Done right, the books are reconciled every week, your VAT return ties to the underlying invoices, and your management figures are usable when you log in on a Monday. We’re a Xero Platinum Partner based in Manchester, part of Jack Ross Chartered Accountants (est. 1948), and we look after several hundred UK small businesses on the platform. This page covers what’s included, who it suits, the typical fee, and how the relationship works.
Falling behind doing the books yourself is one common reason to call us. Inheriting a file from a previous bookkeeper that doesn’t tie up is another. Either situation is fixable. The first call is free and we’ll tell you straight whether outsourcing makes sense for your size of business.
What our Xero bookkeeping service covers
Our standard monthly package handles the routine cycle so you don’t have to think about it.
- Bank reconciliation. Every transaction across your business bank accounts, credit cards, and PayPal feeds is matched against an invoice, bill, or expense. We work weekly so the cash position is always current.
- Sales invoicing. We can either raise invoices for you from the data you send through, or check the invoices you’ve raised and chase the unpaid ones. Most clients pick a hybrid.
- Supplier bills. Bills come into a Hubdoc or Dext mailbox, get coded against the right account, and sit ready for you to approve payment. No paper, no shoebox.
- Transaction categorisation. We set up bank rules for recurring transactions and code the rest manually. Our coding ties to your management accounts structure, not just generic tax categories.
- VAT returns. Quarterly Making Tax Digital returns, filed direct from the platform. We check the figures against the underlying ledger before filing, not after the tax authority has processed them.
- Monthly profit and loss. A short management report each month showing P&L, cash flow, and any flags worth a phone call about (debtors creeping up, gross margin slipping, that kind of thing).
- Receipts and expenses. Hubdoc is included with most Xero subscriptions; Dext is the upgrade for businesses processing 100+ supplier bills a month. We handle whichever you use.
- Year-end handover. Because the books are clean every month, year-end accounts and corporation tax can be finalised in weeks not months. Our accounts team picks up the file with no surprises.
We also run add-ons when clients need them. These include payroll (covered in our Xero Payroll guide), CIS support for trades, and ecommerce reconciliation for Shopify and Amazon. Connections through the accounting integrations ecosystem are also available.
Who needs Xero bookkeeping services
Outsourced bookkeeping makes sense at a few different stages. We work with all of these:
- Sole traders. Often above the £90,000 VAT threshold, sometimes with a couple of employees, usually fed up of doing the books at the kitchen table on Sundays. From April 2026 the same MTD digital records rules apply to sole traders and landlords with income over £50,000, which makes outsourced books a near-must.
- Micro-businesses. Limited companies with one or two directors, turnover £100,000 to £500,000. The bookkeeping isn’t complicated but it eats time the directors should be spending selling. Outsourcing pays for itself inside three months.
- Growing SMEs. £500,000 to £5 million turnover, 5-30 staff, multiple revenue streams. The books are only useful if they’re current, and a part-time bookkeeper coming in once a fortnight is the wrong shape for this size of business. Cloud-based work with us in the loop daily works better.
- Owner-managed companies. Family businesses, second-generation companies, businesses where the owner is also the operator. The bookkeeping needs to support directors’ loan accounts, dividends, and tax-efficient remuneration without a fight every quarter.
If you are at the very start, with no revenue and no employees, this service isn’t what you need yet. A dormant company filing a confirmation statement and dormant accounts can be handled directly without a monthly retainer. Talk to us and we’ll point you somewhere lighter.
How our service works
The relationship runs in four phases. We’ve kept it simple because complicated onboarding is the reason most outsourced bookkeeping engagements fail in month two.
- Free consultation. A 30-minute call to walk through your business, current Xero setup (or other software), where the books are now, and what you actually need each month. No sales script. We’ll tell you straight if your current bookkeeper is doing fine and you don’t need us.
- Onboarding. If we are a fit, we map your chart of accounts and connect any missing bank feeds. We set up Hubdoc and clear open items in the existing file. For most businesses this takes 2-3 weeks.
- Monthly cycle. We work through your file weekly: bank reconciliation, bills coded, invoices chased, VAT prepared. You get a short report at month-end and a phone call if anything material has changed.
- Annual handover. At your year-end, the bookkeeping team hands the file to our accounts team, who prepare statutory accounts and corporation tax. Same firm, same software, no rework. Most year-end engagements finalise within 6-8 weeks of the year-end date.
If something breaks in between, we pick up the phone and sort it. The tax authority asks for an EC sales list. You acquire another business. You need a quick board pack for an investor. The relationship isn’t transactional; it’s a year-round retainer.
Pricing and packages
Bookkeeping fees scale with the volume of transactions, the number of bank accounts, and whether you need payroll on top. These are the typical ranges we quote in 2026:
- Sole trader / micro-business: £150 to £300 per month. One or two bank accounts, monthly VAT or quarterly returns, basic supplier bills, simple chart of accounts.
- Growing SME: £300 to £600 per month. Multiple bank accounts and credit cards, more complex returns including partial exemption and reverse charge cases, 30-100 supplier bills a month, monthly management accounts.
- Owner-managed limited company with payroll: from £400 per month for bookkeeping plus £50 to £150 per month for payroll depending on headcount.
- Multi-entity groups: bespoke. We’ve a few clients running 3-8 trading companies under one parent; pricing is built per entity plus a consolidation fee.
Every quote is fixed-fee monthly with no minimum term and no exit fee. Year-end accounts and corporation tax sit on top, billed separately, typically £900 to £2,500 depending on the size of the business. The first call is free, the proposal is fixed, and we don’t charge for ad-hoc questions during the year.
Why choose Jack Ross for Xero bookkeeping
A few things genuinely set us apart, and a few things we’d avoid claiming on a marketing page.
- ICAEW Chartered firm. Jack Ross has been ICAEW-regulated since 1948. Our team works to the same standards as our accounts and audit teams, which matters when HMRC ask questions or your auditors arrive.
- Xero Platinum Partner. The top-tier partner status means we work with Xero direct on training, beta features, and support escalation. We’re not a reseller; we use the software every day.
- Manchester-based, UK-only. Our team works from our Manchester office. We don’t offshore. Your file is handled by named UK staff under a UK partner’s supervision.
- One firm for the whole accounting cycle. Bookkeeping, year-end accounts, payroll, tax planning, and audit all under one roof. You don’t manage three suppliers and explain the same business twice every quarter.
- A named accountant, not a queue. Each client gets a named bookkeeper and a partner contact. Email and phone go to a real person, not a generic inbox.
What we will not claim is that we are the cheapest. We will not claim this is a fully-automated process you can buy by the click. And we will not claim you should switch from a provider who is already doing fine. The bar for moving providers should be that something measurable will improve.
How the Xero software fits our service
Our team works inside your Xero account every day. Because the Xero accounting software is cloud-based, your staff in any UK office or working from home can use Xero exactly when needed, in real-time, without waiting for an end-of-month export. The Xero UK platform sits at the heart of how we deliver online accounting for owner-managed and growing companies.
The Xero software is recognised and Making Tax Digital compliant out of the box, so we keep your returns compliant without bolt-on bridging tools. The same compliant pipeline now extends to Income Tax for sole traders and landlords from April 2026.
For growing your business, the value of the Xero accounting software is the live picture. Management figures update as transactions reconcile, not at month-end three weeks later. We pair the platform’s reporting with Hubdoc and Dext to give you a real-time read on cash, debtors, and gross margin every time you log in.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with businesses already on the platform?
Yes, that is the bulk of what we do. Most new clients come to us already set up, with a file that needs tidying up rather than starting from scratch. We can also migrate you from Sage, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, or spreadsheets if you’re not on Xero yet.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?
The bookkeeper handles the day-to-day data: bank reconciliation, bills, invoices, VAT, payroll. The accountant prepares year-end accounts, advises on tax, and signs off the statutory submissions. We do both, which means there’s no handover gap between the two.
Are your team Xero-certified?
Yes. Every member of our team is Xero Certified, and most hold the Xero Advisor Certified credential. We are a Platinum Partner, the top-tier accreditation awarded to UK accountancy firms.
How quickly can you get the books up to date?
If the file is current and just needs ongoing maintenance, we can take over within 2 weeks. If your books are 6-12 months behind, we typically catch up in 4-6 weeks for a small business, longer for higher transaction volumes. The catch-up fee is quoted separately from the ongoing monthly retainer.
Do you offer fixed monthly pricing?
Yes. Every package is fixed-fee monthly with no minimum term. Pricing is set during the proposal stage based on your transaction volume, number of bank accounts, and add-on services. No hourly billing, no hidden charges, no charge for ad-hoc questions.
Can my own staff still log into Xero?
Yes. You keep full ownership of your Xero subscription and we work alongside your team as Adviser-level users. Your sales, ops, and management staff can carry on using Xero exactly as they do now.
Ready to talk about outsourced books for your business? Get in touch for a free consultation, or read our broader Xero bookkeeping software guide for context first.
Related Xero guides
- Xero accounting services
- Xero vs QuickBooks
- How to add your accountant to Xero
- Xero accounting integrations
- Xero Payroll UK guide
Most of our Xero bookkeeping clients sit in Greater Manchester. We work with businesses based in Manchester, Salford, Stockport and Altrincham, plus the rest of the UK over Xero’s cloud.