Company: Crunch
Founder and CEO: Darren Fell
Website: https://www.crunch.co.uk/what-we-do/crunch-plus
About Crunch
Crunch started in 2007 because founder Darren Fell thought there had to be a better way to do accounting. At the time, most accountancy providers were expensive and operated on a pay-by-time model. For small business owners, this could mean paying for every conversation, question or bit of advice, while accounting software was largely something you used on your own. This meant that small business owners or entrepreneurs just starting out were often left feeling alone when trying to tackle tax and accounting because they feared the large bill asking for help might bring.
Crunch wanted to change that. The idea was to build accounting software that was actually made for business owners instead of accountants. Something that made the day-to-day stuff easier, while giving customers access to real accountants when they needed help. It sounds straightforward now, but building both a technology platform and an accountancy business at the same time was no small job.
It started with a small team in Brighton, building the software from scratch. The company initially focused on freelancers and contractors, helping people who often found traditional accountancy expensive, confusing or simply not designed for them. One of the biggest challenges was convincing people that they could manage their finances online. Cloud software was still relatively new and asking people to trust an online platform with their business finances was a big ask.
Crunch also had to grow and adapt as the market changed. What started with freelancers and contractors has grown to support thousands of small businesses, including sole traders and limited companies. The software has grown with them too. New features like Auto-Match can suggest the right transaction match in seconds, while Bulk Importer makes it quick to bring business history across. The Personal Tax Estimator helps customers see what they might owe and Luca AI can answer questions instantly. More recently, Crunch has added support for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, helping customers keep on top of their new quarterly reporting requirements.
The biggest change has probably been what people expect from software. Customers want things to be quicker, simpler and more automated. But when it comes to their money and tax, they still want to know there is a real person they can speak to when they need one. That has stayed at the heart of Crunch. Crunch has never believed that software should replace people. The idea is to use technology to take away as much of the admin as possible, while making sure expert support is there when it matters.
Nearly 20 years on, the original idea still makes sense. Small businesses do not just need software. Sometimes, they need a bit of help too that AI and tools just can’t provide. That is what Crunch spent the last two decades building. Technology for the day-to-day, backed up by people who understand the more complicated stuff.
A lot has changed since 2007, but the goal has stayed the same: make accounting less painful for small businesses.
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