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Kev vs QuickBooks: full accounts, or an app for the van?

QuickBooks’s prices and features checked on their website on 4 November 2026

Side by side

Price

Kev

Free plan for good. Pro is £7.99 a month or £79 a year, with 14 days of Pro free and no card needed

QuickBooks

Sole Trader Plus is a monthly plan plus VAT. QuickBooks shows the price live on its pricing page and often runs an introductory discount

Free plan

Kev

Yes, for good, not a trial

QuickBooks

No free plan on their pricing page

Mileage

Kev

Tap start and stop. Kev measures the road route and prices it at HMRC rates (55p a mile, 25p after 10,000), and takes off your commute

QuickBooks

Automatic trip tracking in the mobile app, with categories and reports

Invoices

Kev

5 a month on Free, unlimited on Pro. Pro also emails overdue reminders

QuickBooks

Yes, with card and bank transfer payments through QuickBooks Payments, and reminders

Quotes

Kev

10 a month on Free, unlimited on Pro. Customers accept on their phone, then it becomes an invoice in one tap

QuickBooks

Estimates with mobile signatures that turn into invoices

Receipts

Kev

Log expenses by hand on Free, in HMRC’s categories. Pro reads the photo and fills in supplier, date, VAT and total (up to 300 a month)

QuickBooks

Snap and categorise receipts

Bank feeds

Kev

No. You log what you earn and spend as you go

QuickBooks

Yes

CIS

Kev

CIS subcontractor invoices on the free plan: Kev takes the deduction off labour, not materials, and shows what you’ll be paid. Kev doesn’t file CIS returns

QuickBooks

Calculates and submits CIS

Making Tax Digital

Kev

Making Tax Digital quarterly summary and how much tax to put aside, on Free. Kev doesn’t send anything to HMRC yet

QuickBooks

HMRC-recognised software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Pick QuickBooks if…

  • It connects to your bank and does full bookkeeping.
  • It works out and submits CIS, which matters if you’re a contractor paying subbies.
  • It’s HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital software, so it can send your updates.
  • Customers can pay invoices by card through QuickBooks Payments.

Pick Kev if…

  • A free plan that stays free: mileage, time, expenses, 5 invoices and 10 quotes a month.
  • Built around a tradesperson’s day: quote, time the job, log the drive, invoice it.
  • Jobs show what each one cost and made, without learning accounting terms.
  • Shows how much tax to put aside as you go, in plain English.
  • CIS subcontractor invoices on the free plan: Kev takes the deduction off labour, not materials, and shows what you’ll be paid.

How Kev bills you

  • The free plan stays free. No card needed to sign up.
  • 14 days of Pro on us, then you only pay if you choose to.
  • Pay monthly or yearly, your choice. We’ll email you a week before any yearly renewal.
  • No contract: cancel in Settings in a couple of taps, and your records stay

Not sure yet?

Make a proper invoice on your phone and save it as a PDF. No sign-up.

Try the free invoice maker

Moving from QuickBooks to Kev

  1. Sign up free. You get Kev Pro for 14 days, no card.
  2. Add your clients as you next quote or invoice them.
  3. If your accountant uses QuickBooks, send them Kev’s CSV exports and tax summary.

How to bring your trips and expenses across

Common questions

Is there a cheaper alternative to QuickBooks for sole traders?

If you mainly need mileage, quotes, invoices and receipts, Kev’s free plan covers those, and Pro is £7.99 a month. It isn’t full accounting software: there are no bank feeds and it doesn’t file to HMRC.

Is QuickBooks Self-Employed still available in the UK?

QuickBooks now points UK sole traders to QuickBooks Online or Sole Trader Plus, and has a help page for switching from Self-Employed.

Can Kev file my Making Tax Digital updates?

Not yet. Kev adds up your income and expenses into a quarterly summary you or your accountant can use. If you need software that sends the updates, use an HMRC-recognised product.

Where these facts come from

We read QuickBooks’s own website on 4 November 2026. Prices and plans change, so check their site before you decide.

QuickBooks is a trade mark of its owner. Our Kev isn’t connected with, or endorsed by, QuickBooks. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@ourkev.app and we’ll fix it.

See if Kev suits you, free.

Sign up with just your email, no password or card. You get 14 days of Kev Pro to try, then the free plan unless you choose to pay.

Start free, no card

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