Sole to launch in New Zealand targeting sole traders

Australian accounting app Sole will launch in New Zealand in mid-November, targeting a market where more than 73% of businesses have no employees.

Stats NZ business demography figures for February 2025 show 455,730 businesses with no employees out of a total of 617,334. Using the same data, a 2025 small business factsheet from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment described New Zealand as "a nation of sole traders".

The expansion gives Sole access to a market dominated by sole operators, where survival rates for the smallest firms trail those of employers. The MBIE factsheet found that 43% of businesses with no employees started in 2020 were still operating, compared with 64% of those with one to five employees.

Sole is positioning its product around the administrative work faced by self-employed people. The app includes invoicing and quotes, expense and receipt capture, time and kilometre tracking, and reporting across iOS, Android and the web.

For New Zealand users, the service has been configured for invoicing in NZD, GST and the New Zealand tax year, alongside local bank feeds. Users can convert quotes into invoices, schedule recurring invoices, request deposits and part payments, and send automatic reminders for overdue bills.

The launch also comes as accounting software costs have risen in the country. According to Sole, two major accounting software providers raised their New Zealand subscription prices this year, once in May and again on 1 October.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Johann Oberholzer said the product was built around the practical routines of sole traders rather than larger businesses with staff.

"I started Sole after watching a friend who ran a small trade business struggle with receipts, invoices and cash flow," Oberholzer said. "Most businesses in New Zealand have no staff, yet a lot of the software they pay for is built for businesses that do."

He said the same pattern of back-office work appears across different occupations.

"Whether you're a builder, a personal trainer or a designer, the admin at the end of the day looks the same: quotes to send, invoices to chase and receipts to keep," Oberholzer said.

"We built Sole for that part of the job, and we want Kiwi sole traders spending less of their evenings on it."

Australian base

Sole says it has passed 15,000 downloads in Australia and that more than AUD $150 million in invoices have been created through the platform, based on its October 2026 figures. The business received AUD $96,900 in Queensland Government innovation funding in 2024.

The app released its first mobile version in February 2021. Oberholzer, a Chartered Accountant, has also written for Inside Small Business about sole traders, while Acuity, a publication of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, profiled the business and its founder in 2022 as part of its coverage of accounting tools for sole traders and the self-employed.

Sole has also built ties with industry groups in Australia as it tailors its product to different occupations. It is a registered FITREC supplier, an Associate Member of the Australian Hairdressing Council, and has worked with the virtual assistant community Virtually Yours.

In the fitness sector, Sole said it partnered with the Australian Fitness Academy on a PT Business Launch programme that included a three-part podcast series. Sole was also named FITREC Supplier of the Year in 2026 for its support of fitness professionals.

Market focus

The New Zealand market offers a large pool of potential users among sole traders in sectors such as construction, which MBIE identified as the most common sector for them after rental, hiring and real estate services. That concentration may favour software designed for single-operator businesses rather than payroll-heavy employers.

Receipts can be captured on a phone and stored in the app so records are kept in one place for tax time. Sole has opened a waitlist for New Zealand users ahead of the launch, with one in seven people who join set to receive the service free for a year.