XE
Xero
Finance and tax · Software
Top pick
UK cloud accounting software for invoicing, bank reconciliation, VAT and payroll.
Best forUK small businesses that want tidy books their accountant can work with.
Category
Payments and finance
Accounting, payments and finance tooling that keeps the numbers clean.
Clean books are not an accounting nicety. They decide how quickly you can price work, how much you pay in fees, and how easily any tax relief claim can be evidenced.
The stack is simple for most UK businesses: one accounting platform, one payment processor, and someone reconciling monthly. Xero or QuickBooks, Stripe for online payments, and a bookkeeper if nobody internally will do it.
Where relief may be available — R&D, capital allowances, land remediation or Patent Box — eligibility is a specialist question. Reclaim Tax UK is the company I am involved in that handles exactly that.
Tools
Payments and finance: the tools I use
Each one has a full review covering pricing, pros, cons and who should avoid it.
QU
QuickBooks
Finance and tax · Software
Used by me
Cloud accounting software with strong self assessment and small business features in the UK.
Best forSole traders and small limited companies watching software cost.
ST
Stripe
Payments · Software
Used by me
Payment processing for online payments, subscriptions, invoices and payment links.
Best forAny business taking payment online or wanting deposits before work starts.
My companies
Where my own businesses fit here
Stated plainly, because these are businesses I benefit from.
- Reclaim Tax UK
UK tax relief specialists helping businesses uncover hidden value through R&D tax relief, capital allowances, land remediation and Patent Box relief.
Some links on this site are affiliate or referral links, and some companies featured are owned by, operated by or commercially connected to me.
Guides
Reading on payments and finance
- Business Finance Tools I UseThe short finance stack behind my companies, and why it stays short.
- How to Organise Your Business FinancesA simple monthly finance routine that keeps a small business out of trouble.
- What Tax Reliefs Do UK Businesses Miss?The reliefs that get overlooked most often, and the reason it keeps happening.
Payments and finance FAQs
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