Herdwatch is the app most UK livestock farmers have heard of, but it is not the only way to keep the records. This guide sorts the alternatives into categories, says what each vendor says about itself as of October 2026, and lists what to check before you move anything.
The alternatives to Herdwatch fall into four groups: other livestock recording apps such as Shearwell's MyFarmWorks and AgriWebb, accounts-first tools such as Xero or Figured, a spreadsheet plus an accountant, and FarmHQ, which is in pre-launch beta. As of October 2026, MyFarmWorks publishes £20 and £30 a month, ex VAT. For most others, check the vendor for current prices. Before switching, check data export, BCMS and LIS links, offline use, the medicine book and total cost. See also FarmHQ vs Herdwatch.
Start with what Herdwatch is, so you compare like with like. Its UK pages describe a mobile app for cattle and sheep that registers calves and movements with BCMS, ScotEID and NIFAIS, records medicines with withdrawal periods, produces reports for Red Tractor and other assurance inspections, works offline, connects to EID readers and weigh heads, and includes an AI assistant called Herdi. It says it has 20,000+ UK and Irish farmers. Its UK site also lists a free version with limited functionality and a 30-day free trial. It does not describe bookkeeping, VAT or invoicing. Prices for paid plans: check the vendor.
That gives four honest categories of alternative. Other livestock recording apps do the same job with different strengths. Accounts-first tools do the money and leave the animals to something else. A spreadsheet plus an accountant is what many farms already run. And FarmHQ is an attempt to do both halves in one app, still in beta. This is not a ranking. The right one depends on your species, your nation, who does the paperwork and how much you want in one place. If you want the wider market picture, our best farm management software guide and the FarmHQ whitepaper cover it.
One piece of history is worth knowing. In June 2023 Farmplan moved its livestock software customers to Herdwatch, while its financial, cropping and hardware products stayed. If you used Farmplan for livestock, you may already be on Herdwatch.
Only for half the job. Xero says it is HMRC-recognised for Making Tax Digital, covering VAT returns and Income Tax readiness, with bank feeds and receipt capture, but it holds no animal records. Figured describes itself as farm financial management software that joins livestock and crop production data to live accounts from Xero or QuickBooks, and says it connects with AgriWebb among other farm management tools. Again, it is not a statutory recording app.
The point is that accounts-first tools sit beside a recording app, not instead of one. A farm using Herdwatch plus Xero is running two systems and typing a vet visit in twice: once in the medicine book and once in the accounts. That is the gap FarmHQ is built around, and the FarmHQ vs Figured and Xero comparison goes into it. If you are choosing accounts software for the first time, the farm bookkeeping software checklist is a sensible starting list, and Making Tax Digital for farmers tells you when it applies to you. Prices for Xero and Figured: check the vendor, as they change with promotions.
For many farms it is, and I would not tell anyone otherwise. It costs little in software, it is familiar, and the accountant already knows your VAT. The weakness is not the spreadsheet. It is that everything depends on one or two people keeping it up to date, and that a spreadsheet will not tell you a withdrawal period is running or a passport window is closing.
If you go this way, build the discipline in. Use a proper template for the medicine book with every field an assessor expects, see our Red Tractor medicine book template and the guide to what has to go in a medicine book. Remember the five-year medicine record rule applies however the book is kept. Report births and movements through the official systems, and our guide to the switch from BCMS to LIS explains the change in cattle movement reporting. A spreadsheet is a recording method, not a compliance system. The deadlines still have to live somewhere you will see them.
FarmHQ is in pre-launch beta. There is no public app store release. Founding farms in South-West England are onboarding on an iPhone TestFlight beta and a direct Android build, with the first three months free. Plans will be £24.99, £49.99 and £69.99 a month by herd size and invoice volume, with every feature on every plan; see FarmHQ pricing.
Our whitepaper says where each phase stands as of October 2026. Built and in farmers' hands: the livestock module with births, movements and deaths, the medicine book, the deadline engine, receipt capture, invoicing, bills, timesheets, Red Tractor records and Ask Farmer Joe. FarmHQ is appointed as the farm's CTS agent and reports to BCMS on its behalf. Still being built: the LIS beta, which waits on the migration, VAT filing and HMRC Making Tax Digital recognition, the accountant handoff, EID wand workflows and full four-nation coverage.
So I will be plain about fit. If you run sheep in England and need movements reported to LIS this season, or you need VAT filed through your software now, use something that does it today. FarmHQ suits a farm that wants records and money together and is comfortable being early. There are no customer reviews or years of use to weigh against Herdwatch's record.
Move nothing until you have an answer to each of these in writing.
Run the old and new system side by side for one full cycle, such as a calving or lambing season, before you cancel. The mandatory cattle EID in 2027 change is also worth asking each vendor about, as it affects readers and tags.
Herdwatch's own UK site lists a free version with limited functionality and a 30-day trial of full features. MyFarmWorks and AgriWebb both advertise free trials rather than a permanent free plan. Terms change, so check each vendor for the current position before you rely on it.
Its FAQ says it communicates with BCMS, ScotEID, EID Cymru and LIS and can send livestock movements and make cattle passport applications. Check that the plan and species you need are covered for your nation before you commit.
AgriWebb's help centre lists BCMS, EIDCymru, LIS, ScotEID, ScotMoves+ and NIFAIS as supported for submitting movements. Only users with the Manager or Admin role can submit movements, so decide who on the farm needs that access before you start.
The livestock apps reviewed here do not describe bookkeeping on their UK pages. Xero describes HMRC-recognised Making Tax Digital for VAT. FarmHQ plans VAT filing, but its whitepaper says HMRC recognition is still to come as of October 2026.
Not yet for most farms. FarmHQ is in pre-launch beta, with founding farms onboarding on an iPhone TestFlight beta and a direct Android build. It suits a farm that wants compliance and the money in one place and is happy to help shape it.