Achieve greater speed and accuracy with enhancements to CIS in Xero

If you’re in the UK construction industry, using the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), Xero can help reduce the administrative burden and paperwork. 

We’ve just made some improvements, which mean you can now:

• Run a CIS audit report for ease of checking and greater insight into monthly return numbers
• Verify subcontractors from within Xero
• Calculate CIS deductions automatically when sending invoices using the Xero accounting app and desktop

Run a CIS audit report

The new CIS audit report lets you quickly see how the figures in your monthly return are made up. This enables you to feel confident that you’re submitting accurate numbers to HMRC each month.  It also helps you know the impact that CIS is having on your business. 

Here’s how to view the report and see a breakdown of all the transactions in the monthly return. Then you can click through from any transaction to view the related bill.

1. Log in to Xero.
2. In the Accounting menu, select Reports.
3. Click CIS Contractor (Monthly Return, Online Filing and Statements).
4. Click the Transactions tab to view individual transactions for each monthly submission. 

Verify subcontractors

If you add CIS Contractor to your Xero plan, you can verify your subcontractors directly from Xero without having to use the HMRC portal. Just go into a subcontractor’s contact record in Xero to confirm their subcontractor verification number (SVN) and CIS deduction rate. This not only saves time from having to log in to the HMRC portal, but also makes for clearer, error-free accounts.

Now, calculate CIS deductions automatically on mobile too

CIS deductions are now calculated automatically on invoices you send through the Xero accounting app as well as on desktop. This means you can invoice – with the calculations done for you – as soon as a job is finished. It saves you from having a stack of paperwork or recalculations to do when you get back home or into the office.

The Xero accounting app is easy to use, available to download from the Play Store or the  App Store, and it’s free with your subscription. 

What you get with CIS in Xero

The core features of CIS in Xero are free as part of Xero starter, standard and premium plans. They include the ability to:

• import contractor and subcontractor contacts into Xero
• mark contractor and subcontractors for CIS with just a tick
• automatically calculate deductions and payments for bills (on desktop) and invoices (on mobile and desktop)
• run CIS monthly reports
• create payment and deduction statements

To start using CIS in Xero, just go to financial settings and enable the business as a contractor, subcontractor or both. 

Find our more about CIS in Xero.

Add CIS Contractor to your plan

You can save time and reduce errors every month by adding CIS Contractor to your plan for just £5 a month. It lets you (or your accountant):

• verify subcontractors online
• file CIS monthly reports directly from Xero to HMRC
• bulk create payment and deduction statements for all your subcontractors in one go.

Add CIS Contractor to your plan now.

Further information

If you run a building or construction business, and want to know more, check out:

• Xero accounting for trades, building and construction
• How to use CIS in Xero
• Automating CIS in Xero