CIS resources for bookkeepers and contractors

Plain-English guides to the Construction Industry Scheme — deductions, rates, filing the CIS300 and choosing a tool — plus a free deduction calculator.

Free tools

Tool

Free CIS deduction calculator

Enter labour, materials and the rate — get the deduction, net pay and the figures you need for the CIS300. No sign-up.

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Guides

Guide

How CIS deductions work

Who deducts from whom, the 20/30/0% rates, the labour-only rule, a worked example and the CIS300 deadline — the complete guide.

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Guide

CIS deduction rates explained

20% verified, 30% unverified, 0% gross status — what each means, how HMRC verification sets the rate, and worked examples.

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Guide

How to file a CIS return (CIS300)

The 19th deadline, what you need, the step-by-step, nil returns, common mistakes, and the £100→£200 penalty ladder.

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Guide

CIS300 due dates and penalties

Every monthly CIS300 deadline (the 19th of the following month), the £100 penalty ladder, and the April-2026 nil-return change.

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Compare

Xero CIS module problems — and the fix

What Xero's CIS module can't do — materials-only returns, reading PDFs, the labour/materials split — and how CISflow fills the gap without replacing Xero.

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Guide

CIS invoice software, explained

The manual pain, what to look for in a tool, and how automated extraction turns invoices into HMRC-ready CIS bills.

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Guide

How to split labour and materials on a CIS invoice

Why materials are exempt, how to read the split off an invoice, what to do when it isn't itemised, and worked examples.

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For practices

CIS invoice processing for bookkeepers

The monthly CIS workflow across multiple construction clients, the keying bottleneck before the 19th, and how CISflow fits — you own every figure.

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FAQ

CISflow FAQ

Honest answers on CIS basics, data safety, who owns the figures, Xero and QuickBooks support, accuracy and pricing.

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Compare

CISflow vs Dext for CIS

A fair, sourced comparison for the CIS job: where Dext's general capture needs per-supplier setup, and where CISflow reads the CIS fields directly.

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Compare

CISflow vs Xero CIS

Xero calculates and files CIS; CISflow reads the subbie invoice and splits labour from materials first. Why you'd use both, honestly.

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Compare

CISflow vs AutoEntry for CIS

AutoEntry by Sage is solid pay-per-document capture but has no CIS-native field; CISflow reads the CIS split off the invoice. A fair comparison.

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Stop typing CIS invoices

CISflow reads a subcontractor invoice and extracts the CIS fields for you to review and approve, then drops a clean CIS bill into Xero. Live, with a 14-day free trial.

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