I have been using Xero for 9 years now and frequently train not only our own new employees on how to use it but also other businesses who need help.
 
 One of the advantages of Xero has always been the bank feed which downloads transactions from your bank on a daily basis directly into the software. These transactions can then be quickly and easily allocated to an invoice or directly to an account code with a description and relevant VAT code.
 
 But sometimes the bank feed …

Today I took on a new client. They telephoned last week wondering what to do as they had just gone over the VAT threshold. They were nervous about what that entailed and concerned they wouldn't know what to do. I spent some time talking them through being VAT registered, keeping accurate records and …

Last week I wrote about checking your unpaid bills, your creditors, to see if the bills outstanding are accurate or whether there are old unpaid bills which could be duplicates or could require credit notes.
 
 This week I am going to cover debtors - the customers who owe you. Whilst all business owners think they are on top of their unpaid invoices and know exactly who owes them and how much they are owed, often the accounts tell a different story. …

Creditors are the suppliers you owe money to but have you ever thought to check whether the report generated from your accounts software is accurate?
 
 When we take over bookkeeping work one of the things we check is the age of the supplier invoices awaiting payment. …

March is the chosen financial year end for more than 60% of our bookkeeping clients, whether they are a sole trader or a limited company. So in April and May we are completing March and April bookkeeping for our bookkeeping clients, completing their VAT returns and finalising their accounts to hand over to their accountant. 
 
 This year, despite the additional workload created by COVID-19, …