You didn't open a shop to spend Sunday night with a laptop, a shoebox of receipts and a VAT deadline. But that's where bookkeeping puts most small shop owners: data entry after close, receipts in the glovebox, and a quiet dread of quarter-end.
Bill is our answer — a bookkeeper that lives where you already are: WhatsApp. No app to learn, no spreadsheet, no typing. This post covers how it works, what it does with your VAT, and why it fits shops that run on one or two pairs of hands.
The system Bill replaces.
Three ways in — whichever is fastest
- Speak it. Voice-note the sale between customers: "sold 5 MCBs at £8.50 and 2 cable rolls". Bill writes it up, works out the total, and confirms before the next customer reaches the counter.
- Snap it. Photograph a supplier invoice, a card receipt, a bank-transfer screenshot. Bill reads the lot — supplier, date, line items, total — and files it under the right month.
- See it. Text "reports" any time for today, this week, or this month: sales, payments in and out, outstanding invoices, in plain English.
Speak it, snap it — and the real WhatsApp capture: Bill reads the invoice and files it.
Onboarding takes two minutes
There's no setup project. You message Bill on WhatsApp, tell it your shop's name, and it starts keeping books. The first invoice is usually filed within minutes of saying hello.
Bill at work: from WhatsApp photo to filed ledger entry.
The day, at closing
At 8 PM, Bill sends the day's books without being asked: sales, cash in and card takings, anything running low. The Sunday-night laptop session becomes a thirty-second read on your phone.
VAT, filed — not feared
Bill is built for HMRC Making Tax Digital. Connecting is a one-time step — you share your tax and company details, Bill links to HMRC — and from then on it builds the 9-box VAT return from the data you've already captured by speaking and snapping, files it, and sends the confirmation back to WhatsApp.
Prefer a screen? The Bill dashboard has the full picture — sales, vendors, low stock, recent activity — and everything exports to CSV, Xero, FreeAgent or QuickBooks, so your accountant gets clean data without anyone typing it twice.
Who it's built for
Corner shops and off-licences. Garden centres with seasonal stock and supplier invoices in stacks. Hardware shops with hundreds of SKUs. Electricians, builders and plumbers voice-noting day rates and parts from the van. If your till is busy and your books are an afterthought, you're who Bill was built for.
Try it in the next two minutes
Data is UK-hosted and encrypted, and it's never sold or shared. The fastest way to see Bill is to try it: the Bill page has a QR code that opens WhatsApp — say hello, voice-note a sale, and watch it get recorded in seconds. Or book a free call and we'll talk through your shop.