Xero Archives

Xero Training in South West London

Every business uses Xero differently, so our sessions are practical and flexible. They cover what your business needs to do in Xero.

Xero is one of the most powerful cloud accounting platforms available. But like many tools, it’s only as effective as the way you use it.

Blue Dot Consulting are Xero partners and we help businesses of all shapes and sizes unlock the full potential of Xero through bespoke training sessions run with your people using your transactions working in your Xero account.

Why Invest in Xero Training?

Xero is designed to make accounting simpler — but many business owners only scratch the surface of what it can do for them. A short, focused training session can help you to:

Save time by automating routine tasks such as bank receipts and payments, invoicing and payroll
Get real-time insights into your business’s performance with dashboards and custom reports
Improve accuracy by reducing manual data entry and errors
Collaborate easily with your accountant or finance team online
Make better business decisions using up-to-date financial information

When you understand what Xero can do — and how to use it effectively — you can focus on what really matters: growing your business.

📽️ Create a useful Debtors report in Xero

Who Our Xero Training Is For

Our Xero training sessions in South West London are ideal for:

Business owners and directors who want a clearer picture of their company’s finances
Finance managers and bookkeepers looking to improve efficiency and accuracy
New Xero users who want to get started the right way
Teams transitioning from other systems (such as QuickBooks or Sage) to Xero
Business owners whose accountants set up Xero but haven’t helped since

Whether you’re a start-up, a growing SME or an established business, we’ll tailor the training to your specific needs.

What Our Xero Training Covers

Every business uses Xero differently, so our sessions are practical and flexible. They cover what your business needs to do in Xero.

Some of the most popular topics we cover include:

Xero setup and optimisation
- Configuring your chart of accounts
- Setting up users and permissions
- Integrating with your bank accounts and apps
Daily bookkeeping in Xero
- Invoicing and bills
- Clearing bank receipts and payments
- Expense management
Xero reporting and analysis
- Using dashboards to track KPIs
- Understanding profit & loss, balance sheet, and cash flow reports
- Customising management reports for directors and stakeholders
Automation and efficiency
- Setting up recurring invoices and bank rules
- Linking Xero with add-ons such as Dext or Hubdoc
- Creating workflows that save time all the time
End-of-year preparation and collaboration
- Working seamlessly with your accountant
- Preparing your books for year-end
- Avoiding common mistakes and data issues

We run these sessions in half-day slots at your business or our office and follow up with short video calls to make sure everything we covered is working well.

📽️ How to build and fututre-proof your Xero Chart of Accounts

Why Choose Blue Dot Consulting for Xero Training in South West London?

Here’s what makes our approach different:

Local expertise: Based in South West London, we understand the needs of local SMEs across industries such as professional services, retail, property, creative agencies and technology.
Qualified accountants: Our trainers are accountants first — not just software users. We know how Xero fits into the bigger financial picture.
Tailored sessions: No generic slideshows. Every session is designed around your business’s structure, challenges and goals.
Ongoing support: We’re here for the long term — from setup and training through to accounting advice and strategic financial insight.

As Xero Partners, we’re committed to helping our clients make the most of digital accounting technology.

Book Your Xero Training Session

If you’re based in or around South West London and want to get more from Xero, we’d love to help.

Contact Michael Austin at Blue Dot Consulting today to arrange your tailored Xero training session and together, we’ll make Xero work harder for your business.

📞 Call us: 020 7125 0270
📧 Email: info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk
🌐 Visit: bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Common Xero Challenges We Solve

Many businesses come to us because they’re struggling with:

Unreconciled transactions and messy bank feeds
Reports that don’t make sense
Staff unsure about how to handle invoices or expenses in Xero
Limited visibility over cash flow and profit

Through personalised training, we help you get control of your data, clean up your records, and build confidence using the system.

The Business Impact of Better Xero Use

When your team is confident in Xero, the benefits are tangible:

Cleaner data means more accurate numbers and faster decision-making
Improved cash flow visibility helps takes away stress and helps you make more money
Streamlined bookkeeping frees up time for more valuable work
Better collaboration with your accountant keeps your wider financial position in view

For many of our clients, even a short session pays for itself quickly in time savings and improved financial clarity.

Blue Dot Consulting provides practical Xero training services to clients across Central London, West London and South West London, with particular focus on Fulham, Hammersmith, Richmond, Putney, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea. We help local business owners make better financial decisions and plan confidently for the future.

© Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants, Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

From Numbers to Insights: Turning Xero Into Your Business Decision Engine

The real magic starts when you learn how to customise Xero reports so they fit your business exactly and tell you what you need to know.

No one buys Xero because they want to buy Xero. You buy and use Xero because you want to measure and improve the financial results of your business and our Xero training can help you..

The sharp end of Xero is the reports that provide a window in to your business.

But too many users get bogged down with the data entry and don’t spend enough time looking at the wealth of financial information that could be available.

Key reports that drive strategy

There’s a long list of the reports available in Xero when you select “Reporting” from the main menu and then click on “All reports”

The basic reports are already set up as Favourites and they include:

Profit and Loss
Balance Sheet
Aged Receivables Summary – (who owes you money)
Aged Payables summary – (who you owe money to)

Run these reports and familiarise yourself with what they mean and how they can help you run your business.

➡️ The real magic starts when you learn how to customise these reports so they fit your business exactly and tell you what you need to know. Watch a simple example in the related articles below.

Measure what matters

But – however well you customise them, your reports will only be as good as your data entry. Two points are worth considering.

Tracking Categories

Many businesses find it useful to measure profits and performance by activity, product or service categories or by location. You can do this in Xero – they call them “Tracking Categories” and you’ll find them in the Accounting section of your settings.

Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts (CoA) is the list of all the account classifications you can use to classify your financial transactions e.g. sales, recruitment costs, rent, bank loan etc.

The biggest mistake we see Xero users make is they think the CoA that comes as standard should just be accepted and can’t be changed.

Your CoA is the DNA of your accounting, it feeds directly into your reports. Mould it to reflect your business.

➡️ Build a Chart of Accounts in Xero – Don’t fence me in

If you can measure it, you can improve it

This is why financial reports are so important to any business and Xero can give you all the financial insight you need.

But it helps to start at the end and work backwards.

Work out what financial information you need to run and improve your business and then:

create and customise the Xero reports you need
set up Tracking Categories
mould the Chart of Accounts so you can record and classify all your transactions in a sensible, consistent and relevant way
adopt sensible workflows so that transactions flow through Xero accurately and in good time

It’s a bit like looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

But the view is so much better.

➡️ Know your numbers, don’t get lost in the fog

Book a Xero training session

We run half-day Xero training sessions, one to one, where we work with you to process your transactions in your Xero.

We look at the full spectrum of Xero – from data entry to reports – and the objective is to make Xero come alive for you. Find out more here.

And if you’re not quite ready then book a free 30 minute review** of the reports you use in Xero. We can jump on Teams or Zoom, take a look at the reports you’re using in Xero and identify some areas for improvement.

There’s no time like the present so why not get in touch?

📞 call Michael Austin on 020 7125 0270 or

📧 info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Michael

Related articles:

📽️ Create and save a useful Debtors report in Xero

This must be my profit, it says so on my phone

Why don’t more businesses make better use of their accounting software

Management information

** Free 30 minute review – terms and conditions apply

Our work with Xero users across Central, West and South West London gives us a close-up view of how businesses in areas like Fulham, Hammersmith, Richmond, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea are adapting and growing. If you’d like to explore how these insights could apply to your business, we’d love to hear from you.

© Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants, Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Xero – five simple tweaks that can save you hours each month

You don’t use Xero for the love of bookkeeping, you use it to produce financial information that you can use to measure and improve the performance of your business.

Xero is great software – provided you know how to use it properly.

Here are five simple tweaks you could make to the way you use Xero which will make a big difference to the time it takes to do your bookkeeping and to the financial information you can generate from Xero.

1. Workflows

The bank feed is one of the most useful tools in Xero but it works best and takes the least amount of time if it’s matching incoming and outgoing transactions against sales invoices and suppliers’ bills that are already accounted for.

In any event, sales invoices should be sent as soon as possible and suppliers’ invoices should be accounted for when you get them so you know your costs and how much you need to pay out.

Your bookkeeping is only useful if it’s up to date so make sure all your sales and purchases are accounted for as soon as they can be.

And speed up that bank feed work.

2. Set up bank rules

Not for the faint-hearted in case you get one of your rules wrong but if you have regular, repeating receipts and payments going through your bank account then set up some rules so Xero does the heavy lifting for you and gets it right every time.

Start with transactions without VAT (easy enough if you’re not registered for VAT) such as:

bank charges and interest
train fares
transfers between accounts or to / from the business owner
PAYE and net pay payments

Bank rules run automatically and if you’re reclaiming VAT on a payment you need to ensure you have the VAT invoice and the best action you can take is always to attach the VAT invoice to the payment in Xero.

Which slightly defeats the point of automatic, time-saving rules

Here’s the Xero guide to setting up bank rules

Give it a go – but check your work!

3. Customise reports so they tell you more

You don’t use Xero for the love of bookkeeping, you use it to produce financial information that you can use to measure and improve the performance of your business.

Get to know the basic reports in Xero and if you click on the star next to a report then it appears in the Accounts drop-down menu.

You can also customise reports to make them more helpful and so they better reflect YOUR business. Here are a couple of examples:

4. Setting up repeating invoices and transactions

If you repeatedly send invoices of the same value, for the same product or service to the same customer then automate the process using a repeating invoice template.

Xero won’t forget the task and when the customer pays, the bank feed should match the money to the invoice.

Here’s the Xero guide to setting up repeating sales invoices

You can also set up repeating transactions for other items that will save you time such as:

monthly insurance or business rates charges through your P&L
a monthly estimate of your corporation tax charge so tax doesn’t come as a surprise

5. Use expense apps

Expense apps or document management apps, such as Dext, AutoEntry or Xero’s own – HubDoc – all save time and improve the accuracy of your bookkeeping.

You forward suppliers’ invoices and out of pocket receipts to the app and select the correct accounting classification for the cost and then publish the transaction to Xero, along with the PDF of the invoice.

These apps learn and can also be programmed to do the correct accounting whenever they recognise an invoice from a particular supplier.

I hope you find these five Xero tweaks useful and you get more out of Xero as a result.

If you’d like to learn a lot more and make sure Xero is functioning as your business needs it to then our bespoke Xero training might be just what you need.

We work with you and your finance team on YOUR Xero file using YOUR business transactions.

Follow the Xero Training link to find out more and then give Michael Austin a call on 020 7125 0270 or email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Michael

Xero accountants in London

Accounting and tax services for your business

Blue Dot Consulting provides accounting and business advisory services to clients across Central London, West London and South West London, with particular focus on Fulham, Hammersmith, Richmond, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea. We help local business owners make better financial decisions and plan confidently for the future.

© Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants, Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Bookkeeping, accounts and tax for a one-person company

The hard part about running your own one-person company is not the bookkeeping, accounts and tax – it’s making a profit!

The hard part about running your own one-person company is not the bookkeeping, accounts and tax – it’s making a profit!

But you do need to give some thought to the financials and here’s a one-minute explainer covering many of the important points you should consider.

Just press play but pause it if you need to.

Bookkeeping, accounts and tax for a one-person company

So there’s plenty to think about but don’t hide your head in the sand.

It’s a bit of a feeding-frenzy when you get going but bookkeeping soon settles down and should tick along in the background without too many dramas.

And if you need inspiration, click on this link because we helped Maria go from “raising my invoices” to “doing most of my bookkeeping” in a matter of months.

Some people do all of their accounting and tax themselves but it isn’t for everyone. So, if you need help – there’s plenty of help about.

Help might include some software training so you know how to use your accounting software properly. We can help you here if your business is using FreeAgent, QuickBooks or Xero.

If you’re in our South West London neighbourhood – Fulham, Putney, Hammersmith, Chelsea – then give me a call on 020 7125 0270 or email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk or pop in and see us at Fulham Green.

Michael

Related links:

Bookkeeping for your business

Annual accounts

The loneliness of the small business price increase

© Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants, Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Xero Accountants in South West London – let’s unlock your numbers

No one buys accounting software because they need accounting software. They buy it so they can generate the financial information they need to run and improve their business.

Xero Accountants in South West London – sounds like us.

Xero user who’s a little frustrated that you’re not quite getting what you want and need from Xero – sounds like you?

Read on.

A Xero Accountant in London – good enough?

Quite simply, it makes sense to get help from local people who know Xero!

But no one buys accounting software because they need accounting software. They buy it so they can generate the financial information they need to run and improve their business.

Which is why simply being another Xero accountant from central casting isn’t good enough. You need support from people who can make Xero work for your business, not for any business.

The Blue Dot Consulting advantage

We have extensive experience of Xero, it’s true.

But we also have extensive experience of how to run a finance function! So when we help you with Xero we do it in a practical way that fits your business.

We’ll work with you to:

Choose and use the right apps to streamline data entry
Automate recurring transactions
Build the suite of financial reports that’s right for you
Keep everything running as your business scales

And when we work with businesses, this is what they say:

Michael is very knowledgeable on all things Xero and as an accountant and business owner he also is extremely practical and “real world” focused.
Nick – business manager

What next?

If our approach resonates and sounds like what you’re looking for then let’s have a chat and set up a free first meeting.

You can email me at info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk or give me a call on 020 7125 0270.

Michael

Related links:

Xero training

Create a useful chart of accounts in Xero

As businesses grow, their financial management evolves

We did nine months’ bookkeeping in three weeks for a £1m+ business

There’s very little point in doing any bookkeeping if you can’t produce financial information that helps you measure and improve financial performance.

“We don’t use any accounting software, our monthly sales are £150k, everything is done on spreadsheets. Can you help us?”

The answer was yes and this is how we did it.

Bookkeeping using accounting software

The first decision was which accounting software to use.

The client had been recommended Xero but we suggested QuickBooks as it’s far better for producing financial reports.

There’s very little point in doing any bookkeeping if you can’t produce financial information that helps you measure and improve financial performance.

Bookkeeping training

We ran a half-day QuickBooks training session for the MD to show him what QB looks like and in that session we covered:

connecting the bank accounts to QuickBooks
accounting for bank receipts and payments that appear in the bank feed
bank reconciliations
how to enter suppliers’ bills
how to create sales invoices
how to generate and customise financial reports

The MD wants a colleague to do most of the bookkeeping work going forwards and at the end of the training session he was confident he could show her how to do this new work.

We also looked at the company’s historical transactions – how and where they had created and stored their sales invoices and suppliers’ bills.

Fair play to the client – all of these transactions were saved in easily accessible places. Which made the next piece of work far easier than it might have been.

Bookkeeping tools and apps

We needed a document management app and we chose AutoEntry.

Working with the client, all of the 2024 sales invoices and suppliers’ bills were uploaded into AutoEntry and once there we could specify the correct accounting entries for each transaction and send the accounting data, plus the invoice document, straight to QB.

Hey Presto! – the accounting is done.

This may sound like a massive job but the point is that the software learns the right answers as you go, so by the time you’re looking at the third or fourth telephone invoice AutoEntry is suggesting the right bookkeeping treatment for it.

Which means you can select all of the telephone invoices, confident that the accounting is correct and send them straight to QB.

Hey Presto! – the accounting is done.

Financial reports

Organisations do bookkeeping so they can measure and improve financial performance.

There’s some compliance work, such as VAT and annual accounts, that falls out along the way, but the main reason is to measure, understand and improve results.

So, as the back-filling of the 2024 transactions was taking place, we were creating and customising financial reports so the MD can see at a glance:

year-to-date profit
P&L by month
unpaid sales invoices
unpaid suppliers’ bills

As we look to the future there maybe more reports to be created and, of course, when we get into 2025 we’ll be able to see year-on-year comparisons.

Ongoing bookkeeping and credit control

The bookkeeping is now up to date and the challenge is to keep it up to date. The software helps because it learns what the correct accounting should be for many transactions and suggests the right answer when it comes across a new transaction that’s similar to something it has seen in the past.

The in-house training on QB has been successful (we had regular screen-sharing calls during the catch-up phase so the clients could learn along the way) and every day new transactions are being accounted for and the bank feed is being cleared.

We can now take further advantage of having all of the bookkeeping taking place in accounting software by using the software to help with credit control.

As well as being able to see at a glance which invoices are unpaid, we can start to use tools such as sending statements and automatic payment reminders to clients to chase them for payment.

And, perhaps most importantly, we can now raise and send sales invoices in QuickBooks which means credit control starts with the invoice.

Financial control and management accounts

No one in the client company is an accountant, yet here they are doing the accounting!

To make sure they’re doing everything correctly and completely, we are producing monthly management accounts for review with the MD.

The management accounts not only tell the story of financial performance, they act as a check that the numbers are correct. For example:

do the bank balances agree to the bank statements at month-end?
are there any old debtor balances that need to be chased or written off?
are there any negative customer or supplier balances that need to be understood and resolved?
have all transactions such as depreciation and payroll been accounted for correctly?
is the VAT liability correct?

All in all, what started as a phone call has resulted in a transformation from no accounting being done to all of the bookkeeping taking place in recognised accounting software, financial reports being available on demand and the safety net of financial controls helping to keep everything on course.

If your business sounds a little like the one described here then you should make the phone call they made.

Let’s have a free-of-charge chat about your business – call Michael Austin on 020 7125 0270 or email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Michael

Related links:

10 ways to get paid on time

Xero training

QuickBooks training

Bookkeeping for your business

At Blue Dot Consulting, we work with many owner-managed businesses across Central, West and South West London, including Fulham, Hammersmith, Richmond, Putney, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea. If you’d like to improve your financial reporting, bookkeeping or decision-making, we’d be delighted to help.

© Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants, Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Is Xero helping your business grow or holding it back?

Xero is brilliant – but only if you use it well.

And what holds back too many Xero users is that no one has ever shown them how to use it properly.

Xero is brilliant – but only if you use it well.

And what holds back too many Xero users is that no one has ever shown them how to use it properly.

Six common missteps Xero users make

They don’t:

keep Xero up to date
organise the most efficient workflows to make Xero easier to use
understand well enough the financial information available
do the bookkeeping correctly – particularly e-commerce
check that Xero is correct e.g. by doing proper bank reconciliations
get the VAT right

This can be true of both business owners using Xero for themselves and also true of bookkeepers and accounts who should know better!

So what if my Xero is wrong?

Businesses and organisations use bookkeeping software to measure and improve financial performance.

Yes, there are some other benefits, particularly around compliance, such as VAT returns, year-end accounts and tax returns. But these are second-order benefits and come a long way behind having accurate financial information at your finger tips.

So, what can go wrong if your Xero is wrong?

Amongst other things, how about these:

Poor and late decisions based on out of date numbers
Worsening cashflow
Missed opportunities to make higher profits
Stress!

And if you don’t want these and other issues impacting adversely on your business then why not invest in Xero training to help put you on the right track?

I was anxious about using the cloud based Xero and its many automated functions.

Michael’s straightforward, practical and tailor made approach was perfect for me and our business. With clear explanation and reasoning he was ready to answer any of my questions with calm reassurance at all times.

Thank you Michael. 

Invest in Xero training – invest in a better business

Our Xero training usually takes place in half-day sessions ideally at your business but our office can also be the venue.

We take some time to understand your business and how it works before taking a detailed look with you at how your bookkeeping is taking place and how it can be improved.

We look at:

Sales invoices and credit control
Entering and paying suppliers’ bills
Clearing the bank feed and agreeing Xero to your bank statements
Creating and using helpful financial reports
Accounting for other business processes, such as expense claims and payroll

It can get very intensive, which is why our training sessions are in half-day blocks.

But we also work with you if you need some further ad hoc support – we’re happy to run short sessions on Teams / Zoom to help you get the best from Xero.

Sounds useful? – To find out more about our Xero training and how it can help your business call Michael Austin on 020 7125 0270 or email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Michael

Related links:

Xero training for your business

Video – create a useful Chart of Accounts in Xero

Management information

Blue Dot Consulting Limited, Chartered Accountants – Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Xero accountants in London

We’ll ask you what information will help you run your business more successfully and agree on the financial reports you’ll need from Xero in order to do just that.

There are many Xero accountants in London but if you’re looking for people who can make Xero come alive and give your business the financial information it needs to help it grow profitably and make more money then you’ve come to the right place.

The place to start in Xero is the reports

That’s where we start.

At the finish.

We’ll ask you what information will help you run your business more successfully and agree on the financial reports you’ll need from Xero in order to do just that.

Don’t be surprised if we add in a few ideas of our own that you may not have seen before.

Once we have a set of customised reports firmly in mind we can go to the beginning of the process and think about data entry.

It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope
Dr. Seuss

Data entry with just the right amount of tech

Most of the time spent using Xero is doing data entry and we’ll show you how to do everything you need to.

Where it’s sensible, because it saves time and improves accuracy, we’ll recommend apps to help with data entry.

Connecting Xero to your bank to download receipts and payments and credit card transactions is the first step and you’ve most likely got that working but let’s also consider:

document capture apps such as Dext or AutoEntry
transaction import for sales invoices if you run a CRM system or make sales online

It’s tempting to overdo the tech and be swamped with apps but this is an area where less is more.

You need to recognise your business in your numbers

The DNA of your bookkeeping is your Chart of Accounts (CoA). This is the list of account categories that you use to classify transactions. For example: sales, gross pay, rent, computer equipment.

You need the account categories that match what your business buys and sells.

It’s really important to think this through so you set up the accounts you need, and in a sensible order because this helps to make your reports more useful.

Also, your CoA will evolve over time so make sure you leave gaps in the structure to allow new accounts to fit in as and when required.

Too often we see businesses neglecting their chart of accounts and it’s a breath of fresh air when your CoA is just how you need it. The link below contains a short video on how to transform from where you are to where you ought to be.

Build a useful Xero chart of accounts

Looking for Xero accountants in London?

When we help businesses make better use of Xero this is the sort of thing they say about us:

As an experienced Sage user of over 30 years I was anxious about using the cloud based Xero and its many automated functions. Michael’s straightforward, practical and tailor made approach was perfect for me and our business. With clear explanation and reasoning he was ready to answer any of my questions with calm reassurance at all times. Thank you Michael.
Company accountant

If what you’ve read is what you’re looking for then please get in touch and we can have a chat about your business and what you’d like to get out of Xero.

Call Michael Austin on 020 7125 0270, email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk or pop in and see us at Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW.

Michael

Related links:

Xero training for your business

Aged debtors report in Xero

Overhaul and rebuild your finance function

Chartered Accountants – Bedford House, Fulham Green, London, SW6 3JW

Aged debtors report in Xero

Like most accounting software, the standard presentation of aged debtors is in alphabetical order – which is as useful as a chocolate teapot!

If you sell on credit terms to customers then you need an Aged Debtors report in Xero to help manage your debtors.

Like most accounting software, the standard presentation of aged debtors is in alphabetical order – which is as useful as a chocolate teapot!

Anyone doing credit control needs to see the largest balances first so they can concentrate on the biggest debtors and collect the most money.

And any negative balances also need to jump off the page and get themselves resolved – which is great because they will appear at the bottom of our report.

Why is the order of the aged debtors report such a well-kept secret?

Most users will want to run an aged debtors report in Xero so why is the trick of changing the order of the report such a well-kept secret?

No idea – but you now know so please make use of it and share the knowledge.

Are you getting the most out of Xero?

It’s great software but are you getting what you need from Xero in order to run your business profitably and efficiently?

Is all of your data being entered accurately and in good time?
Are all of your bank transactions accounted for or do some stay in the bank feed?
Do you have customised reports (like aged debtors) that will improve business performance?

We run bespoke Xero training for businesses which is tailored to fit like a glove. We use your live data and your Xero file – because it’s your business!

The starting point is a half-day training session which costs £300 plus VAT. This can be at your business or our office.

If further sessions are required then we can agree them as we go.

We also work with you if you need some ad hoc support – we’re happy to run short sessions on Teams / Zoom to help you get the best from Xero.

Michael

Related links:

Xero training for your business

She’s a bulldozer when it comes to credit control and getting paid

The VAT payment you were worrying about? That got paid last week!

Are the accounting software companies building the equivalent of 3D television?

Despite all the marketing hype and investment by the media companies and the TV manufacturers, 3D TV has never caught on.

Are the accounting software companies creating their own equivalent of 3D TV?

If they are, do we need it and do we want it?

Over the years there have been several attempts to get 3D into cinemas and living rooms but, by and large, there’s been no great appetite for it.

No one needed it and few people wanted it.

Despite all the marketing hype and investment by the media companies and the TV manufacturers, 3D TV has never caught on.

Is there a similar story brewing these days with AI and accounting software?

AI in accounting software – it’s coming whether you like it or not!

The hype is there and will only get louder. The investment is there and has been for a while and some of the AI has already made its way into some of the software.

Big launches and announcements are planned.

And as we wait for the product launches, if you’re an accountant or bookkeeper, in a firm, working for yourself or in a finance department, start to ask yourself:

will accounting software infused with AI be substantially more useful?
will AI-infused accounting software help make my clients / my employer more profitable?
will I be able to switch it off if I think it gets in the way?
will my business and /or my clients be prepared to pay more for the software?
if I can’t see appreciable benefits can I buy a version of the product without the AI?

We’ve yet to see what the next wave of AI in accounting software will look like, so it’s too soon to reach any conclusions.

It might be something that most of us can’t live without and we’re prepared to pay more for it.

But it may be the equivalent of 3D TV.

If so, then be prepared to push back.

Can Blue Dot Consulting help your business with its bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is the DNA of every business and, however much technology you use, your bookkeeping needs to be done well and kept up to date.

We do a lot of training with businesses to help them get going in the right way or transition away from how they’ve always done things to how they should be doing things.

We help businesses get what they need from their numbers and we can help you with:

Our training uses your accounting software and your live data so it really is bespoke for your business.

We work with start-ups and we also work with long-established businesses.

We take you through the whole spectrum from data entry at one end to financial reports at the other end, pausing to look at workflows and financial controls along the way.

Perhaps most importantly of all – we show you how to use the software in a way that’s right for your business, not in a way that the accounting software companies would have you believe is right for your business.

Let’s have a free-of-charge chat about your business – call Michael Austin on 020 7125 0270 or email info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk

Michael

Related links:

Bookkeeping in the 21st century

Technology is the servant, not the master

Accounting software training

Blue Dot Consulting provides accounting and business advisory services to clients across Central London, West London and South West London, with particular focus on Fulham, Hammersmith, Richmond, Putney, Wandsworth, Kensington and Chelsea. We help local business owners make better financial decisions and plan confidently for the future.