Accounting

[PE]

Fattony
By the sounds of it you are a limited company which means you need to file accounts at Companies house as well as HMRC, You can file abbreviated accounts which shows far less information than the full accounts you need to file with HMRC along with the CT600 as you say

The biggest drawbacks of doing your own Ltd co accounts are the format required for Companies House to accept them and also understanding the tax adjustment needed for say capital allowances and disallowed expenses such as entertaining so that your returns are correct.

The easy part of doing it yourself is seeing what you can claim for, that info is out there both on the HMRC own guidebook and also on t'intermet

The one part I would really be careful of is when (not if) you get investigated by HMRC as penalties are far more extreme now and late filing penalties at Companies house (don't forget you only have 9 months not 10 now) are far more draconian from Feb 09

As much as you trades wince when you see some DIY "attempt" we accountants also cringe when we take on someone's case who thought they could deal with it and "save" money

And yes any decent accountant will probably be looking at £1k min for a limited company accounts year end "package". Sole traders are cheaper

Sage Instant (or whatever they have changed the name to these days!) is fine and cheap and pretty easy to use and it can grow with you as the business expands unlike some other programs. Quickbooks is Ok and I am sure the other ones mentiomned all do a job to a certain level


Best of luck

 

[WoodYouLike]

And yes any decent accountant will probably be looking at £1k min for a limited company accounts year end "package". Sole traders are cheaper

£1k minimum? So my accountant is not decent??? IMHO it depends on:
a) how the Limited company presents their records to their decent accountant
b) how dedicated the decent accountant is in doing more than just the numbers
c) what the fixed fee includes - it happened to us that no matter what fee was agreed another "decent" accountant kept sending us invoices for every phone call we made for accounting/tax advice questions which where answered within 10 minutes (during the time we were a start-up).

My decent accountant works with fixed fees and we pay 1/2 of your minimum amount, receive plenty of proper business advice and regular 'health' check-ups. Our decent accountant is an asset to our business, not a cost.

 

[PE]

Woodyoulike

Of course it depends that was why I said "probably". As you have highlighted you may be best going to a smaller firm of accountants like yours who can pass on smaller overheads. However IMHO based on many years of experience, many small busimnesses simply do not have the desire/knowledge/ability etc etc to present their records in a format that will simply translate into a set of accounts. There is a big difference between keeping a set of books and preparing a set of statutory accounts and associated documents

Any small business getting charged for each phone call quite clearly should be looking at the adviser's added value to their business

As you are very happy with your accountant and your fees you pay you should keep hold of him and recommend him (as you are) to your contacts!

 

[WoodYouLike]

And you are with which accounting company - reading your reply it must be one of the big 4?

 

[EddieM]

If you are a limited company bi think by law you have to have company reports submitted by a qualified accontant.

 

[PE]

And you are with which accounting company - reading your reply it must be one of the big 4?

No big 4 wouldn't even look at smaller companies like that and especially not for £1k fee. Not saying thats right just the way it is

I am with a decent size firm with several offices

If you are a limited company bi think by law you have to have company reports submitted by a qualified accontant.

No not true its only if an audit is required - in theory anyone can prepare a set of company accounts

 

[maltaron]

As a self employed business I used Sage line 50 (old now) for all invoicing and sales & purchase ledgers and banking. I used a local accountant company and just gave them a disc from the Sage program and the paper work. They produced my annual accounts and tax returns for around £450 per annum and saved me more than that in Tax.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Here's one of my reviews on Sage Line 50 (IMHO overrated and too expensive compared to other products).

Any proper accountant should have access/copies of the software his/her clients are using - I know mine has. Another, newer, solution can be found here: Liberty Accounts UK online (have been working with it for my neighbour - I seem to have more than 1 career at the moment: retailer, bookkeeper, webmarketing trainer )

 

[PE]

Here's one of my reviews on Sage Line 50 (IMHO overrated and too expensive compared to other products).

Any proper accountant should have access/copies of the software his/her clients are using - I know mine has. Another, newer, solution can be found here: Liberty Accounts UK online (have been working with it for my neighbour - I seem to have more than 1 career at the moment: retailer, bookkeeper, webmarketing trainer )

Agree in some ways that Sage is simply an example of marketing over substance but this is so often the case where one company effectively monopolises the market by buying out many other companies over the years

MYOB is very popular I believe in Oz and NZ and like many other programs available I don't doubt it has far more functionality for small businesses than its equivalent Sage

PS like your website, some lovely furniture on there and some great info - have bookmarked it thanks

 

[fattony]

cheers wood, I remember your in kent, and will be looking into the accountant you use as you say they are cost effective and good

 

[WoodYouLike]

cheers wood, I remember your in kent, and will be looking into the accountant you use as you say they are cost effective and good

Give them my regards then - so they know you know me (nothing makes business contacts run more smoothly than some networking )

 

[fattony]

will do mate

 

[fattony]

So who actually uses Rapid Cash Accounting Package just have a couple of questions before I buy the template

 

[WoodYouLike]

What's your question? I've used it for a charity and know the developer.

 

[mattchip]

I just make sure the donkey work is done before my reciepts get to the accountant, put reciepts in order etc. ,people don't do this and it can save you 100's that they would otherwise charge you!