — (use Carta/Pulley) |
Export the General Ledger or Trial Balance, drop the CSV in Ledgers, and our Migration Agent rebuilds your books with chart-of-accounts mapping.
See how switching works →