What we do
Bookkeeping
The records underneath everything else, kept up to date so that nothing has to be reconstructed in January.
What bookkeeping with us covers
Unglamorous, and the single biggest difference between a cheap year end and an expensive one.
- Bookkeeping
- We keep your books accurate and up to date, so you always know what you're earning, spending and owed, helping you make better business decisions.
Everything else is built on the bookkeeping.
A VAT return, a set of accounts, a tax return and a Making Tax Digital filing are all the same records, read four different ways. Keep the records properly and the rest stops being a scramble.
Common questions
Questions we get asked about bookkeeping
Answered from a published GOV.UK page wherever a question has a factual answer, with the page linked so you can check it.
How long do I have to keep my records?
It depends which kind of business you are. GOV.UK says a sole trader or a partner must keep records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline of the relevant tax year, and if you file more than four years after the deadline, for fifteen months after you send the return. A limited company must keep records for six years from the end of the last company financial year they relate to, and longer if the company has bought something it expects to last more than six years.
GOV.UK: business records if you are self-employedWhat happens if the records are not there?
For a limited company GOV.UK is blunt about it: you can be fined £3,000 by HMRC for failing to keep accounting records. Beyond the fine, it is the reason a year end costs more than it should, reconstructing a year from bank statements takes far longer than keeping it as it goes.
GOV.UK: company and accounting recordsTell us where you are with it
A sentence is plenty to start. We will tell you what we would do and what it would cost before anything begins.