Accounts Home
How Accounts › Home shows your income, expenses and profit beside last year, what you’re owed, the tax due next, and the things to do in your accounts.
Accounts > Home shows how your business is doing for a period beside the same period last year, what you're owed, and the things to do in your accounts. It covers one business at a time, like the reports.
The Figures at the Top
The button centred under the title says what the figures are for: the business, when you have more than one, over the period, such as This Tax Year · 6 Apr – 2 Nov 2026. Click it to change them. Showing opens with the Period and, when you have more than one business, the Business. Each changes the page straight away, and Reset puts them back as the page opened.
- Period: Starts as your financial year so far (This Tax Year for most businesses), as on every money page. The choices are This Month, Last Month, This Quarter, This Tax Year and Last Tax Year, or pick any dates on the calendar. A period still going on runs to today, so it lines up with the same days last year.
- Business: The business it covers, when you have more than one.
- Income, Expenses and Profit: For the period, each saying how it compares with the same dates last year, such as +25% on last year. Income and a profit are in green, and expenses and a loss in red. Under the profit is your profit margin, your profit as a percentage of your income, such as 25.0% profit margin. It's left off when the period has no income. Click one to open the Profit and Loss Report for the same period, which sets them out line by line.
- Owed to you: Everything your customers owe now, and by how many customers. Click it to open Who Owes You.
The note underneath says how income is counted: the money you received on cash basis, or the work you did on the accruals basis. You choose which under When income counts in Settings > Accounts & tax. For a VAT-registered business the figures are before VAT.
Things to Do
Each thing to do says what needs doing and opens the list it's done on. It drops off once it's done, and when there's nothing left the box says Nothing to do. You're up to date.
- VAT return due: For a VAT-registered business, the next VAT return to send, with HMRC connected or not, such as VAT return due 7 May 2026, with its dates and what it comes to so far. With HMRC connected, one whose due date has passed reads VAT return overdue: it was due by 7 May 2026; without HMRC, it's left to the VAT page, as it may have gone another way, and the return coming up shows instead. It opens the VAT page, to send the return or, once your accountant has sent it, mark it as sent. An Irish VAT number's returns don't show here.
- Income Tax update due: When your plan includes Making Tax Digital, HMRC is connected and your National Insurance number is in, the self-employment update HMRC wants first, such as Income Tax update due 7 August 2026, with the dates it covers. One sent from Work Planner drops off straight away. It opens the Income Tax page on the update's tax year, to send it.
- Chase customers: Customers who've owed for over 30 days, and how much. It opens Who owes you, oldest debt first.
- Send invoices: Invoices made but not sent yet. It opens the invoices list showing just those.
- Invoices that didn't send: Check the customer's email address, then send them again.
- Overdue invoices: Invoices still to be paid after their due date, such as 3 invoices are overdue. It opens the invoices list on Overdue, showing just those. Each invoice's due date comes from your payment terms in Settings > Accounts & tax, unless it was given its own.
- Payments that failed: Direct Debits and card payments in the last 30 days that didn't go through, to collect again. It opens the transactions that failed.
- Expenses without a category and without a receipt: This financial year's. They open the expenses list showing just those.
- Add your bank details: When your invoices can't yet tell customers how to pay you by bank transfer.
- Finish setting up accounts and tax: When something your accounts or tax need is still to do in Settings > Accounts & tax. It lists only the parts left, such as Still to do: business type, VAT details and tax categories., and opens that page.
You only see the things to do your role lets you do. The VAT return and the Income Tax update open their page on the business you're looking at here.
Whoever sends your tax is also reminded of each VAT return, Income Tax update and final declaration in the notifications bell and by email, a fortnight and three days before it's due, and once if it's overdue. See Notification Settings.
Quick Actions
On a computer, both are at the right of the title. On a phone, Accounts opens as a record does, with them as round buttons under the title, beside View transactions, which opens the Transactions List.
- Record payment: Opens Record payment, for a payment a customer has made by hand, such as cash or a bank transfer. Choose the customer, then the job it's for: it pays their open invoices, oldest first, and offers to send them a receipt, unless an automation sends one. The figures and things to do update once it's recorded. See Taking a Payment.
- Add expense: Opens Add expense, for something you've paid for the business, such as fuel or the van's insurance: the amount, what it was for, the VAT in it and a photo of the receipt. A cost that comes round again can repeat, and it adds itself to your expenses each time it's due. The figures and things to do update once it's added. See Adding an Expense.
Related articles
- Profit and Loss Report: The figures line by line and month by month.
- Who Owes You: Everyone who owes you, oldest debt first.
- Taking a Payment: Each field in Record payment, and sending the receipt.
- Adding an Expense: Each field in Add expense, and costs that repeat.
- Expenses List: Adding categories and receipts.
- Transactions List: The payments behind the figures.
- Invoices List: Sending invoices, and the ones overdue.
- VAT Returns: What each VAT return comes to, sending it, and marking it as sent.
- Income Tax: Your Self Assessment figures for the tax year, and sending your quarterly updates.
- Accounts and Tax Settings: Your business type, financial year, when income counts, VAT and payment terms.