Crunch launches new £5.5million software platform following four-year development programme

Crunch, the UK’s first online accountancy provider, this month launches its new mobile-optimised digital platform to its 11,000 customers from all sectors and regions of the UK. The launch follows a four-year, £5.5million development programme to create a new secure, fast and reliable software service with a major focus on a simple, intuitive user experience.

The software and services firm that has been uniquely providing certified chartered accountants on-demand alongside accounting software for more than a decade, is launching the new platform, named ‘Ada’, in honour of the English mathematician and computing visionary Ada Lovelace. It will be available to Crunch customers in a range of new packages. The packages, to be phased in over the coming months, cover four different levels.

Launching today is Crunch Two, which is tailored specifically for the one person smaller limited companies, or personal service companies where the company owner works as a freelancer or contractor – this covers the majority (90%) of current Crunch clients. Also launching today is Crunch Three, a package including bookkeeper support designed for limited companies with up to four directors and ten employees. Both packages provide unlimited use of the new Crunch software and access to its team of expert accountants and client managers.

The ‘Ada’ platform currently provides 43 new, improved and unique features across Crunch’s range of packages, including Open Banking, which connects directly to many UK banks to enable easy bank transaction import and reconciliation. It also facilitates the automatic raising of dividends by calculating the maximum amount customers can take out and creating the official documentation at the click of a button – far simpler than the process in any other accounting software.

Crunch’s software also automatically creates the company Year End and CT600 return, as well as P11Ds for directors. Once a Crunch accountant checks all information is correct and tax-efficient and the client has approved them, the software files them automatically with Companies House and HMRC at no additional cost.

The new Crunch software also saves business owners’ time by allowing them to create recurring invoices and expenses and to record expenses on the go by simply taking a photograph of the receipt. Crucially, the software also enables MTD (Making Tax Digital) compatible VAT returns.

CEO and founder Darren Fell said: “Our new software offers a ridiculously easy way for contractors, freelancers and small business owners to easily manage their business finances. We’ve produced a new slick, efficient and intuitive platform with all of the crucial functions our customers need to run and grow their business. This new software platform is backed up by our unique software and service offering, meaning customers get unlimited access to our team of expert accountants and client managers, so they can focus their efforts on the business they love, not on the numbers.”

Today’s launch will be followed next year with a new software only product, and Crunch One, a renewed package for sole traders and the self-employed.

“As well as benefiting current customers, our new software also puts us in a position to be able to launch new packages early next year, introduce new features and open up Crunch’s services to a wider range of clients,” added Darren Fell.