F The Hours or a spreadsheet for a UK freelancer
A spreadsheet is where most freelancers start, and for good reason: it is free, it is yours, and it does exactly what you tell it. The question is how much of your evening it takes, and how sure you are of the tax figure at the bottom.
Where a spreadsheet is stronger
- It costs nothing beyond the spreadsheet app you already have.
- It is completely yours: any column, any formula, any layout.
- Nothing to sign up to, and it works offline.
Where F The Hours differs
- The tax bands, National Insurance thresholds and HMRC mileage rates are already in F The Hours for the current year. In a spreadsheet you look them up, type them in and keep them current.
- The invoice is built from the hours; there is no copying totals across.
- The Self Assessment figures are mapped to the SA103 boxes, with a readiness check for what is missing.
- Free while the beta is open, and the log, the invoices and the tax estimate stay in one place.
Side by side
What each does today, in its own words where they are quoted. Checked on 8 September 2026.
| F The Hours | A spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| Time tracking | Yes. By client, project and task type; each entry carries its rate. | Whatever you build: a row per entry, formulas for the totals. |
| Invoicing | Yes. A branded PDF from the hours you logged. No online card payment yet. | A template you fill in and send as a PDF yourself. |
| Expenses | Yes, under the categories HMRC recognises. No receipt photo capture yet. | A sheet you keep, with the HMRC categories looked up by you. |
| Mileage | Yes, at the HMRC approved rates. | Miles times the HMRC rate, which you look up each year. |
| Home office allowance | Yes, the flat-rate allowance and the actual-cost method. | Your own calculation. |
| Tax estimate through the year | Yes. Income tax and National Insurance from what you have logged, all year, by year, month and week. | Your own model of the bands, if you build one, updated each April. |
| Self Assessment figures | Yes. The SA103 boxes filled from your records, a readiness check, and a spreadsheet export. | Totals you carry across to the SA103 boxes by hand. |
| Files the return to HMRC | No. You enter the figures in your HMRC account yourself. | No. You enter the figures in your HMRC account yourself. |
| Bank feeds | Not yet. On the roadmap. | No, unless you export from your bank and paste. |
| VAT | Not yet. On the roadmap. | Your own calculation, and bridging software to submit under MTD. |
| Making Tax Digital for Income Tax | Not yet. On the roadmap. | Needs bridging software; a spreadsheet alone cannot submit. |
| Working with an accountant | Exports only: CSV and a full JSON export you run yourself. | Send them the file. |
| Phone | In a browser on any device. No app. | Whatever your spreadsheet app offers. |
| Price | Free while the beta is open. Starter £3.99 and Pro £8.99 a month when billing starts. | Free, or the cost of your spreadsheet app. |
The spreadsheet column describes what you build yourself; there is no vendor page to cite. F The Hours’ column was checked against the live app on 8 September 2026.
Try the part that is free either way
The tax calculator uses the same rates as the app and needs no account. The beta is free while it is open, with nothing to cancel.
Also compared: FreeAgent · QuickBooks · Xero