You can use software to help with accountancy. Xero is good ledger for storing accounting data in, but you want a human to make sure your book-keeping is correct, whether it is done by AI or a human, and you want to be able to contact someone anytime, who can help to fix issues (e.g. liaise with HMRC when needed) and check that your payroll, VAT returns, and annual accounts are all correct. Even accountants who trained in audit at the Big 4 often use a third party accountant to do preparation work for them and to advise on the areas of tax that they won’t have covered in their own career. 

Using software also doesn’t save you the same amount of time as hiring an accountant - you will still have to manually reconcile your transactions when bookkeeping, or review any AI reconciliation (which Xero often does incorrectly by itself), and manually file returns, approve expenses, pay your employees and more. Novabook’s accountants, trained at the likes of PwC, can understand the context behind a transaction more than software is able to, and are able to proactively keep you aware of upcoming deadlines, flag risks to you when they happen, and answer your technical questions so you don’t have to spend. Novabook’s bookkeeping services cost just £22/month, and give you access to one of their accountants as well as their portal which gives you an overview of all of your accounting and finance needs.

Novabook has their own software that reduces your administrative burden and solves all of your invoicing, HR and payroll problems in one place.

FAQs

Can accounting software file my accounts and tax returns for me?

• Some software can generate and file tax returns and VAT returns, but what they can’t do is check them for accuracy, so an error or a misclassified transaction can go straight to HMRC. Novabook’s accountants review all of your filings before they are submitted to ensure nothing is filed incorrectly, and their bookkeeping services start from £22/month.

Is software cheaper than an accountant?

• Yes, software is likely cheaper than hiring an accountant, but really you need both of them. Novabook’s bookkeeping service ensures that your transactions are accurately categorised and the correct VAT treatments are applied for £22/month.