Welcome to Ember!
We're thrilled to have you onboard.
To get you set up for success, we’ve put together a few essential resources and tips that will help you get the most out of Ember.
1. Connect your bank account(s) and HMRC account 🏦
1. Connect your bank account(s) and HMRC account 🏦
Connecting your bank account(s):
Navigate to Settings and select Manage Connections.
When you click connect, you can use the search bar to find your current bank provider.
Note: If your bank is not appearing in the list, it's likely that we do not support that bank at the present time. You can find more information on which banks we support here.
You will then be taken to the permissions request.
Once you click allow you will be redirected to your banking provider to fill in some additional information on their end. Follow the steps requested by your bank and you will be re-directed back to Ember with a live connection 🥳
Still experiencing issues? Check out our more detailed guide on how to connect your bank account to Ember here.
Connecting your HMRC account (*only relevant for VAT registered businesses):
Navigate to Settings and select Manage Connections.
Click 'Connect' next to HMRC.
You will then be taken to the permissions request via gov.uk. Press continue and follow the steps to grant authority to Ember.
Note: Please make sure you're using the HMRC business login associated with your VAT account.
Once you have followed the process, your account will be linked with Ember and we will able to start managing your VAT 🥳
Still experiencing issues? Check out our more detailed guide on how to connect your HMRC account to Ember here.
2. Update your business details ℹ️
2. Update your business details ℹ️
Within the Settings tab, there are several important business settings that you will need to review and/or update within the Business section.
Companies House Auth Code - only relevant for Limited Companies. For more information on what this is and where to find it, please see this article.
Company UTR - only relevant for Limited Companies. For more information on what this is and where to find it, please see this article.
Principal Activities - please enter what your company does. This would show on your annual accounts when you file these.
Industry - please select the most appropriate industry for your company.
Trading Date - please include the date that your company started trading. This may not be the same at the date your company incorporated.
Corporation Tax Registration Status - only relevant for Limited Companies. Please add in the registration status of your company for corporation tax.
For more information on other additional settings worth reviewing, have a look at this full article.
3. Categorise your bank transactions 💳
3. Categorise your bank transactions 💳
Once you have connected your bank account to Ember (see step 1), your bank transactions will automatically feed through in the Transactions tab.
Any transactions that need reviewing will show in the Transactions Requiring Review box. Click this box and start reviewing the individual transactions.
By clicking into the individual transactions you are able to see more detail about that individual transaction - this will also allow you to select a category, VAT rate and add an attachment.
Once you are happy with the transaction then the final step would be to click approve transaction.
You can also categorise transactions in bulk. For more information on how to do this, please see here.
After all transactions are categorised you are good to go! 🥳
Pro Tip: We recommend reviewing these transactions as you go along as this gives you the most up to date real-time view of your business finances.
Got any more questions? Check out our more detailed guide on how to categorise transactions with Ember here. Includes a video tutorial & FAQ 👀
4. Create your first invoice 🧾
4. Create your first invoice 🧾
The Sales tab is where you'll be able to review, raise and send invoices to your clients.
To raise a new invoice you simply hit the plus button labelled "Add new sales invoice". You'll then be able to add a new client or select an existing one. Learn more about how to add a new client in this article.
After selecting the client, you'll be taken to the invoice template screen, where you can add any line items by clicking on the plus button labelled "Add new line item".
From here you can either set up a new product or add a custom line item.
Select "Products" for any recurring service or product that you sell regularly.
Alternatively, select "Custom line item" if you're doing one-off work or want to charge your client for a bunch of expenses you've incurred.
For more info on the difference between Products and Custom line items, please refer to this article.
Once you're done adding a product or custom line item, you will be taken to a preview of the invoice.
If you're happy with the invoice and you're ready to send it off to your client, all you have to do is click on the little three-dot menu located at the top right corner of the invoice preview section.
Once you click, you will be shown several options, including "Send via email". This will email the PDF version of the invoice to the email address you have for your client in the system and will also CC your own user address into the email.
Got more questions on raising and sending invoices? Check out our more detailed guide here. Includes a video tutorial 👀
Product Tour 👀
Get an overview of the Ember platform in a quick 3 minute product tour video.
For Limited Companies:
For Sole Traders:
Got any other questions?
Just drop us a message in the chat and a member of the team will be on hand to help.
Also feel free to have a look at the rest of the helpful articles we've got here.