This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Running a UK business and doing your own books? This course shows you exactly how to keep clean, compliant records in Xero or QuickBooks, without an accounting background and without it eating your weekends.

It's taught by a finance director with over 20 years in finance and operations, including 18 years running the finance of a business I owned. I'm a Xero Certified Specialist and QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor, and I keep the books for UK small businesses today. This is the course I wish every new client had done first.

Everything is UK-specific: VAT and Making Tax Digital, PAYE and auto-enrolment, Self Assessment, Corporation Tax and Companies House deadlines. Module 1 shows the set-up on screen, and every lesson gives you the exact menu steps for both Xero and QuickBooks where they differ.

What the course covers

• Setting up your software, bank feeds and chart of accounts

• A 30-minute weekly routine that keeps everything reconciled

• Invoicing and getting paid on time

• VAT schemes and Making Tax Digital

• Payroll, pensions and paying yourself

• Month-end in an hour, and a clean year-end handover

• Knowing when to stop doing it yourself

Each module comes with a practical download: a set-up checklist, a weekly routine card, chaser email scripts, a VAT scheme decision sheet, a payroll calendar, a month-end pack, a year-end handover pack for your accountant and an outsourcing scorecard.

This course is general guidance for UK businesses, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your specific situation. It is independent and not endorsed by Xero or Intuit.