Newsletter - December 2025

It’s almost time to switch off for the year. But before we do, we’ve got a jam-packed December edition for you.

What's inside:

• See what the Rounded community got up to 2025

• Rounded has officially hit the 10-year mark 🤯

• Plan ahead with our holiday support hours for Dec and Jan

• Our partnership with Rachel's List and the Content Byte is extended for another year 🙌

• Tax tips for business gift giving (from an accountant)

• Tell us what content you'd like to see more of in 2026

📣 Celebrating your 2025 wins

We asked you what you were most proud of achieving in your business this year. Here's a few of our top submissions:

Our win?

Rounded has officially hit the 10-year mark 🎉

Considering less than 35% of companies make it past a decade, this is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team – and the incredible support of our community. We couldn't do it without you!

We also kept busy with launching a whole bunch of quality-of-life improvements along with some of your most-requested features.

More on that below 👇

⚙️ ICYMI: Everything we shipped in 2025

This year was all about making Rounded faster and easier for sole traders to run their businesses on.

💸 Payments + income

• Improved invoice payment experience for your clients, including Google Pay, Apple Pay and Stripe Link

• Stripe feed to import income from subscriptions, courses and products

💡 Smarter, more customisable invoicing

• New, simpler interface for invoices and quotes

• New invoice headers, footers, and layout options

• All text is now customisable on your invoices and quotes

• 40+ new unit types on line items to better represent your products and services

• A cleaner interface for recurring invoice schedules

💳 Easier expense refunds and reconciliation

• Account for expense refunds with negative expenses

• Reconcile bank transactions to existing expenses and receipts

🏦 Better bank feeds

• Connect via Open Banking for more reliable and secure bank feeds

• Choose a date range when connecting your account (no duplicate records!)

🦉 Dark mode everywhere

• Dark mode on iPhone and Android

• Invoice editor now supports dark mode

And we've got plenty more where that came from, with lots of exciting things in the pipeline for 2026.

Here's a quick sneak peek at what's next:

• Schedule invoicing sending

• New UI for sending invoices

• Invoice email drafts

• Invoice refunds

Want to request a feature? Add your suggestions or upvote others.

▶️ Learn how other Rounded users have built thriving businesses in 2025 and beyond

This year, we launched Making It Work – a series where we sit down with Rounded users to uncover honest stories behind running a successful solo business and hard-won, practical lessons.

If you missed any of our session, now's a perfect time to check them out as you prep for next year👇

• How to stay valuable as a writer in the age of AI with Eagranie Yuh

• How to get started with AI for sole traders with Rashida Tayabali

• Building a design business that still wins in 2025 with Jeremy Mura

• Creating experiences people pay for with Diego Bonetto

• How to make your solo business stand out in a crowded marketplace with Jenn Donovan

• How to build a values-led business (and still pay the bills) with Marnie Hawson

Hope to see you at our first live session in Feb 2026!

🎄 Holiday support hours

The team will be taking a well earned break over the festive period and support times will change as follows:

• 24th December: No support after 3pm.

• 25th December - 4th January (inclusive): NO SUPPORT. Critical app functions will be monitored.

• 5th January - 9th January (inclusive): Limited support 10am-5pm daily (AEDST).

Our normal support schedule will resume on Monday 12th January 2026.

🙌 Another big year ahead with Rachel’s List and The Content Byte

Good news: our long-standing collaboration with Rachel’s List and The Content Byte will continue into 2026!

For years, these 2 brands have been pillars in the Australian freelance community:

• Rachel’s List is the country's leading jobs board and community for journalists, copywriters, content specialists, editors and other freelance creatives

• The Content Byte is one of the most successful freelancing podcasts in the world, ranking in the top 2.5% globally.

Rounded has proudly supported both, from offering exclusive discounts to members to sponsoring the podcast since 2022.

Here's what our partners had to say:

We’re grateful for the continued relationship, and excited to keep supporting Australia’s freelancers together in the year ahead.

💡 Tip of the month with Lauren Thiel, Accountant for Creatives

It's definitely lovely to give gifts to your team and clients!

Just keep any Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) impacts (for anyone with employees), and consider what you give because it may or may not be deductible.

As a rule of thumb, avoid gifts of 'entertainment' if you want to claim the deduction.

Happy holidays, and thanks for a great 2025! We'll see you next year 😊

- The Rounded Team

Cover Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash