Wes Rashid

International tax is where the penalty risk can feel disproportionate. In US-UK cross-border structures, missing or mishandling international forms can trigger severe penalties even when little tax is due. That is why founders feel anxious, you can do everything “commercially right” and still suffer large penalties for missing an international information return sometimes with starting penalties at $25,000. This is where a regular domestic US or UK only tax advisor is rarely enough for the Trans-Atlantic business group. The core skill is mapping the international reporting footprint early, identifying area of risk adn penalty exposure, then keeping the US and UK filings consistent year after year. That joined-up advice and support is what switched on founders seek to manage cross-border risk. Drop in to my inbox any time if you want to know more.  #InternationalReporting #USTax #UKTax #CrossBorderTax #Compliance

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HMRC MTD quarterly submissions. The mechanical bit takes 2 minutes per client. The client conversation takes an hour. Automate the wrong one and you cost yourself the relationship. Here is the shape I would build for a bookkeeping practice with 30 MTD clients. The mechanical bit. Xero pushes the VAT numbers to HMRC via the API. Zero human touch. Already automated by Xero itself. The client bit. Every quarter the client wants a plain-English note. "Here is what your VAT return says. Here is what changed since last quarter. Here is the amount to pay and when. Anything you want to talk about?" The workflow. An n8n job runs on the day the VAT return is filed. Pulls the VAT return values from Xero. Reads the last 4 quarters' returns for context. Sends all of it to Claude with a house-style prompt: "Draft a client-friendly summary in under 200 words. Name the amount, the deadline, the biggest change from last quarter, one action for the client. Sign off with the practice partner's name." The draft threads into the practice's Gmail with the client's name and a subject line. Practice partner reviews 30 drafts on the filing day, edits the 3 that need a personal touch, sends the rest with a signature. The client gets the note within an hour of filing. Not on Friday afternoon a week later. The practice's advisory conversation becomes the reply thread rather than a separate call. Automation frees the partner for the conversation, not from the conversation. DM me "mtd" for the summary prompt.

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Question 5 of 30 questions clients have recently asked the Kinore team ‘Does Xero produce a SEPA file for bulk supplier payment?’ Xero remains one of our favourite recommendations for client software – it is easy to use, easy to integrate and easy to scale as the business grows. In Ireland – we use the Global version of Xero – there is not a specific country version like there is for the UK, New Zealand or Australia.😒 This means that for things that are specific to Ireland – VAT filing for example, we have to find an alternative solution. While the VAT issue is well known, a question we have had a lot recently is whether Xero produces a SEPA file for bulk supplier payments. While Xero globally advertises SEPA payment support – the edition we use in Ireland does not produce a SEPA file for bulk supplier payments – it will only generate a CSV file. That means you can’t currently send multiple supplier payments directly from Xero via SEPA in Ireland. Our usual recommendation to businesses that rely on Xero for account management especially if bulk SEPA payments are important, consider integrating with alternative solutions like Modular or Parolla - Online Cloud Based Payroll Software , which can create SEPA-compliant files ready for payment. Kinore, Finance & Business Services have been awarded Xero partner of the year for the last 5 years - if you have any questions or concerns on Xero or any other accounting software – let us know - we are happy to help.

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MTD isn’t the scary part. Want to know what is? Our community is full of questions about the quarterly submission process. And I know that the transition to MTD can feel daunting for your sole trader clients and for your practice. The real risk isn’t the new regulation itself. It’s the businesses that have been winging it for years and are now looking for a “workaround” instead of fixing their bookkeeping. It’s the messy records that will cause the issues – not the quarterly submissions. I’ve seen how the submissions work in Xero, and that part is straightforward. The real challenge is hitting submit when the books are three months behind, receipts are missing, and you’re still trying to work out what “CARD PAYMENT” from April was for. MTD will put deadlines around problems that have always been there. If you’re a bookkeeper and you want to make this manageable for your clients, start by tightening up the workflow: ✅ Define the new process – you lead this, not your clients ✅ Choose one way to receive receipts (and stick to it) ✅ Set cut-off dates and enforce those boundaries ✅ Stop accepting information across multiple channels This is exactly the practical workflow we will cover in MTD Made Practical with Xero, a three-part webinar series which starts on 24th March, so you feel confident with both the quarterly and year-end process – and your clients do too. The businesses most at risk are the ones that have been “winging it” for years and now want a workaround instead of fixing their bookkeeping. It’s the messy records that will cause the problems here, not the quarterly submissions.

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MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment is a major shift for sole traders, especially if you are already VAT registered. From April 2026, turnover above £50,000 means digital records and quarterly submissions to HMRC become mandatory. VAT itself is not changing, but your bookkeeping discipline must tighten. Your income, expenses, and VAT data must all align through digitally linked systems. Software like Xero helps keep everything consistent and compliant. We often see issues arise when VAT and income records are managed separately. Getting structured early avoids last-minute pressure and costly errors. #MTDforITSA #VATRegistered #DigitalTaxUK

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