It’s never too early to talk to an Accountant. We can advise on the most profitable and beneficial legal formations for your business, whether or not you should be VAT registered and help you with setting up your financial records.

Are you aware of the current registration requirements for HMRC and Companies House?  If not, we not only advise you on the best options for your situation but we can also process the registrations on your behalf – saving you mountains of paperwork and stress.

We can assist in setting up computer and/or manual systems to record your financial transactions, making it easier when it comes to analysing profitability and preparing year end statements.  Then we can help to ensure you have a good understanding of the profitability of all your products and services allowing you to focus on those that are most profitable.

Finally, if you need external funding we can help with your Business Plan and Financial Forecasts, which investors/funders often require prior to agreeing funding.

Getting the advice of a good Accountant this early in your journey can be priceless and save a great deal of problems later in the process.

Although there are significant benefits of registering as a Limited Company there are also significant costs so it may not be for everyone – a Sole Trader is sometimes the better option.  Unfortunately there is no secret formula to check the best option for you – each situation must be evaluated on its own merits.  So if you face this choice the best option is to speak to an Accountant and discuss the advantages and disadvantages for you!

Sole Traders are individuals running their own business, you don’t have to be working on your own, you can have employees and be a Sole Trader.  ‘Sole Trader’ relates to you being solely responsible for the business.  You are known as being Self Employed and you keep all your business profits after paying tax on them.

As a Sole Trader you are responsible for all the business debts and liabilities – your limit of liability is not restricted to your business assets.

You must keep records of all your business transactions including sales and expenses and you must complete a Self Assessment tax return.  If your turnover exceeds the current VAT registration threshold you must register for VAT and if you work within the Construction Industry you must register with the Construction Industry Scheme. Also if you employ any staff you must run a Payroll system and adhere to Payroll regulations and Pensions Autoenrolment regulations.  We at TW Accounting Services can assist you with all (and more) of these Statutory Regulations with our range of Compliance Services.

In addition we offer a range of Value Added Services that will help your business to prosper and grow into the future.  Please see our Value Added section for how we can help your business.

A Partnership can be formed for many different types of business, it is essentially two or more individuals (or legal entities) working together in business to share responsibility for the liabilities, profits and other commitments of the business.  Profits do not need to be shared equally.

Under a regular Partnership Agreement each Partner is fully responsible for all business debts and liabilities.  So, you could be personally pursued for all business debts!  To combat this there’s the option of a Limited Liability Partnership, whereby Limited Partners are only responsible to the level of their original investment. However, even in a Limited Liability Partnership, there must be at least one General Partner whose liability is not limited.

Partnerships have similar Statutory reporting obligations to Sole Traders but in addition to individual Self Assessment returns the Partnership must also submit a Partnership Self Assessment Return each year.  We can assist with these (and more) Statutory Obligations as part of our Compliance range of services.

We also have a broad range of Value Added services that can help to financially control and manage the business.  Many of these services are pre-requisites for obtaining loan finance or further investment.  Check out our Value Added section for more information.

There are many benefits to Limited Company Registration including Limited Liability and a reduced Tax and NI burden (in most cases), however there are additional costs and administration requirements.  Advice from a good Accountant can guide you on your decision whether to trade as a Limited Company or not.

All Limited Companies are required by law to submit Annual Accounts to Companies House and HMRC in a statutory format.  Larger Limited Companies must, by law, have these Accounts audited.  However, there is an audit exemption for Smaller Limited Companies that meet at least two of the following conditions:

• Annual turnover does not exceed £10.2m
• Balance Sheet does not exceed £5.1m
• Total employees does not exceed 50

This means that Smaller Limited Companies, who wish to take advantage of this exemption, don’t require to submit Annual Accounts for Audit.  This can be a substantial saving.

We at TW Accounting Services have decided to focus on these non-audited Accounts.

As with Sole Traders and Partnerships, Limited Companies also have a number of Statutory Obligations to keep records and produce regular returns.  We can help with these (and more) with our full range of Compliance Services.

For medium to larger sized Limited Companies our range of Value Added Services brings huge benefits.  As your business grows you will find it increasingly difficult to maintain knowledge and control of all the different operating areas and this is where Management Accounts can really assist.

There are many individuals with complicated tax affairs who are legally obliged to submit Annual Self Assessment tax returns.  Although these individuals don’t run their own business, they may still require the services of an Accountant and we at TW Accounting Services can assist in these matters.

If you require to submit an Annual Return are you aware of all the allowances and deductions available to reduce your tax burden?  If not you could be losing thousands of pounds to the tax man!  We can advise you on what you can and can’t claim as an allowable expense, and ensure that you receive all the allowances that you’re due.

We can also advise you on the best financial arrangements to reduce your tax burden in the future.  In addition we can complete your return and submit it on your behalf, quickly and accurately and within the HMRC deadlines.

Some Individuals who require to complete Self Assessment returns are:

• Sole Traders
• Individual Partners
• Contractors in any Industry (Individuals who are not paid through payroll)
• Those with an income above £100k
• Those in receipt (or partners in receipt) of Child Benefit with income abpve £50k
• Those with Property Rental Income
• Those who have made sizable Capital Gains
• Those with dividend income above the dividend allowance
• Those with any other untaxed Income

If you’re unsure if you should be completing a Self Assessment submission or require help and assistance in completing your return please call for more information.