It’s so important to have an accounting system in your business. It doesn't matter how small you are or how big you are, everything is made easier by having an accounting system.

I am Xero certified because I love it, and I highly recommend Xero. I find QuickBooks really clunky, so if you're choosing between QuickBooks and Xero, I'd say Xero every time.

Why do I need an accounting system?

Having an accounting system will save you lots of time in the long run. It will also save you time in the short term by having all your invoices sent from the system, help you collect money via GoCardless and seamlessly match it all. Plus If you have an accounting system like Xero, you can connect up your bank, Stripe and PayPal. This makes it very easy to keep track of your numbers, because every business needs to know what their numbers are.

You can also take photos of your receipts when you are out and about (when that can happen again!) and then all receipts and invoices are in one place...

It’s safe to say that most businesses want to be financially successful. I’m sure there are many who want to be earning more than £85k per year, right? Well, not necessarily. There are an awful lot of businesses that want to avoid getting near that figure - simply because it’s the threshold for VAT registration!

Don’t want to pay VAT? That’s understandable, but having that artificial ceiling in place is stopping you growing your business further.

So it’s time to stop letting that artificial ceiling stop you. It’s time to realise that paying more tax is a good thing - and here’s how you can pave the way for that transition into VAT registration.

Start increasing your prices before you hit the VAT registration threshold

Look ahead and start increasing your prices. This is especially relevant if you are a B2C (consumer) business or are a business that sells to people who are not VAT registered. Most B2B (selling to businesses)...