Countingup, a UK startup that combines a B2B banking app with a built-in accounting package, has raised £750,000 in seed funding. While the UK's major banks concentrate on providing data exchange services to connect customers to third party bookeeping services like Xero, Countingup is aiming to remove the heavy lifting by baking in the accounting aspect as part of its SME bank account.

Set for launch ahead of new requirement from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for small business such as sole traders and freelancers to file quarterly returns online, Countingup's banking app will automatically submit VAT returns, generate a profit and loss report and create invoices.Countingup has been established by Tim Fouracre, who founded cloud accounting software company Clear Books plc in 2008. 

The funding round was led by Frontline Ventures in conjunction with a number of angel investors. The Countingup app is currently available to download from GooglePlay or the App Store, and prospective customers will be put on a waiting list until formal launch, says Fouracre. “Countingup is a simple solution that will solve a big MTD headache that is on the horizon," he says. "Accounting and banking have become more integrated in recent years. Think of us as Revolut and Xero in one single product. This will help drive productivity for the 4.2m businesses in the UK who have one employee or less."