Business & Technology
Venn Accounts cuts overdue invoices 60% with Trove
KAREN JOY BACUDO
Finance Editor
Venn Accounts has introduced debtor management software Trove across its finance service built on Xero, after an internal trial cut overdue invoices by 60%.
The UK accounting firm has expanded beyond compliance work to run broader finance operations for clients, including payroll, supplier payments, cash flow management and credit control. The shift reflects demand from founders who want support with day-to-day financial administration rather than year-end filing alone.
James Ripley, Chief Executive of Venn Accounts, said the firm has built its client service around Xero and the broader software tools that integrate with it. He said that approach allows the business to tailor finance processes for companies facing rapid changes in staffing, markets and operating conditions.
“Running a business in 2026 is more complex than ever, from supply chain disruption to regulatory pressure and rising employment costs. Most founders don’t want to take on financial risk themselves. They want a partner they can rely on to take that off their plate,” Ripley said.
Venn Accounts has repositioned itself to take on more of the finance function for clients, covering operational tasks that many smaller or growing businesses do not want to manage in-house.
“We’ve moved beyond delivering compliance and now take ownership of the entire finance function. That includes payroll, supplier payments, cash flow management and credit control. To deliver this consistently at scale, we build our service around best-in-class software,” he said.
Software stack
Xero remains the core accounting platform in that setup. Around it, Venn Accounts adds software chosen for each client rather than using a standard configuration across all accounts.
“We work with high-growth businesses where change is constant: new hires, new markets, new challenges. In that environment, a one-size-fits-all finance setup quickly breaks down. Xero’s ecosystem allows us to build a tailored tech stack around each client, rather than forcing them into a generic solution,” Ripley said.
The latest addition is Trove, a tool designed to automate the collection of overdue invoices. Venn Accounts first adopted the software internally before installing it for clients, in line with its usual practice of testing new products on its own processes.
The trial focused on late payments caused by failed direct debits or unpaid bank transfer invoices. Trove sent follow-up messages automatically from the firm’s finance email account, reducing the need for staff to chase payments manually.
Within two weeks of implementation, overdue invoices fell by 60%. The firm also reported a 22% improvement in Days Sales Outstanding, a common measure of how quickly businesses collect payments after invoicing customers.
Venn Accounts said the results have continued beyond the initial trial period. It said 98% of invoices are now paid within two weeks of the due date, while the remaining 2% are flagged as exceptions for manual follow-up.
According to Ripley, the search for a debtor management tool was prompted by one client who wanted a system capable of pursuing payment without creating friction in customer relationships.
“One of our clients was struggling with overdue invoices, and that’s a sensitive issue that needs handling carefully. We needed a solution that was effective, but also aligned with how we and our clients communicate with customers,” he said.
Changing role
The wider backdrop is a change in what smaller businesses expect from their accountants. Venn Accounts cited survey data showing 68% of small businesses said their accountant made them more productive, suggesting demand is moving beyond compliance and tax work towards more operational advice and support.
For firms such as Venn Accounts, this creates an opening to offer outsourced finance functions rather than narrower accounting assignments. The use of software to automate invoicing, credit control and payment follow-up forms part of that broader shift.
Ripley said this operating model has changed the relationship between the firm and its clients.
“This is where we add the most value, embedding ourselves into the client’s day-to-day operations and improving how their finance function actually runs,” he said. “It’s a fundamentally different model to traditional year-end compliance work.”
Business & Technology
Mouse droppings found in Oxford city Chinese restaurant
Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle in New Inn Hall Street was inspected by Oxford City Council on May 26.
Inspectors subsequently handed the Chinese restaurant a rating of two out of five, meaning “improvement necessary”.
According to the report, received by the Oxford Mail after a Freedom of Information request submission, officers identified a series of concerns, including evidence of mouse activity.
The report states that mouse droppings were found throughout the business in two food storage rooms and the bar area.
In one of the storage areas, mouse activity was present where noodles were kept in plastic carrier bags and potatoes and onion were left in the open.
“Historic” mouse droppings at Ten Seconds Yunnan Rice Noodle (Image: Oxford City Council)
Inspectors said pest-proofing measures were “not great” and identified a hole beneath a sink in the bar area which could potentially allow pests to enter the premises.
In the report, the inspector said: “At the time of the inspection, I observed a number of historic mouse dropping in both the food storage areas.
“The most recent pest control report mentions no mouse activity in any of the food storage areas.
“All areas where food is prepared and stored must be kept clean and capable of being kept clean. This is so that pests are not attracted into your premises and the risk of food being contaminated by dirt is minimised.”
They advised the owner to remove all historic mouse droppings within the food business and continue to identify any issues of pest proofing within a month.
A hole where pests could have entered underneath the sink (Image: Oxford City Council)
The business was instructed to remove the droppings and improve pest-proofing measures where previous temporary work had failed.
Food storage issues were also highlighted during the inspection.
In an “overfilled” fridge, officers found raw chicken stored above ready-to-eat foods, including uncovered beans and spring onions, which could cause cross-contamination leading to food poisoning.
That same fridge, which stored items such as cooked rice, chicken ballotine and prawns, was above the required eight degrees, raising concern about food poisoning.
A large number of food containers were also unlabelled, despite the food looking fresh.
The officer insisted a “robust system for ensuring adequate stock rotation” was implemented and recommended all food be kept in sealed, pest-proof containers.
An overfilled fridge which was measured above safe temperature (Image: Oxford City Council)
No food-safe sanitiser or disinfectant were available on site, only a kitchen cleaner which they said did not provide adequate disinfection.
Despite the concerns, the report noted there had been a “huge improvement” in cleaning standards since the restaurant’s previous inspection.
The business also had a food safety management system in place and a pest control contract with Pure Pest Solutions.
The council has required a range of improvements, with compliance timescales ranging from one week to one month with a revisit inspection planned.
Business & Technology
Oxford startup secures Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award
Oxford-based Peripear has secured an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award and a £74,974 grant for its development of a wearable device designed to prevent perineal trauma during labour.
The funding will support continued product development ahead of the company’s planned first-in-human study.
Nina van Schaick, co-founder and COO of Peripear as well as a midwife who trained at Oxford Brookes, said: “I’m sure I wasn’t the only one to see this gap.
“I was incredibly lucky to meet my co-founder, Eviatar Natan, right as my frustration about the lack of translation of evidence into practice had peaked.
“There was a proven mechanism that could reduce injuries occurring in up to 90 per cent of vaginal births, and it was being left out of clinical pathways simply because no standardised tool existed to deliver it.”
Peripear is developing what it describes as the world’s first automated perineal thermotherapy wearable, designed to prevent perineal trauma during childbirth.
A perineal thermotherapy wearable is an emerging medical device.
It is a hands‑free warm compress device used on the perineum during the second stage of labour to reduce severe tearing and episiotomies while improving maternal comfort.
Ms van Schaick added: “I’m a farmer’s granddaughter, and when I started practising over 14 years ago, I asked: where is the tool I need to implement this evidence? I looked around and realised we were still asking clinicians to improvise.
“Peripear is what happens when the person who has lived the problem, both personally and professionally, meets the person who can help her build the solution.”
Business & Technology
UK bike manufacturer on brink of £30m collapse after 139 years
The company behind bikemaker Raleigh, which was founded 139 years ago and has supplied bikes to the UK’s cycling city of Oxford over the years, has filed to appoint administrators.
Accell UK and Ireland, part of Netherlands-based Accell Group, filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as the wider group kickstarted insolvency proceedings.
This follows a difficult spell for Nottinghamshire-based Raleigh, which confirmed job cuts in 2024 before reporting a £30m loss in financial accounts published the following year.
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The boss of Accell said it was a “deeply sad and frustrating situation” and that it had “tirelessly explored” every option for the future of the cycling business.
The company bought Raleigh in 2012 for around 100 million US dollars (£74 million), adding to its roster of bike brands throughout Europe including Haibike, Winora and Ghost.
Raleigh was founded in Nottingham in 1887 and was well-known for its Chopper model, which featured extended handlebars and is now part of its “retro” range.
It no longer manufactures bikes from Nottingham, and its head office has moved to Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, while the company has shifted to selling electric bikes under Accell’s ownership.
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Accell went through a restructuring in February, securing additional funding from shareholders and lenders and reducing debts.
The group said it had since “explored every possible avenue” for its future, including discussions with potential buyers, but that it had not been possible to find a solution which means the business can continue operating.
It has therefore initiated insolvency proceedings in the Netherlands.
Accell’s chief executive Jonas Nilsson said: “This is a deeply sad and frustrating situation given all the hard work and everything we have achieved, with the support of shareholders and lenders, to restructure Accell’s operations and finances.
“It is an especially difficult moment for our employees, creditors, customers, suppliers, and partners.
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“Every realistic option for the future of the business has been tirelessly explored, and none have resulted in a solution to continue the Group in its current form.
“Our immediate focus is to support an orderly process, provide clarity wherever possible, and work with the relevant court-appointed administrators to preserve viable activities and employment where circumstances allow.”
At its 1970s height, Raleigh employed more than 13,000 people across the UK, with around 8,000 working at its various Triumph Road sites in Nottingham.
The former factory land later became the University of Nottingham’s Jubilee Campus.
Raleigh subsequently moved its headquarters to Church Street in Eastwood, before leaving that site and relocating to Durban House in 2024.
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