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General Information

Website: freeagent.com
Software type: Software as a service (SaaS)
Geography: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom, 🇪🇺 Europe
Support multi-folder: ✅

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Introduction

FreeAgent is a comprehensive cloud-based accounting software designed primarily for freelancers, small businesses, and accountants in the UK and Europe. It provides a complete suite of financial management tools including invoicing, expense tracking, time tracking, project management, tax calculations, and detailed financial reporting. FreeAgent offers specialized features for UK tax compliance including VAT, Corporation Tax, and Self Assessment integration.

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Configure FreeAgent

Prerequisite(s)
  • Create a FreeAgent Developer account and register your application
  • Obtain OAuth 2.0 credentials (Client ID and Client Secret) from the FreeAgent Developer Portal
  • Choose between connection types:
  • Free Agent (single company): Direct connection to a single FreeAgent company account. Use this for individual businesses or when connecting to one specific company.
  • Practice Dashboard (multi-client): Designed for accountants and bookkeepers who manage multiple client companies. Allows access to multiple client folders within an accountancy practice. Note: If you select Practice Dashboard, single company clients will not be able to authenticate, and vice versa.
  • For more details, refer to FreeAgent’s API documentation
  • Activate the FreeAgent integration on the Chift platform
Process
  • Sign up for a FreeAgent Developer account and complete the registration
  • Create a new app in the FreeAgent Developer Portal:
  • Configure the redirect URI to: https://chift.app/oauth2/redirect
  • Choose your environment (Production or Sandbox)
  • Important: When registering your application, choose between Free Agent (single company) or Practice Dashboard (multi-client) connection type. Note that if you select Practice Dashboard, single company clients will not be able to authenticate, and vice versa.
  • Copy your Client ID and Client Secret from the app dashboard
  • Navigate to the connector page in the Chift back office and toggle the activation switch for FreeAgent
  • When activating the connector, you will be prompted to:
  • Enter the Client ID and Client Secret you previously copied
  • Select the Environment (Production or Sandbox)
  • Choose Connection Type: Free Agent (single company) or Practice Dashboard (multi-client for accountants)
  • If using Practice Dashboard connection type, you’ll be able to select specific client folders after connection

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Test FreeAgent

FreeAgent provides both sandbox and production environments for testing:
  • Sandbox Environment: Full-featured testing environment with sample data
  • Production Environment: Live environment for real business data
  • Environment selection is configured during the connection setup process
  • Practice Dashboard mode allows accountants to test with multiple client scenarios
  • Validate OAuth flows, invoice creation, and data synchronization before going live

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Connect FreeAgent

To activate a connection with FreeAgent, users will have to go through the following steps:

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Technical Limitations

Connection Types
  • Free Agent: Direct connection to a single company
  • Practice Dashboard: Multi-client connection for accountants (requires folder selection)
Invoice Creation Restrictions
  • Customer invoice creation supports both draft and posted statuses
  • Foreign currency invoices with future dates cannot be automatically posted

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Rate Limiting

FreeAgent API has standard rate limits to ensure fair usage across all applications. These limits are automatically managed by Chift to optimize performance and prevent interruptions. However, once the API rate limit is reached, Chift cannot bypass these limitations and requests will need to wait until the limit resets. For high-volume operations, it’s recommended to plan accordingly and distribute requests over time.