Cloud accounting, set up and supported

Who this service is for

This service is for Birmingham and Midlands businesses moving to cloud accounting for the first time, or unhappy with a system that was set up in a hurry and never quite fitted. It suits owners who want the benefits of current, online figures without wading through product comparisons alone, businesses approaching Making Tax Digital obligations that need their records set up correctly, and anyone changing systems who wants the move handled without losing data or confidence in the numbers.

How we can help

We guide the whole journey, from working out what you actually need through to steady day-to-day use. That starts with a requirements assessment and clear selection criteria, moves through a proper setup covering the chart of accounts, opening balances, bank feeds, invoicing, records, VAT and any payroll integration, and continues with training and ongoing support so your team can run it confidently. Throughout, we stay brand-neutral and focus on getting the foundations, controls and reporting right, because a well-set-up system saves time every week while a rushed one quietly creates work.

What’s included

• A requirements assessment to establish what your business genuinely needs
• Objective selection criteria to choose a system, judged on features, integration, controls, data ownership and cost rather than brand
• Initial setup and configuration
• A chart of accounts structured for your business
• Opening balances entered and reconciled
• Bank-feed integration for up-to-date transactions
• Invoice configuration and supplier and customer records
• Receipt-capture setup so documents are attached to transactions
• VAT setup, including digital record-keeping for Making Tax Digital
• Payroll integration where you run payroll
• User permissions and approval processes to support financial control
• Management reports configured to give you useful information
• Data migration from an existing system, with reconciliation after the move
• User training so your team can work confidently
• Month-end controls, plus guidance on data export, data ownership and basic cybersecurity

What’s not included

• Endorsement of, or commission from, any particular software provider: we stay neutral
• The software subscription itself, which you hold and own directly
• Ongoing bookkeeping, unless you engage us for it separately
• General IT support, hardware or network security beyond accounting-system access and good practice
• Statutory audit work or regulated financial advice

How it works

1. We assess your requirements and agree the criteria a suitable system must meet.
2. We help you choose against those criteria, keeping the decision objective and neutral.
3. We configure the system: chart of accounts, opening balances, bank feeds, invoicing and records.
4. We set up VAT for digital record-keeping, connect any payroll integration and configure receipt capture.
5. We set user permissions and approval processes, and configure the management reports you need.
6. Where you are switching systems, we migrate and reconcile your data around a clear cut-off.
7. We train your team, agree month-end controls and confirm you can export and access your own data.

What we’ll need from you

• An outline of how your business works and what you need from the system
• Access to your current records or existing accounting system for migration
• Bank and card details needed to establish secure feeds
• Your VAT position and, if relevant, payroll details for integration
• Decisions on who needs access and at what permission level
• Time from the people who will use the system day to day, so training lands properly

Common mistakes to avoid

• Choosing software on price or popularity alone, rather than against criteria that reflect your needs
• Assuming automation removes the need for bookkeeping controls, when the figures still need reviewing, reconciling and checking
• Setting an over-complicated or ill-fitting chart of accounts that makes reporting harder later
• Giving everyone full access instead of setting permissions and approval steps that protect financial control
• Migrating without a clear cut-off and reconciliation, so the opening figures are never fully trusted
• Overlooking data export, ownership and access security until the day you need them

Serving Birmingham and the Midlands

Cloud accounting is location-independent by design, so we set up and support systems for businesses right across Birmingham and the wider Midlands online. Your records and ours are the same live system, and when you would like hands-on training or a review of how things are configured, we arrange it to fit around your team.