Xero have added a new feature giving you the ability to set a credit limit for a customer so you can keep track of what they owe you. The credit limit can be set within the contact record, see the help notes here You can also add a credit limit block to a customer to stop invoices from being sent if they have exceeded their credit limit, however this doesn’t apply when repeating invoices are automatically approved or approved for sending. (this feature is only available if you have switched to the new invoicing) To check a clients credit limit while generating an invoice, see the help notes he ..read more

The Government released the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme to run from 1 March 2020. All UK employers will be able to access support to continue paying part of their employees’ salary for those employees that would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis and all UK businesses are eligible. You will need to: Designate affected employees as ‘furloughed workers’ and notify your employees of this change. Your employees should not undertake any work whilst furloughed. This will allow you to claim a grant of up to 80% of their wages, up to a cap of £2,500 a month per employee. You could c ..read more

We know how important it is for our clients to get paid on time and reduce hours spent on admin. That’s why we recommend GoCardless for Xero. GoCardless for Xero allows you to collect payments automatically or manually for any Xero invoice. The free GoCardless for Xero app can be linked straight to GoCardless providing a fast, efficient way to collect invoice payments from customers with the absolute minimum of hassle. This has a number of key benefits that will make your finances slicker: 1. Remove late payment issues while improving cashflow 2. Provide an easier way for customers to pay 3 ..read more

From the 1st April 2020 if your employees are on minimum wage or receive the living wage they will be due a pay rise.  The new hourly rates are as follows: Date Age 25 & Over Age 21 – 24 Age 18 – 20 Under 18 Apprentice From 1st April 2020 £8.72 £8.20 £6.45 £4.55 £4.15 Previous rate from 1st April 2019 £8.21 £7.70 £6.15 £4.35 £3.90 Please ensure all rates are updated for all pay runs after the 1st April 2020. Source: HMRC The post NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE appeared first on LilyIris Accounting Ltd ..read more

If you are a sole trader you must file a self assessment tax return every year, either on paper or online. Before you can file a tax return you must register as self employed, with HMRC here. When you register you can also request online access, if you didn’t do that at the time of registering you can do that here. The tax year runs from 6th April – 5th April, for the purpose of this article we’ll use the 2019-20 tax year that runs from 6th April 2019 – 5th April 2020. The tax return for that year must be filed on paper by 31st October 2020 or online by 31 January 2021. Once you hav ..read more

When you issue an invoice to a customer there are certain things you must include on them (especially if you are VAT registered) and some that are best practice. The checklist below should help ensure you don’t miss anything Your company information: full name, address, email & telephone number Client company information: full name, address, email & telephone number Invoice number, date & due date Itemised breakdown of goods or services, amount being charged, VAT amount (if applicable) & total due If VAT registered: VAT registration number Bank details Your terms & condit ..read more

Do you have a formalised process for invoicing your clients and collecting payments? The following steps are an example of the process you should have in place to ensure speedy payment: If you don’t have a contract in place make sure your client signs up to your terms of business Every company should have terms and conditions drawn up by a reputable solicitor You should ensure these are signed by your client on or before work starts These terms should cover all eventualities but at the least: Charging – what is the fee & when is it invoiced (up front, in stages, at the end etc) Payment ..read more

BrightPay Connect is a cloud add-on to the desktop payroll software we use to process your company payroll. The powerful online features include an automated cloud backup, online employer dashboards, annual leave management, client payroll entry and approval and an employee self-service portal. The payroll itself is still processed by us but the payroll information is stored online on a secure cloud server. Employer Dashboard Employers can access a secure online dashboard which gives an overview of the payroll information in one place. The employer dashboard includes notifications, all employ ..read more

This new regulation intends to cut down on ‘missing trader’ fraud – where companies receive amounts of VAT from their customers, but do not declare or pay this to HMRC. The Domestic Reverse Charge (DRC) has been around for a while for some industries but is now being extended and comes into force from 1st March 2021 (was originally 1st October 2019 and then 1st October 2020) for the construction industry. If you’re not VAT registered, then you don’t need to worry, just carry on as normal! If you are VAT registered there are some changes you need to be aware of – carry on reading! Sales betwee ..read more

Bookkeeping is a key part of our services, but what is bookkeeping and why do you need it? In a nutshell, bookkeeping is taking all your records – bank statements, sales invoices, purchase receipts, mileage logs, stock take, etc – and recording them in a proper format to allow the accounts to be prepared. At LilyIris Accounting, the bookkeeping for our clients is done on Xero, with the help of Hubdoc. Clients raise their sales invoices and email out to their clients through Xero. All purchases are sorted through Hubdoc – just snap a picture of a physical receipt or forward any email receipts ..read more