Create a clean, scalable structure before money starts flowing.
Step 1 — Create Workspace
Press "Start free"
Click "Create workspace" to create both your account and your business environment.
Explanation
After signup, you land inside your workspace.
This is your:
company container
financial environment
system of record
Everything will live here:
customers
invoices
payments
VAT
reports
Why this matters
Without structure:
data becomes fragmented
reporting becomes unreliable
tax becomes risky
With structure:
everything connects
everything is traceable
everything scales
Step 2 — Understand Your Dashboard
This is your live business workspace. It is empty now — and that is correct. This is your live business workspace. It is empty now — and that is correct.
Workspace name (top center)
Workspace name
“Owner” role badge
Your role in app
“Current month finance snapshot”
Current month finance snapshot
Onboarding section (“Get this workspace to first value”)
Onboarding section
Left sidebar navigation
Navigation
Explanation
At the beginning:
revenue = £0
no customers
no transactions
This is correct.
You are starting clean.
Mistake to avoid
Do not wait until you “have business” to use the system.
You build structure first — then activity flows into it.
PART 2 — MONTH 1: FIRST CLIENT & FIRST MONEY
Scenario
You are a freelancer providing services.
You complete your first project.
You charge:
£900
Step 1 — Create Customer
Create first contact/customer
Create your first customer before issuing any invoice.
Save new contact
Sidebar → Sales
“Contacts”
“New contact” button
Name field
Role selector (Customer)
Save button
Input Example
Name: Alpha Client Ltd
Type: Customer
Currency: GBP
Why this matters
The customer must exist before:
invoices
payments
reporting
Without this:
revenue cannot be tracked properly
Step 2 — Create Invoice
New invoice
Invoice form
Sidebar → Sales → Invoices
Sidebar → Sales → Invoices
“New invoice” button
“New invoice” button
Customer dropdown
Customer dropdown
Amount field invoices-new-form-amount-field.webp13.9 KB
Save
Record incoming payment and match it to the invoice.
Result
Invoice = Paid
Cash = received
Revenue = recorded
paymants-recorded.webp68 KB
Mistake to avoid
Do NOT assume: “Invoice = money”
Until payment is recorded, it is only expected income
PART 3 — EXPENSES (MONTH 1)
Expenses list
Scenario
You pay:
£120 → software
£50 → tools
Step — Record Expenses
Sidebar → Purchases
Sidebar → Purchases
“Expenses”
Expenses
“New expense”
New expense
Expenses form
Amount field
Amount field
Category selector
Category selector
Payment source
Record every cost as it happens.
Description of expense
And "Record expense"
Tools - second expense
Recorded expenses
Why this matters
Expenses affect:
profit
tax
VAT (later)
Mistake to avoid
If you do not record expenses: your profit becomes fake
PART 4 — BANK + RECONCILIATION, and the Trusted Record
Scenario
You import your bank statement.
Transactions:
+£900 (client payment)
-£120 (software)
-£50 (tools)
Step 1 — Add Bank Account
Add bank account
Banking → Bank Accounts
Banking → Bank Accounts
“Add account” button
Add new bank
Banks page
Step 2 — Import Transactions
Import csv transations
csv example transations list
Banks import transactions form
Upload CSV button
Upload CSV button
File selector
File selector
Import CSV
Imported transactions and matching review
Step 3 — Reconcile
Reconciliation is the bridge between your internal records and the real bank.
When you create an invoice, you create a sales record.
When you record a payment, you create an operational accounting event.
When you import the bank CSV, you bring in the real bank evidence.
Reconciliation then confirms that the accounting event and the bank evidence truly belong to the same money movement. That is what turns the system into a trusted source of truth.
Reconciliation workspace
Reconciliation -> Reconciliation
Lets do first item: Click Open workspace to access the Reconciliation workspace in your account. Then scroll to the bottom of the page to locate the Queue section, which displays all items that need to be reconciled.
Open workspace for reconciliation
Reconciliation workspace
Queue section
Example item of Queue section
“In the Queue section, each transaction is displayed with its current status and available actions. In this example, the transaction ‘Amazon Tools Purchase’ has no matches linked yet, so it remains in the Unmatched state.
Below the transaction details, the system suggests potential operational matches based on existing records. These are grouped under Operational matching, where you can see candidate entries such as expenses (e.g., ‘Tools’ and ‘Software’), along with their available amounts and dates.
To proceed, review the suggested matches and enter the appropriate match amount for the selected record. Once confirmed, click Record operational matches to link the transaction and move it forward in the reconciliation process.”
Match suggestions
Click "Operational matching (2 candidates)
Review and Select Operational Match Candidates
Entering Match Amount for an Operational Record
Review the list of suggested records and identify the one that best matches the transaction. To select it, enter the corresponding value in the Match amount field. The system treats any entered amount as a selection, allowing you to confirm the correct record.
“Reconcile” button
“Reconcile” button
Success messasge
Transaction Progress After Matching One Item in reconciliation workspace
Reconciliation Progress After Matching One Transaction
Transaction in ‘Matched Only’ Stage (Awaiting Settlement)
Reconciliation workspace - In progress 3 items · £1,070.00
reconcilation-workspace-list-match-only.webp105 KB Match real bank transactions to your recorded data. Reconciliation means matching real bank transactions to your recorded data.
Important: Matching alone is not enough.
You must also complete settlement so the transaction is fully verified against the bank. Only then is it truly reconciled.
How to Complete Reconciliation for “Matched Only” Transactions
After matching a transaction, it may move to the “Matched only” stage. This means the transaction is operationally explained, but the cash-side settlement is still missing.
To fully reconcile the transaction, follow these steps:
Step 1: Locate “Matched Only” Transactions
In the Reconciliation workspace, scroll to the Queue section and find the “Matched only” group.
These are transactions that:
Already have operational matches
Still require a settlement to complete the accounting process
Step 2: Review the Transaction
Select a transaction (e.g., Amazon Tools Purchase).
Step 5: Link the Settlement to the Bank Transaction
Return to the transaction:
Click “View full transaction” or use the Link settlement option
Select the settlement you just created from the dropdown
Click “Link settlement to bank row”
Step 6: Confirm Reconciliation
Once linked:
✅ The transaction status changes to Reconciled
✅ The Remaining bank value becomes £0.00
✅ The transaction disappears from the “Matched only” queue
💡 Important Concept (simple explanation)
Matching explains what the transaction is. Settlement confirms how the money moved.
Both are required to fully reconcile a bank transaction.
✅ Example from Your System
For the transaction “Amazon Tools Purchase (£50)”:
You matched it to Tools expense
Then created an Expense settlement (£50)
Expense settlement
Linked it back to the bank transaction
✅ Now it is fully reconciled
Important: Matching alone is not enough.
You must also complete settlement so the transaction is fully verified against the bank. Only then is it truly reconciled.
Best explanation of reconciliation flow
Step A — Record the business event Create the invoice, payment, or expense inside DII Accounts.
Step B — Import the bank evidence Bring in the real bank transactions from CSV.
Step C — Match the bank row to the accounting record Tell the system which invoice/payment/expense that row belongs to.
Step D — Complete settlement Finish the cash-side link so the remaining bank value becomes zero and the workflow is fully evidenced.
Step E — Only then trust reports and VAT outputs Now your accounting records are backed by bank evidence.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- the invoice, payment, or expense exists in your records - the bank transaction exists in your imported data - the two are matched - the full bank value has been settled (no remaining balance)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft, assumption, or partial record — it is verified and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
Result
Your system becomes:
accurate
verified
trustworthy
Why this matters
Without reconciliation: data is unreliable
With reconciliation: system becomes source of truth
So what is reconciliation, in simple words?
Reconciliation means proving that the money in your accounting records is the same money that actually moved through your bank.
Did the business event happen? Example: you issued an invoice or recorded an expense.
Did money actually move? Example: the bank import shows +£900 or -£120.
Are they the same transaction? Same amount, same timing, same customer/supplier, same purpose.
If all three line up, the transaction is reconciled.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT. A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT. A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
PART 4.5 — Why reconciliation must happen before VAT and reporting
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- the invoice, payment, or expense exists in your records - the bank transaction exists in your imported data - the two are matched - the full bank value has been settled (no remaining balance)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft, assumption, or partial record — it is verified and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
VAT returns should rely on real, reviewed transactions, not guesses.
Before turning VAT reporting into a serious workflow, you want sales, expenses, and bank evidence aligned.
Otherwise you risk claiming input VAT on costs you have not properly evidenced, or treating unpaid / unmatched movements as if they were already clean accounting data.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
PART 5 — MONTH 6: VAT REGISTRATION
Before enabling VAT workflows, make sure your core money flow is clean: invoices issued, payments allocated, expenses recorded, bank transactions imported, and reconciliations completed. VAT reporting sits on top of that foundation. If the foundation is messy, VAT totals become unreliable.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- the invoice, payment, or expense exists in your records - the bank transaction exists in your imported data - the two are matched - the full bank value has been settled (no remaining balance)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft, assumption, or partial record — it is verified and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT. A transaction is fully reconciled only when:
- it exists in your accounting records (invoice, payment, or expense) - it appears in your imported bank data - it has been matched - the full amount has been settled (no remaining value)
At this point, the transaction is complete.
It is no longer a draft or assumption — it is verified against real bank activity and can be safely used for reporting and VAT.
Your system should include (or you should create):
1. Standard Rate (Most Important)
Standard Rated
Code: STD20
Name: 20% Standard Rated
Rate: 20%
Type: Sales & Purchases
Use: Most UK services and goods
2. Zero Rate
Zero Rate
Code: Z
Name: Zero
Rate: 0%
Use: exports / specific goods
3. Exempt (optional later)
Code: EXEMPT
Rate: 0%
Use: financial / special cases
Mistake to avoid
Do NOT:
use ZERO instead of STD20
apply VAT before registration
create random VAT codes
This will break VAT returns
Step 2 — Set Default VAT Code (IMPORTANT)
Set:
Default sales VAT code: STD20
- Rate field (20%)
- Code name STD20
- Save button
How VAT Codes are used
When you create invoice:
System uses:
Selected VAT Code → applies % → calculates VAT
Example:
Net: £1000
VAT (STD20): £200
Total: £1200
Why VAT Codes Matter
VAT codes are the foundation of VAT reporting. Every invoice, expense, and transaction uses these codes to determine how VAT is calculated and reported.
Step 3 — Invoice with VAT
Invoice with VAT
Example
Net: £1,000
VAT: £200
Total: £1,200
System now tracks:
VAT collected
VAT reclaimable
PART 6 — REPORTS
Profit & Loss
Reports → Profit & Loss
Reports → Profit & Loss
Revenue line
Expense line
Profit
Critical concept
Profit ≠ Cash
PART 7 — PERIOD CONTROL
PART 8 — AUDIT TRAIL
PART 9 — YEAR SUMMARY
FINAL INSIGHT
Most founders try to understand accounting at the end.
Successful founders structure it at the beginning.
A practical guide explaining how budgeting and forecasting work together as a financial control system, helping startups manage cash flow, adapt to reality, and make better decisions.
A practical guide explaining how the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement work together to reveal business performance, financial position, and real liquidity.
A practical guide explaining how accounting records business activity while finance uses that information to analyse performance, plan the future, and support decision-making.
.jpg)
