Most small firms run one system for the day job and another for the accounts, and the two do not talk. So somebody exports, tidies and re-keys the same figures every week. We build the link, so the data moves across on its own. From £500, fixed and agreed up front.
On the left, a typical export from a day to day system. On the right, the same day after the integration, in the shape an accounts package will accept. Invented figures for an invented firm.
| Date | Ref | Detail | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23/09/26 | J HARTLEY worktop | 520.00 | |
| 23/09/26 | J HARTLEY worktop | 0.00 | |
| 2026-09-23 | INV-0912 | oakfield nurseries, shopfront | 1,340 |
| 23/09/26 | NO CHARGE - remedial | 0.00 | |
| 23/09/26 | INV-0913 | SUMUP *MCR | 86.40 |
Two date formats. A duplicate line because the job was part paid. A zero value row that is not a sale. A card terminal reference nobody recognises. Somebody fixes all of this by hand, every week.
| Date | Contact | Account | Net | VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-23 | J Hartley | 200 Sales | 433.33 | 86.67 |
| 2026-09-23 | Oakfield Nurseries | 200 Sales | 1,116.67 | 223.33 |
| 2026-09-23 | Card takings | 200 Sales | 72.00 | 14.40 |
One date format. Duplicates and zero value rows removed by rule, not by memory. The card terminal reference resolved to the takings account. Ready to post, with the references kept so it can be traced back.
Booking systems, job and project management, field service apps, EPOS, spreadsheets. Whatever the business actually runs on, including the one everybody complains about.
Xero, QuickBooks or Sage. All three publish a proper interface for this, so the link is built on their own documented connections rather than a screen scrape.
Which lines are sales and which are noise, how a part payment is treated, which account code a card terminal belongs to. The rules are the job. The plumbing is the easy part.
HMRC requires digital links between the pieces of software that make up your VAT records. Copying and pasting or retyping figures from one system into another is not a digital link, and the rule is set out in VAT Notice 700/22. If your VAT return starts life in a system that does not talk to your accounts package, that is worth checking before anything else.
The same care applies to the data itself. You remain the data controller for anything that moves between systems, and the ICO's guidance for organisations is the plain English version. Where a system allows it, the link uses a read only login on the side it reads from.
Based in Altrincham, working across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and the rest of the UK remotely. Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00. Call 0161 883 7818 or book a consultation.
If there is a ready made connector in your accounts package's app store that does what you need, use it. It will cost less than I will and it will be supported by somebody bigger than me. I am worth paying when nothing exists for your particular pair of systems, or when the connector that does exist gets the rules wrong for how your business actually works.
And if nobody is currently re-keying anything, there is nothing here to fix.
Once the two systems agree, the figures are worth reporting on, which is automated business reporting. If the work either side of the systems is the real problem, that is AI automation, and AI consulting services is the place to start if you are not yet sure which of the three you need.
Two posts that cover this ground: digital transformation services for a small firm, which follows a business whose booking system and accounts package disagreed, and AI for accountants, on what to automate around the ledger and what to leave with a qualified human.
Where AI adds value, what it costs, and a costed plan your team can execute.
More →The repetitive work handed to software, built around the tools you already use.
More →Every enquiry answered, day or night, with a clear rule for handing to a human.
More →Hands-on sessions your team can use the next day. On site or remote.
More →Your daily, weekly and monthly reports built, hosted and emailed to you. From £75 a month.
More →Altrincham based, across Greater Manchester and Cheshire. In person when it helps.
More →Book a free consultation, or ring on 0161 883 7818. If a connector already exists that does the job, I will point you at it.
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