Softwr

Accounting · head to head

IRIS KashFlow vs Mesh Payments

IRIS KashFlow logo

IRIS KashFlow

Accounting

Online accounting software for UK sole traders and small businesses

From
£13.5/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Mesh Payments logo

Mesh Payments

Accounting

Virtual card and spend management platform aimed at SaaS and travel spend

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Mesh Payments has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: IRIS KashFlow advertised monthly prices of £1.35 (Starter) and £2.75 (Business) are a 90% promotional discount off the standard £13.50 and £27.50 rates, and the promotion is described as lasting 6 months before reverting; Mesh Payments cashback only applies above a monthly spend threshold published at around fifty thousand dollars, so smaller programmes pay the per user fee and never see the rebate that justifies it.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which IRIS KashFlow and Mesh Payments actually diverge.

Attributes where IRIS KashFlow and Mesh Payments differ
AttributeIRIS KashFlowMesh Payments
Starting price£13.5/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in IRIS KashFlow

Nothing recorded that Mesh Payments does not also cover.

Only in Mesh Payments

  • Per vendor virtual cards
  • Physical and virtual employee cards
  • Subscription and renewal tracking
  • Receipt capture and matching
  • Approval workflows
  • Travel spend controls
  • Accounting sync
  • Cashback programme

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

IRIS KashFlow

  • business accountingnot Mesh Payments
  • invoicing and billingnot Mesh Payments
  • VAT managementnot Mesh Payments

Mesh Payments

  • A software company trying to stop shadow SaaS renewals by giving every vendor its own capped cardnot IRIS KashFlow
  • A finance team that wants receipts matched at the point of spend rather than chased at month endnot IRIS KashFlow
  • A business issuing single use cards for contractor and agency payments with hard limitsnot IRIS KashFlow
  • A team funding trip specific spend with a card that expires when the trip endsnot IRIS KashFlow

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

IRIS KashFlow

  • Advertised monthly prices of £1.35 (Starter) and £2.75 (Business) are a 90% promotional discount off the standard £13.50 and £27.50 rates, and the promotion is described as lasting 6 months before reverting
  • Listed prices are in GBP plus VAT, and the platform's plans are built around UK VAT filing rather than other tax regimes
  • Annual pricing is quoted at RRP £162/year (Starter) and £291.50/year (Business) before the same promotional reduction

Mesh Payments

  • Cashback only applies above a monthly spend threshold published at around fifty thousand dollars, so smaller programmes pay the per user fee and never see the rebate that justifies it.
  • Revenue depends on interchange, which means Mesh has a structural interest in card spend running through its rails and less incentive to support bank transfer or direct debit payment methods that many suppliers prefer.
  • Card issuing is limited to the entities and countries Mesh's issuing partners support, so groups with subsidiaries outside that footprint must run a second card programme and lose the single view they bought Mesh for.
  • The free Pro tier caps at three users, which is below the size at which spend control actually becomes a problem, so it functions as a trial rather than a usable plan.
  • It is a spend and card tool rather than an accounts payable system, so invoice heavy businesses still need a separate AP platform and end up reconciling two sources of supplier spend.

Pricing, plan by plan

IRIS KashFlow

£13.5/month
  • Starter Monthly$13.5/month
    • 10 invoices
    • up to 25 bank transactions
    • single user access
  • Business Monthly$27.5/month
    • unlimited invoices
    • unlimited bank transactions
    • multi-user access
  • Starter Annual$162/year
    • 10 invoices
    • up to 25 bank transactions
    • single user access
  • Business Annual$291.5/year
    • unlimited invoices
    • unlimited bank transactions
    • multi-user access

Mesh Payments

Free
  • ProFree
    • Up to 3 users
    • Virtual and physical cards
    • Receipt capture
  • Premium$13/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Approval workflows
    • Subscription management
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Multi entity support
    • SSO and advanced controls
    • Custom approval hierarchies

Which should you pick?

Choose IRIS KashFlow if

Nothing in the data separates IRIS KashFlow from Mesh Payments on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

IRIS KashFlow review

Choose Mesh Payments if

  • You need per vendor virtual cards.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want physical and virtual employee cards.
Mesh Payments review

Questions people ask

Is IRIS KashFlow or Mesh Payments better?
Neither clearly leads. IRIS KashFlow starts at £13.5/month and Mesh Payments at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, IRIS KashFlow or Mesh Payments?
Mesh Payments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13.5/month for IRIS KashFlow and Free for Mesh Payments.
Does IRIS KashFlow or Mesh Payments run on more platforms?
IRIS KashFlow runs on Web. Mesh Payments runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Mesh Payments for free?
Yes. Mesh Payments has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. IRIS KashFlow starts at £13.5/month.
What is IRIS KashFlow best used for?
IRIS KashFlow is most often used for business accounting, invoicing and billing, vat management. Of those, business accounting and invoicing and billing are not what Mesh Payments is typically brought in for.
What can IRIS KashFlow do that Mesh Payments cannot?
Mesh Payments covers Per vendor virtual cards, Physical and virtual employee cards, Subscription and renewal tracking, Receipt capture and matching.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

IRIS KashFlow: What are IRIS KashFlow's core features across all plans?

All IRIS KashFlow plans include unlimited quotes, online VAT submission, mobile app access, 50+ reports, bank feeds, receipt capture, multi-currency support, and payroll for up to 5 employees.

Source
Mesh Payments: Is the free plan really free?

Yes for up to three users, with cards and receipt capture included. Beyond three users you move to the paid tier.

IRIS KashFlow: Are there promotional discounts for new IRIS KashFlow customers?

Yes, new customers receive a 90% discount for 6 months on both Starter and Business monthly plans.

Source
Mesh Payments: How does Mesh make money on a thirteen dollar plan?

Interchange on card spend. The subscription is a minority of revenue, which is why the cashback programme has a monthly spend threshold attached.

IRIS KashFlow: Can multiple users access IRIS KashFlow on the Starter plan?

No, the Starter plan is limited to single-user access only. Multi-user access requires the Business plan.

Source
Mesh Payments: Can Mesh replace our accounts payable process?

Not fully. It controls card spend well but invoice capture, supplier onboarding and payment runs are better served by a dedicated AP tool.

Share

Related pages

More on IRIS KashFlow

More on Mesh Payments

Keep looking

Other head to heads