Claire in the Community
Financial management support for the third sector

Finance News

that affects you:

Increase to financial protection threshold

1 December 2025 – there was an increase to protection under the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme). Your organisation can keep up to £120,000 in one bank (or other financial institution) and your money is protected from a bank failure – up to this level. (This is an increase from £85,000)

If you split your £150,000 across two different banks you could retain full protection.

QuickBooks Online increase to subscription

January 2026 - from £25.20 pcm to £37.20

What options do you have?

Option1: Suck it up – QBO is a sophisticated package and you have invested the time and effort to learn how to use it. Make sure you are using it optimally. You could do this by having a review of your usage. WYCAS provide this service WYCAS QBO Quarterly review

Option 2: Switch to WYCAS’s spreadsheet. This is free with free training and guidance videos, but does have less functionality. It still accounts for funds but there is no invoicing function and limited inbuilt reports. WYCAS bookkeeping in Excel

Option3: Switch to another accounts package. See their websites for system features, demos and pricing. Pricing is complex with free trials, reductions for charities and non-profits etc. WYCAS offer subscriptions for QBO only.

  • Xero (25% discount for charities)
  • Sage (Non-profit organisations discounts)
  • ExpensePlus (for charities and churches)

There is a cost and effort associated with transferring and learning the new product, although some offer support as part of the package. Also consider what your accountant is comfortable with.

Company Directors registration

From November 2025 Companies House have tightened up the verification of registered directors and all directors must have a verification code for the next company interaction (this will be filing the accounts or the annual return).

To confirm who the registered directors are, look up the company at Companies House .

Each director then needs to complete the verification and submit their code next time information is filed at Companies House.

Minimum wage

Following Rachel Reeves’ budget announcement, minimum wages for those aged over 21 will increase to £12.71 per hour (from £12.21) from 1st April 2026. Minimum wage rates for 2026

The Real Living wage is £13.45 per hour.

The law requires that all staff are paid at or above the minimum wage level. Your organisation may have a commitment to paying above the Real Living Wage.

Changes to accounting thresholds

For accounting periods that end on or after 30 September 2026 the revised SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice) applies. Key changes are:

  • Charity accounts where income is over £40,000 must be independently examined (previously £25,000)
  • Your independent examiner must be professionally qualified if the income is over £500,000 (previously £250,000)
  • Non-company charities (including CIOs) can opt to have simpler receipts and payments account if the income is below £500,000 (previously £250,000)