Xero Bookkeeping & Payroll Specialists

Xero Bookkeeping & Payroll Specialists We are a Xero GOLD certified practice, we work with established businesses as well as startups to allow them to really understand their numbers.

Fixed affordable fees so why not get in touch today and we will help you and your business.

We charge fixed fees. Not hourly rates.That means when you take us on, you know exactly what you're paying — every month...
20/06/2026

We charge fixed fees. Not hourly rates.

That means when you take us on, you know exactly what you're paying — every month, no surprises.

If something changes in your business — more transactions, new employees, a second entity — we'll have a conversation. But there's no hourly meter running, no bill that doubles because something took longer than expected.

Plenty of people have been stung by bills bigger than expected. We don't do that.

Fixed fee means a clean relationship. You know your costs. We focus on the work.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

Parliament is asking small businesses what they actually need.The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has laun...
19/06/2026

Parliament is asking small businesses what they actually need.

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has launched a formal inquiry to shape the Government's Small Business Strategy. They want evidence from business owners — not just trade bodies and lobbyists. Real experiences, real challenges, real views.

If you have something to say about tax, business rates, energy costs, high streets, or anything else that makes running a small business harder than it needs to be, this is a genuine opportunity to put it on the record.

The deadline for written submissions is 16 July 2026. You can submit evidence directly through the UK Parliament website at committees.parliament.uk.

We see what the pressures look like from where we sit. If you want to talk through what's worth raising, give us a call.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

Nearly half of all SME invoices in the UK are paid late. Not occasionally. Consistently, routinely, late.New research fr...
18/06/2026

Nearly half of all SME invoices in the UK are paid late. Not occasionally. Consistently, routinely, late.

New research from Sage puts a number on it: £11 billion lost to overdue invoices every year, with businesses waiting an average of 27 days beyond terms to get paid money they've already earned.

The good news? It doesn't have to be like that.

Our virtual accounts team handles credit control as part of what we do. Chasing invoices, monitoring aged debtor reports, keeping on top of what's outstanding — so your cash flow reflects what you've actually earned, not what's sitting in unpaid bills.

You went into business to do what you're good at. Chasing money is not that thing.

Let us take it off your plate.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

HMRC is proposing new reporting requirements for close companies — most small limited companies where the directors are ...
17/06/2026

HMRC is proposing new reporting requirements for close companies — most small limited companies where the directors are also the main shareholders.

Under the plans, you would need to file detailed information about transactions between the company and its shareholders and directors. The ICAEW has pushed back, warning that this creates a "disproportionate administrative burden" on compliant businesses and won't effectively tackle the tax evasion it's supposedly targeting.

Our view: they're right.

Most of our clients are exactly the kind of business this would affect. These transactions are already documented in the accounts and declared on the tax return. Another layer of reporting doesn't catch people doing things wrong — they're not going to start disclosing everything because of a new form. It just costs honest businesses more time and money.

Nothing is confirmed yet. This is still a proposal. But it is worth being aware of.

If you run a close company and your transactions with the business aren't properly documented — director loans, expenses, dividends — now is a sensible time to get things straight. The more detailed reporting requirements become, the more it matters that your books are clean from the start.

That's what we help with.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

17/06/2026

"We've got an accountant — do we need a bookkeeper too?"

It's a question we hear fairly often.

The short answer: your accountant works with your annual figures. A bookkeeper keeps those figures accurate all year round.

Clean books mean your accountant spends less time correcting errors and more time doing actual planning. It also means you know where you stand at any point — not just when the year-end accounts land.

Most of our clients came to us because their accountant recommended it. That's not a coincidence.

At ASBK, we work alongside your existing accountant and keep everything in Xero, so there are no surprises at year end.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

16/06/2026

The 2025/26 tax year ended on 5 April.

If you're self-employed or a sole trader, your Self Assessment return isn't due until 31 January — which means most people don't think about it until December at the earliest.

That's a mistake.

The records you need are easiest to pull together now, while the year is still reasonably fresh. Bank statements, expense receipts, mileage logs, invoices — gather them in summer and January becomes far less painful.

At ASBK, we can take the whole process off your hands. Get in touch and we'll make sure you're not scrambling on the 30th.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

15/06/2026

We're halfway through 2026.

If you're a business owner and you haven't looked properly at your numbers since the start of the year, today is a good day to change that.

Not a full audit. Just a check-in. Are you where you expected to be? Is cash where it should be? Any invoices sitting unpaid that you've stopped noticing?

Half-year is the moment most business owners realise they've been too busy running the business to look at the finances. That's not a failure — it's just what happens when you're doing everything yourself.

Having someone on top of your books every month means you don't need that moment of realisation. You just know where you stand.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

Do you know your gross profit margin?Most business owners know roughly what they earned and what they spent. But margin ...
15/06/2026

Do you know your gross profit margin?

Most business owners know roughly what they earned and what they spent. But margin is different — it tells you how efficiently you're converting revenue into actual profit.

If your margin is shrinking, something has changed. Costs have crept up. Pricing hasn't kept pace. A client or contract is less profitable than it looks.

You can't see that in your bank balance. You need up-to-date books.

We keep your financials in order so you can answer questions like this one — without waiting for year-end accounts.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

Payroll is one of those things that feels straightforward — until it isn't.Late RTI submissions. Wrong tax codes. New st...
15/06/2026

Payroll is one of those things that feels straightforward — until it isn't.

Late RTI submissions. Wrong tax codes. New starters processed incorrectly. Someone goes on maternity leave and suddenly nothing makes sense.

HMRC doesn't really distinguish between "mistake" and "deliberate" when it comes to payroll. Late is late.

We run payroll for businesses across the Midlands on a fixed-fee basis. No scrambling. No last-minute panics. Just payroll processed accurately and on time, every month.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

14/06/2026

The end of June is fast approaching — and for many VAT-registered businesses, that means the end of a quarterly VAT period. 📋

Now is the time to make sure your VAT records are up to date:
✅ All sales and purchase invoices recorded
✅ Bank reconciliation complete
✅ VAT codes correct (especially important with the temporary VAT rate change coming on 25 June!)

Getting on top of your records now means your VAT return will be straightforward — and you'll avoid the last-minute scramble.

At ASBK, we handle VAT returns for small businesses every quarter. Let us take it off your plate.

📩 www.asbk.co.uk

Address

106 Million Street
Northampton
NN27JF

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Xero Bookkeeping & Payroll Specialists posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Xero Bookkeeping & Payroll Specialists:

Shortcuts

Share

Category