We are part of Jack Ross Chartered Accountants (est. 1948), ICAEW-regulated and Xero Gold Partners based in Manchester. Whether you want a bookkeeper for a few hours a month or fully outsourced cloud accounting, your work happens inside one Xero account that you and we both see in real time.
Xero as your bookkeeping software
Most UK small businesses choose Xero as their accounting software for three reasons: bank feeds work out of the box, the app catalogue is the strongest in cloud accounting and integrates with most UK business software, and HMRC recognises Xero for Making Tax Digital. You log in through any browser, upload receipts from your phone, and your accountant sees the same numbers you do. Compared with desktop accounting software, there is nothing to install and no data files to email back and forth.
Pricing in the UK starts at £15/month for the Ignite plan, £33/month for Grow, and £47/month for Comprehensive (multi-currency, projects, expenses). The Xero accounting software fee is paid to Xero. Our bookkeeping service is a separate fixed fee that covers the actual work – reconciliation, coding, reporting and VAT. You keep ownership of the Xero subscription either way.
If you are still on spreadsheets, switching to Xero is usually a one-week job: we set up the chart of accounts, import opening balances, connect bank feeds and walk you through the first month. See our move-from-spreadsheets guide or migration from QuickBooks for the detail.
What does a Xero bookkeeping service include?
Our service covers everything you need to keep your books accurate and HMRC-compliant:
- Bank reconciliation – We reconcile your bank feeds in Xero daily or weekly, matching transactions to invoices and bills so nothing gets missed.
- Invoice processing – Sales invoices raised, purchase invoices entered, credit notes applied. All coded to the right accounts in your Xero chart of accounts.
- Expense tracking – Receipt capture through Dext (which connects to your Xero account), expense claims processed, petty cash recorded.
- Month-end close – Accruals, prepayments, and journal entries posted so your management reports reflect the real position.
- VAT preparation – We code transactions with the correct VAT rate and prepare your return. If you’re MTD-compliant through Xero, filing is one click.
- Payroll posting – If you run payroll through Xero or a separate provider, we post the payroll journals so your accounts include staff costs, PAYE, and pension contributions.
Does Xero offer bookkeeping services?
Xero is accounting software, not an accounting firm. It does not provide the work directly. What Xero does is give you (and your bookkeeper or accountant) a cloud-based platform to manage your books in real-time. Xero handles the software side – bank feeds, invoice templates, reporting, VAT calculations. You still need someone to do the actual work.
That is where we come in. As Xero-certified accountants, we use Xero to manage your books remotely. You don’t need to be in the same city – everything happens inside your Xero account, and you can see exactly what we’ve done at any time.
How to use Xero for bookkeeping: the Xero bookkeeping system
Xero connects to your bank account via a direct feed and automates the routine entries. Transactions appear in Xero automatically, usually within 24 hours. We then match each transaction to the correct account – revenue, cost of sales, overheads, drawings, loan repayments.
For invoicing, you can create and send invoices directly from Xero or use Xero’s accounting software to pull in data from apps like Stripe, Shopify, or GoCardless. Recurring invoices save time for regular clients. Xero tracks what’s been paid and what’s overdue, and you can set up automatic payment reminders.
Xero’s real-time dashboard surfaces insights into your cash flow, profit and loss, and outstanding invoices at a glance. Your accountant sees the same data you do – no waiting for quarterly reports or year-end surprises.
Does HMRC recognise Xero?
Yes. Xero is on HMRC’s list of recognised software for Making Tax Digital (MTD). VAT-registered businesses are required to use MTD-compliant software – and Xero qualifies. It handles the digital link between your accounting records and your VAT return, which means no manual retyping of figures.
Xero UK also supports Self Assessment and corporation tax workflows through Xero Tax (available to Xero partner accountants). So your bookkeeping data flows directly into your tax returns.
How much is Xero for bookkeepers?
Xero pricing in the UK in 2026 starts at £15/month for the Ignite plan (good for sole traders with low invoice volume), £33/month for Grow (unlimited invoices, bills, and bank reconciliation – the right plan for most small businesses) and £47/month for Comprehensive (adds multi-currency, projects and analytics).
Our bookkeeping service fee is separate from the Xero software cost. Service fees from £150/month depending on transaction volume, the level of monthly insight you want, how many bank accounts you have, and whether you need weekly or monthly bookkeeping. We quote a fixed monthly fee upfront so there are no surprises.
Which is cheaper, Sage or Xero?
Sage Business Cloud Accounting Start is around £14/month and Xero Ignite is £15/month, so the entry-level prices are similar. The comparison is not straightforward though. Sage’s entry plan lacks bank feeds and multi-currency that Xero includes in mid-tier plans. For a small business that needs proper bookkeeping, Xero Grow (£33/month) and Sage Accounting (around £30/month) are the real comparison – and most cloud accounting professionals we work with prefer Xero because the interface is faster and the app integrations are stronger.
We’re Xero specialists, but if you’re currently on Sage and want to switch, we handle the data conversion. See our data conversion service.
Outsourced Xero bookkeeping: when it pays off
Outsourced Xero bookkeeping (also written as outsource Xero bookkeeping or outsourcing Xero bookkeeping) is the most common arrangement once transaction volume hits around 50 a month. We take on the day-to-day work, handle the routine, and only come back to you with questions on coding decisions or unusual entries. Most clients save the equivalent of two evenings a week.
Most small business owners either do their own books badly (missed transactions, wrong codes, quarterly panic before VAT) or don’t do it at all until year-end. Both cost you money – in accountant fees to fix the mess, in missed VAT claims, and in decisions made without knowing your real numbers.
Outsourcing to us means your books are done properly, on time, every month. You can see your cash flow position in real-time. And when it comes to year-end, your year-end accountant does not need to spend hours cleaning up – which means lower fees.
Get started
Call us on 0161 832 4451 or book a free consultation. We’ll review your current Xero setup (or help you move from spreadsheets, Sage, or QuickBooks) and give you a fixed monthly quote for ongoing service. Growing your business is hard enough without worrying about whether your books are right.
Related guides and services
Read more from our Xero experts:
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Managing supplier invoices
- Tracking expenses in Xero
- Our VAT returns (see our cloud accounting glossary for plain-English definitions) service
- Our payroll management service
- Xero bookkeeping software: UK SME guide
- Xero vs QuickBooks comparison
- Xero bookkeeping courses and certifications
- Making Tax Digital explained
