PCG members will be able to subscribe to FreeAgent, which was voted Best SME Accounting Software in 2010, at a reduced rate.

FreeAgent helps people get a clear picture of their financial position, and users say they feel it puts them back in control of their finances. Hosted ‘in the cloud’, FreeAgent is accessible around the clock from any internet connection, which is ideal for the way many freelancers and small business owners work. Much more intuitive and accessible than conventional accounting software, users can send invoices, track time and expenses as well as monitor the financial health of their business and manage projects and payments. Uniquely it also automatically prepares and files VAT returns, projects self-assessed income tax and corporation tax obligations and helps manage payroll.

Ed Molyneux, founder and CEO of FreeAgent, says: “When we created FreeAgent we were all freelancers or contractors. We built it specifically to meet the needs you have when you are working for yourself or running a small business and want to manage your finances. So we are delighted that by working with PCG we will enable more people in that position to use our service.”

Working trends over a number of years as well as some more recent and stark economic factors have seen many more people becoming self-employed. While total employment rose by 0.8% between 2009 and 2010, the number of self-employed people increased by 2.4% to 3.98 million (Office for National Statistics, GDP and the Labour Market, 2010).

The move to freelance working can be daunting and challenging but both FreeAgent and PCG are dedicated to helping these individuals to face the legislative and practical challenges of starting and growing their own businesses.

Iain McIlwee, Head of Commercial Development at PCG, says: “Britain’s growing freelance workforce plays an essential role in our economy. FreeAgent has a good track record of helping freelancers so I am delighted that we have secured a great discount for our members and will be working more closely with the team there.”

PCG was formed in May 1999, specifically to provide independent contractors and consultants with a representative voice in opposition to the original IR35 proposals.

Since then, it has grown to become the main voice and professional body representing these businesses and individuals, and now has in excess of 20,000 members who can benefit from a huge range of advice and information it makes available, as well as an open and friendly community of other freelancers.

All FreeAgent accounts start with a 30-day free trial, and are charged on a monthly, pay-as-you-go basis starting from £15 per month. There’s no commitment to sign up, and you can cancel at any time. To sign-up for a month’s free trial and find out more about what FreeAgent can do visit www.freeagentcentral.com.

For more information, contact Lucy Smith.

More than 2.8 million UK businesses operate from home, and they’re a force to be reckoned with generating over £284 billion.  ‘Being close to the family’ is a key motivation for home business owners, with 33% citing this as a reason for starting an enterprise from home. (Source: Enterprise Nation, Home Business Report 2009).

To benefit from FreeAgent’s promotion enter the special code “HOME” when signing up for a free trial on the site. The offer is valid until 30 April 2011.

Ed Molyneux, founder and CEO of FreeAgent says:  “The start of the new tax year is almost upon us so now is the perfect time to get on top of your accounts. Many freelancers and small business owners don’t look at their accounts because they’re worried about what they might find or it can seem complex and difficult.  But hiding from your accounts is never a solution so instead, we want to give businesses an easy, clear and up to the minute picture of their finances to help them stop worrying.”

The FreeAgent software has a clean and simple design that is easy to use. As well as making accounting easy for business owners to understand, FreeAgent offers unique real-time projections of tax liabilities including VAT, Self Assessment Income Tax and Corporation Tax. Users can also analyse bank statements, see live profit and loss reports, send and track invoices, track time and expenses, and manage projects and payments.

FreeAgent has pioneered online accounting since the launch of its service in 2007, rapidly growing a loyal community of thousands of freelancers and small business users.

As well as making accounting easy for business owners to understand, FreeAgent offers real-time projections of tax liabilities including VAT, Self Assessment Income Tax and Corporation Tax. Users can also analyse bank statements, see live profit and loss reports, send and track invoices, track time and expenses, and manage projects.

The company is run by founders Ed Molyneux, Olly Headey and Roan Lavery who – originally freelancers themselves – needed a finance tool that would give them a clear picture of their business accounts and so FreeAgent was born.

When surveyed, a remarkable 99.5% of users said they would recommend FreeAgent to their friends, and it was voted Best SME Accounting Software in the 2010 Software Satisfaction Awards. FreeAgent is listed on the Telegraph High Growth Index for privately-held UK firms.

Hosted in the cloud, FreeAgent is accessible around the clock, from any internet connection, which is ideal for the way many small business owners and freelancers work.

FreeAgent is subscription based with costs starting at £15 per month for a sole trader, £20 for a partnership and £25 for a limited company.

Try it for free at www.freeagentcentral.com

Or follow @freeagent

Many out-of-pocket expenses are often lost in the fog of running a small business: receipts get mislaid or forgotten, or build up into a pile, and the opportunities for reclaiming the money and appropriately charging clients are missed. This can make a real difference to the business owner’s take-home pay and the business’s profitability.

The partnership between FreeAgent and Receipt Bank aims to make this a thing of the past by freeing users from the paperwork and drudgery of having to manually keep track of these bits of paper, and helping the UK’s freelancers and other small business owners quickly and easily reclaim every penny they are owed.

Ed Molyneux, CEO of FreeAgent, says: ‘From today users will be able to send their receipts to Receipt Bank and the data will flow automatically into FreeAgent – so no laborious data entry or effort is required. Once in FreeAgent the expenses can be reclaimed from the client and from your business, and offset against tax bills.’

Michael Wood, Director of Receipt Bank, says: ‘Users can send us their receipts by email, by iPhone, or by old-fashioned mail using the freepost envelopes we provide. We will then scan and process their expenses data. Today’s announcement enables FreeAgent users to automatically see this information in their accounts without any need for manual inputting!’

In these tough times we all want to make sure we’re as financially astute as possible and through this partnership FreeAgent and Receipt Bank will provide freelancers and small business owners with another way of keeping on top of their finances.

For more information, email Lucy Smith.

This year’s SME Accounting Category was billed by Accounting Web as a fight between the ‘leading lights of the accounting software as a service industry’ with FreeAgent being a key player in the small business and freelance market.

Ed Molyneux, FreeAgent Central CEO comments: “This is an amazing result for us and we are delighted to be recognised by our customers and SIFT for a second year. Our aim is to democratise accounting, and this just shows that our customers and our peers in the industry are behind us all the way!”

The Software Satisfaction Awards shortlist was drawn up by customers voting for their favourite company. Voters were asked to consider ease of use; functionality; reliability; and value for money when rating the business software.

An influential panel of judges drawn from the accounting industry then assessed the shortlist, scoring entrants on levels of customer service and satisfaction, both over the past 12 months and the future.

This year’s winners were decided by a combination of user voted (50%) and judged (50%) elements.

FreeAgent online software is easy to use and gives a clear picture of profit and loss, making running a business easier and putting the small business owner in control of their finances. Hosted on the cloud, FreeAgent is accessible around the clock, from any computer, which is ideal for the way many small business owners and freelancers work.

As freelancers themselves, the three founders of FreeAgent Central needed a finance tool that would give them a clear picture of their business accounts. That product did not exist and so FreeAgent was born.

The software has a clean and simple design, highly intuitive and usable. It prepares VAT returns, calculates self assessed income tax and corporation tax and manages PAYE and NI. Users can monitor profit and loss, send and track invoices, track time and expenses, manage projects and payments.

The software was recently updated to allow customers to file their VAT returns electronically within the system directly to HMRC, saving many hours of paperwork.

FreeAgent also encourages collaboration between accountant and client by allowing accountants to login to the system, so they can offer the most up-to-date advice. Accountants can easily export trial balance data to generate end-of-year accounts.

An active online community of FreeAgent customers has grown up where users openly discuss ideas, questions and problems about accounts. Additionally there is a live advice helpline where users can ‘Ask an Expert’ about financial issues they may be having.

FreeAgent is subscription based with costs starting at £15 per month for a sole trader, £20 for a partnership and £25 for a limited company.

www.freeagentcentral.com

Tech Media Invest 100 (TMI) is Europe’s leading network connecting high-tech entrepreneurs to investors and strategic partners through specialised events. This week The Guardian, in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Kemp Little, published Tech Media Invest’s top 100 companies in Europe.

Ed Molyneux, FreeAgent Central CEO comments: “This is a massive accolade for us. We are absolutely delighted with this news and extremely proud of FreeAgent and what we have achieved on our mission to democratise accounting for the small business owner.”

TMI aims to showcase high-growth companies that are developing innovative ways to serve business and consumers, and have the potential to radically change the shape of the technology and media industry.

FreeAgent online software is easy to use and gives a clear picture of profit and loss, making running a business easier and putting the small business owner in control of their finances.

As freelancers themselves, the three founders of FreeAgent Central needed a finance tool that would give them a clear picture of their business accounts. That product did not exist and so FreeAgent was born.

The software has a clean and simple design, highly intuitive and usable. It prepares VAT returns, calculates self assessed income tax and corporation tax and manages PAYE and NI. Users can monitor profit and loss, send and track invoices, track time and expenses, manage projects and payments.

FreeAgent also encourages collaboration between accountant and client by allowing accountants to login to the system, so they can offer the most up-to-date advice. Accountants can easily export trial balance data to generate end-of-year accounts.

Thirty of the best companies from this list will be invited to present their business at the forthcoming Tech Media Invest 2010, taking place on October 18th at the Cumberland Hotel in London.

The TMI Advisory Board deployed a detailed process to whittle down a pool of eligible, promising companies to get to the top 100 winners. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration.

Companies showcased entered the list either by applying or by nomination by the Tech Media Invest Advisory Board. The combined efforts of the Board and Selection Committee were used to evaluate companies. The resulting list was approved by Board, which consisted of some of the UK’s most experienced investors in modern technology and media – a mix of venture capitalists, investment analysts, professional advisers and technology lawyers, who applied judgement and identified the best performers and the ones to watch.

The list comprises of the following:
- Top 10 – These are the top UK entrepreneurial tech and media companies as ranked and judged by the Advisory Board
- The 90 best UK emerging and innovative Tech & Media Companies
- In addition the Advisory Board have selected the 10 tech and media industry trailblazers

Pioneering online accounting software company, FreeAgent Central, is celebrating this week after being nominated Web App of the year in the prestigious .net Awards. Last year’s winners include Stephen Fry, Twitter and DropBox.

The public now has until 12 October to vote for FreeAgent Central before a panel of 100 top industry experts decide the final winners. Last year an astounding 60,000 votes were cast, and this year’s awards ceremony is set to be the biggest and best yet.

With 16 categories, the .net Awards celebrate the best in web design and development, mixing public opinion with insights of a leading panel of judges from the likes of Yahoo, Adobe, AKQA, Opera, Last.fm and Microsoft.

Ed Molyneux, FreeAgent Central CEO comments: “This is an incredible achievement for us and we are very, very proud to receive such recognition from .Net. This is a big step forward in our mission to democratise accounting. We are extremely proud of FreeAgent and we hope our customers will help us out by casting their votes online now!”

This news follows the announcement last month of the company’s nomination for the Sift Media Software Satisfaction awards for the second year running, having taken home Gold last year.

This year’s SME Accounting Category is billed by Accounting Web as a fight between the ‘leading lights of the accounting software as a service industry’ with FreeAgent being a key player in the small business and freelance market.

FreeAgent online software is easy to use and gives a clear picture of profit and loss, making running a business easier and putting the small business owner in control of their finances.

As freelancers themselves, the three founders of FreeAgent Central needed a finance tool that would give them a clear picture of their business accounts. That product did not exist and so FreeAgent was born.

The software has a clean and simple design, highly intuitive and usable. It prepares VAT returns, calculates self assessed income tax and corporation tax and manages PAYE and NI. Users can monitor profit and loss, send and track invoices, track time and expenses, manage projects and payments.

The software was recently updated to allow customers to file their VAT returns electronically within the system directly to HMRC, saving many hours of paperwork.

FreeAgent also encourages collaboration between accountant and client by allowing accountants to login to the system, so they can offer the most up-to-date advice. Accountants can easily export trial balance data to generate end-of-year accounts.

An active online community of FreeAgent customers has grown up where users openly discuss ideas, questions and problems about accounts. Additionally there is a live advice helpline where users can ‘Ask an Expert’ about financial issues they may be having.

FreeAgent is accessible around the clock and from any computer, which is ideal for the way many small business owners and freelancers work.

FreeAgent is subscription based with costs starting at £15 per month for a sole trader, £20 for a partnership and £25 for a limited company.

www.freeagentcentral.com

FreeAgent Central has launched an official affiliate programme for non-members following the runaway success of its Evangelist scheme for subscribers. The eagerly anticipated affiliate programme already has a waiting list of 20 companies ready to sign up.

Affiliates and Evangelists earn a one-off reward of twice the monthly subscription fee for each new referral – up to £50 – or an ongoing 20% share of the subscription payments from the new member.

Before becoming an Evangelist, members earn 10% off the FreeAgent subscription price for every referral and once they’ve referred 10 friends, subscription is free for life and they become an Evangelist. The top four FreeAgent Evangelists have already referred a total of 156 new members.

Ed Molyneux, FreeAgent CEO explains: “From the very early days of FreeAgent we have been thrilled by how happy we make our customers! Our subscribers genuinely want to tell the world about us because we make such an immediate difference to their business.

“Now we want to give something back to those ‘evangelists’ and also to help spread the word further. We are very excited about how powerful this affiliate scheme is and the impact it could have on our subscriber numbers.”

A growing number of proactive users are now using FreeAgent free of charge, and you can see John O’Nolan talking about it in his video testimonial here. It’s a win-win situation: users get FreeAgent for nothing and FreeAgent gets more customers.

Users don’t become Evangelists automatically so to sign up please get in touch and find out more. To find out more about the Affiliate programme get in touch here.

FreeAgent Central has made joining the affiliate programme as painless as possible and signing up can be done in a matter of minutes.

The techy carnival is coming to town with TechCrunch and its ‘digital power broker’ Mike Butcher, hooking up with Informatics Ventures for Engage | Invest | Exploit 10 in Edinburgh on 12 May 2010.

This is the first TechCrunch Europe UK event to be held outside of London and its programme has attracted a prestigious line up of speakers and a powerful delegate list of the great and good from Scotland’s tech community.

Informatics Ventures is based in Edinburgh University’s School of Informatics and Engage | Invest | Exploit 10 is its third annual showcase of the most promising, high-growth companies spun out of leading Scottish Universities.

This year’s event will be the biggest to date with an exhibition of 50 start-ups and spin-outs from bio tech, clean tech, social media, gaming and mobile all in one place and in one morning. EIE is Scotland’s biggest opportunity for Informatics entrepreneurs and investors to meet.

During the TechCrunch afternoon sessions, Skyscanner’s Lara Bayley will be presenting on “Why Scotland for Startups?”; followed by fast pitches from some early stage local startups. A panel of entrepreneurs with Adtaily, Onedrum and Cloudsoft will discuss linking Scotland to Europe.

Andrew Nutter looks at “How to turn on an investor”; Rapid Mobile will cover “Mobile innovation in Scotland and finally a panel of investors will discuss “Investing in Tech startups in and beyond Scotland.”

We’ve done a roll call of Hot Tin Roof clients who are attending and we are almost at a 100% hit rate with MoneyDashboard, FreeAgent Central, EdgeCase, Flexiant, Civic and Informatics Ventures (naturally) all signed up. And of course, there’s no show without punch, so we’ll be there too!

Don’t worry – if you haven’t got your tickets yet – it’s not too late – just click here.

Launch of the online accounting service FreeAgent Central in the national press and an ongoing campaign online to engage with its market online and generate sign ups.

Here is a selection of our coverage:

Tax deadline day – What to do if you have missed the paper filing date, Enterprise Nation, 31 October 2011.

Must-read information about filing tax returns, 28 October 2011.

This Halloween, don’t be scared of your books, ByteStart, 27 October 2011.

An exploration of the Office of Tax Simplification’s latest suggestions, SME Web, 25 October 2011.

Will 2012 see less tax red tape?, Tax Donut, 9 September 2011.

Small unincorporated businesses: tax made simpler, Fresh Business Thinking, 6 September 2011.

Help available for riot hit businesses, Birds on the Blog, 21 August 2011.

Help available for riot affected businesses, Business Matters, 19 August 2011.

Take a break from your business this summer, SME Web, 16 August 2011.

Learn to let go of your baby so you can take time out, Scotland On Sunday, 7 August 2011.

Tips on taking a break from your business, New Business, 28 July 2011.

Take a break from your business this summer, The Next Women, 22 July 2011.

Business break tips, Bitsy, 20 July 2011.

Take a break from your business, Fresh Business Thinking, 11 July 2011.

Find your perfect partner…in your accountant, Birds on the Blog, 27 June.

How to find your perfect accountant, SME Web, 16 June 2011.

Getting to know you: Ed Molyneux, Business Matters, 8 June 2011.

Find your perfect partner is your accountant, Fresh Business Thinking, 1 June 2011.

Is your accountant your perfect (business) partner? Bitsy, 1 June 2011.

Solving the riddle of your accounts, Business Matters, 23 May 2011.

Solving the riddle of your accounts, Bitsy, 16 May 2011.

Spring clean your business, Bitsy, 9 May 2011.

How to solve the riddle of your accounts, Fresh Business Thinking, 6 May 2011.

What your accounts say about your business, EN For Business, 5 May 2011.

Tax man’s April Fool, The Guardian, 1 April 2011.

The tax year end is fast approaching, New Business, 30 March 2011.

Year end tax planning for small business owners, ByteStart, 28 March 2011.

Budget 2011: National insurance and income tax merger, Real Business, 23 March 2011.

SME Toolkit – Company Cars, ENforBusiness, 16 March 2011.

How small businesses can navigate the question of company cars?, Business Matters, 10 March 2011.

Tips to avoid the pain of self assessment, ContractEye, 2 March 2011.

Essential tips for keeping your tax return manageable, New Business, 1 March 2011.

Tax benefits for sole traders working from home, Bitsy, 28 January 2011.

Self-Assessment – A Quick Guide to Help You Meet the Deadline, Fresh Business Thinking, 26 January 2011.

A Quick Guide to help you meet the Self Assessment deadline, Business Matters, 25 January 2011.

FreeAgent Central embraces XBRL, Accounting Web, 13 October 2010.

Newcomer last year, top prize this year: FreeAgent scoops surprise victory at software awards, Business Zone, 12 October 2010.

Accounts software adds up to success, Business 7, 8 October 2010.

Social Networking – A key component of any communications toolkit, Insider Magazine, 3 September 2010.

Heads in the cloud, CA Magazine, July 2010.

Software firm signs licensing deal for accounting service, Business 7, 28 May 2010.

Take the plunge to become a small fish in a big pond, Scotland on Sunday, 23 May 2010.

FreeAgent to power IRIS OpenBooks, TechCrunch, 20 May 2010.

IRIS launches online bookkeeping product for firms’ clients, Accountancy Age, 18 May 2010.

Con-Lib alliance – SMEs give thumbs up, Business Wings, 13 May 2010.

FreeAgent – Online accounting for small businesses, Bytestart, 1 May 2010.

10 simple ways to get paid faster, Going Freelance, 2 April 2010.

Iris expands to take in FreeAgent online, The Scotsman, 30 March 2010.

FreeAgent takes investment from IRIS, AccMan Pro, 30 March 2010.

Web accounting service FreeAgent takes investment, Paid Content, 30 March 2010.

FreeAgent launches universal version, Freelance Switch, 14 February 2010.

7 online invoicing apps for freelancers, Freelance Switch, 2 February 2010.

Micro businesses are a good bet during downturn, Bytestart, 28 August 2009.

Micro firms confident in the future, Launchlab.co.uk, 26 August 2009.

Micro is better for business in the recession, Freelancers in the UK, 24 August 2009.

FreeAgent takes the crunch pulse: startling results, AccMan Pro, 19 July 2009.

35 Tools that make your freelance career easier, Freelancefolder.com, 14 May 2009.

Cloud computing, Director Magazine, March 2009.

FreeAgent funding, Paid Content, 23 March 2009.

FreeAgent Central secures Angel round for growth, TechCrunch, 23 March 2009.

High-flyer who’s well grounded, The Herald, 16 March 2009.

New software brings financial efficiency for freelancers, Freelancers in the UK, 9 March 2009.

FreeAgent Central gets major update, AccMan Pro, 19 February 2009.

How to file your tax return online, Fresh Business Thinking, 12 January 2009.

Cloud computing, Growing Business, 1 December 2008.

Cloud software brings efficiency for the freelancer, TechWhack, 28 November 2008.

NI hike top of business list of gripes over Darling’s plans, The Scotsman,26 November 2008.

Cloud software brings financial efficiency for the freelancer, Econsultancy, 24 November 2008.

http://www.freeagentcentral.com

FreeAgent is an online accounting application aimed at freelancers and small businesses. It takes the hassle out of managing finances by letting businesses send invoices and estimates, tracking time and expenses, keep tabs on money in and out of the bank as well as delivering comprehensive accounting reports. It even calculates tax liabilites for UK businesses.

FreeAgent offers a 30 day free trial, and with Hot Tin Roof you can get an additional 10% lifetime discount when you click this link:

http://www.freeagentcentral.com/?referrer=23wfm8

But don’t just take our word for it – check out the fanmail on Twitter and www.freeagentcentral.com