Nearly every business we take on arrives with software it is using at maybe a third of its capacity. The subscription is paid, the bank feed is connected, and someone is still typing things into a spreadsheet alongside it because they never quite trusted what the software was doing.
Training fixes that faster than another year of muddling through, and it is cheaper than paying someone to unpick a year of misposted entries.
What we cover
| Area | What you will be able to do |
|---|---|
| Setting up for Jersey | Tax rates configured for GST at 5% instead of the UK 20% VAT default. Chart of accounts that reflects your business, not the generic template. |
| Day-to-day entry | Sales invoices, purchases, bank feeds and reconciliation, done the quick way rather than the way you worked out yourself. |
| GST returns | Producing figures you can actually file, and understanding what the software is claiming before you submit it. |
| Reporting | Pulling a P&L, balance sheet and debtor list that mean something, on demand. |
| Common mistakes | The handful of errors we fix in almost every Jersey file we inherit, and how to not make them. |
Why the Jersey setup matters so much
This is the part generic training and UK-based trainers miss. Both platforms assume a UK business unless told otherwise, and the defaults are wrong for Jersey in ways that are quiet rather than obvious:
- Tax rates default to UK VAT at 20%. Jersey GST is 5%. A file left on the default quietly overstates tax on every transaction it touches.
- Payroll modules are built around PAYE codes and National Insurance. Jersey uses ITIS effective rates and Class 1 Social Security, which do not map across.
- Reporting templates and date defaults assume the UK tax year rather than how Jersey filings fall.
If you want the background before you book, our guide to choosing accounting software in Jersey compares the main options on exactly these criteria.
Trained by certified users of both platforms
We hold certification in Xero and in QuickBooks, and we use both every week on live Jersey client files. That combination matters more than it sounds: a trainer who only knows one platform cannot tell you honestly when you have picked the wrong one, and a trainer who has never filed a Jersey GST return will teach you the UK defaults without noticing.
- XeroCertified
- QuickBooksCertified
How the sessions work
One-to-one, on your own file, in person or over a screen share. We work through real transactions from your business rather than a demo company, because the questions that matter only surface on your own data. You keep the file at the end, set up correctly.
Fixed fee per session, agreed before we start. If a session runs into something bigger than training — a file that needs a proper clean-up first — we will tell you rather than train you on top of a mess. That work is a clean-up job, priced separately.
Who books this
- Owners who bought a subscription, watched some tutorials, and know they are not using it properly.
- Businesses bringing bookkeeping back in-house who need whoever is doing the entry trained properly.
- New staff inheriting a file nobody has explained to them.
- Anyone moving from spreadsheets who wants the migration done once, correctly.
Common questions
Do Xero and QuickBooks work in Jersey?
Yes, once configured. Both default to UK VAT at 20% and UK payroll, so tax rates need setting to Jersey GST at 5% and payroll handled for ITIS and Social Security.
Xero or QuickBooks — which should I pick?
Both work well for a Jersey trading business once set up. It usually comes down to which your adviser works in and which suits how you like to work.
How many sessions will I need?
Most owners are confident on day-to-day tasks after two or three. A full setup or migration is quoted separately.
Can you train our bookkeeper instead of me?
Yes, and usually that works better. We train whoever actually does the data entry.
Training businesses across all twelve Jersey parishes. Tell us which software you use and what keeps tripping you up, and we will suggest the right number of sessions.
Xero and QuickBooks are trademarks of Xero Limited and Intuit Inc. respectively. Training is delivered independently by Bookkeeper.je. Software behaviour changes with updates — check the vendor's current documentation for platform specifics.