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The Farm Bookkeeper

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Bury St Edmunds
The Farm Bookkeeper

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Based in East Anglia, covering all your bookkeeping and farm secretarial requirements. Based in East Anglia, covering all your bookkeeping requirements.

03/11/2026

🚜 Understanding your year end accounts

If you’ve received your year end accounts from your accountant, taken one look at the overall profit (or loss!) and put them to one side, here are a few things to look out for to help you gain a better understanding of the figures 👇

📊 1. Your operating profit How much profit has the business made after overheads? Compare it with previous years. Is the result purely a reflection of the year’s harvest, or are there other factors at play?

💷 2. Your cash position Profit isn’t always a reflection of the cash in the bank. Your accounts can show a profit while cash is tight, particularly if you’ve bought machinery or other assets, repaid loans or have money tied up in stock or debtors. .

🚜 3. Your costs Look at where the money is going. Crop inputs are the obvious area to focus on, but also review overheads, comparing with previous years and looking for areas where it may be possible to cut back (sometimes it’s the small wins that make a difference)

🏦 4. Your debts and assets Check what the business owns and owes. This helps you understand the overall financial position of your farm.

Don't panic if your accountant's figures differ from what you see in your accounting software. There could be a number of explanations, for example adjustments for private use, depreciation or stock. However, if any of the figures look “off”, or there are any changes you don’t understand, make a note and discuss these with your accountant.

19/10/2026

💻 E-invoicing: one to watch in the Autumn Budget 2026

📅 What’s changing?

The Government plans to make e-invoicing mandatory for all business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) invoices from April 2029.

In the Autumn Budget on 28 October, an implementation roadmap is expected to be announced, setting out the key milestones. At the moment, much is still unknown.

🌾 Why should farmers and rural businesses pay attention?

E-invoicing is more than simply sending an invoice by email. It involves exchanging data electronically between businesses’ financial systems.

The change is likely to affect how you invoice customers, process supplier invoices, and manage your day-to-day bookkeeping.

While e-invoicing has the potential to reduce manual admin and human error, businesses also need to consider software compatibility and the hidden costs of implementing.

🔎 What to look out for: the proposed timeline, technical requirements and what support will be available to help businesses prepare.

10/10/2026

🔒 Stop back-posting from becoming a problem

Whether you use Xero, QuickBooks, or otherwise, setting a lock date can prevent transactions from being changed in periods that have already been finalised, helping to save time, confusion and unnecessary detective work!

Why does it matter?

✅ Protects previous periods from accidental changes
✅ Reduces the risk of back-posting
✅ Keeps your reports and reconciliations consistent

🔐 How to set a lock date in Xero:
1. Go to Accounting → Accounting settings
2. Click on Financial settings and scroll to Lock dates
3. Choose the appropriate lock date — for example, the end of the financial year or the month you've just completed
4. Save the changes

Xero has two different lock-date options, one that prevents all users from making changes before the date and another that allows advisers to make changes if necessary.

21/09/2026

🎉This week marks 3 years of The Farm Bookkeeper 🎉

There’s no denying that farming continues to face plenty of uncertainty and challenges, but there's no industry I'd rather work in.

Here's to the people behind the numbers, and everything still to come🥂💚

07/09/2026

Pleased to have recently completed my Xero recertification 🎉

25/08/2026

Hello👋Back in the office after a couple of weeks off.

20/07/2026

Thinking about taking on a member of staff, and wondering what will it cost?

A farm worker earning a salary of £30,000 a year, could actually cost your business around £34,900, once you include:

🌾 Salary: £30,000
📋 Employer National Insurance: ~£3,750
💼 Employer pension contributions: ~£713
👷 PPE and work clothing: ~£200+
🚜 Training and certifications: ~£200+

Not to mention the cost of holiday cover, recruitment costs, or the cost of accommodation, if it’s provided with the role.

If you are expanding your team, make sure you’re budgeting for total cost, not just the salary.

06/07/2026

🚩 Is your farm's cash flow trying to tell you something?

Cash flow challenges aren’t always as obvious as an empty bank account. Sometimes there are red flags long before things become critical.

Do any of these sound familiar?

🌾 Relying on your overdraft for the majority of the year, rather than just at pinch points

💰Waiting for future money to come in before you can pay this month’s bills, or delaying paying suppliers to stay afloat

🚜Pushing back maintenance or repairs for “another day”

📉Despite having a good harvest, still having very little cash in the bank

⏳Struggling to find enough cash to pay the wages, struggling to keep up with HMRC liabilities

🌱 Turning down opportunities because you don’t have the cash to finance them.

Dealing with cash flow struggles can seem overwhelming Here are a few practical tips to get you started.

✅ Create a rolling 12 month cash flow forecast to identify pinch points before they happen

✅ Review your biggest expenses and consider whether any can be delayed, reduced, or spread over time

✅ Where possible, reduce your payment terms (for example, from 30 days to 14 days) and follow up on outstanding invoices sooner

✅Talk to your suppliers if you need more flexible payments terms – communication is key

✅Review your fixed asset register to see if any cash is held up in machinery or other implements you don’t use anymore

✅Speak to your accountant, bank manager, or other advisor about your concerns – the sooner you do this the more options you are likely to have available to you

🤝 If financial pressure is affecting you personally, don't face it alone. Farming charities can provide confidential support, practical guidance, and someone to talk to

25/06/2026

📢 Self-Assessment Reminder 📢

If you're required to make Payments on Account, your second payment for the 2025/26 tax year is due by 31 July.

💻 Login to your personal tax account to check if you have a payment becoming due.

If you need to make a payment, don't forget to use your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) followed by the letter "K" as your 10-digit reference.

📣 If your income has changed and you think your payment may be too high, you may be able to reduce your Payments on Account.

📅 Stay on top of your tax to avoid interest or penalties.

08/06/2026

☔If the weather has you spending a little more time in the office today, why not tackle your P11D and tick another job off the list?

📢Don't forget — the deadline for submitting your P11D and P11D(b) forms to HMRC is 6 July.

If you've provided employees with benefits or expenses such as company vehicles, fuel, accommodation, or other taxable benefits, it's time to get your paperwork in order.

Address

Bury St. Edmunds

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

07801827610

Website

http://www.thefarmbookkeeper.com/, https://www.campaigns.nfuonline.com/page/160300/petition/1?locale=en-GB

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