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Yes — genuinely. The Free plan lets you manage one client with unlimited invoices and quotes, forever. No time limit, no credit card required, no "free trial that converts to paid". If you only have one regular client, you may never need to upgrade.
No. You can sign up and use the Free plan indefinitely without ever entering card details. A card is only required if you choose to subscribe to Basic or Pro — and even then, nothing is charged until your 30-day free trial ends.
Yes. HonestBooks is a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means you can add it to your home screen on any Android or iOS device — no app store needed. Open the site in your mobile browser, then use "Add to Home Screen" (Safari on iPhone / Chrome on Android) to install it like a native app.
Once installed, you'll also receive push notifications when a client views your invoice, pays online, or you mark an invoice as paid.
Both plans include unlimited clients and unlimited invoices & quotes. Pro adds the features that help you get paid faster and save time on admin:
When you sign up for Basic or Pro, you get full access to all features for 30 days. No payment is taken until the trial ends. If you cancel before the trial period is up, you won't be charged anything.
Yes. Cancel whenever you like from your account settings — no phone calls, no retention flows. If you cancel a paid plan, you'll keep access until the end of your current billing period, then drop to the Free plan. Your data isn't deleted.
Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade at any time from your account settings. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the end of your current billing period.
All displayed prices (£2.99/month for Basic, £6.99/month for Pro) exclude VAT. UK VAT will be added at checkout where applicable.
Yes. Every invoice includes all the fields HMRC requires: your business name and address, a unique invoice number, invoice date, due date, client details, a clear description of goods or services, the amount excluding VAT, VAT rate and amount, and the total. VAT invoices also carry your VAT registration number where applicable.
Custom branding — your logo, brand colour, and a custom footer — is available on the Pro plan. Free and Basic invoices use the HonestBooks default layout, with a small HonestBooks watermark at the bottom of Free plan invoices.
Yes — quotes are available on all plans including Free. Once a client accepts a quote, you can convert it to an invoice with a single click. No re-entering line items.
Yes, on the Pro plan. Set up a recurring invoice once — choose the client, amount, frequency, and start date — and HonestBooks will generate and send it automatically every billing cycle. Perfect for monthly retainers.
On the Pro plan, you can set automatic email reminders at 3, 7, 14, and 30 days past the invoice due date. You can configure a global default, then override it per client (e.g. never remind a particular client) or per invoice (e.g. skip reminders on a specific invoice). Reminders are sent from [email protected] with your business name.
On the Pro plan, you connect your own Stripe account (via Stripe Connect). When a client clicks "Pay Now" on an invoice, they pay by card through Stripe and the money goes directly into your bank account. HonestBooks takes no percentage cut — you keep 100% of every payment, minus Stripe's standard processing fee (typically 1.5% + 25p for UK cards).
No. We use Stripe Connect, which means payments go directly to your Stripe account — not through us. We charge a flat monthly subscription fee and nothing else. The only fee on payments is Stripe's own processing fee, which is standard across the industry and not something we control or benefit from.
Only if you want to accept online card payments (Pro plan). Creating a Stripe account is free and takes a few minutes at stripe.com. If you prefer to be paid by bank transfer, you don't need Stripe at all — you can include your bank details on invoices and mark them as paid manually.
Yes — full UK VAT support is included on all plans. You can apply standard rate (20%), reduced rate (5%), zero rate (0%), exempt, or reverse charge VAT on any line item. VAT summaries are available in your reports to make your HMRC VAT return straightforward.
Absolutely. If you're not VAT-registered, simply leave VAT fields blank. Your invoices will go out without VAT, which is perfectly correct. HonestBooks works just as well for non-VAT sole traders as it does for VAT-registered businesses.
HonestBooks reports are built around the UK tax year (6 April – 5 April). The income reports show your total invoiced and received by tax year, broken down by client and month — exactly what you need for your self-assessment return. If you're on Pro, expense tracking lets you log deductible costs too.
Note: HonestBooks is invoicing software, not an accountant. We strongly recommend speaking with an accountant for self-assessment advice, especially if your situation is complex.
Yes. You can download a full export of all your data (clients, invoices, quotes, expenses, and settings) as a JSON file from your account settings at any time. This is your right under UK GDPR and we make it as easy as a single click.
If you cancel your paid plan, your account moves to the Free plan — your data stays intact. If you delete your account entirely, your data is removed within 90 days, except for financial records (invoices etc.) which we're required by HMRC regulations to retain for 6 years from the end of the relevant tax year.
You can delete your account directly from your account settings in the app — no need to email us or fill out a form. We'd recommend exporting your data first.
Yes. All data is encrypted at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.3). Passwords are hashed with bcrypt — we can't see them. We use managed, regularly patched cloud infrastructure and only essential personnel have access to production systems. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.
If your question isn't answered above — or you've found something that isn't working right — we'd love to hear from you. We read every message and aim to respond quickly.
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