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A limited company is required to submit this set of reports to Companies House within 9 months of the business year end. The business year end will be set by Companies House upon incorporation and can be changed if required.
A copy of the statutory accounts must also be sent to:
- All shareholders in the business
- Anyone who attends the company general meetings
- HMRC (as part of the Corporation Tax return)
What do the statutory accounts include?
- A directors report
- A profit and loss account
- A balance sheet
- Notes about the accounts
- Important disclosures for the users of the accounts
Why use Strategic Accountants for my statutory accounts preparation?
In order to report your income you may be required to complete a personal tax return (also sometimes referred to as a Self Assessment tax return).
Who needs to prepare a personal tax return?
You will be required to file a personal tax return with HMRC if in the most recent tax year (from 06 April to 05 April the following year) you:
- Worked for yourself as self-employed and earned more than £1,000 in the tax year
- Were a partner in a partnership business
- Were a minister of religion under any faith or denomination
- Were a trustee or the executor of an estate
- Received a notice from HMRC to file a personal tax return
Received untaxed income such as:
- Rental income
- Tips and commission
- Income from savings, investments and dividends
- Foreign income
An individual may also opt to complete a personal tax return if they wished to claim specific income tax reliefs or provide evidence of being self-employed in order to claim tax-free childcare or the maternity allowance.
If you are required to complete a personal tax return you will need to firstly register with HMRC so that you receive your Unique Tax Reference (UTR).
How do I register for a personal tax return with HMRC?
Welcome to the world of self-employment!
For many people, the process of registered as self-employed or needing to submit a self-assessment can be daunting – however registering with HMRC is relatively easy. Here are 5 easy steps to follow in order to register:
Where can I find my UTR (Unique Tax Reference)?
When registering for self-assessment, HMRC will issue you with a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) which will be posted to your registered address.
Once registered you will be able to find your UTR via your HMRC online account. It can also be found on previous tax returns submitted as well as correspondence received from HMRC.
Should you not be able to obtain this information it is best to call HMRC on the self-assessment helpline in order to request a copy of your UTR.
What are the late filing penalties?
If you fail to submit your personal tax return ahead of the deadline (even if there is no liability!), HMRC will apply the following penalties:
- £100 immediately after the deadline is missed
- Once the return is more than 3 months late – £10 per day for a maximum of 90 days
- If the return is 6 months late – the higher of £300 or 5% of the tax due
- Once the return is more than 12 months late – a further £300 or 5% of the tax due (whichever is higher)
How do I pay my tax liability?
You can make payments to HMRC using online banking, debit card, BACS, cheque, direct debit (if set up with HMRC) or at your bank (if you have a paying-in slip from HMRC). Details of how to make the payments, including the references required can be found on the gov.uk website.
It is important to note that you will receive a late payment penalty from HMRC if the payment does not reach HMRC by the required deadline.
Top 5 items to have ready for your accountant
Key dates
Note the following key dates:
31 October (following the end of the tax year) – If you have not signed up for completing your tax return online you have to send HMRC a paper tax return by the 31 October. There are penalties if you send the form after this date, even if you have no tax to pay.
31 January (following the end of the tax year) – All online tax returns must be filed and submitted on or before this date, this includes any balance of payment due for that return and any first payments on account towards the following tax year. There are penalties if you miss this deadline for your return, even if you owe no tax or have already paid all of the tax you owe.
31 July (following the end of the tax year)- For those who make payments on account, the second payment for the tax year ending the previous 5 April is due.
If you have any questions regarding deadlines or payments on account, let us know! We can advise you on your specific circumstances.
How much do I have to pay?
The current Corporation Tax rate is 25% (previously 19%). There are reliefs available for businesses with profits under £250,000 per annum, we can support you to ensure you are taking advantage of these! The Corporation Tax liability is payable on the taxable profits for the relevant accounting period. Unfortunately HMRC won’t tell you how much you need to pay, therefore you are required to self-assess your business, calculate the taxable profits, inform HMRC of this amount and then make the payment of the liability.
What is included in the corporation tax service?
- Calculation of taxable profits
- Advice and guidance on any tax efficiencies or reliefs available
- Preparation of the Corporation Tax return
- Submission of the Corporation Tax return to HMRC
- Liaising with HMRC on Corporation Tax related affairs
Key dates
Where can I find my UTR (Unique Tax Reference)?
When registering your business, HMRC will issue you with a 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) which will be posted to your registered business address.
Once registered you will be able to find your UTR via your HMRC online account. It can also be found on previous tax returns submitted as well as correspondence received from HMRC relating to Corporation Tax matters.
Should you not be able to obtain this information it is best to call HMRC on the Corporation Tax helpline in order to request a copy of your UTR.
What are the late filing penalties?
- £100 immediately after the deadline is missed
- Once the return is more than 3 months late – an additional £100
- If the return is 6 months late – HMRc will estimate your Corporation Tax liability and add a 10% penalty of the unpaid tax
- Once the return is more than 12 months late – an additional 10% penalty of the unpaid tax
How do I pay my tax liability?
You can make payments to HMRC using online banking, debit card, corporate credit card, direct debit (if set up with HMRC) or at your bank (if you have a paying-in slip from HMRC). Details of how to make the payments, including the references required can be found on the gov.uk website.
It is important to note than you will receive a late payment penalty from HMRC is the payment does not reach HMRC by the required deadline.
Why use Strategic Accountants for my corporation tax services?
Failure to calculate your Corporation Tax liability correctly could result in your business paying too much tax, which will impact your business, or not enough tax which could land you in trouble with HMRC (best to avoid!). It is also imperative that the returns are submitted to HMRC ahead of the relevant deadline. Any errors could result in HMRC inspections, as well as fines or penalties – these can become time consuming and expensive to resolve!
By using Strategic Accountants your Corporation Tax return will be prepared carefully to ensure your Corporation Tax return is completed correctly and you pay the appropriate liability to HMRC. Calculating the liability is not as simple as taking 25% of the profits as there are further adjustments required to the return, therefore it is advisable to allow a professional to assist with the preparation of the Corporation Tax return. Our experience and depth of knowledge can ensure you are operating as tax efficiently as possible!
This includes the record-keeping of relevant documentation and classification of income and expenditure relating to the business.
Maintaining adequate business records is vitally important from both a compliance and business performance perspective, this includes:
- Ensuring business records are correct to prepare year end submissions and tax returns.
- Maintaining business records that meet HMRC’s expected standards in the case of a HMRC inspection.
- Evaluating business performance against budgets.
- Monitoring profits and taxes to reduce the risks of non-compliance with HMRC.
- Staying on top of credit control to maintain a healthy cash flow.
90% of all business failures are due to cash flow issues, according to the Office of National Statistics. Correct business records will allow you to identify where this may become an issue for the business and make decisions to avoid these issues.
Why do I need assistance with bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping is the foundation of your business records and therefore it is important this is done correctly and accurately by a trained individual. Whilst bookkeeping generally isn’t the most complicated of tasks, it is very easy to get in a mess with if you don’t know what you are doing. Without accurate bookkeeping being completed it is impossible for business owners to review the performance of their business or make informed business decisions.
We strongly believe that business owners time is best spent in applying their expertise to run their business successfully – not spending significant amounts of time completing bookkeeping. By using cloud accounting software and collaborating with a qualified accountancy firm you can automate this process and save significant amounts of time which can be spent running your business!
By outsourcing your bookkeeping to a qualified accountancy firm you can rest assured that the bookkeeping is completed correctly and in line with HMRC’s requirements.
Why use Strategic Accountants for my bookkeeping?
Benefits of outsourcing your bookkeeping to us include:
Ensuring that the payroll is prepared accurate is essential for both HMRC compliance and building good relationships with employees – after all, no employee wants to be underpaid due to an oversight by their employer!
The process of preparing the payroll can become very manual and a time consuming task. We believe that business owners can use their time more wisely and therefore we offer a fully outsourced payroll function to remove this burden.
Do I need to outsource my payroll?
In short, no. Business owners could complete their payroll internally, however as with many accountancy and taxation services there are significant amounts of knowledge required in order to ensure that all factors have been considered and the payroll has been prepared accurately. We would therefore highly recommend outsourcing payroll unless it is being prepared by a suitably qualified individual who is up to date with the most recent government updates and legislations.
What's included in the payroll service?
The services we provide will vary depending on the size of the business, number of employees and different schemes/benefits in place. Our typical payroll offering includes the following:
- Preparation of payslips
- Calculation of National Insurance and PAYE liabilities
- RTI submissions to HMRC
- Advice and guidance on minimising tax liabilities through the payroll
- Other Payroll related services
Who may need management reports?
What is included in a set of management reports?
- Profit & loss account
- Balance sheet
- Aged payables
- Aged receivables
- Cash summary
- Key performance indicators relevant to the business
Bespoke timetables
At Strategic accountants, we understand the importance of reliable and punctual management reports. That’s why we take pride in our ability to establish bespoke timetables in collaboration with our clients. Our dedicated team works closely with you to ensure that your management reports are delivered promptly, every time.
Why use Strategic accountants to prepare your management reports?
If we are completing other services for you such as bookkeeping, VAT and annual accounts, it is likely we will have a good understanding of your business and the types of transactions that are going through the business. This means we can give constructive feedback on the reports once prepared and highlight key areas of interest.
Our VAT Services Include:
Virtual CFO Services to the rescue.
Virtual CFO, sometimes called “fractional CFO,” is a remote consultant who provides high-level outsourced CFO services without the full-time price tag.
Our virtual CFO service help you grow your business with a combination of data-based financial advice, business strategy, strategic relationships, assistance with debt and equity funding, and more.
Does Your Small Business Need a CFO?
An accountant’s job is to prepare timely and accurate financial reports to determine your tax liabilities and current financial health.
A virtual CFO does that and a whole lot more.
By analyzing profitability, planning for business expansion, increasing market share, developing new products and services, and more, a virtual CFO helps you create a financial strategy that will pave a path to future success.
When do you need a fractional CFO?
- If you are looking to grow your business profitably and sustainably
- If you need an expert to lay the groundwork for sound financial systems
- If you want to mitigate risk and ensure the right processes are in place from the start
As your partner in finance, a virtual CFO is an investment in the future health of your company.
Straight Talk’s Virtual CFO Services
Our fractional CFO services play an important role in helping our clients reach their goals.
Services include:
- Financial forecasting and Budgeting : By studying your financial data, industry trends, projections, and business goals, we’ll create projections to help you meet your short and long-term targets.
- Profitability analyses. We identify ways to optimize your profitability by analyzing the various revenue streams of your business.
- Customized KPIs dashboards. We create interactive, at-a-glance charts and graphs that show how your business is performing against your key performance indicators (KPIs).
- Business strategy advising. Bringing an objective, agenda-free perspective, we assess your business goals and challenges and provide with clear guidance for continued growth.
- Cash flow analysis. We perform cash flow analysis and offer solutions if it’s not sufficient to meet your operating expenses.
- Expense management. We create systems to track employee-initiated expenses and implement technology to analyze data for less waste and more efficiency.
- Internal controls consulting. We provide an independent assessment and set up controls that promote accountability and minimize the risk of errors, omissions, delay, and fraud.
- Team training. We provide internal training to ensure that you and your team are united in goals for achieving growth and profitability.
- Other. Our CFO service can also include assistance with debt and equity financing, due diligence support, accounting staff placement, and accounting software implementation and migration.