Hiring Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in the United Kingdom

Hiring Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in the United Kingdom

Keeping up precise and exceptional financial records is vital for a wide range of businesses. Despite the fact that you may be able to deal with the bookkeeping of your business all alone, it still proves to be tedious and frequently overwhelming. Luckily, you can somewhat or completely offload the bookkeeping weight to professional accountants for small business in the United Kingdom, who will deal with your accountancy in the most proficient way.

Partnering with the correct firm that offers in-budget and quality accountancy services for small businesses in the UK

Most business owners, especially start-ups, are confused that when they should hire the accountancy services for their small businesses in London. The simple answer could be that when founds that it is not plausible to deal with the accounts of his / her business, all alone.

You, obviously, have a choice to utilize an in-house team of full-time bookkeepers and accountants. Yet, this may prove to be expensive. A full-time staff of qualified accountants will request a hefty compensation! Hence, it is savvy to consider proficient accountancy services for small business. You can hire proficient accountants for small business in London at whatever point the need emerges, and it will demonstrate significantly more savvy than having an in-house team of accountants.

Since you will outsource the accountancy work of your business of an outside firm, you have to collaborate with a trusted firm on whom you can rely and ultimately focused towards building long-term relationship. It is advisable to consider the below points prior engaging with the accountancy firm that offers quality and in-budget services in the UK.

#1: Meet Face to Face:

Make sure to visit the firm face-to-face and converse with the primary up close and personal before drawing in their services. This is necessary, especially considering that they will be managing your accounts, after all.

During the personal meeting, enquire about the capabilities and experience of the accountants who will really be dealing with the accountancy of your business. While it isn’t essential for any accountant to have any qualification, yet ensure that yours is all around qualified through a perceived UK body like ICAEW or ACCA.

It is additionally fundamental to examine the expenses. You are hiring accountancy services for small businesses with the goal that you can take care of business while sparing the cash. In this way, ask the firm how its services will drive an incentive to your business.

#2: Your Accountants Role

If you happen to be a sole proprietor, when it comes to accounts and finances, the two of the most primary concerns that you may have will be (1) paying the correct amount towards income tax and (2) bookkeeping. Your accountants for small business ought to have the capacity to deal with these accountancy assignments effectively.

Enlisting your business for VAT and submit for VAT returns every month or quarter should be done if your business’s turnover surpasses the limit indicated by HRMC. Planning VAT returns turns out to be increasingly intricate as your business increases, so ensure that the accountants you hired are able to deal with it.

As your business develops, you may require utilizing more staff. Keeping an in-house staff implies the continuous salaries for them. Hence, you ought to make sure that the accountancy firm that you hire is able to handle payroll services as well.

You may, eventually require financial advisory services for your business. Find out that the accountants for small business you choose to hire are sufficiently experienced to offer quality services for the same.

Accountancy service for small businesses proves to be time & money saving. You need to ensure that you hire a professional and qualified accountancy firm such as ob体育首页下载安装. Such firms have qualified and experienced accountants for small business in London, who can deal with each bookkeeping need of your business.

ob体育首页下载安装 is a trustworthy firm offering accountancy services for small businesses in London, UK. They have some of the best professional accountants in the UK, and offer a wide range of accountancy services, including bookkeeping services , finance services, VAT return services, individual and corporate tax assessment services, and financial advisory services to give some examples. Visit  https://www.affinityassociates.com to discover more about the high-quality accountancy services for small businesses they provide.

If you have any questions regarding our any of our services, feel free to contact us info@affinityassociates.com . Alternatively, you can also call us on +44 208 903 2076 or just fill a simple enquiry form at https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Accountants for Small Business in London – Helping At Every Stage of Your Company’s Growth [Part I]

Accountants for Small Business in London – Helping At Every Stage of Your Company’s Growth [Part I]

Accountants for small business in London, UK, at ob体育首页下载安装 can help you throughout the different stages of your company’s growth. Ranging from creating a sound business strategy to advising on company formation, making a loan application to addressing a government audit, engaging accountants for small business in London can make life easy for you at every step.

In order to avail such support, you do not necessarily need to hire a full-time, in-house accountant or a team of accountants. Oftentimes, engaging an accountant or a small team of accountants for a part-time will be enough.

You may be dubious, like most small business owners, about whether or not you can afford an accountant. Nonetheless, consider how long it would approximately take for you to complete certain essential tasks, like taxes or payroll , and ask yourself, is it a good use of my time?

For instance, consider that it takes about 15 hours for you to calculate the taxes, and your precious time is worth £50 an hour. That will be a cost of £750 to calculate taxes on your own! Besides, there are always chances that you may have made errors, as tax calculation is not easy. In addition, you may be multitasking like most business owners, so the chances of errors could easily increase.

If you, however, engage a small business tax accountant in London to handle the time-consuming, but important tasks, such as taxes, it will certainly prove more cost-effective than paying yourself. You will also have extra time to focus on your primary business activities as well as have a peace of mind thinking that a professional is handling your taxes.

Here are a couple of instants, during the life of your small business, where you might want to consider engaging accountants for small business in London.

Creating a Business Strategy

If you collaborate with accountants for small business while you are creating a business strategy, they will be able to analyse your books in order to offer their own experienced financial perspective . This will eventually help you create a sound and realistic business strategy that is more likely to succeed.

Engaging accountants for small business from the outset means you will get the benefits of their vast financial knowledge and practical advice right from the beginning. This could ultimately save you a lot of time and money in contrast to engaging these professionals later.

Restructuring Your Company

You could operate your company as a sole proprietor or as a limited liability firm. Both have their own merits and demerits. For instance, if you operate as a sole proprietor, you will have a lesser administrative burden than operating as a limited liability firm. Similarly, if you operate as a limited liability firm, you will have a greater tax benefit than operating as a sole proprietor.

How you should operate your company depends upon a lot of factors. If you engage an accountant for small business, then he or she can recommend how you should operate by looking at the most important aspect of your company, i.e., the financial data.

If operating as a limited liability firm is beneficial, then your accountants for small business may also assist you with the company formation process, which by the way, is somewhat complex. If you are already an incorporated entity, then accountants for small business can also help you restructure it so that you can avail optimum tax breaks.

Engaging accountants for small business is definitely essential. It is beneficial too. If you are searching for reliable accountants for small business in London who can help you at every stage of your company’s growth, then end your search at ob体育首页下载安装.

ob体育首页下载安装 has some of the best accountants for small business in London, UK. Vastly experienced and certified, our accountants and tax accountants for small business in London will take care of the entire accounting function of your business. Get in touch with us today to discover how we can help you. To contact us, simply visit https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Top Benefits of Operating Business as a Limited Company

Top Benefits of Operating Business as a Limited Company

Are you operating your business as a sole proprietor? Have you ever heard or thought about incorporating your business? There are great benefits of running as a limited company!

Starting as a sole proprietor is indeed the simplest way to kick off a business in the UK. To run as a sole proprietor, all you need to do is register with HMRC and inform that you are operating as a self-employed, and report all your financial activities through the self-assessment tax process annually.

Establishing the business as an incorporated entity or a limited company, on the other hand, involves a complex company formation process. Further, the administrative and financial responsibilities of functioning as a limited company are also greater than those of a sole trader. Despite the complexity and burden, operating as a limited company can be very beneficial for you.

Here are some of the notable advantages of functioning as a limited company:

Separate Legal Entity

Unlike a sole proprietor business, a limited company has an entirely separate identity from its owners. Ranging from the bank accounts to the ownership of various assets, everything belongs to the company and separate from its shareholders’ interests. Even the debts and liabilities are in the name of the incorporated company, and the company itself is responsible for them. Hence, if the company becomes insolvent, owners or the shareholders are not responsible to for the bankruptcy.

In case of a sole proprietor business, the business and the owner are considered as a single entity; hence, the owner is responsible for everything.

Tax Benefit

By running your business as a limited company, you may perhaps have to pay less tax than as a sole proprietor.

A limited company needs to pay corporation tax on the income or profit it makes. Whereas, a sole proprietor needs to pay income tax on the income or profit his/her business makes. The current corporation tax rate is 19%. And, the current income tax rate is 20-45%! You can see yourself how much less tax you will need to pay by functioning as a limited company.

Further, from a limited company, you as a director or shareholder can draw a salary as well as substantial income in the form of dividends. Both dividends and salary are taxed separately, so you will receive the maximum income while paying less tax.

Limited Liability Protection

By operating your business as a limited company, you as the owner get a ‘limited liability’ protection. Limited liability protection simply means that if the company runs into any trouble, your personal assets will remain safe. You will not be responsible for any form of losses made by your company because your company is a separate entity, as mentioned above, which is liable for its own losses.

In case of a sole proprietor business, the owner does not get any such protection. Therefore, whenever any loss arises, the owner needs to bear it all by him/herself.

Funding

Acquiring new funding these days can be difficult for all kinds of businesses. Nevertheless, since a limited company is entirely a separate legal entity, it could be a little easier for it to acquire funds than it is for sole proprietors. Most financial institutions trust incorporated entities more than sole proprietors.

Further, if provisions allow, then a limited company can also raise capital via issuing of new shares.

Professional Outlook

In some sectors, being a limited company can portray that the company has credibility and is dedicated to effective and sound management.

A limited company gives both the suppliers and customers a sense of confidence and most companies, especially big enterprises, will never prefer to deal with sole proprietors. For that reason, incorporating your business can be beneficial to create a professional outlook, which helps bring in new prospects.

Incorporating your business is not too expensive and difficult! Just get in touch with the experienced accountants for small business in London at ob体育首页下载安装, and seek their incorporation/company formation services .

The skilled accountants for small business in London at ob体育首页下载安装 will help you not only with the company formation process, but also with the accountancy for a limited company! ob体育首页下载安装’ accountants for small business are vastly experienced and will take care of every accounting aspect of your incorporated or self-proprietary business. Discover what small business accountants in London at ob体育首页下载安装 can do for you by visiting the following link https://www.affinityassociates.com/accountancy-services-uk/ .

Have any questions regarding incorporation or small business accountancy? Just get in touch with us https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Knowledge source: http://www.bytestart.co.uk/

Bookkeeping and Accounting – Know the Differences

Bookkeeping and Accounting – Know the Differences

Often, small business owners interchange the important term ‘bookkeeping’ with ‘accounting’ or ‘accounting’ with ‘bookkeeping.’ They should not do that as both these accountancy terms are different.

Bookkeeping and accounting have separate financial functions, and both of them are integral parts of small businesses. It is important to understand these terms because streamlined financial records and organized finances are key to the success of a small business. Understanding these terms also helps when it comes to engaging the right services, i.e., bookkeeping services for small business and accountancy services for small business.

What is bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping is an accounting process of recording all daily financial transactions, both cash and credit, of the business. The one who carries out bookkeeping is called a bookkeeper.

Bookkeepers need to record all the sales, receipts, purchases, and payments transactions of the business in the correct daybook, customer (sales) ledger, supplier (purchase) ledger, or general ledger. You need to keep in mind that a ledger is a principal book. It is the key to the finances of your business; hence, it needs to be accurate.

Bookkeeping can be simple initially, but as the size of your business and the number of transactions increase it can quickly become difficult to manage. In such a case, engaging quality bookkeeping services for small business in the UK from a reputable firm like ob体育首页下载安装 can be helpful.

Methods of bookkeeping

The two prevalent bookkeeping methods are single-entry bookkeeping and double-entry bookkeeping. Of these two methods, most businesses use the double-entry system. In this system, “ every entry to an account needs a corresponding and opposite entry to a different account. ” For example, recording an expense of £20 would need two entries:

  1. A debit entry of £10 to an “Expense” account
  2. A credit entry of £10 to a “Cash” or “Credit” account

Bookkeeping can be carried out on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet, like Microsoft Excel. Today, however, much of the bookkeeping is done using specialised accountancy software applications.

Whether carrying out bookkeeping on a paper, spreadsheet, or an accountancy software, it is a time-consuming task. Furthermore, whether being an expert or not, an in-house bookkeeper (or you if you are doing the bookkeeping yourself), can make errors. For that reason, it is beneficial to engage bookkeeping services for small business, where professional bookkeepers will quickly complete the task, under the direction of an experienced accountant, which by the way, minimises the errors.

What is accounting?

Accounting or accountancy is a broad terminology. It deals with summarising, analysing, and reporting financial information of the business. Accountancy or accounting provides information on the current resources available to the business, how those resources are financed, and the results the business achieves through the use of those resources.

The function of accountancy is to prepare statements of the financial affairs of the business. It also includes the analysis of the figures recorded by the bookkeeper in order to ascertain the financial health of the business. Furthermore, the function of accountancy also extends to the preparation of various business taxes and other financial materials.

The one who carries out the accounting or accountancy is called an accountant. Employing full-time, in-house accountants can be very expensive. Therefore, whenever the need arises, engaging certified accountants for small business in London from a firm like ob体育首页下载安装, can be beneficial.

Who qualifies as an accountant?

In the UK, there are no license requirements for anyone to call themselves an accountant. Nevertheless, it is wise to deal only with trained and qualified accountants. Such a qualified accountant is referred to as a CA (Chartered Accountant) or ACCA (Chartered Certified Accountant). In order to achieve a qualification, an individual needs to pass a series of examinations and undergo a period of appropriate work experience.

Accounting can be difficult, depending on the size and nature of the business. Therefore, as mentioned before, engaging accountants for small business can prove to be sensible for a business owner.

So now you know what bookkeeping and accounting are. You can, of course, carry out both bookkeeping and accounting in-house, but they often prove to be uneconomical, especially for small businesses. Therefore, it will be in your best interest to engage both bookkeepers and accountants for small business.

At ob体育首页下载安装, we offer both bookkeeping services for small business and accountancy services for small business in London and across the UK. Contact us today to discover how we can help you keep your books accurate and up-to-date and how we can help you manage the finances of your business. Get in touch with us through the following link https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Engaging a Firm that Offers Quality Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in the UK

Engaging a Firm that Offers Quality Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in the UK

Maintaining accurate and up-to-date financial records is necessary for all kinds of businesses. While you can handle the accounting of your business on your own, it will prove time-consuming and often daunting. Fortunately, you can partially or entirely offload the accounting burden to expert accountants for small business in London, who will take care of your accountancy in the most professional manner.

Partnering with the right firm that offers quality accountancy services for small businesses in the UK

When should you consider professional accountancy services for small business? The answer is pretty straightforward – when it is no longer feasible and/or economical to handle the accountancy of your business by yourself.

You, of course, have an option to employ an in-house team of full-time accountants. This option, however, may prove to be uneconomical. A full-time staff of qualified accountants will demand a hefty remuneration! For that reason, it is wise to consider professional accountancy services for small businesses. You can engage professional accountants for small businesses in London whenever the need arises, and it will prove much more cost-effective than having an in-house team of accountants.

Quality Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in UK

Since you will be outsourcing the accountancy of your business on a regular basis to someone outside, you need to partner with a reliable firm on whom you can trust and build a long-term relationship. Therefore, consider the below points when collaborating with a firm that offers top-quality accountancy services for small businesses in the UK.

The First Meeting

Be sure to visit the firm in person and talk to the principal face-to-face before engaging their services. After all, you will be working together, so a personal connection is necessary.

During the face-to-face meeting, enquire about the qualifications and experience of the accountants who will actually be handling the accountancy of your business. While it is not necessary for an accountant to hold any qualification, be sure that yours is well qualified through a recognized UK body, such as ACCA or ICAEW.

In the first meeting, it is also essential to discuss the fees. You are engaging accountancy services for small businesses so that you can get the job done while saving money. Therefore, ask the firm how its services will deliver value to your business.

The Role of Your Accountants

If you are a sole proprietor, your main concerns will be bookkeeping and paying the right amount of income tax. Your accountants for small businesses should be able to handle these accountancy tasks efficiently.

If your turnover is above the threshold specified by HMRC, then you will have to register your business for VAT and submit VAT returns every month or quarter. Preparing VAT returns becomes more and more complex as your trade increases, so ensure that your expert accountants for small businesses are able to handle it.

As your business grows, you may require employing more staff. Keeping an in-house staff means maintaining payroll. See to it that the accountants you wish to partner with are able to carry out payroll services.

You may, at some point in time in the future, require practical business and financial advisory services. Find out that the accountants for small businesses you decide to engage are experienced enough to offer quality business and financial advisory services.

Accountancy services for small businesses are cost-effective and very beneficial. Just make sure to partner with the right firm, like ob体育首页下载安装, which has qualified and experienced accountants for small businesses in London who can take care of every accounting need of your business.

ob体育首页下载安装 is a reputable provider of accountancy services for small businesses in London, UK. With some of the best accountants in the UK, we offer a range of accountancy services, including bookkeeping services, payroll services, VAT return services, personal and corporate taxation services, and financial advisory services to name a few. Explore our site https://www.affinityassociates.com/ to discover more about the high-quality accountancy services for small businesses we provide.

Should you have any questions regarding any of our services, feel free to contact us at info@affinityassociates.com . Alternatively, you can also call us on +ob体育首页下载安装 or just fill a simple inquiry form at https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Professional Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in London, UK

Professional Accountancy Services for Small Businesses in London, UK

Thinking about streamlining or improving your business? Start from your finance department. When your finances are smooth and accurate, it becomes quite easy for your business to thrive. Some firms have their own in-house accounts departments, while others find it beneficial to rely on professional accountancy services. The professional accountancy services for small businesses from an experienced accounting and consulting firm in London, like ob体育首页下载安装, can be as good (or even better) than a full-fledged in-house team of accountants. Outsourced accountancy services for small business can cover everything from bookkeeping to payroll management to tax and other accounts related tasks.

Benefits of getting accountancy services for small businesses

In most cases, small businesses are the ones that need professional accountancy services. By outsourcing their accountings to experienced accountants, small businesses can avail a number of benefits.

One of the most significant advantages that small businesses enjoy when they get accountancy services is cost effectiveness. For a small business, employing a full-time accountant or bookkeeper can be expensive in contrast to hiring the accountancy services from a reputable accounting and consulting firm in London.

Apart from cost benefit, by getting accountancy services for small businesses, you can avail the benefit of extra time. An accounting firm will handle every accounting and bookkeeping aspect of your business; hence, you will have more time available, which you can utilise to focus on your core business functions.

Furthermore, by getting accountancy services from professionals, you can ensure that your business always stays in compliance. While small business owners may not be aware of the every-changing legislation, professional accountants do know the latest legislation and work accordingly to ensure that your business stays in compliance with the law.

How to get the best accountancy services for small businesses

There are many accounting and consulting firms in the UK that offer professional accountancy services for small businesses. This means that you need to be very careful when choosing the accounting and consulting firm so that you are able to get the best accountancy services for your small business.

Consider the following things when choosing an accounting and consulting firm:

Certification and Experience : These are the two important things you must check when choosing an accounting and consulting firm for accountancy services. Find out whether the firm has ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) professionals. Further, see how experienced these ACCA professionals are. Inexperienced professionals may have some problems tackling your small business accounting.

Quality Assurance : When you hire any services, whether it is bookkeeping or anything else, you should expect nothing but the best. A reliable accounting and consulting firm always stays up-to-date with the latest tax and regulatory changes so that they can cater to your needs efficiently. Find out whether the firm you decide to hire stays updated with the latest accounting and tax norms.

Flexibility : Will the accounting and consulting firm you decide to hire provide you with the fast and easy access to your financial data, at any time? Can it come to your assistance during any emergencies? It will be in your best interest to hire a small business accountancy firm you can truly count on when the need arises. For instance, an accounting firm that can provide cloud or web based services even though it is local can be the best for times when you urgently need access to your business’ vital financial data.

Finding such an accounting firm can be time-consuming and tiring. If you do not want to waste your time and energy, then directly contact us. We are ob体育首页下载安装, one of the leading and most reliable accounting and consulting firms in the UK. We have vast experience and certified professionals who always stay updated with the latest accounting and tax legislations. Our accountants and tax accountants for small business in London are also well-versed with using the latest technologies to help our clients as and when needed.

If you are looking for the best accountancy services for small businesses in London or elsewhere in the UK, then ob体育首页下载安装 is the right firm for you.

Browse through our site https://www.affinityassociates.com/ to learn more about us and the types of accounting and consulting services we provide. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us here https://www.affinityassociates.com/contact-us/ .

Landlords with Multiple Buy to Let Properties

Landlords with Multiple Buy to Let Properties

Many landlords with multiple buy to let properties will be affected by changes in the legislation pertaining to claim of interest cost on borrowings on those properties.

We at Affinity have developed a product that will enable landlords to continue to claim interest as normal regardless of the changes in the legislation, however, with a change in the structure and manner in which these properties are held.

Our tried and tested concept has a proven track record with which we can help many of those who already are and will be affected in the future.

 

Please do feel free to contact us for a no cost informal chat.

Losses brought forward from 01/04/2017

Losses brought forward from 01/04/2017

This applies to Companies

Losses carried forward from 01/04/2017 can be set off against not just trading income, but any other income that the company derives.

However there is a 50% restriction where companies and or groups are carrying forward losses exceeding £5m.

Capital losses are still ring-fenced so that these can only be relived against future capital gains.

Below link gives much more comprehensive information.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525929/FINAL_PDF_3.pdf

Further reading from Affinity:

Capital Gains Tax

Ten Common Tax Elections and Claims

Ten Common Tax Elections and Claims

We came across this informative Ten Common Tax Elections and Claims  explaining how to make claims under 10 common tax elections.  There’s a lot to take in, but we’ve pulled out 3 of the most relevant with links to the necessary forms.

 

1.  Form 17 (Declaration of beneficial interests in joint property & income)

Income and gains from jointly owned properties are usually taxed equally on spouses (or civil partners) regardless of the actual ownership of the property. However, completion and submission of this form specifies a different apportionment for tax purposes,  which is based on actual proportion of ownership. This can be useful where owners are subject to different rates of income tax.

2.  Capital losses set off against income tax s131 ITA 2007

Under this section a taxpayer may be able to reduce his income tax liability by making a claim to offset losses on disposal of shares acquired by subscription in a qualifying trading company (or following a negligible value claim for such shares) against other income in the current or previous year.

3. Holdover relief claim S165 TCGA and S260 TCGA

Hold-over relief is available under  s165 TCGA 1992 . There is small print however, such as, the gift must be of ‘business assets’. Also, the transferor and the transferee must claim jointly within five years from transfer.

The time limit for claiming gift hold-over relief is five years and 10 months from the end of the tax year of disposal. Hold-over relief is also available under  s 260 TCGA 1994  where the disposal is a chargeable transfer for inheritance tax purposes, but not a potentially exempt transfer. Cases where there is no liability to inheritance tax, because the value transferred is within the zero-rate band, qualify for hold-over relief.

 

Related reading from Affinity:

Tax Returns

Capital Gains Tax

 

 

The Link below covers the various subjects as indicated underneath the link

http://accainpractice.newsweaver.co.uk/accainpractice/1nrf181jrnliai8yh9d3oh?a=6&p=48314203&t=28218204