Nebula is designed as a Compliance as a Service platform for UK Ltd contractors and PSCs — bringing together IR35 assessments, MTD ITSA filing, and salary/dividend optimisation in one place. Less admin. More clarity. Built for the way contractors actually work.
Nebula is backed by a growing ecosystem of enterprise technology and specialist financial services partners — building the infrastructure that UK contractors deserve.
IBM
Enterprise AI & Cloud
Broadbench
FCA-Regulated Financial Services
Most bookkeeping tools do a good job for general SMEs. But Ltd contractors have specific needs — IR35 status, salary and dividend decisions, PSC compliance — that most tools weren't built to handle.
Each new contract raises questions around IR35. A scored, factor-by-factor assessment with a documented audit trail gives you something concrete to rely on if your status is ever reviewed.
The optimal balance depends on your Corporation Tax position, personal allowance, and the current dividend allowance. Getting it right each year can make a meaningful difference to your take-home.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requires quarterly digital submissions to HMRC. If your current tool doesn't handle this automatically, it's another task to stay on top of alongside your client work.
Uploading bank statements, reconciling transactions, and keeping on top of your PSC obligations takes time each month. Nebula is designed to reduce that overhead so you can focus on the work that matters.
Three core features designed around the specific compliance needs of UK Ltd contractors.
Nebula calculates a suggested salary and dividend split based on your Corporation Tax position, personal allowance, and current HMRC thresholds — updated each tax year. A useful starting point before making decisions with your accountant.
Claire is Nebula's AI assistant, trained on UK tax guidance for Ltd contractors. She categorises transactions via Open Banking, handles quarterly MTD ITSA submissions, and answers tax questions in plain English — always referencing the underlying HMRC guidance so you can verify the answer yourself.
General bookkeeping tools serve a wide audience. This is what's different about Nebula's approach for Ltd contractors.
| Capability |
Nebula
|
General Bookkeeping Tools | PSC-Adjacent Tools | Spreadsheets & AI Wrappers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Explainable IR35 assessment | Yes — scored, per-factor | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| HMRC-defensible audit trail | Full document trail | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| Salary / dividend optimisation | Automated, real-time | Manual only | Manual only | Not available |
| MTD ITSA auto-submission | Fully automated | Reminder only | Partial | Partial |
| Ltd contractor-specific UI | Purpose-built | Generic SME | Generic SME | Generic SME |
| AI with sourced reasoning | Claire — HMRC-cited | Not available | Not available | Not available |
| UK-sovereign data stack | Yes — GDPR-native | US cloud | NZ / US cloud | US cloud |
These are beta users — Ltd company directors and PSC contractors who reviewed Nebula before public launch. Unscripted.
"Idiot-proof. The colour-coded navigation and visual clarity make it more professional than anything else I've tried. It looks like it was built by people who actually understand what a Ltd contractor needs."
"Finally — one-go reconciliation. Bank feed, VAT calculations, and HMRC submissions in a single interface. I used to spend a Sunday every month on this. Nebula handles it in minutes."
"If Nebula keeps going in this direction, I won't have to think about finance day-to-day. That's not excitement — that's relief. And for contractors, relief is worth paying for."
Most contractor accountants charge between £80 and £200 per month. Nebula starts free, with the Initium plan at £19/month and full IR35 coverage on Aurora at £39/month. All prices exclude VAT.
Bank-feed, classify, and VAT light. Start understanding your finances with zero commitment.
£22.80/mo inc. VAT
Full PSC monthly compliance cycle — everything a single-director Ltd company needs.
£46.80/mo inc. VAT
Premium contractor workflows with full IR35 compliance infrastructure.
All prices exclude VAT at 20%. Upgrade path: Free → £19/mo → £39/mo.
† Estimated saving based on a director taking £12,570 salary with remaining profit as dividends vs. equivalent PAYE income. Individual results will vary.
Yes. Nebula's IR35 Hub analyses your contract against all five key IR35 tests under the off-payroll working rules (Chapter 10, ITEPA 2003). It produces a scored assessment and a downloadable audit document that is defensible in an HMRC enquiry. Nebula does not replace legal advice for complex cases, but for the vast majority of standard contractor engagements it provides the clarity and documentation that no other tool offers.
Yes. Nebula is built for MTD ITSA compliance from the ground up. It connects to your business bank account via Open Banking, categorises your income and expenses automatically, and submits quarterly updates to HMRC on your behalf. You don't need to manually prepare or submit anything — Nebula handles the entire filing cycle.
Most general accounting tools are excellent for broader SMEs, but they were not built for Ltd contractors. They handle bookkeeping but have no IR35 assessment capability, no salary/dividend optimisation, and no contractor-specific compliance features. If you're a Ltd company contractor or PSC, they leave your most important compliance risks unmanaged. Nebula is purpose-built for your structure.
The April 2026 IR35 off-payroll reforms changed which party bears the Employer National Insurance liability — for contractors working through intermediaries, the obligation shifted further up the supply chain toward recruitment agencies. For genuine Ltd company contractors operating outside IR35, the core compliance picture is unchanged: you still need a defensible IR35 status determination for every engagement.
What has changed is that your agency or end client now has greater financial exposure to getting your IR35 status wrong — which means they will scrutinise your status determination more carefully. Nebula's IR35 engine generates a scored, factor-by-factor assessment with a full audit trail for each contract. That documentation protects you in any status review and gives your client or agency the evidence they need to make a compliant determination with confidence.
Claire is Nebula's AI financial concierge, fine-tuned on UK tax legislation, HMRC guidance, and PSC-specific accounting. Every response Claire gives includes the source — the HMRC manual reference, legislation section, or ACCA guidance it is drawing on. This is not a generic AI chatbot; it is a domain-specific model built by an FCCA-qualified accountant with deep UK contractor expertise. You can trust Claire's guidance because it is transparent, cited, and auditable.
All data is stored on AWS (Amazon Web Services) infrastructure and is fully compliant with AWS GDPR standards, including encryption at rest and in transit. AWS maintains ISO 27001, SOC 1/2/3, and GDPR certifications across its EU regions. Your financial data is processed and stored within AWS EU (London) region — it never leaves UK/EEA jurisdiction. Nebula is built GDPR-compliant by design, with a full audit trail and data subject rights processes in place.
Nebula is currently in private beta. Join the waitlist and we'll be in touch as soon as access is available. Waitlist members will be the first to get access when we open up.
IR35 assessments, MTD filing, and salary/dividend optimisation — in one place. Join the waitlist for early access.