Chapter 1
Get paid, then reconcile.
Cash in the bank is the job. Raise the invoice in Sales → Invoices. Recurring retainers sit in Sales → Recurring Invoices on every plan. Chase from Emails → Payment Reminders— send one, send a batch, or turn auto on with three levels you set.
Stripe and PayPal Pay Now are on every plan. GoCardless Direct Debit is on Business and above. Export a CSV from the bank, then Banking → Smart Bank Import and Banking → Reconcile. Reports show cash after that import. Plan the next thirteen weeks in a spreadsheet with your accountant if you need a forecast.
Takeaways
- Invoice and remind from this login on every plan.
- Bank CSV plus Reconcile is the cash picture. Bank rules wait until Business+.
- GoCardless is Business+. Stripe and PayPal are Solo too.
Chapter 2
When the spreadsheet is enough — and when it is not.
A spreadsheet is fine while one person keys every invoice. It stops being fine when two of you edit the same file, VAT codes drift, or unpaid invoices live in someone’s head. Solo is invoices, expenses, bank CSV, two users, one company and three banks, from £15/month ex VAT after the trial.
Move to Business when you need stock, projects, timesheets, purchase orders, bank rules, multi-currency or GoCardless. Unlimited users, still one company, £39/month ex VAT.
Takeaways
- Start on Solo if the work is invoices, expenses and a bank CSV.
- Upgrade when you need time, stock, Direct Debit or more than three banks.
- 30-day trial, no card, on every public plan.
Chapter 3
Keep the chart of accounts small.
The chart of accounts is the list of income, cost, asset and liability names in the ledger. Start with a short UK set and add a code only when you can point at a run of transactions that needs it. One income account per kind of work is enough; customers live in Sales → Customers, not as extra income codes.
VAT on the invoice stays in the ledger. Filing the VAT return is the next chapter’s split, not a second set of books.
Takeaways
- Fewer accounts, cleaner year-end.
- Customers and projects are not extra nominals.
- Invite your accountant into the same company when you want them to tidy the list.
Chapter 4
Digital records, then file tax elsewhere.
HMRC expects digital records for VAT-registered businesses. Keep invoices, bills, expenses and the bank in this login so the pack is already there.
Corporation tax (CT600) is not filed from this login. HMRC’s Income Tax Self Assessment programme for some sole traders and landlords is a separate filing track, and not a product we sell on this website.
Takeaways
- This login is the books. Trial CTA stays here.
- Do not wait for a filing deadline to start invoicing and bank CSV.
Chapter 5
Switch without inventing a filing trail.
Free migration on Solo, Business, Multi-Company and Practice. Same help for everyone. We import what the tool can take from Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage Business Cloud, FreeAgent, Zoho Books and Capium. Sage 50 is CSV.
After go-live, re-import bank CSV and reconcile again. Invoice figures we can import stay in the ledger. We do not copy HMRC filing records from the old software. See the migration guide.
Takeaways
- Pick a quiet week. Export, import, then bank CSV.
- Sage 50 users should expect CSV, not a live pull.
- Multi-Company migrates every company (up to five).
Chapter 6
Invoice abroad on Business+.
Multi-currency invoicing sits on Business, Multi-Company and Practice — not Solo. Raise the invoice in the customer’s currency, take Stripe or PayPal where you have connected them, then import the GBP bank CSV as usual.
FX on the bank statement is a line you categorise after Smart Bank Import.
Takeaways
- Need EUR or USD invoices? Business at £39.
- Bank still arrives as CSV on every plan.
- Pay Now is Stripe and PayPal on every plan once you connect them.
Chapter 7
Year-end packs your accountant can open.
Open Reports for profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow and ageing. Invite the accountant as a user — Solo includes two logins; Business and above do not charge per extra seat.
They pull the pack from the same company. The CT600 itself is filed outside this login. Companies House accounts are not filed from this login.
Takeaways
- Keep the year clean in the ledger first.
- Same login for you and the accountant.
- ; books stay here.
Chapter 8
Clean books before anyone asks.
If a lender, buyer or new accountant asks for history, they want invoices that match the bank and a P&L that ties to the balance sheet. That is this login: sales, purchases, expenses, stock on Business+, projects on Business+.
Recurring invoices cover retainers. Reports cover the year you have actually booked. Your accountant handles raise paperwork outside this login.
Takeaways
- Reconcile monthly so a request is not a scramble.
- Recurring invoices on every plan for retainers.
- Invite the accountant into the same company when a pack is due.
Chapter 9
One company, five companies, or a practice.
Solo and Business are one company. Multi-Company is five, at £69/month ex VAT, with the Business tools on each. Practice is unlimited companies, quote only. Live chat is on every plan.
Each company is its own books.
Takeaways
- Second company? Multi-Company, not a second Solo.
- Accountants: Practice is quote-only, unlimited companies.
- Migration is free for every company on those plans.
