Andi Smith

Xero Gold Champion Partner ✨ | Simplifying bookkeeping for SMEs | VAT, payroll, outsourced finance team & more | Powered by coffee ☕ & Ethel the bulldog 🐶

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Sunday thought: a full week into autumn now, and the shift from summer pace to Q4 push is real. Worth a quiet look at whether your systems can keep up with busier months ahead, rather than finding out under pressure in November. #SmallBusiness #Sunday

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

If you use subcontractors in construction, CIS deductions aren't optional admin, they're a legal requirement with real penalties. Verify status, deduct correctly, file monthly, keep the paperwork. Not complicated once set up, just unforgiving if it isn't. #CIS #Construction

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Self-employed and going for a mortgage? Lenders want two or three years of clean, consistent accounts, not the most tax-efficient number you can produce. Think about that trade-off before you need the mortgage, not during the application. #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Salary or dividends: still one of the most common questions directors ask. The honest answer is it depends on your numbers each year, not a rule someone told you once. Thresholds move, profit moves. Worth revisiting annually, not deciding once. #SmallBusiness #Tax

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Reconciling supplier statements never feels urgent until a supplier chases an invoice you already paid, or you spot one you never received. Ten minutes a month against a statement saves hours of dispute later. Tedious, unglamorous, worth it. #Bookkeeping #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Most owners know their bank balance to the pound. Fewer know their aged debtor total without opening a report. The bank balance is history, the debtor list is what's coming. Five minutes checking who owes what tells you more than the bank app does. #CashFlow #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Director's loan accounts trip up more limited company owners than almost anything else. Take money out that isn't salary or dividend and it sits on that account. Go overdrawn at year end and there's a tax charge. Know your balance before your accountant tells you. #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Sunday thought: we're past the halfway point of September, Q4 is closer than it feels. Ten quiet minutes tonight checking where the business stands beats walking into next week guessing. #SmallBusiness #Sunday

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

If something happened to you tomorrow, would anyone know how your business actually runs? Succession planning doesn't need to be morbid, just practical. Starting early protects the people who depend on it. #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Every pound you borrow has a cost. So does every pound you leave in the business instead of investing elsewhere. Too many decisions look only at the interest rate, not whether the return clears that hurdle. #SmallBusiness #Finance

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Your accounting data is one of the most valuable things a criminal could access: bank details, payroll, customer info, all in one place. Two-factor authentication and knowing who has access aren't optional extras. #CyberSecurity #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Choosing accounting software isn't about the shiniest interface. It's whether it talks to your other systems and whether the reports answer the questions you're actually asking. The software is rarely the real problem. #Xero #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Overtrading catches out more businesses than under-trading. Sales rise, but the cash to fund stock and staff lags behind. On paper you're thriving, in the bank you're starving. Growth needs funding, not just orders. #SmallBusiness #CashFlow

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Your working capital cycle is how long cash takes to go out and come back in, minus how long you get to pay suppliers. A long cycle means you're financing customers out of your own pocket. Worth mapping for your business. #SmallBusiness #CashFlow

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

The businesses that head into Q4 calmly are the ones who did the boring admin in Q3, not the ones who worked hardest. None of it is glamorous. All of it prevents an October scramble. #SmallBusiness #Q4

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Knowing your numbers is one thing. Knowing how they compare to your sector is another, and it's the bit most businesses skip. Benchmarking tells you where to start looking. #SmallBusiness #Bookkeeping

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

A photo of a receipt should flow straight into Xero, not sit in a shoebox until month end. We build the connections that make that automatic. #Automation #ASBK

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

UK businesses paid £345bn in tax in 2025-26, up 12.7% year-on-year, per new CBI figures. Employer NI rose 28% to overtake corporation tax as the biggest business tax. Worth knowing ahead of the October Budget. #Budget2026 #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

Flat rate or standard VAT scheme isn't a one-time decision. Get it wrong and you either overpay every quarter or miss reclaims you're entitled to. Worth revisiting yearly, not just at registration. #VAT #SmallBusiness

[Andi Smith @ASBKLtd]

The government's consultation on corporate reporting reform could bring audit exemptions for some medium-sized companies, plus scrapping the annual director pay vote and allowing virtual-only AGMs. Still just a consultation, but worth watching. #SmallBusiness #UKBusiness