Choosing the appropriate business type for a charity

This article explains which business type to choose when you’re setting up a FreeAgent account for a charity, not-for-profit organisation, social enterprise or community interest company (CIC). It also explains how to apply for a charity discount if your business is eligible.

This article contains the following topics. Select a link to skip straight to that section:

• Choosing a business type
• When to choose a Universal account
• Choosing a business category
• Charity discount

Choosing a business type

If your charity is one of the following business types, select it as your FreeAgent account type:

• US Sole Proprietor
• US Partnership
• US Limited Liability Company
• US C Corp
• US S Corp

If you don't require some of FreeAgent's more detailed bookkeeping functionality, you might want to choose the Universal option for a charity.

When to choose a Universal account

Universal accounts types can be used for UK or international businesses and charities.

Universal accounts don't include some of the complex functionality that other business types require, such as VAT, payroll, Self Assessment, Corporation Tax or preparing accounts using cash basis accounting. If you do require any of this functionality, choose one of the other business types listed above.

Choosing a business category

If your business is a charity, not-for-profit organisation, social enterprise or community interest company (CIC), select ‘Charity/NFP/CIC' from the ‘Business Category’ drop-down menu.

Charity discount

FreeAgent currently offers a 50% discount on FreeAgent subscription costs for registered charities. Discounts will also be considered on a case-by-case basis for not-for-profit organisations, community interest companies and social enterprises that have a mission to benefit their community and have clear social objectives.

To check whether your organisation is eligible for the discount, please email support@freeagent.com and provide either your registered charity number or further information on what your not-for-profit organisation, community interest company or social enterprise does for the community.

If you have a website for your organisation, please also provide a link to this in the email. A member of our Support team will assess whether your business is eligible for the discount and, if so, will apply it to your FreeAgent subscription.

Please note:

• The discount will be applied from the date it is agreed. It won’t be possible to receive a refund for subscription charges that have already been paid.
   
• The discount won’t be applied automatically when you select the ‘Charity/NFP/CIC’ business category - you must contact our Support team to apply for the discount.
   
• The 50% charity discount won’t apply to any purchased add-ons.
   
• You can earn an additional discount on your subscription via the FreeAgent referral scheme, but you must have five active referrals on your account before you start to benefit. From the sixth referral onwards, you can earn an additional 10% discount for each person you refer who goes on to subscribe to FreeAgent.
   
• The charity discount can’t be applied if your FreeAgent subscription is currently benefiting from any discount other than the referral scheme, such as the '50% off for the first six months' offer.