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 65–82

Most cited source

landolio.com

3citations

From Google AI Mode, Gemini 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

Search is not measured for this board yet, so it ranks on AI answers.

Rank Brand Rank change Heralded Score All AI Score trend Mentioned Recommended By engine Mentioned by Change
1 QuickBooks US New entry 75 , range 65–82 75#1
75
  • : score 75 · #1
86% 41% First reading
2 Xero NZ New entry 73 , range 60–80 73#2
73
  • : score 73 · #2
79% 40% First reading
3 FreeAgent GB New entry 54 , range 43–69 54#3
54
  • : score 54 · #3
51% 32% First reading
4 FreshBooks CA New entry 42 , range 35–54 42#4
42
  • : score 42 · #4
38% 20% None First reading
5 Wave CA New entry 42 , range 34–53 42#5
42
  • : score 42 · #5
35% 22% First reading
6 Sage GB New entry 33 , range 16–43 33#6
33
  • : score 33 · #6
21% 12% First reading
7 Zoho Books IN New entry 32 , range 12–41 32#7
32
  • : score 32 · #7
18% 13% First reading
8 Clear Books GB New entry 8 , range 3–32 8#8
8
  • : score 8 · #8
6% 5% None First reading
– Abby FR Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : Unranked
0% 0% None First reading
– Accountable BE Unranked Too few answers Not measured
–
  • : 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 gives each brand’s score and rank from the engines’ answers; Search is not measured for this board yet. 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 landolio.com Vendor site 5.0% 3 of 4 2 4
2 wise.com Vendor site 5.0% 2 of 4 3 Not read
3 acxite.com Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 Not read
4 airwallex.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read
5 capitalise.com Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 6
6 gosimpletax.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read
7 mercury.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 1 2
8 quadratichq.com Vendor site 3.3% 2 of 4 2 Not read
9 ramp.com Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 2
10 reconcileiq.com Vendor site 3.3% 1 of 4 1 8

Questions asked

QuestionLanguageMost recommended
What’s the best accounting software for small businesses? English QuickBooks
How can small businesses track income and expenses? English QuickBooks and Xero, tied
How can a small business keep track of expenses? English QuickBooks
How do I record my business’s income and expenses? English QuickBooks and Xero, tied
Accounting software or spreadsheets for a small business? English FreeAgent and Xero, tied
Outsourced or in-house accounting for entrepreneurs? English No brand recommended
What’s an alternative to spreadsheet accounting for small businesses? English FreeAgent, FreshBooks, Invoice2go, Pandle, QuickBooks, Sage, Wave and Xero, tied
What can I use instead of manually tracking my business expenses? English FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Wave and Xero, tied
I’m a freelancer looking for online accounting software to manage invoices and expenses. English QuickBooks
I run a business with five employees and need simple bookkeeping software. English Xero

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