UK bookkeeping fintech Coconut embarks on crowdfunding path

Coconut, which provides a bookkeeping and tax app for UK sole traders, has launched a crowdfunding push using the Crowdcube platform.

Coconut has around 8,000 customers

This is ahead of significant changes that will see the UK’s 3.5 million sole traders having to complete four tax submissions per year instead of one, via a digital product such as Coconut.

This is not the first time that the fintech has gone the crowdfunding route, raising £2.37 million from 2,900 investors last year.

Coconut launched in 2018 and now has over 8,000 paying customers, with a claimed a sixfold growth since December 2019 and annualised revenues of £930,000 in March 2021.

Pre-registration for the latest crowdfunding round has opened with a minimum investment is £10. A basic subscription to the platform costs £3.60 per month, with a Professional option at £12 per month.

Coconut connects to users’ bank accounts to help track income, claim expenses, and prepare and submit tax returns. The firm has regularly added features to its offering and says the latest funding will aid further enhancements.

The shift to quarterly online filing stems from HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD). HMRC’s stated ambition is “to become one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world”.

VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (£85,000) will be required to keep digital records and use software to submit their VAT returns from April 2022. Anyone below the VAT threshold can voluntarily join the MTD service.

Related: Coconut searching for new CTO

Source: https://www.fintechfutures.com/2021/06/uk-bookkeeping-fintech-coconut-embarks-on-crowdfunding-path/