Smart AssistantLive now
Arthur
BureauBooks™ Credit Control & Finance Admin
Handles
Polite, relentless invoice chasingDebtor days down — you keep the clientXero, QuickBooks & Sage native
Or call directly
0330 0242 670ADMIN HOURS RETURNED TO YOUR TEAM:168 HRS/WK PER AGENTRUBY (OPERATIONS & FRONT DESK):AVAILABLEZOE (SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER):AVAILABLELEO (MARKET RESEARCH ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYOLIVER (MARKET INTELLIGENCE ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYAVA (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT):AVAILABLEPENELOPE (CONTENT CREATOR & WRITER):AVAILABLE
ADMIN HOURS RETURNED TO YOUR TEAM:168 HRS/WK PER AGENTRUBY (OPERATIONS & FRONT DESK):AVAILABLEZOE (SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER):AVAILABLELEO (MARKET RESEARCH ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYOLIVER (MARKET INTELLIGENCE ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYAVA (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT):AVAILABLEPENELOPE (CONTENT CREATOR & WRITER):AVAILABLE
ADMIN HOURS RETURNED TO YOUR TEAM:168 HRS/WK PER AGENTRUBY (OPERATIONS & FRONT DESK):AVAILABLEZOE (SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER):AVAILABLELEO (MARKET RESEARCH ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYOLIVER (MARKET INTELLIGENCE ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYAVA (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT):AVAILABLEPENELOPE (CONTENT CREATOR & WRITER):AVAILABLE
ADMIN HOURS RETURNED TO YOUR TEAM:168 HRS/WK PER AGENTRUBY (OPERATIONS & FRONT DESK):AVAILABLEZOE (SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER):AVAILABLELEO (MARKET RESEARCH ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYOLIVER (MARKET INTELLIGENCE ANALYST):WAITLIST ONLYAVA (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT):AVAILABLEPENELOPE (CONTENT CREATOR & WRITER):AVAILABLE
BureauBooks™ · Credit Control & Finance Admin / Live now
BureauBooks™ — Invoices Chased, Awkwardness Gone
BureauBooks™ is The Agent Bureau's credit control desk for UK SMEs and trades—polite, relentless invoice chasing so debtor days fall without the awkward call. Late payment closes ~38 UK firms a day; BureauBooks™ takes the chase off your plate.
- Fewer debtor days
- 30–40%
- Chase load taken off owners yearly
- 86 hrs
- Xero, QuickBooks & Sage
- Native
/02Credit Control Blueprint
The Systematic Approach to getting paid without the awkward call
Late payment doesn't feel like a spreadsheet problem—it feels like dreading the call to a client you still need next month. BureauBooks™ chases invoices politely and relentlessly—so debtor days fall while Arthur, James and George own the credit desk alongside your team.
01The Real Question
How do I chase invoices without ruining the next job?
You're on the tools all day; reminders only happen when cash gets scary. Clients ignore the first email. Your bookkeeper sends statements; nobody owns the phone call that actually gets paid. Statutory interest exists—you never claim it because the relationship feels fragile.
02The Bureau Angle
Managed credit control staffed by Smart Assistants
Your credit control desk. Late payment closes 38 UK businesses a day; BureauBooks™ takes the chase off your plate.
03The Result
Invoices chased, awkwardness gone, cash moving
Arthur, James and George upgrade your credit capacity—multi-step email, SMS and phone cadences tied to Xero, QuickBooks or Sage. From £499/mo ex VAT, chase status lands in BureauCRM™ Money View.
/04The economics
Turn Late Invoices Into Cash In.
Late payment is linked to roughly 38 UK business closures a day, and affected firms spend about 86 hours a year chasing. Model your overdue book below—then see what a credit desk that never goes quiet recovers.
Cash metric
DIY / hope
With BureauBooks™
Who makes the awkward call?
You — when cash gets scary
Arthur, James & George — on-brand cadence
Hours/year chasing invoices
86 hrs average for affected firms
Oversight — desk owns the chase
Scheduled multi-step chase
Ad hoc (first email, then silence)
Cadence from day one
Tone that keeps the client
Gets sharp when you're stressed
Polite , relentless, approved bands
Typical monthly cost
£0 (and trapped cash)
From £499 /mo ex VAT
Upgrade your credit control
Smart Assistants on your team from £499/mo — polite chase until paid
Lives in Xero / QuickBooks / Sage
Reminders tied to real invoices — not a parallel spreadsheet
Tied to Money View
Chase status lands in BureauCRM™ — so the Bureau knows who is safe to book again
Capacity model / 04-C
Live estimateHow much aged debt can you recover?
£25,000
5,000200,000
£50,000
10,000500,000
Estimated aged debt recovery
£10,000
40% recovery rate from persistent professional follow-up on 90+ day debt.
Aged debt target
£25,000
Prevented write-offs / yr
£18,000
Total benefit
£28,000
/05Credit Control OperationsFrom Invoice Sent
From Invoice Sent
to Cash Received.
A managed credit desk—not a one-off angry call when cash runs dry. Arthur, James and George run polite chase sequences, statement discipline and measured escalation inside the tone bands you approve.
- 01
Polite, Relentless Chasing
Multi-step email, SMS and phone cadences that stay professional—so debtor days fall without you burning the client relationship.
- 02
Ledger-Native Workflows
Built for Xero, QuickBooks and Sage—reminders and outcomes tied to real invoices, with aged-debt reviews before balances become emergencies.
- 03
Escalation Without Nuking Goodwill
Clear steps from friendly nudge to firmer notice, including Late Payment Act awareness where appropriate. You approve the tone; we execute consistently.
04 / 04
Report
- Aged-debt weekly
- BureauCRM™ Money View
- Debtor-day visibility
- Escalation bands
Fig. 05-A — Stack compatibilityAuto-rotating / click to pin
/06The future of work
What are the Smart Assistants?
Smart assistants are AI-powered team members that handle routine administrative tasks with human-level understanding.
Unlike basic automation or chatbots, they adapt to your business processes, learn your preferences, and work alongside your team to eliminate the drudgery that holds UK SMEs back.
- 01
Human-Level Understanding
They comprehend context, nuance, and intent—not just keywords. They can handle complex requests, understand your business terminology, and make informed decisions.
- 02
Seamless Integration
They log into your existing tools—Xero, HubSpot, Slack, Gmail—just like a human employee. No new platforms to learn, no complex APIs to configure.
- 03
Human Oversight
Every smart assistant works under human supervision. Your dedicated account manager reviews their work, handles edge cases, and ensures quality standards are always met.
- 04
Always Learning
They improve over time, learning from feedback and adapting to your evolving business needs. What starts as basic task automation becomes an indispensable extension of your team.
/08The roster
Your BureauBooks™ team
Arthur, James and George run credit control—so you don't have to make the awkward call.
01 / 03
01WaitlistArthur
Credit Control & Finance
A meticulous and polite Finance Assistant designed to optimise cash flow and reduce debtor days. I remove the "awkwardness" from c...
View profile
02WaitlistJames
Credit Control & Finance (Real Estate)
I remove the emotion from chasing money. I handle the entire arrears process—from polite "gentle nudges" to formal "Section 21" wa...
View profile
03Pre-orderGeorge
Practice Assistant & Junior Accountant
I am the solution to the "Productivity Wall" facing UK firms. I handle the "boring" work that consumes your junior staff: sorting...
View profile
/09Ecosystem spineAvailable as
Available as
BureauProducts
Solutions explain the Cash Flow outcome. Products are what you buy — staffed desks that write into BureauCRM™ so every touch shares one clean record.
01 / 02
/06Evidence
The financial case for Professional Chasing is already in the data.
UK SMEs lose working capital to silence after the invoice—not to lack of profit. Below is citation-aware evidence on late payment, plus a calculator to model the cash impact on your book.
01
38/day
UK firms close over debt
Late payment is linked to roughly 38 UK business closures a day—about 14,000 a year—cash that never arrives after the work is done.
Source: DBT late payments research / Small Business Commissioner (2025)
02
86 hrs
spent chasing per year
Affected UK businesses spend an average of 86 hours a year chasing late invoices—owner time that should be on the tools or winning work.
Source: DBT / Small Business Commissioner late payments research 2025
03
44%
of SME invoices paid late
Nearly half of SME invoices are paid late. UK firms are owed around £26bn at any moment—working capital trapped in other people's ledgers.
Source: DBT late payments research impact on UK economy
04
£21.4k
avg owed to small firms
Among small firms owed money, QuickBooks research put the average outstanding at about £21,400—enough to stall vans, wages and materials buys. BureauBooks™ upgrades credit control so Smart Assistants own the chase alongside your team.
Source: QuickBooks 2025 small business late-payment findings
Capacity model / 06-A
Live estimateCash Flow Impact Model
£50,000
10,000500,000
60 days
30120
£1000
3502,500
Current cash tied up£100,000
With assistants (39d)£65,000
WORKING CAPITAL RELEASED
£35,000
Annual assistant cost£12,000
Debtor days reduction
21 days (-35%)
ROI
292%
Model assumes 35% debtor days reduction from automated reminders and professional credit control. Cash released is one-time working capital improvement. Actual results depend on debtor profile, payment terms, and collection discipline. Not financial advice.
/10Integrations
Lives in your ledger
BureauBooks™ works where invoices already live—Xero, QuickBooks, Sage—so chasing is tied to real balances, not a forgotten to-do list.
Showing integration 1 of 5: Xero
/11Transparent pricing
Build your BureauBooks™ Plan
From £499/mo ex VAT—Smart Assistants upgrading your credit control so 86 hours a year of owner chasing and trapped cash ease. Bundle into The Back Office with Desk, CRM and Reach.
14-day deployment · 30-day performance probation on every plan.
Billing term
01Plan
Books Starter
Sole traders & micro teams
£499/mo
Rolling monthly · no long-term lock-in
- Email + SMS chase
- Up to 80 invoices /mo
- £3.50 /invoice
- Escalated balances
- Xero / QuickBooks / Sage
02Most popular
Books Growth
Busy trades & installers
£699/mo
Rolling monthly · no long-term lock-in
- Full multi-channel desk
- Up to 200 invoices /mo
- £3.00 /invoiceSave~14%
- Routine + escalations
- Aged-debt weekly
03Plan
Books Professional
Multi-van & multi-entity firms
£999/mo
Rolling monthly · no long-term lock-in
- Desk + remittance support
- Up to 400 invoices /mo
- £2.50 /invoiceSave~29%
- Multi-company ready
- Named account lead
Bundle savings
Pair with BureauDesk™, BureauCRM™ and BureauReach™ for The Back Office—calls answered, leads chased, invoices paid. See your live estimate on the products page.
/13Reviews & testimonials
Proof before you Commit.
Real UK engagements. Named operators. Measurable outcomes — so the 14-day probation isn't a leap of faith.
01 / 02
/11Rapid deployment
From kickoff to live assistants In 14 Days.
Big-budget automation programmes and enterprise rollouts often stretch for months before teams feel the benefit. Your managed smart assistants can go live in about 14 days. Our managed onboarding protocol works alongside your existing tools and workflows—so day-to-day disruption stays low and your stack is not replatformed overnight.
- Day 1
The Audit
We map your SOPs, tone of voice, and escalation protocols.
- Day 5
The Configuration
We configure the assistant's knowledge base to support your team's workflows and culture.
- Day 10
The Sandbox
You test the assistant in a safe, offline environment.
- Day 14
The Handover
The assistant receives live login credentials and begins work.
Bureau GuaranteeRef. TAB-14D
The 14-Day Performance Probation.
Deploy your managed smart assistant today. If, after 14 days, you do not see a tangible reduction in workload, we will offboard the assistant and refund 100% of your first month's invoice. No tribunals, no questions asked.
Human Oversight Included
Every assistant comes with dedicated account management and human oversight. These aren't faceless bots—they're part of your team, backed by ours.
UK Data SovereigntyGDPR CompliantBuilt in BritainUK Legislation Ready
/16The record
Questions about BureauBooks™
BureauBooks™ is managed credit control for UK SMEs: polite invoice chasing and ledger workflows from £499/mo.
BureauBooks™ is The Agent Bureau's credit control and finance admin desk for UK SMEs. Managed Smart Assistants chase invoices politely and relentlessly, run statement discipline, and escalate without nuking client relationships—from £499/mo ex VAT—so you stop spending evenings on awkward payment calls.
