Drops straight into the tools you already use
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- Sage
- FreeAgent
Direct Xero write-back (App Store certification at launch) · CSV export for QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent.
For bookkeepers, accountants, and contractors running their own CIS.
Your tools already capture and file. None of them read the CIS.
Dext captures the invoice. Xero files the return. Neither one reads the CIS off the page — so you still do that part by hand. CISflow does exactly that part.
| The CIS job, step by step | Generic capture Dext · AutoEntry · Hubdoc | Xero CIS · ApprovalMax CIS suites | CISflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Read the invoice | Reads it as generic text (supplier, total, lines)Yes. | Doesn’t read invoices — you type the billNo. | Reads it as a CIS documentYes. |
| Pull the UTR | You find itNo. | Must be pre-stored on the contactNo. | Extracted off the invoiceYes. |
| Pull the verification number | You find itNo. | Must be pre-storedNo. | Extracted off the invoiceYes. |
| Split labour vs materials | You need to split the linesNo. | Assumes it’s already splitNo. | Auto-split off the documentYes. |
| Set the deduction rate (20 / 30 / 0%) | You set itNo. | Applies it — once you’ve typed the billYes. | Inferred + applied, ready to checkYes. |
| Hand you a finished, HMRC-ready Xero bill | Half-coded billNo. | Only after you’ve typed + split itNo. | Finished bill — you just approveYes. |
Each tool owns half the job. The seam in the middle — turning a messy subbie invoice into a finished CIS bill — is still done by hand everywhere except here. That seam is the whole point of CISflow.
CIS-Native Extraction: it reads the invoice as a CIS document, not just text.
Generic capture tools read a subbie invoice the way they'd read any invoice — a supplier, a total, a few line items. They don't know what they're looking at. So the CIS thinking — which lines are labour, what's the rate, where's the UTR — falls back on you.
CISflow knows a subcontractor invoice is a CIS document. It knows that document carries a UTR, a verification number, a labour portion, a materials portion and a deduction rate — so it goes looking for each one and assembles the finished CIS bill. That's the difference between capturing an invoice and understanding it.
UTR
The subcontractor’s Unique Taxpayer Reference, pulled straight off the invoice.
Verification numberNo other tool does this.
The HMRC verification reference, read off the document.
Labour / materials split
Separated at line level, automatically, so CIS applies to labour only.
Deduction rate
20% / 30% / 0% inferred and applied, with the deduction and net pay calculated.
It works because it's built for one document. A tool that reads everything guesses; a tool built for the CIS invoice knows exactly what to look for.
Every CIS field, read off the page
The raw subbie invoice on the left; the CIS-coded bill on the right — UTR, verification number, labour, materials and the 20% deduction, each read off the document.
J. Doyle Groundworks Ltd
Subcontractor invoice
PDF · scan · or photo — whatever lands in your inbox.
One real invoice. Every CIS field read off it. The bill you'd have typed by hand — built for you to check.
Nothing posts until you approve it.
CISflow does the reading. You do the checking. Every figure lands in a review screen first — you confirm the split, the rate and the numbers, then export the bill to Xero (CSV today). The wrong figure never reaches a client's CIS return, because nothing posts without your sign-off.
See the review screen in the demoReview & approve
Awaiting your sign-off- UTR47291 83640
- Verification no.V0047291A
- Labour£2,400.00
- Materials (exempt)£560.00
- Deduction (20%)−£480.00
- Net pay£2,480.00
Nothing posts without your sign-off · sample data
- Built for UK CIS
- Deduction rates 20% / 30% / 0% per HMRC
- Works with Xero
- Invoices processed then deleted
- You stay responsible for every return
Three steps.
Then the 19th
takes care of itself.
From inbox to Xero, with you in control of every figure along the way.
Forward the invoice
Email your subcontractor invoice to your CISflow address. PDF, scan, photo — whatever arrives in your inbox.
Review the extraction
CISflow pulls UTR, verification number, labour/materials split, deduction rate, and net pay. You check every figure before anything moves.
Export to Xero / CSV
Approve with one click. A clean CIS bill goes into Xero, or download as CSV for QuickBooks or your CIS300 return.
Every month, the 19th comes for you
Pull each subbie's PDF, type the UTR, check the labour/materials split, enter the deduction rate — for every contractor client, every month, racing a hard HMRC deadline where one slip carries a penalty. The CIS maths is easy once the data's in; it's the manual entry that eats your days and holds the risk.
Forward an invoice → CIS fields out, no typing.
UTR, verification number, labour/materials split, deduction rate — extracted and structured, ready to review.
Review-and-approve before anything posts — you stay in control of every figure.
CISflow never posts without your sign-off. Every number is yours to check. You remain responsible for what goes to HMRC.
Built for bookkeepers running CIS across multiple contractor clients.
One login, all your clients. The more CIS work you carry, the more time this buys back before the 19th.
Simple, founding pricing
Start with a 14-day free trial — no card. Founding rates, locked in for early members. Cancel anytime.
Solo
£39/mo14-day free trial · no card
For solo bookkeepers and single contractors running their own CIS.
- Unlimited invoice extraction
- Labour / materials split + deduction maths
- Xero write-back & CSV export
- Most popular
Practice
£99/mo14-day free trial · no card
For practices running CIS across multiple contractor clients.
- Everything in Solo
- Multiple contractor clients, one login
- Audit-grade approval trail
14-day free trial · no card · cancel anytime. Early-access members keep the founding rate. See full pricing →
Every CIS field, extracted
Pulled and structured from the invoice — then shown to you before anything is posted.
UTR
Unique Taxpayer Reference
Verification no.
HMRC verification number
Labour split
Deduction-eligible amount
Materials split
Exempt from CIS deduction
Deduction rate
20% / 30% / 0% gross
Deduction amount
Computed from labour only
Net pay
What the subbie receives
VAT flag
Domestic reverse charge
All fields are shown to you before anything is posted. You own every number that goes into Xero or your CIS300.
Stop typing CIS invoices today
Create your account and forward your first invoice — see the CIS fields come back in seconds. 14-day free trial, no card, cancel anytime. Early members lock in the founding price for good.
14-day free trial · no card · cancel anytime
Built in the open — early members lock in the founding price.
Your clients' data, handled properly
You're a fiduciary for your clients' records. Here's exactly how we treat their data — stated honestly, including what's still in progress.
UK-region storage, under UK GDPR
Your account and extracted CIS records are stored in our UK-region (London) database, under UK GDPR.
256-bit encryption, in transit and at rest
Documents are encrypted on the wire and on disk.
Raw files aren't kept; you can delete your data
Uploaded files aren't kept as an archive — only the extracted CIS fields stay in your account. Delete your account and that data is removed.
AI extraction runs via a US provider
Invoice content is read by OpenRouter, a US-based AI provider, for the extraction step. We disclose this on our privacy page.
ISO 27001 & Cyber Essentials — in progress
Both are in progress and targeted before launch — not yet held.
You approve every figure before anything posts
Nothing is written to your books without your sign-off.
You stay responsible for what's filed
We're a data-entry tool, not your accountant — accountability stays with you.
Items marked “in progress” are not yet certified — we'll only claim a standard once it's formally held.
We're building this in the open
We kept watching bookkeepers lose evenings before the 19th — splitting labour from materials, looking up rates, and re-keying every subcontractor invoice by hand. The CIS maths was never the problem; the typing was. So we built the thing that kills it.
CISflow is new and live in early access. We won't dress it up with fake reviews or logos — instead, the product is right here to try. Forward a real invoice, or open the demo, and judge it yourself. You review and own every figure; we just kill the typing.
The maths above takes about 20 secondsin the demo. By hand it's open the PDF, key the UTR, split labour from materials, look up the rate and work the deduction — every subbie, every month, racing the 19th.
— The CISflow team · building in the open
Your questions, answered.
- Is it accurate? If it gets a deduction wrong, the penalty’s still mine.
- You’re right — the return is yours, so we never let CISflow post on its own. It reads the invoice and builds the bill; you review every field and approve before anything exports to Xero. Think of it as a fast, CIS-trained first pass that you check — not an autopilot. The job it removes is the typing, not the responsibility. You stay in control of every figure that reaches HMRC.
- Will it actually read messy or handwritten invoices, or just the clean ones?
- Test it before you trust it — that’s what the no-signup demo is for. Run your messiest subbie invoice through it and see what it pulls. CISflow is built specifically for CIS invoices, so it handles the awkward ones better than generic capture — but you’ll always see the result and correct anything before it’s used. No invoice gets posted unseen.
- Is my clients’ data safe?
- Invoices are processed to extract the CIS fields, then deleted — we don’t keep your clients’ documents sitting on our servers. Data is handled to UK GDPR / ICO expectations, and because nothing auto-posts, no figure moves into a client’s accounts without you approving it first.
- Why not just use Dext and Xero? I already pay for both.
- Keep both — CISflow isn’t a replacement, it’s the missing middle step. Dext captures the invoice and Xero files the return, but the CIS-specific reading in between — finding the UTR, splitting labour from materials, setting the deduction rate — is still on you in that stack. That’s the exact part CISflow does. It feeds a clean, CIS-ready bill into the workflow you already run, so the manual decoding stops.
- It’s one more login, one more bill, one more thing to set up.
- Fair. So there’s no setup wall: forward an invoice, get the fields back, check, export. Try it free for 14 days with no card, and on real client work — if it doesn’t save you more time than it costs before the 19th, you stop and you’ve spent nothing. At £39/mo solo it’s in the same band as the tools you already run.
- Does this even exist yet, or is it vapour?
- It’s live — run the demo right now, no signup, on your own invoice. You’ll see the fields come out in about 20 seconds. We’re early and onboarding founding bookkeepers, which is exactly why the price is locked low for the first ones in.