Pandle – What You Need to Know
An in-depth look at Pandle — features, strengths, limitations, and who it's best for.
At a Glance
Key facts about Pandle at a glance.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Software Type | General Small Business Bookkeeping Platform |
| Target Users | Small Businesses, Sole Traders, Freelancers, Landlords, Charities |
| Income Sources Supported | Sole Trader + UK Property (MTD ITSA); VAT (MTD for VAT) |
| Free MTD Software Plan | Yes |
| MTD Quarterly Updates to HMRC | Yes |
| Final Declaration | Yes |
| Bank Reconciliation | Yes |
| Automated Bank Feeds | Yes |
| Invoice Creation | Yes |
| Receipt Capture (OCR) | No |
| Expense Auto-Categorisation | Yes |
| Property Portfolio Management | No |
| Tenant Management | No |
| Joint Ownership & Profit Sharing | No |
| Payroll | |
| HMO Unit-Level Tracking | |
| HMRC SA105 Box Pre-Mapping | |
| Spreadsheet Import/Export | |
| Platform | Web, iOS, Android |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
What Is Pandle?
Accounting Software For UK Small Businesses
Pandle is a UK-based cloud bookkeeping platform founded and owned by The Accountancy Partnership, serving over 105,000 business owners. It is designed for small businesses of all types: sole traders, freelancers, landlords, charities, and retailers — who need accessible, affordable bookkeeping without accounting expertise. Pandle offers a permanent free plan covering core bookkeeping and MTD submissions, with a Pro upgrade at £5 + VAT per month adding bank feeds, receipt uploads, mileage tracking, project reporting, and branded invoice templates.
Pandle is HMRC-recognised for both MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax. For landlords, it supports UK property and sole trader income for MTD ITSA quarterly updates and the Final Declaration. The platform connects bank accounts via Plaid (FCA-authorised, FRN 804718), enables bank rules for automatic transaction categorisation on the Pro plan, and provides real-time financial reports including profit and loss and balance sheet. A particular strength is Pandle's customer support: live chat staffed by trained bookkeepers is available on all plans, with under-10-minute response times reported by the platform.
Strengths
- Free forever for core features — no time limit
- Pro plan at just £5 + VAT per month, no contracts
- HMRC-recognised for both MTD ITSA and MTD for VAT
- Bank feeds via Plaid (FCA-authorised), available on Pro plan
- Bank rules for automatic transaction categorisation
- Unlimited users and transactions on all plans
- Live chat support from trained bookkeepers, under 10 minutes
- Mileage tracker (Pro), project reporting (Pro), receipt uploads (Pro
- No contracts — cancel anytime
- Used by 105,000+ businesses; established platform
- Multi-currency support
- Trustpilot rating 4.0/5 (1,300+ reviews)
Limitations
- No property portfolio management or tenant tracking
- No joint ownership or profit-sharing automation
- No landlord-specific chart of accounts
- No per-property expense allocation or rent tracking
- No HMO property support
- Phone support not available
- No AI-powered features
- No OCR receipt capture
- General-purpose tool: not designed for the property sector
- Limited third-party integrations
- Occasional reports of platform slowness
Making Tax Digital Compliance
How Pandle Handles MTD for Landlords and Sole Traders
Pandle is HMRC-recognised for both MTD ITSA and MTD for VAT. For MTD ITSA, Pandle supports quarterly updates and the Final Declaration for sole trader and UK property income. The platform maintains year-round digital records, enables bank feeds and bank rules (on Pro) to keep records current, and calculates tax liabilities in real time so landlords know their position before each quarterly deadline. Pandle also supports MTD for VAT with direct HMRC submission, which RentalBux does not currently offer. Agent filing is supported via HMRC's Agent Services Account process, and Pandle's Partner programme allows accountants to manage multiple clients from a single account. However, Pandle does not offer a landlord-specific data structure: income and expenses are recorded at business level, not property level.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| HMRC Recognised (MTD ITSA) | Yes |
| MTD Quarterly Updates | Yes |
| Final Declaration | Yes |
| Digital Record Keeping | Yes |
| Digital Links Compliant | Yes |
| Sole Trader Income | Yes |
| UK Property Income | Yes |
| Foreign Property Income | No |
| Multiple Income Streams | Yes |
| Agent Filing on Behalf | Yes |
Property Management
Pandle: No Property-Specific Features
Pandle does not offer any property-specific features. There is no property portfolio dashboard, no tenant management, no rent tracking, no per-property expense allocation, no joint ownership automation, and no HMO support. Pandle is a general bookkeeping platform: landlords enter their rental income and expenses as business transactions. For landlords managing multiple properties or complex ownership structures, all property-level reporting and record management must be handled outside Pandle.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Property Portfolio Management | No |
| Tenant Management | No |
| Rent Tracking | No |
| Property Expense Allocation | No |
| Multiple Property Support | No |
| HMO Property Support | No |
| Joint Ownership/Profit Sharing | No |
| Maintenance Tracking | |
| Tenant Screening | |
| Compliance Document Alerts | No |
| Arrears Tracking |
Bookkeeping, Accounting & Digital Record Keeping
Pandle: General-Purpose Bookkeeping with Strong Core Features
Pandle provides comprehensive double-entry bookkeeping for general small businesses. The free plan covers invoicing, transaction entry, VAT returns, and financial reports. The Pro plan (£5 + VAT/month) adds automated bank feeds via Plaid, bank rules for automatic transaction categorisation and tax code assignment, receipt uploads, mileage tracking, project reporting, cash flow forecasting, and branded invoice templates. Unlimited users and unlimited transactions are included on all plans. Pandle's chart of accounts uses standard nominal codes, not tailored to landlords or the property sector and does not pre-map to HMRC Self-Assessment boxes.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Cash Basis Accounting | |
| Chart of Accounts (Pre-built, Landlord-Tailored) | Yes |
| Journal Entries | Yes |
| Bank Reconciliation | |
| Automated Bank Feeds | |
| Open Banking Integration | |
| Double-Entry Bookkeeping | Yes |
| HMRC Box Pre-Mapping | |
| Xero Integration | |
| Spreadsheet Import/Export | |
| Digital Record Storage |
Invoicing, Expense Tracking
Pandle: Automation Depth on the Pro Plan
Pandle provides a more feature-rich automation toolkit on its Pro plan. Bank feeds via Plaid pull transactions automatically; bank rules then categorise them, match payments to invoices, and assign tax codes without manual input. Receipt uploads allow bills and documents to be stored against transactions. Mileage tracking (Pro) converts business trips into HMRC-rate mileage claims automatically. Invoices can be customised with branding, payment links, and automated reminders. The free plan includes manual invoicing and transaction entry; the Pro plan unlocks the automation layer.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Invoice Creation & Sending | Yes |
| Invoice Customisation/Branding | Yes |
| Online Payment Collection | |
| Payment Tracking/Reminders | Yes |
| Expense Tracking | Yes |
| Automated Transaction Matching | |
| Mileage Tracking | Yes |
| AI Auto-Categorisation | No |
Reporting & Tax Forecasting
Pandle: Comprehensive Reporting for Small Businesses
Pandle provides a full suite of financial reports: profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, customer and supplier reports, and VAT reports. Reports update in real time as transactions are entered. Cash flow forecasting (Pro) extends visibility forward. Reports can be exported in PDF and Excel formats. Pandle's reporting covers the whole business; there is no per-property breakdown.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Profit & Loss Report | Yes |
| Balance Sheet | Yes |
| Trial Balance | Yes |
| Dashboard/Overview | Yes |
| Real-Time Financial Data | |
| Cash Flow Reporting | |
| Tax Estimate/Forecast | |
| AI-Powered Features |
Collaboration & Mobile Apps
Pandle: Partner Programme and Unlimited Live Chat
Pandle is web-based with iOS and Android apps available. Accountants can become Pandle Partners to manage multiple clients from a single account, with 50% off Pro for clients. Agent filing via HMRC's ASA is fully supported. Unlimited multi-user access is included on all plans at no extra cost. A key differentiator is Pandle's live chat support from trained bookkeepers available on all plans and frequently praised by reviewers for under-10-minute response times.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Accountant / Advisor Portal | Yes |
| Multi-User Access | Yes |
| Agent Filing on Behalf | Yes |
| Bank Integration | |
| Platform | |
| Web Browser Access | |
| FCA Regulated | Yes |
| GDPR Compliant | Yes |
Ease of Use, Support & Security
Pandle's Ease of Use
Pandle is designed for users with no accounting background, hiding features that are not relevant to the business type chosen at setup. The guided setup wizard handles most configuration automatically. Pandle's defining support characteristic is live chat from trained bookkeepers, available to all plan users, with response times typically under 10 minutes. Phone support is not available; support is via live chat and email. Pandle uses 128-bit SSL encryption (the same standard used by banks) and is FCA registered as agent of Plaid Financial Ltd (FRN 804718). Trustpilot rating: 4.0/5 from over 1,300 reviews. Pandle is owned by The Accountancy Partnership.
| Feature | Pandle |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | No |
| Chat Support | Yes |
| Email Support | Yes |
| Help Centre/Knowledge Base | Yes |
| FCA Regulated | Yes |
| Enterprise-Grade Security |