Bookkeeping and payroll are our skills. So what do we do and how do we help?
Bookkeeping
We have a team of bookkeepers who work with different businesses and whilst there are fundamental principles to bookkeeping not every business has bookkeeping done in the same way. Some businesses sell online and all their income is received from the online platform, whereas others invoice and have to wait a period of time to receive payment. Some businesses make very few purchases - perhaps some insurance, some software, and the odd bit of stationery - whereas others have a multitude of purchase invoices. Some have one bank account, others have several plus credit cards and petty cash.
So the bookkeeping we do varies so much from business to business. If it was all the same it would be pretty boring but of course the variety means we have experience in so many different industry sectors. We work with agricultural and equestrian businesses which require partial exemption calculations for each VAT return, whether monthly or quarterly. We work with service industries such as architects, property letting agents, and garages. We work with retail businesses - high street shops, online retail as well as those who manufacture their own goods for sale. We work with businesses in hospitality, and with those with a trade such as tree surgeons, electricians and builders. It is difficult to classify every business into a particular type but that doesn't matter because no business is like any other.
We don't want to focus on one type of business. We like the variety and being able to support our businesses with their growth (if they want to grow). We provide regular reports that enable them to see just how their business is progressing month on month and year on year. We remind them of customers who are taking a long time to pay and of bills which they may have forgotten to pay.
75% of our clients are VAT registered -more and more businesses are being pulled into VAT registration because they need to raise their prices to cover their costs. We do VAT registration for businesses, we work out which VAT scheme would be most beneficial for them and we ensure that their VAT returns are prepared and submitted before the due date. And if there are any issues with penalties or interest charges which are caused by an HMRC error we will appeal on our clients behalf and deal with HMRC direct.
But of course, one of the main reasons that businesses choose us to do their bookkeeping is because we are friendly approachable. Whether that is getting their finances back on track, whether it is sorting out a VAT issue with HMRC, or whether to just be a listening ear and provide some guidance. Business owners need someone they can talk to who maybe able to offer some advice or point them in the right direction for some help. Just talking something over can relieve the pressure.
Payroll
Our payroll team support employers with processing payroll and auto enrolment contributions, but of course, payroll involves far more than just processing.
Employers come to us because payroll is one aspect of your business you just can't get wrong. Employees, unsurprisingly, get upset when their pay is incorrect. Our role is to ensure that employees are being paid at the right level for their age (the National Living Wage or National Minimum Wage), that any non-statutory deductions do not take them below the National Living Wage and that statutory deductions and statutory payments are made accurately. In addition to this there are calculations to be made for employees working part months, unpaid holiday, unpaid sickness, part month pay increases and overtime payments to name a few of the calculations we regularly do.
Pension contribution deductions can also be a minefield. We have taken on so many payrolls where pension schemes have been set up incorrectly and employee and employer contributions were just wrong. It is not easy to put them right and it is very time consuming but we have.
More and more frequently HMRC are making a mess of allocating PAYE payments to the correct payroll and this is something we will always sort out for our payroll clients. Making that call to HMRC takes a significant amount of time but we know what we are talking about so can explain efficiently any amendment that needs making. It is amazing how may PAYE payments sit unallocated but HMRC are quick to send out late payment reminders and charge interest when they haven't used the payments that have been made. It is a stressful situation for employers receiving late payment notifications and interest charges when they just know they are not late. We take that stress away and let them know once it is all sorted - and it often takes more than one phone call.
Would you like our help?
- If you are a business that needs to go VAT registered - contact us and we will get you registered, keep your accounts up to date and produce and submit your VAT returns
- If your accounts need sorting out and you need someone to manage them on an ongoing basis - contact us and it won't be long before you are organised again
- If you are taking on your first employee or your payroll is becoming too much for you - contact us and we can quickly get you set up
- If you want to start using Xero accounts software (it is the cloud software we recommend) - contact us as we can set it up and either get you started or take on your accounts for you
- If your accountant is charging you too much to do your bookkeeping - contact us and we will do your accounts regularly throughout the year and provide your accountant with tidy accounts that they can produce your company accounts
Watch our video to find out more about us and how we can help you.
