The most visible accounting tools in United Kingdom, October 2026

October 2026 · 15 questions asked from United Kingdom in English · ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode · 60 answers read

Leader

QuickBooks

75Heralded Score, range 54–81

Most cited source

gov.uk

36citations

From Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT

Where engines disagree most

FreeAgent

2/4engines put it in their top three

Top three on Google AI Mode and ChatGPT, not on Gemini and Google AI Overviews

Brands

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Search Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
– Accountable BE Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– AccountsIQ IE Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% None First reading
– Acumatica US Unranked Too few answers Not measured 6#17
–
  • : Unranked
1% 0% None First reading
– AFAS Software Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Akaunting TR Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
3% 0% None First reading
– Alegra CO Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Anfix ES Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Avanquest Bookkeeper FR Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Axonaut FR Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Banana Contabilità CH Unranked Too few answers Not measured 0= #28
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading

“=” marks brands whose score ranges overlap, so the test cannot separate them. Every brand named in at least three answers is ranked. AI and Search give each brand’s score and rank on that side alone. By engine has one dot per engine (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Google AI Mode), darker the more often it names the brand.

Most cited sources

Rank Source Type Cited in Engines Pages cited Brands its pages mention
1 gov.uk Regulator 20.0% 2 of 4 21 Not read
2 youtube.com Social 16.7% 2 of 4 19 Not read
3 reddit.com Community 18.3% 3 of 4 9 6
4 facebook.com Social 10.0% 1 of 4 9 Not read
5 smallbusiness.co.uk Media 10.0% 3 of 4 1 5
6 pcmag.com Media 8.3% 3 of 4 2 Not read
7 business.gov.uk Regulator 6.7% 2 of 4 1 Not read
8 landolio.com Vendor site 5.0% 3 of 4 2 4
9 quora.com Community 5.0% 1 of 4 3 Not read
10 sme-shack.co.uk Consultancy 5.0% 1 of 4 1 6

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
best accounting software for small business owners English FreeAgent
track income and expenses for freelance designers English FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Microsoft, SOLO, Wave and Xero, tied
how can a freelancer keep business income and expenses organized English FreshBooks, QuickBooks and Wave, tied
how to prepare accurate books for a small business English QuickBooks and Xero, tied
spreadsheet bookkeeping vs accounting software for small businesses English FreeAgent, QuickBooks and Xero, tied

Each engine's top three

Method

Each leaderboard ranks brands on two sides. AI is how ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode answer the board's buyer questions. Search is Google's top 10 results for the keywords behind those questions. All combines the two, where Search is measured.

For the AI side, each month Heralded asks every engine the same buyer questions, twice each, and reads every answer. An answer counts 0 for a brand it leaves out, 50 for a brand it names and 100 for a brand it recommends, and the Heralded Score is built from those. A brand named in at least three answers gets a score and a place.

How the leaderboards are measured