BARCLAYS AND SAGE ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO SIMPLIFY BUSINESS ADMIN FOR UK SMALL BUSINESSES

• Partnership brings banking and accounting together to help small businesses save time and focus on growth

LONDON, March 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays and Sage (FTSE: SGE) the leader in accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology for small and mid-sized businesses, today announced a new strategic partnership designed to help businesses save time on business administration, gain clearer oversight of their finances and keep pace with evolving UK tax requirements.

The partnership brings together Barclays' business banking expertise with Sage's accounting technology to address the everyday administration that underpins running a small business.

Financial administration continues to consume a significant amount of small business owners' time. Research from Sage shows the average small business loses 24 working days a year to financial administration – the equivalent of working 13 months in a 12-month year. By working together, Barclays and Sage will help businesses save time through modern digital management tools.

The partnership will also help businesses navigate the expansion of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, supporting clearer, more up-to-date financial oversight as regulatory requirements evolve.

Abdul Qureshi, Head of Business Banking at Barclays, said: 

"Small business owners consistently tell us that they are spending too much time on administration and not enough time growing their businesses. By partnering with Sage, we are bringing trusted banking and accounting tools closer together to simplify day-to-day financial management and unlock capacity.

As Making Tax Digital expands, this partnership will help our customers stay on top of their obligations whilst focussing on what matters most – running and growing their business."

Gordon Stuart, SVP of Fintech and Embedded Services at Sage, said

"Small businesses want technology that makes running their business simpler, not more complicated. Working with Barclays, we are taking steps to bringing banking and accounting closer together to reduce that burden and give owners a clearer picture of their finances. This will help small businesses get hold of the tools they actually need."

Notes to editors

-  This collaboration forms part of Barclays' wider efforts to support small businesses through digital tools, expertise and financial services.

-  Sage's cloud accounting platform provides businesses with tools to manage invoicing, reconciliation, reporting and financial administration.

About Barclays

Our vision is to be the UK-centred leader in global finance. We are a diversified bank with comprehensive UK consumer, corporate and wealth and private banking franchises, a leading investment bank and a strong, specialist US consumer bank. Through these five divisions, we are working together for a better financial future for our customers, clients and communities.
For further information about Barclays, please visit our website home.barclays

About Sage:

Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of Small and Mid Sized Businesses served by us, our partners and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR and payroll software to make work and money flow.  By digitalising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our AI-powered platform connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality and the climate crisis.   

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