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.”
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.”
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.
Celebrating both GCSE and A-Level Results Days, the chain will offer the popular dish to students who buy one of its bubble teas.
The free offer is available at all 42 Rosa’s Thai restaurants across England and Wales.
To avail of the free noodles, students need to register on Rosa’s Thai website for a unique code, which they should present at the restaurant together with a copy of their results.
Rosa’s Thai has a new range of bubble tea flavours, including Ube-Taro, Matcha-Coconut, Mango Sticky Rice, and Milo Chocolate Milk, as well as favourites like Home-brewed Thai Tea with Tapioca, and Lychee Mango with mango boba.
Students can sign up for their free Pad Thai at rosasthai.com/result-day-free-pad-thai and find their nearest restaurant at rosasthai.com/locations.
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