Why Tide
Spend less time on banking admin and more time building the business.
Tide is built for people starting and running businesses. It combines a business account with card spending, invoicing and money-management tools in one mobile-first experience, making it easier to separate business finances and stay on top of cash flow as you grow.
Built for the day-to-day
The tools founders want from their business-money setup.
Keep business money separate
Give income, spending and business payments a dedicated home rather than mixing them with your personal account.
Stay on top of cash flow
Use the app to see incoming and outgoing business money clearly and make everyday card spending easier to manage.
Make invoicing less of a chore
Create and manage invoices alongside the account, helping you turn completed work into a cleaner payment process.
A closer look at Tide
A business account that is designed to do more than receive payments.
For many founders, the first operational upgrade is not a new website or a bigger team. It is creating a clean home for business money. Tide is aimed at sole traders, freelancers, contractors and limited companies that want a business account built around the practical jobs that happen every working day: taking payments, paying suppliers, following up invoices, seeing what has been spent and keeping records in order for an accountant. Rather than treating business banking as a once-a-month admin task, Tide puts it into the same app as the tools used to manage the business.
The appeal is simple. A founder can keep personal and business finances separate from the outset, have a dedicated card for company spending, and use one place to follow the money coming in and out. That clarity can make a real difference when you are pricing a job, deciding whether to buy stock, checking whether a client has paid, or simply trying to understand how much cash is available before the next payroll or supplier payment. Tide is a digital business-finance platform rather than a traditional branch bank, which makes it particularly suited to businesses that want to manage most of their finances from a phone or laptop.
Get set up without slowing down
A practical starting point for a new venture.
Tide's current account proposition is designed around a digital application journey. You download the app, provide business and identity details and complete the checks required for your type of business. For a founder launching a consultancy, online shop, trade business or service company, that can be a more convenient route than arranging a branch appointment just to get a dedicated account in place.
Once the account is open, the basic discipline becomes much easier: client income goes into the business account, business costs leave it, and the card is used for genuine business spending. That separation can make year-end bookkeeping less painful and gives you a cleaner picture of revenue, supplier costs and operating cash from the very first sale.
See the business as it is today
Stay closer to cash flow.
Fast-growing businesses rarely fail because they do not understand a profit-and-loss statement. They get caught out because money arrives later than expected, supplier payments land at the same time, or a busy month creates a misleading sense of cash comfort. A dedicated business account makes those moving parts visible in the same place as the payments themselves.
Tide automatically categorises income and spending, with labels that can be adjusted to suit the way the business works. That is useful whether you are tracking materials for a trade, subscriptions for a software company, travel for a consultant or stock for a retailer. You retain control of the underlying records while reducing the manual sorting that can otherwise build up over a year.
Getting paid and keeping the cash moving
Turn an invoice into a payment workflow, not another loose end.
The account matters most when it helps you collect money. Tide's invoicing tools let you create customised invoices, add your business logo and details, and send them through email or messaging apps from the same environment as the account. Your customers can receive the payment information they need, while you can see what is paid, outstanding or overdue without moving between several disconnected systems. For founders who invoice regularly, that can make the difference between chasing every customer manually and having a repeatable process.
Tide also offers payment options such as payment links and Pay by Bank for eligible users, so businesses can adapt the way they take payment to the way they sell. A consultant may send a branded invoice after a project milestone. A tradesperson can give a customer a payment option while leaving site. An online or social-commerce business can share a link with a buyer who is ready to pay. The point is not to add complexity; it is to remove the friction between doing the work and being paid for it.
As a business becomes busier, invoice tracking and bill management become more valuable. Tide's paid Invoice Assistant option adds features such as unlimited invoices, automated late-payment reminders and invoice-to-payment matching. Founders should check the current pricing and feature limits, but the core proposition is persuasive: use a business account that helps you see the commercial work behind the transactions, not just the transactions themselves.
Payments that match your business
Receive bank-transfer payments, issue invoices and use payment tools that can suit remote, online or in-person sales. Tide's current offering also includes card-reader and Tap to Pay options for eligible businesses that take payments face to face.
Spending with clearer control
Use a business card for everyday costs and keep a visible trail for the expenses that matter. As a team grows, Tide offers team access and expense-card features on relevant plans, helping a founder move beyond collecting receipts from every colleague.
Records that work with your accountant
Connect supported accounting software or export transaction data to share with an accountant. Tide also provides Making Tax Digital tools, helping founders build better habits around the records they will need as tax deadlines approach.
Room to grow without starting over
Start with the essentials, then add more control when the business needs it.
Tide's Free plan is positioned as an entry point for businesses getting started, with no monthly plan fee and a set of everyday banking and payment features. That can make sense when you need a professional account structure but do not yet need several team cards, unlimited transfers or more advanced administration tools. The value is not that every feature is free forever; it is that the business can begin with a focused setup and choose more capability when it is genuinely useful.
Tide also offers paid plans for businesses that want additional current accounts, more included transfers, enhanced team access, priority support, accounting features and other operational tools. A growing agency may care about giving a co-director or accountant access. A retailer may care about cash and cheque deposits, payment acceptance and bookkeeping. A limited company with a larger number of supplier payments may care about transfer allowances. The right plan depends on how the business earns, spends and grows, so compare current plan terms rather than choosing on the offer alone.
Putting spare cash to better use
Tide Instant Saver adds a savings option to the business-money toolkit.
Every founder needs working cash, but not every pound needs to sit idle in the same place. Tide Instant Saver gives eligible members a way to hold business savings alongside their day-to-day account. That can be helpful for money reserved for tax, a quiet seasonal period, future stock or a planned equipment purchase. The current rate, eligibility and access terms should always be checked directly with Tide before moving funds.
It also explains why the REFER200 offer has two parts. The account and the saver are not competing products; they can be used together to support both everyday business activity and a more deliberate approach to reserves. If you expect to keep £5,000 aside anyway, the Instant Saver milestone can turn a sensible cash-management decision into an extra £125 reward, subject to the promotional terms.
Is Tide right for you?
The strongest reason to choose Tide is the business you want to run after account opening.
Tide is particularly compelling for founders who value speed, visibility and simple operational tools. It can work well for service businesses that invoice clients, online sellers that need multiple ways to receive payment, mobile operators that want a card and payment solution close to hand, and limited companies that want to give an accountant or team member better access without sharing personal-bank details. It can also be a strong starting point for a newly incorporated company that wants to establish business habits early instead of untangling personal transactions later.
Take a moment to compare the live plan features, transaction pricing and support options with your priorities. Then, if the product feels right, use the REFER200 offer to start with a genuine commercial advantage. You get the day-to-day tools to run the business, the option to build a better home for business reserves, and the opportunity to earn up to £200 by using the account in the way the promotion is designed to reward.
Using your Tide referral code
How the Tide referral code REFER200 delivers the full offer.
Once your eligible account is open through the offer route, the reward is split between everyday card use and a Tide Instant Saver milestone. Complete both to receive the full amount.
£75 reward
Put your Tide card to work.
Make at least £100 of eligible Tide card transactions within 30 days of opening the account. This is designed to reward genuine early use of the account for business spending.
£125 reward
Make the most of Tide Instant Saver.
Open Tide Instant Saver, deposit £5,000 within seven days of opening the business account, and keep the qualifying balance in place for 30 days.
The offer is for eligible new members and current provider terms determine qualifying transactions, eligibility and reward payment. Read them before applying.
Confidence when choosing a provider
Choose the account for the service, then enjoy the extra.
Tide is not a bank. Tide says eligible deposits in its ClearBank-powered arrangements may be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £120,000 per eligible depositor, per bank, subject to eligibility and aggregation. Check the account and protection information that applies to your own arrangement.
Tide FAQ
What to know before you open your account.
What does Tide offer a small business?
Tide is a digital business-finance platform designed to help sole traders and limited companies manage everyday business money. Its app brings together a business account, card spending, invoicing and tools intended to reduce the admin around getting paid and tracking cash flow.
Who is Tide a good fit for?
Tide can suit founders, freelancers and small teams that want to keep business money separate, use a mobile-first account and create simple payment and invoice workflows. Review the live account options and fees to choose the plan that fits the way your business operates.
How does the Tide referral code REFER200 work?
Eligible new Tide members can earn up to £200 by using the REFER200 partner route and completing both milestones: £75 for eligible card transactions and £125 for the separate Tide Instant Saver funding and holding milestone. The provider's current terms control eligibility and payment.
Do I need Tide Instant Saver for the full reward?
Yes. The £125 part of the offer requires an eligible Tide Instant Saver account, a £5,000 deposit within seven days of opening the business account and a qualifying 30-day hold. The £75 card-spend milestone is separate.
Offer details and disclosure
UK Startup may receive a referral fee if you open a product through this page. This does not change the provider's price, terms or approval decision. Review Tide's live product information and campaign terms before applying, and compare alternatives in our business bank account comparison.