Xero, run properly by a Gold Partner
The right ledger once the business has outgrown simple: stock, projects, multiple currencies, a real payroll and the apps your trade runs on. Set up around how you make money, not switched on and left.
- A chart of accounts built round your business
- Tracking categories so you see margin per unit
- Bank feeds and rules that do the coding
- Your trade apps checked before we recommend them
- A month running in parallel on migration
- Partner support when your file misbehaves
Xero is the one to be on when the business has outgrown simple. Stock, projects, multiple currencies, a real payroll, a lot of transactions, or an app for your trade that needs to post into the ledger — that is where Xero pulls away from everything cheaper.
If none of that describes you, we will say so and put you on FreeAgent, which may well be free with your bank account. A Gold Partner recommending the cheaper option is the only version of this that is worth anything.
Xero's published UK plans
- Ignite — £18 a month
- The floor: 20 invoices, 10 bills, bank reconciliation, VAT to HMRC, CIS, and MTD for Income Tax ready. Enough for a very small business, tight for most.
- Grow — £39 a month
- Unlimited invoices and quotes, automated bill entry, payroll for one, a 60-day cash flow forecast. Where most owner-managed businesses land.
- Comprehensive — £55 a month
- Payroll for five, multi-currency, expenses for five users, budgeting, a 90-day forecast.
- Ultimate — £70 a month
- The larger payroll and the advanced analytics. Worth it when the team is big enough to need it and not before.
- All excluding VAT
- Xero's own published UK pricing, checked 8 September 2026. Introductory discounts come and go; we will tell you what is running when you sign up rather than quoting an offer price as if it were the price.
The difference between switched on and set up
- 1A chart of accounts built around your business
The default chart is generic. Yours should let you see gross margin by the thing you actually sell, which usually means restructuring cost of sales rather than accepting one line called “purchases”.
- 2Tracking categories
The most underused feature in Xero. Set up by branch, by van, by service line or by job, they turn one profit and loss into a per-unit one at no extra cost.
- 3Bank feeds and bank rules
Feeds from every account and card, then rules that code the repeating items automatically. Done well this removes most of the monthly reconciliation.
- 4The apps that matter to your trade
Job management, EPOS, e-commerce, stock, time, payments. We check the connector genuinely posts to the ledger correctly before we recommend it — “integrates” on a website and “reconciles cleanly” are not the same claim.
- 5VAT scheme and MTD
The right scheme configured, digital links end to end, and returns filed from the ledger.
- 6A month running in parallel
So anything that does not agree gets found while there is still something to compare against. See digital switchover for the full timeline.
Xero holds the ledger, the portal holds everything else
Xero is where the bookkeeping lives. It is not where your deadlines, documents, signed accounts or the questions between you and your accountant live — those are in the Buzz portal and app, included with your fee and built by us. Most clients look at the portal daily and Xero when they are invoicing. The what is included page walks through the portal screens.
Screenshots: Xero. Buzz is a Xero Gold Partner.
Without losing a year
The right time is a year end or a VAT quarter end, and the wrong time is halfway through a quarter in a hurry. A straightforward migration takes a few weeks including the parallel period; a file with years of history in it takes longer and is quoted separately because it is real work.
Nothing is deleted. Opening balances come from your last filed accounts, the old records stay exactly where they are, and you must keep them for six years regardless. The step-by-step version is on digital switchover.
What people ask about Xero
What does Xero cost?
Ignite £18, Grow £39, Comprehensive £55 and Ultimate £70 a month, all excluding VAT — Xero's published UK pricing, checked 8 September 2026. Most owner-managed businesses need Grow. Introductory discounts run from time to time and we will tell you what is available rather than quoting an offer as the price.
What does Gold Partner actually mean?
Partner status in Xero is earned on the number of clients a firm runs on it and keeps there, so it is a measure of use rather than a badge you buy. Practically it means direct partner support when something goes wrong with your file, which is quicker than a general support queue.
Xero or FreeAgent?
FreeAgent for sole traders, contractors, landlords and simpler limited companies — and it is free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle account. Xero once you need stock, projects, multi-currency, a real payroll or high transaction volumes. We are partners for both and will recommend the cheaper one where it fits.
Can you move me from Sage or QuickBooks?
Yes. Conversion tools handle the bulk of it and the judgement is in the opening balances and the chart of accounts, which is the part worth doing carefully. Best timed at a year end.
Do I need the payroll add-on?
Only if you want to run it yourself. If we run your payroll it happens on BrightPay and posts into Xero, so you do not pay twice for the same function.
Who owns the Xero file?
You do. The subscription can be in your name or billed through us, and either way the data is yours and travels with you if you leave.
