What can an accountant provide beyond just tax returns?
While it’s certainly useful to have an accountant help you complete your end of year accounts, they can also provide a multitude of services to help you keep things running smoothly.
Company formation
An accountant can help you when it comes to setting up your own company, helping you to realise your ambitions. If you’re a new business, many accountants offer a company formation service to help you incorporate your company with Companies House.
Your accountant can provide you with a Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum and Articles of Association, Share Certificates and electronic filing codes. They can also help you decide whether you should set up as a UK Limited Company, a Limited Liability Partnership or a Public Limited Company, all while offering you practical advice on incorporation.
If you are unsure how start-ups work, an accountant is your best bet to ensure that you meet all legal requirements and obligations.
Bookkeeping
One way to ensure that your tax return will be a breeze is to have an accountant manage your bookkeeping as well. Many professional accountants offer a full bookkeeping service, giving you a simple way to keep track of your finances while ensuring that your annual accounts are correct. As well as this, it means that you can be certain you are paying the legal minimum when it comes to tax.
Additionally, having an accountant manage your books means they are in a better position to offer you advice on managing and controlling your company’s finances.
VAT registration
If your company needs to register for VAT, either voluntarily or due to high profits, a professional accountant can help you complete your VAT registration and submit your VAT return to HMRC. An accountant can also offer advice on the many rules and discounts that business owners are often unaware of, while helping to ensure that your business meets all its legal requirements.
Payroll
An accountant can also help you set up payroll for your company, including helping you to process details such as salary, overtime, bonuses and even time sheets. As well as this, an accountant can also assist with P45 and P46 processing, tax and National Insurance calculations and can also assist with payment of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), pensions and student loans.
Payroll can be tricky to navigate, but an accountant can make it simple and easy to manage. As well as this, an accountant can also offer you advice on your HMRC payments and process your employees’ pay by BACS. Dealing with payroll can often take time away from your business and it can cause new business owners a lot of unnecessary stress. An accountant can alleviate that stress while ensuring that everything runs smoothly.
Overall, a qualified accountant can offer you much more than tax returns. Indeed, an accountant can offer assistance in almost every facet of your business, from management accounts to cash flow projections and more. It is certainly advisable to seek an accountant’s advice when starting out in business.
