Sumly vs TidyBooks
The short answer
Two honest cases. Read the one that sounds like you and skip the rest of the page.
You want to see it work before you pay for it
- You want 30 days on your real books with no card needed
- You want the books open before the Registrar approves the company
- You want VIES prepared inside the software, not only inside a service
- You want a bookkeeper you can switch on for a month, working in your own dashboard
- You want to photograph a receipt on your phone today, not when their app ships
You want one annual fee with the accountant inside it
- Your company already exists, so formation and day-zero books are worth nothing to you
- You'd rather buy a fixed annual fee that already includes the statutory audit
- You want to work with one of their partner accountants — do that and they give you the software free
- You need a published residency route for a non-EU citizen; theirs is listed at €1,200
- You want to reach support on WhatsApp or Telegram — their contact page lists both
Where each one stops
A Cyprus company passes the same seven posts, whatever software keeps its books. This is how far each product walks with you.
Form the company
Books from day zero
Bookkeeping & banks
VAT & VIES
Payroll
Auditor arranged
Yellow Slip
TidyBooks coverage read on 26 August 2026 from tidybooks.cy and its create-company, hire-accountant, relocation-residency, accountants and terms pages. A dash means they do it, but through a separate paid service or a beta rather than inside the plan. Their tick on the last stop is the EU and non-EU residency packages their relocation page publishes; they do not use the words Yellow Slip. Both products change — if something here is out of date, tell us and we'll correct it.
Sumly is cheaper on the software, once both prices sit on the same basis
TidyBooks quotes VAT-inclusive; Sumly quotes ex-VAT. Base at €39 plus 19% Cypriot VAT is €46.41, against TidyBooks Pro at €49 — €2.59 a month less, and €3.90 less across a year if you both pay annually. Small margins, and we would rather state them than dress them up. Price is not what separates these two. The trial is.
Sumly Base
€39/month
- The whole platform — AI bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, invoicing
- VAT, VIES and provisional tax prepared from your books
- €46.41/month once 19% Cypriot VAT is added — the number to hold against TidyBooks'
- €390 a year paid yearly, two months free — €464.10 with VAT
- 30-day free trial, no card needed
TidyBooks Pro
€49/month
- Their prices include Cypriot VAT, so this is already the like-for-like number
- €468 taken as a single annual charge — an equivalent of €39/month, not €39 leaving your account each month
- Pro, not their €25 Starter: Accountant Collaboration is Pro-only on their plan cards, and a Cyprus limited company has to give its auditor access
- Starter already lists AI document extraction and multi-currency, so those are not what the extra buys
- Payroll is Pro-only and in beta at €5/seat on top — their own monthly checkout reads €54 with one seat
- 7-day free trial, card details entered first
Sumly Premium
€390/month
- A Sumly certified bookkeeper reviews the books and files VAT and VIES
- Provisional and corporate tax handled, year-end prepared
- The Base platform included, so the books stay live in your own dashboard
- €4,680 a year, and the audit is ordered separately from a Partner Auditor, from €950
TidyBooks partner accountant
From €2,000/year
- A partner accountant prepares and submits quarterly VAT and monthly VIES
- The statutory audit and the software are both inside the annual fee
- Six published bands by transaction volume, €2,000 to €5,500 a year, then a custom quote
- Below the top band this undercuts Sumly Premium; at it, €5,500 against €5,630 with Sumly's audit added — €130 apart
Side by side
TidyBooks subscription prices include Cypriot VAT; Sumly's exclude it, so every side-by-side figure above also shows Base with 19% VAT added. Their one-off services — formation, the registrations and the managed accountant fee — are quoted excluding VAT, the same basis as Sumly's. All prices read on 26 August 2026 from tidybooks.cy and tidybooks.cy/hire-accountant.
The table stakes, met by both
No point pretending otherwise: on the core bookkeeping job these two look alike. Which is exactly why the rest of the page decides it.
Cyprus-first, both of them
- Built for Cyprus companies rather than localized for them after the fact
- VAT tracked and calculated as the books go in, not at the end of the quarter
- Formation sold as a service, so neither one hands you off to a lawyer
- Neither piece of software submits your VAT return — on both, a person does
The same daily jobs
- AI that reads invoices and receipts instead of you typing them
- Bulk upload, so a shoebox of paperwork goes in at once
- Invoices, credit notes and multi-currency on every paid tier
- Bank connections that pull transactions in for reconciliation
What only Sumly does
Thirty days, and no card to find out
Sumly's trial runs 30 days with no card needed — long enough to book a full month and check a real VAT figure before you decide. TidyBooks' trial is 7 days, and both of its Start Free Trial buttons open a Stripe page headed "Enter payment details" before it begins.
The books open before the company does
Cyprus lets a company deduct expenses incurred up to six months before establishment. Because Sumly forms the company and keeps the books, your ledger opens the day you order the formation, while the registration is still with the Registrar. TidyBooks forms companies too, at €1,800 with a year of software included — what their pages don't describe is bookkeeping before the company exists.
A bookkeeper by the month, not by the year
On Premium a Sumly certified bookkeeper works inside your own dashboard for €390 a month, and you stop whenever you like. TidyBooks' managed service is a fixed fee quoted by the year and set by your transaction volume, from €2,000 to €5,500 — cheaper at low volume, and a decision you make a year at a time.
What the day-to-day actually looks like
Two of the jobs you'll do most, as they happen in the product.
The VAT return is a view of your books, not a form you fill in
Every Cyprus VAT code maps to a box on the official return, so when the period closes there is nothing to assemble — the return is generated from the ledger, ready to review. VIES comes from the same data, in the software rather than in a service. You file it on Base; your Sumly certified bookkeeper files it on Premium.
- Every Cyprus VAT code mapped to its box on the official return
- VIES prepared from the same books, every month it's due
- Filed periods lock, so a submitted return can't move underneath you
Drop a document in and it books itself
Drag receipts and bills into the inbox, or forward them to your company's private Sumly address. The AI reads each one, does the double-entry on a Cyprus chart of accounts, puts it on the right VAT code and matches it to the bank feed. Confirm a supplier once and everything from them is automatic after that.
- PDFs, photos and forwarded attachments, all read for you
- Every entry stays linked to the document it came from
- Bank feeds reconciled automatically, read-only throughout
Moving your books is an afternoon
Whichever way you switch, the mechanics are the same — and your history comes with you.
Connect your bank
Read-only feeds — Sumly can never move your money. Transactions start flowing in immediately.
Bring your opening balances
A dedicated opening-balance flow brings your existing balances across, so the year adds up and nothing is lost.
Run one month in parallel
Book a full month in both, compare the VAT figures, then cancel the one you're leaving. The 30-day free trial covers the whole parallel month, so you pay nothing until you've seen the proof.
Questions people actually ask
Is Sumly or TidyBooks better for a Cyprus limited company?
Sumly, though this is a closer comparison than most on this site. TidyBooks is Cyprus-built and sells formation and residency as well as software, so the ground they cover overlaps ours more than an international product would. Sumly wins on three things you can check yourself: 30 days with no card against their 7 days that start at a payment page, books that open before the company is registered, and VIES prepared inside the software rather than only inside a paid service. On price, once both are on the same VAT basis, Sumly is cheaper by a few euro a month.
What is the main difference between Sumly and TidyBooks?
Where the compliance work lives. On TidyBooks the software tracks and calculates VAT, and the parts a Cyprus company can't skip — VIES submission, the employer returns, the statutory audit — sit in their managed partner-accountant service, quoted by the year. On Sumly those are in the product: VAT, VIES and provisional tax are prepared from the books on Base, and Premium adds a Sumly certified bookkeeper inside the same dashboard, by the month. Both also form companies; only Sumly starts the books before the Registrar approves one.
How do the prices compare?
Carefully, because the two publish on opposite bases. TidyBooks prices include Cypriot VAT — their Terms say so and their checkout adds none — while Sumly's exclude it. Base at €39 plus 19% VAT is €46.41, against TidyBooks Pro at €49: €2.59 a month less. Paid annually, Base is €464.10 with VAT against their €468 single annual charge — €3.90 less. Neither figure is big enough to decide anything on its own. Done-for-you is priced two different ways: Sumly Premium is €390/month, €4,680 a year with the audit ordered separately from €950, while their partner-accountant service runs €2,000 to €5,500 a year by transaction volume with the audit inside it, and below their top band that lands under Sumly. All checked on 26 August 2026.
Why compare Base against TidyBooks Pro rather than Starter?
Because of the auditor, and only because of the auditor. Their Starter plan at €25/month already lists AI document extraction, multi-currency, invoicing, credit notes and bank reconciliation, so pretending you need Pro for those would nearly double the number we quote against them. Accountant Collaboration is the thing their plan cards restrict to Pro, and every Cyprus limited company has to give an auditor access to its books — no company is exempt from year-end sign-off, whether that is a full audit or the review engagement the smallest ones qualify for. Their homepage markets accountant collaboration as a headline feature with no tier badge, so the plan card is where to check it.
Does either one actually file my VAT return?
Neither piece of software does. Sumly prepares a review-ready Cyprus VAT return and a person submits it through Tax For All — you on Base, your Sumly certified bookkeeper on Premium. TidyBooks' software describes VAT tracking and calculation and never claims filing; the one place their site uses the word submission is their partner-accountant service, where quarterly VAT and monthly VIES are prepared and submitted for you.
What is TidyBooks' free trial like?
Seven days, and it starts at a payment page. Both Start Free Trial buttons on their pricing cards go straight to a Stripe checkout headed "Enter payment details", showing "7 days free" and nothing due today — there is no signup form on their site. Sumly's trial is 30 days with no card needed, which is long enough to book a full month and compare a VAT figure before you commit to anything.
Does TidyBooks have a mobile app?
Not yet. Their own plan card reads Mobile App (coming soon), and there is no App Store or Google Play link anywhere on their site. Sumly has a mobile app alongside the browser app, so you can photograph a receipt the moment you're handed it and let it book itself — or forward documents to your company's private Sumly email address from anywhere.
Which should an accounting practice pick?
Both sell something for practices, in different states. TidyBooks runs a separate private dashboard for accounting firms covering multiple client accounts, with role-based access, CSV and XLSX export and bulk email — no price is published and the page asks for a demo. Sumly's practice dashboard is free and self-serve: every client company under one login, the AI doing the data entry, and the Sumly Verified Bookkeeper programme referring customers to partner practices in their area. If you want to see it before you talk to anyone, that difference decides it.
What does TidyBooks list that Sumly doesn't?
Their partner-accountant model is genuinely different: work with one of their accountants and the software comes free, with the statutory audit and the year's filings inside a single fixed annual fee. They publish a residency package for non-EU citizens at €1,200, and their formation package at €1,800 bundles a year of software. They also answer on WhatsApp and Telegram, which some founders much prefer. If one of those is the thing that decides it for you, tell us before you assume either way — we'd rather you knew now than three months in.
Can I switch from TidyBooks to Sumly mid-year?
Yes. Connect your bank for read-only feeds, bring your balances in through the opening-balance flow, and run one month in both before you cancel the other — the 30-day free trial covers that parallel month. One thing to diary: their Terms cancel a subscription at the end of the month only if you ask at least 14 days before it ends, otherwise at the end of the following month. If you'd rather not do it yourself, book a free call and we'll migrate your existing books for you.
They already made the call
“I used to lose a full weekend to VAT every quarter. With Sumly it's ten minutes and I actually trust the numbers.”
“We cancelled our €3,000 accounting retainer. Sumly does the boring 90% and flags the rest.”
“Finally, accounting software that speaks Cyprus. VAT and VIES just… happen.”
“I used to lose a full weekend to VAT every quarter. With Sumly it's ten minutes and I actually trust the numbers.”
“We cancelled our €3,000 accounting retainer. Sumly does the boring 90% and flags the rest.”
“Finally, accounting software that speaks Cyprus. VAT and VIES just… happen.”
“I used to lose a full weekend to VAT every quarter. With Sumly it's ten minutes and I actually trust the numbers.”
“We cancelled our €3,000 accounting retainer. Sumly does the boring 90% and flags the rest.”
“Finally, accounting software that speaks Cyprus. VAT and VIES just… happen.”
“I used to lose a full weekend to VAT every quarter. With Sumly it's ten minutes and I actually trust the numbers.”
“We cancelled our €3,000 accounting retainer. Sumly does the boring 90% and flags the rest.”
“Finally, accounting software that speaks Cyprus. VAT and VIES just… happen.”
“It found my IP Box exemption before my old accountant ever mentioned it. Paid for itself in a month.”
“Connected my bank, and the next morning everything was categorised. Genuinely felt like magic.”
“No more 11pm spreadsheets from the accountant. Sumly gives me peace of mind at tax time.”
“It found my IP Box exemption before my old accountant ever mentioned it. Paid for itself in a month.”
“Connected my bank, and the next morning everything was categorised. Genuinely felt like magic.”
“No more 11pm spreadsheets from the accountant. Sumly gives me peace of mind at tax time.”
“It found my IP Box exemption before my old accountant ever mentioned it. Paid for itself in a month.”
“Connected my bank, and the next morning everything was categorised. Genuinely felt like magic.”
“No more 11pm spreadsheets from the accountant. Sumly gives me peace of mind at tax time.”
“It found my IP Box exemption before my old accountant ever mentioned it. Paid for itself in a month.”
“Connected my bank, and the next morning everything was categorised. Genuinely felt like magic.”
“No more 11pm spreadsheets from the accountant. Sumly gives me peace of mind at tax time.”
Related
- All comparisons
Every option a Cyprus company actually considers, side by side.
- Sumly vs a Cyprus accounting firm
The cost question — what you pay for, and what you keep.
- Switch accountant
Moving your books is an afternoon; history intact.
- Pricing
Base (do it yourself) vs Premium (bookkeeper included).
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