What sole traders typically need
A clean separation from personal money, fast invoicing, a way to categorise expenses for a Self Assessment return, and low or no monthly cost given that many sole traders run modest transaction volumes. Speed of opening matters too — many sole traders start trading before they have set up formal banking, and want an account number quickly rather than after a branch appointment.
How Tide addresses this
Onboarding for a sole trader is the simplest version of Tide's process: no Companies House check, just identity verification and basic trading details, often producing an account within minutes. The invoicing tool and receipt capture sit in the same app as the account, so a sole trader with no separate bookkeeping software gets a usable system from day one rather than assembling one.
Features and plan that usually fit
Most sole traders start on the Free plan: no monthly fee, invoicing included, and per-transfer charges that are manageable at low volume. If you make more than roughly ten transfers a month, price the Smart plan against your real volume before assuming Free is cheapest — see our plans and fees page. Expense cards matter less here since there is usually one spender.
Costs and operational considerations
- Per-transfer fees on Free add up if you pay several suppliers a week — model your actual month.
- Cash deposits, if you take any cash at all, are charged per deposit rather than being free.
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will eventually apply to more sole traders — check our MTD page for how Tide's records help.
- There is no overdraft or lending facility from Tide itself, which matters if you rely on short-term credit.
Where Tide may be unsuitable for a sole trader
A sole trader taking substantial daily cash — market traders, some hospitality — will find per-deposit charges erode the convenience. A sole trader who needs an overdraft as a working-capital cushion will not get one from Tide. And a sole trader who wants a named relationship manager or branch access, which does happen with some trades, should look at a high-street alternative.
Application and eligibility as a sole trader
You will need to verify your identity and confirm you are trading in the UK as a sole trader. There is no company registration step, which is usually the fastest route of any structure on this site through to an approved account. Approval is never guaranteed and depends on Tide's own checks.
The REFER200 offer for sole traders
Both steps apply in the standard way: up to £75 after £100 of qualifying card spend within 30 days of opening, and up to £125 after depositing at least £5,000 into Tide Instant Saver within 7 days of account opening and keeping it there for one month. Sole trader income is often irregular, so the card-spend step — spending on business purchases you would make anyway — is usually the more reliable of the two; only pursue the savings step with money you are genuinely not going to need for a month, such as a tax reserve you have already built up. See our qualifying transactions page for what counts as spend.
Alternatives for sole traders
Mettle, backed by NatWest, is free and built specifically with sole traders and small companies in mind, with less bundled admin. Starling Business offers a free core account inside a licensed bank. Monzo Business suits very simple, low-volume needs. Compare all three against Tide before committing.
The money-flow problems sole traders actually face
The most common problem is irregular income arriving from several clients with no natural payroll rhythm, making it hard to know what's genuinely spare versus what's owed to HMRC in ten months' time. A second is mixing personal and business spending on one card out of convenience, which then makes Self Assessment harder than it needs to be. A third, for trade-adjacent sole traders, is cash payments that need banking regularly.
A typical week's workflow
Invoice a client on Monday, receive payment mid-week, categorise it automatically, pay a supplier for materials or software, photograph a receipt at a trade counter, and check the Instant Saver balance against a rough tax estimate. This is close to the workflow Tide's app is designed around, which is why sole traders tend to report the app doing more of the admin than a traditional bank app would.
Which features matter most and why
Invoicing matters because it replaces separate software entirely at this scale. Receipt capture matters because Self Assessment record-keeping is otherwise done from memory or a shoebox of paper. Instant Saver matters as a discipline device for setting aside tax, even though the rate is variable and should be checked, not assumed. Expense cards for a second person rarely matter, since most sole traders are the only spender.