What's wrong with a set of books — and what it costs to fix
Written from practice, not theory. Some of these are for accountants and bookkeepers sizing up work; others are for business owners trying to understand their own accounts. Every check described here can be run automatically, free, with the Vigil Health Check.
The director's loan account, explained
What it is, how it goes overdrawn, what section 455 costs at 35.75% (and when 33.75% still applies), the benefit-in-kind trap, and the four ways to clear it.
What does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
What actually drives the fee, why two quotes for the same books differ by thousands, and how to get a fair price instead of a guess.
Capital or repair? The judgement call that skews small-company accounts
The enduring-benefit test, what a de minimis threshold is really for, and the payments that can never be capital however large the invoice.
The suspense account that won't clear
Why suspense balances persist, what one really says about the books, and the systematic way to clear it — and keep it at nil.
Negative gross margin: what it actually means
A trading business showing a gross loss is almost never really trading at a loss. Where the number comes from and how to correct it.
Sundry, miscellaneous and general: what catch-all accounts hide
Catch-alls are where coding decisions go to be avoided. Why they grow, what's really in them, and how to empty them for good.
How to review a client's Xero books before you quote
The seven places surprises hide in a prospect's books, in the order to check them — and how to turn findings into a defensible price.
How to price bookkeeping cleanup work
Separate the project from the retainer, price from findings not vibes, quote a diagnosis rather than a number — and know your walk-away signals.
The director's loan account: three problems wearing one name
Genuine funding, misposted personal costs, or inter-company in disguise — why an unexplained balance is unpriced risk on an engagement.
The stock figure that never moves (and what it's hiding)
Two trial balances at different dates expose the plug: why a frozen stock number distorts profit pound-for-pound, and how to fix it.
Manual journal reliance: when the ledger is being forced
How to measure journal reliance from one export, which journals are legitimate machinery, and how to replace the rest with process.
What aged receivables and payables quietly confess
Customers in credit, old-bracket concentration, one supplier dominating the creditors, suppliers in debit — and what each means for scope.