Le Frac compared with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent.
Prices, reminders, statutory interest and payments: what each tool offers a UK small business and SME – and what the others do better. Le Frac sits next to your accounting software; it doesn’t replace it.
Xero, QuickBooks Online and FreeAgent are the accounting packages most UK small businesses use to file VAT under Making Tax Digital. They also send invoices and reminders, which is where Le Frac overlaps with them. Our UK e-invoicing guide explains what is planned for structured e-invoicing.
Assumptions: prices excluding VAT, list prices without promotions, as published by each vendor on 19/10/2026. Small business = 1 to 2 people, about 30 invoices a month, automatic reminders; SME = 3 people, 2 companies, about 200 invoices a month. Le Frac’s prices are in pounds sterling.
The four tools side by side
Prices and features taken from the vendors’ websites on 19/10/2026. Prices exclude VAT. “Not documented”: the vendor says nothing about it on the pages we read.
| Xero | QuickBooks | FreeAgent | Le Frac | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Published prices (excl. VAT) | Ignite £18 (20 invoices), Grow £39, Comprehensive £55, Ultimate £70 a month, per organisation; unlimited users | Sole Trader Plus £10, Simple Start £16 (1 user), Essentials £38 (3 users), Plus £56 (5 users), Advanced £123 (25 users) a month | Limited company £33, partnership £27, sole trader £19 a month; free with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle | Essential £5 a month per person (£50 a year, annual only); Small business £19 a month, 2 people; SME £59 a month, 3 people; +£5 per extra person |
| Accounting and MTD VAT filing | yes | yes (VAT from Simple Start) | yes | no: Le Frac does no bookkeeping and files no VAT return |
| E-invoicing (Peppol) | certified Peppol access point, live in the UK | no | no (on its roadmap) | no: PDF invoices in pounds sterling, sent by email |
| Automatic reminders | yes, 3 by default, up to 5 | yes, up to 3, from 90 days before to 90 days after the due date | yes, all plans, until paid | yes, by email from Essential (standard sequence); customisable sequence, SMS and payment links from Small business |
| Statutory interest and £40/£70/£100 compensation (Late Payment Act 1998) | manual (Xero guide); third-party apps | manual (automatic late fee: US only) | manual; automatic through the third-party InvoiceReminder integration | calculated (Bank of England base rate + 8%; £40, £70 or £100 depending on the amount) and added to the reminder if you choose to claim them |
| Collecting payment | Stripe, GoCardless, Tap to Pay | Pay by Bank (1%, max £4), card (1.2% + 20p) | Tyl, Stripe, GoCardless (Direct Debit, open banking), PayPal | Faster Payments bank transfer; no card or Direct Debit yet |
| Several companies | one plan per organisation | one subscription per company | one account per entity | SME: up to 3 companies with the same owner, no extra charge |
| Escalation | not documented | not documented | not documented | up to a Pre-Action Protocol letter, with the data ready for Money Claim Online |
| Free trial | 30 days | 30 days (or a 6-month discount instead) | 30 days | none |
What each option costs a month
Monthly cost excluding VAT of the entry plan that sends automatic reminders, from the published prices.
| Tool | Small business (1-2 people, 30 invoices/month) | SME (3 people, 2 companies, 200 invoices/month) | How it’s calculated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Le Frac | £8.33 (Essential, annual) or £19 (Small business) | £59 | Two options: Essential for 2 people (2 × £50 a year, i.e. £8.33 a month) or the Small business plan at £19 a month. The difference is mainly the invoice volume: 50 issued invoices a month included in Essential, 300 in Small business (30 invoices fit in both). Small business also adds SMS reminders, payment links in reminders and a customisable reminder sequence; Essential sends email reminders in the standard sequence. SME: both companies included; 200 invoices stay within the included volume. |
| Xero | £39 | £78 | Ignite is capped at 20 invoices, so Grow; SME: Grow × 2 organisations. |
| QuickBooks | £16 (1 user) or £38 (2 users) | £76 | Simple Start for 1 user, Essentials for 2 or 3; SME: Essentials × 2 companies. |
| FreeAgent | £33 (free with a partner bank) | £66 | Limited company plan (sole trader £19); SME: £33 × 2 entities. |
Le Frac paid annually: Small business £15.83, SME £49.17 a month (pay 10 months, use 12). Beyond the included invoices: £0.10 per invoice issued.
Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent include accounting and MTD filing, which Le Frac does not: the prices don’t buy the same thing.
Why Le Frac
Statutory interest, worked out for you
Le Frac calculates interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 (base rate + 8%) and the £40, £70 or £100 fixed sum, and adds them to the reminder if you choose to claim them. In Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent this is manual or needs a third-party app.
Escalation to the Pre-Action Protocol
The final reminder is a letter before claim following the Pre-Action Protocol, with the figures ready for Money Claim Online.
Alongside your accounting software
Le Frac chases and collects; your accountant keeps Xero, QuickBooks or FreeAgent for the books and VAT.
Several companies, one subscription
SME: up to 3 companies for £59 a month, against £66 to £78 for two companies elsewhere.
What the others do better
- They are accounting software with MTD: they keep the books and file VAT returns. Le Frac does neither and doesn’t replace them.
- Free trials of 30 days at all three, plus regular promotions. Le Frac has no free trial.
- FreeAgent is free for NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and Mettle customers; QuickBooks Simple Start costs £16 for one user.
- Card payments, Direct Debit and open banking at all three; Peppol at Xero. Le Frac takes bank transfers only for now, and sends PDF invoices.
Read more
How statutory interest and the fixed sums work is explained in late payment interest under the 1998 Act; the steps from first reminder to a county court claim are in customer not paying: a step-by-step guide.
For VAT filing, see Making Tax Digital for VAT and Income Tax. Every plan and what it includes is on Le Frac pricing.
Run the numbers with your own invoices.
Plans, what they include and what they cost – monthly plans with no commitment.
Comparison made on 19/10/2026 from the vendors’ public pages. Prices and features may have changed since: each vendor’s page is the reference.
Sources, checked on 19/10/2026
- Xero UK — pricing
- Xero — how invoice reminders work
- Xero — late payment interest guide
- QuickBooks UK — pricing
- QuickBooks UK — invoice reminders
- FreeAgent — pricing
- FreeAgent — InvoiceReminder integration
Are you one of these vendors and is something wrong or out of date? Email us at contact@lefrac.io and we’ll correct the page.
Trademarks mentioned belong to their owners.