 Book-keeping & Accounting
The last thing you want in your business is to have valuable time and resources tied up with routine bookkeeping and accounting.
That's something we can do for you, either at your office or at ours.
We begin by discussing your specific requirements with you and then we set up appropriate accounting procedures and controls and ensure your accounts are kept fully up-to-date and in compliance with statutory regulations.
But we don't stop there. We can also provide you with regular management accounts to keep you informed on essential areas such as:
- Cashflow
- Profitability
- Performance ratios
- Customer activity
- Credit control
- Budget comparisons
Accounts
In addition we can also relieve your staff of the burden of preparing:
- VAT returns
- Bank reconciliations
- Annual accounts
Call ustoday to discuss how we can help you keep your books in good order.
I can prepare Accounts in two ways, you can either opt for me to update them on a monthly basis and for me to send you updated information every month showing how your business is performing or you can have all the work done at the financial year end.
The benefit of the monthly update is that you are constantly receiving information on your business and its profitability, which you can use to ensure its future success and that you can make provisions in your budget to meet your tax liability. You can also be sure that at the time you need your Self Assessment completing all the paperwork is up-to-date, and any fines from the Inland Revenue will be avoided. I would for this reason alone recommend the monthly updates to your Accounts.
If you choose to have your Accounts prepared yearly I would recommend that you forward all your paperwork as soon as possible to me so that I can be sure of completing them in time.
Format
Accounts can be prepared in a number of formats for either fulfilling your requirements for self assessment tax returns, filing with Companies House for limited companies or to provide financial information on your business.
The Process
Once I receive all your paperwork I will begin to process your book-keeping, whichever way you have your Accounts done.
I will process all book-keeping work using Sage Accounting software and when finished, I will prepare a draft set of Accounts for your business and provide you with the reports and discuss the reports before final set is prepared and resubmitted to you for authorisation.
Once you have signed, approved and returned these Accounts to me, I will prepare the final accounts which will be sent a copy in a presentation folder for you to keep, and also file it with the Inland Revenue for you.
VAT
Value added tax is one of the most complex and onerous tax regimes imposed on business - so complex that many businesses inadvertently overpay or underpay VAT.
The ever widening scope of VAT, the constant stream of detailed changes to the regulations, and the ever growing demands of Customs and Excise call for a trained professional eye to ensure that you do not fall foul of the regulations and do not pay the Exchequer more than you need to!
We provide an efficient cost effective VAT service, which includes:
- Assistance with VAT registration
- Advice on VAT planning and administration
- Use of the most appropriate scheme
- VAT control and reconciliation
- Help with completing VAT returns
- Planning to minimise future problems with Customs and Excise
- Negotiating with Customs and Excise in disputes and representing you at VAT tribunals
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VAT Returns
If you are registered for VAT you will be having your paperwork updated at least every three months, to enable me to produce your VAT Return. You must also send me you VAT Return form if you wish me to complete it for you.
I would recommend that you send your paperwork in either monthly or quarterly batches depending on how you wish your work processed. It is important that you make sure that all your paperwork is complete, because once the VAT Return is produced I am unable to make any adjustments until the next quarter.
Advice
The most effective way to reduce the amount of tax you pay is by keeping good quality records of your everyday financial transactions. That is keeping details of what you earn and what you spend for your business.
You need to have the right system in place to be sure that invoices or receipts do not get misplaced and that it is included in your End of Year Accounts. These Accounts will form the basis for you Self Assessment Tax Return and the amount of Tax you pay. With this in mind it is worthwhile being organised.
This is only intended as a rough guide, I would suggest that if you are in any doubt keep all your paperwork and send it to me. The best way to do this would be to keep any paperwork safe in a file/folder with details of how it was paid.
I understand that it seems a lot but this only needs to take a few seconds, whilst you are writing a cheque to put the same information on the invoice that you are paying.
Bank Statements
Your first priority should be to keep all your bank statements, most high street banks give you folders for your statements when you open an account. You must keep all your statements in these, if you lose any statement most banks will charge a fee to give a replacement.
Cheque Books
Along with your statements it is imperative that you keep your bank paying in book and cheque books, and to write on the stubs exactly what it is you are paying in are writing a cheque for. I would use 'generic' terms in your description along with the payee's name for cheques. If for example you are a photographer and you bought a new camera, write camera and the store that you bought it from. The technical name for the camera would confuse most accountants unless they had an interest in photography. Also put as much detail in the paying book as possible such as the customers name and how much he has paid.
Receipts & Payments
The next most important item would be to keep copies of all your receipts that you spend on your business and what you sell.
This includes everything you bought in the year, not just what you paid for. Any set of accounts would typically have a list of items that were unpaid at the end of the year. If for instance you have a telephone bill that has not been paid but relates to the period of your accounts, that is an expense of your business in that financial year. It needs to be included in your accounts. If you are managing your money wisely you would make use of any free credit period that you can get or any time that you have to pay invoices.
On the items that you pay I would also write the method that you pay be it cheque, credit or debit card or cash. If you pay by cheque, don't forget to write the cheque serial number on the invoice. This helps trace the payment through your bank account.
If you are sent statements by any company that you buy goods from, please keep these as generally they would give indications of the balance of your account at the year end and show any potential missing invoices.
Keep all your invoices in A4 or foolscap 'Lever Arch' folders, these can be purchased in most stationary stores, with the invoices 'punched' and filed in date order.
If you pay by credit card, it is also important that your keep credit card statements. Like bank statements keep them in the folders that are provided by your bank or card provider. If this is a personal card, please state what purchases are personal and what are business on your statement.
If you pay with money from any other personal bank account please state this on your invoice.
Credit Agreement
If you make any major purchases you must ensure that you keep details of any credit agreements or loan agreements, and make sure that they clearly state the interest that you are paying. Not just the interest rate but the amount in pounds and pence, not only for yourself to see if you are getting a good deal but so that the correct amount of credit charges are applied to your accounts. Also request that you get statements of these on a regular basis.
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