1
You tell us what is going on
Use the enquiry form and give us the plain-English version: what software you are on, how far behind things are, what keeps landing back on you. You do not need to diagnose the problem first.
HOW IT WORKS
What actually happens after you get in touch.
No mystery process and no long sales cycle. Here is the order things happen in, what we need from you, and what you get back each month.
STEP BY STEP
From enquiry to books under control.
Most small businesses are up and running within a couple of weeks of the first conversation. Catch-up work runs alongside, on its own timeline.
2
A short conversation
We call or email to fill in the gaps. This is where we work out whether it is a catch-up job, ongoing bookkeeping, or both, and roughly what is involved.
3
We look at the file before quoting
Guessing at a price without seeing the file helps nobody. With read access to your accounting file we can see the real position rather than the assumed one.
- How many accounts are unreconciled, and how far back
- Transaction volume across a typical month
- Payroll size and pay cycle
- Whether the chart of accounts is workable as it stands
- Anything that needs sorting before the next BAS period
4
You get a scope and a price
Written, in advance, split into the one-off catch-up work and the ongoing monthly work so you can see what each part costs. If the scope changes materially once we are into the file, we tell you before doing the work, not after.
5
Onboarding and access
Short and structured. We set up the access we need, agree how documents reach us, and confirm who signs off on what.
- Adviser or user access to your Xero file, at the permission level the work requires
- Bank feeds checked and reconnected where they have dropped out
- An agreed way to send receipts and bills, so they stop living in your inbox
- Confirmation of who approves payments and payroll — that stays with you
- Your accountant's details, so we can work with them rather than around them
6
The regular cycle starts
Once the file is current, the work becomes routine and predictable. That is the point — bookkeeping should stop being an event.
THE ROUTINE
What the ongoing work looks like.
The exact rhythm depends on your transaction volume and pay cycle. This is the shape of it for a typical small business.
EACH WEEK OR FORTNIGHT
Keep it current
- Bank and card transactions coded
- Reconciliations kept up to date
- Supplier bills entered
- Payroll processed and STP filed on the pay cycle
- Queries batched, not sent one at a time
EACH MONTH
Close the month properly
- All accounts reconciled to statements
- Accounts receivable and payable reviewed
- Payroll and super liabilities checked
- Unusual items flagged to you
- A short summary of where things stand
EACH BAS PERIOD
No last-minute scramble
- Bookkeeping finished before the period is prepared
- GST coding reviewed, not assumed
- Anything uncertain raised early
- Supporting records organised and retained
- Figures that reconcile back to the file
COMMUNICATION
How we keep in touch.
Queries get batched into one message rather than trickling through all week. You get a named point of contact, not a ticket queue.
If something needs a decision from you — a transaction nobody can identify, a supplier bill that looks wrong, a payroll item that does not sit right — it gets raised while it is still easy to fix, not at year end when nobody remembers.
Reporting is whatever you will actually read. For most owners that is a short monthly summary plus the standard profit and loss and balance sheet from the file.
YOUR ACCOUNTANT
We work alongside them, not instead of them.
Xbook does the bookkeeping. Your accountant handles tax returns, structuring and year-end advice. Those are different jobs and the arrangement works best when both are done properly.
In practice that means your accountant receives a file that reconciles, with the supporting records available and the questions already answered. Less time spent fixing bookkeeping is less time billed for fixing bookkeeping.
If you do not have an accountant yet, that is fine — the books still need to be right either way.
WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU
Not much, but it matters.
Access
Access to the accounting file and visibility of the bank transactions. Payment authority stays with you.
Documents
Receipts and bills sent through the agreed method rather than saved in a glovebox for later.
Answers
A reply to the batched queries. A handful of unidentified transactions can hold up an entire month's close.