Our 'Mainstay Compliance Services' In More Detail:
VAT / Bookkeeping Services
With regulations seeming to always be changing, along with the ever-growing demands of HMRC, particularly in relation to the supply of timely and accurate financial information, keeping the books and records of a business can be a burdensome if not daunting process. To assist in this area we have an array of staff proficient in a number of bookkeeping software packages, such that we can offer the following services:
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VAT registration admin - filing initial applications with HMRC and subsequently advising them of any changes
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Advise on VAT thresholds and schemes, including the transition from one scheme to another (e.g. cash to invoice accounting)
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Advise on the implementation of Making Tax Digital for VAT (MTDfV) compliant software, to include the provision of initial software training if you would prefer to keep your own financial books and records.
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Provide advice / ongoing support to clients who are minded to draft their own VAT returns or use independent bookkeepers that need some higher-level support from time-to-time.
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Full 'outsourcing' solution - we can take the worry away and prepare the books and records of a business either at our office or at a client's own business premises, using either our own in-house MTDfV compliant software (which clients have restricted access to) or using a client's own preferred software (which clients have free access to at any time).
Drafting Of Management Accounts
For any size of business, but particularly for owner-managed businesses with turnover or borrowings in excess of £1m, the drafting of quarterly management accounts can prove to be of great value in helping to drive management decisions. They can also sometimes be required as part of the terms and conditions attached to any bank / third-party borrowing. We can assist in the drafting of management accounts or help implement a system to enable a client to draft their own management accounts in-house, using the VAT bookkeeping software as a platform and make the process as efficient as it can be.
Drafting Of Year-End Statutory / Tax Accounts
We draft, to professional standards, year-end statutory and/or tax accounts for owner-managed businesses of various types - be it sole traders, partnerships or private limited companies, across a wide spectrum of businesses (but see OUR SECTORS for the types of business in which we have a stronghold interest). As part of this service, once we have produced a first draft of the accounts, we meet with the majority of our clients so that we can discuss:
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Any 'rough corners' with a view to squaring them off properly, so that we can be assured that the accounts are complete and accurate in all material respects, and thus you can rely on them for the purposes of appraising your business, raising and maintaining sources of finance, and completing statutory tax returns.
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The financial position and performance of the business in respect of the year under review, and generally appraise the financial aspects of your business.
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The strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the business.
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Ways in which the business could grow and develop moving forward (for those clients that have this as their objective).
At the end of the process you will be presented with a professionally prepared hard-copy document that we believe clients should cherish as part of their history of being in business. You can then use this document not only as a record of your achievement, but also to raise and maintain sources of finance should you need to, and also use the document to go about completing your statutory tax returns (a task which we normally also undertake on your behalf - see further below).
Drafting Of Year-End Tax Returns:
We get involved in attending to the following types of self-assessment tax returns:
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Corporation tax
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Partnership tax
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Personal tax
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Trust tax (both short-term Estate administration Trusts and longer-term Trusts)
We have the expertise and software at our disposal to accurately draft and submit all the above types of tax returns online to HM Revenue & Customs on an efficient basis. Naturally, as part of the process, we advise our clients in respect of claiming tax reliefs that are relevant to their circumstances. Moreover, at the end of the process, we advise our clients of their arising tax position and, in the event their cash flow means they are not in a position to pay any taxes when they fall due for payment, we can advise clients of their options.
With the risk of HM Revenue & Customs late-filing and late-payment penalties applying, which can easily escalate out of control if you are not careful, what not CONTACT US and let us take the headache of completing a self-assessment tax return away from you!
Payroll (inc. Benefit In Kind) Filing Solutions
We understand the importance of a timely and accurate payroll function, not least in order to comply with HMRC's 'Real Time Information' filing regulations but also to ensure staff get paid on time and the prospect of a mutiny averted! All of our staff are capable of dealing with all aspect of payroll so that at any time in the standard working week we will be in a position to deliver a fast and efficient payroll service to you, providing you with payslips (in hard or soft copy format) and reports that contain all the information needed to ensure staff are paid accurately and on time. Ultimately our payroll service aims to give clients peace of mind, safe in the knowledge that their payroll registration is fully compliant with HMRC regulations.
In addition to operating a payroll service year-round, we can also assist with the preparation of 5 April fiscal year-end 'Benefit-In-Kind forms' for members of staff who receive benefits in kind (e.g. company cars, health insurance, loans provided at below market rates of interest, etc.) who are not (or can not be) taxed on such benefits via the day-to-day payroll system.
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) Returns
In our experience builders (and other affected tradespeople) want to get on and do their job, not sit at a desk trying to work out how to complete their CIS tax returns once a month! Alongside our payroll filing service, we can assist clients who are affected by CIS by either providing advice on how to complete the relevant returns (to include consolidating any arising refund due into the any PAYE/NIC liability of the business where applicable) or by stepping in and drafting the relevant CIS tax returns from start to finish. We can also advise on registering into the CIS system and whether there is scope to apply for 'gross payment status'.
Company Secretarial Services
We subscribe to company secretarial software that enables us to competently and efficiently attend to most day-to-day company secretarial matters that includes (but is not limited to):
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Formation of a new company
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Drafting and submitting annual Confirmation Statements to Companies House
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Electronically filing statutory accounts at Companies House
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Appointment & resignation of directors
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Share issues, restructures - company buy-backs, consolidations, sub-divisions
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Dividend vouchers
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Striking off a company
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Minutes of director and/or shareholder meetings to support any actions agreed
For relatively complex company secretarial matters that require a specialist technical expertise, we are able to access such specialist expertise via our software provider on competitive terms.