An Accountant’s Role
Have you ever wondered what an accountant does and how they can help you? Or have you ever thought, I do not need an accountant I can do everything myself?
If the answer is yes, then this article is written for you.
At Woodville Accounting in Swadlincote we can offer you a 1 hour’s FREE consultation to discuss any of our services & to assess your needs.
Your Business Journey
As a business owner, you are on your own journey and you choose your own unique path to achieve your set of goals. Equally you have your own set of knowledge, skills and capabilities to do different things.
One thing for sure though, is that you are driven by your passion to sell and deliver your products and services. You may be great at this but your journey to success can be a lot easier, quicker and more profitable if you make sure you do not forget another core skill, your Finance Department.
If you are an individual or a small business you probably do not need a full time Finance Department, but in order to help you meet your obligations to HMRC and run your business effectively here I talk about some of the ways an accountant can help you on a part-time basis while you concentrate on your real passion to achieve the results you deserve.
What can an Accountant do for you?
We can help you register your company or self-employment and from the start-up we can help, advise, organise and process your accounting records.
Being compliant with the law and HMRC rules, regulations and deadlines is very important and we can also help you to do this.
Plus, when everything is set up and running smoothly, we can then perform value adding services to really help you review your performance and grow your business.
Advisory Services
- We can review your current systems and offer you advice on how you can streamline your activities to make your processes more efficient and effective. The idea is to save you time and to provide a framework that gives you organisation and delivers information at the correct time so that you can resolve any issues quickly.
- We can be a resource you draw upon to find the latest tax and accountancy rules & regulations. Our role is to make sure you are keeping up with the changing demands from HMRC. We can advise what you are legally bound to do before things become overdue and we can discuss your options with you when there is more than one route to take. Reducing your tax bill is something we help you with. We understand what expenses are allowable against tax.
- Starting a new business can be very daunting. We can listen to you and advise what the best business structure would be for you. We can then help you set everything up.
- At some point especially if you are growing you are going to need accountancy software. We can find out your needs and then advise and set up the right package for you.
- Most growing businesses these days choose cloud-based technology to run their accountancy systems. There is now a whole host of add on applications that help you run your business more efficiently. When we know your business, we can demonstrate these and advise how they may help you.
Processing Services
- The bookkeeping services we offer are not just about recording your income & expenditure and producing your profit and loss account. We also make sure your accounts are complete and accurate, generate journals for timing differences and make sure everything is fully reconciled ready for your VAT return and your Year End accounts.
- We can set up your payroll and make sure that all your employees and HMRC are paid correctly and on time. If any of your employees are on the national minimum wage we make sure that they are on the correct rate for their age and make note of any birthdays to make sure that earnings are uplifted in the very first month they become applicable.
- Then following on from this are pensions and your compliance with Auto Enrollment rules set out by the Pensions Regulator. We can take care of all your pension requirements making sure that all contributions are taken correctly and paid over to the pension scheme. Plus we can complete the declarations to the Pensions Regulator noting your compliance. We can also set up the pension schemes and communicate with your employees on your behalf regarding their pension.
Compliance Services
- The main compliance activity is looking after your deadlines. Whether you are a sole trader or a limited company, we ensure all your deadlines and filings with HMRC and Companies House are met on time and in full. We are that friendly valuable nudge or reminder that you might sometimes need.
- Our role is to make sure everything is complete, accurate, above board and timely in action.
- We do what is called company secretarial work. We can register and set up your business, we can add and remove directors, change shareholding, change registered company address, file your company accounts, shorten and lengthen your accounting period and complete your Annual Returns.
- For individuals we can look at your personal tax liabilities and submit your online self-assessment tax returns.
Value Added Services
- We can provide a regular management accountancy service that looks at your actual performance compared to your budgets. We can also carry out work to identify parts of your business that are creating very little benefit, holding you back or losing you profit. For example, if your company has a few sectors or divisions, we can identify which areas are doing well and those which are not. We can also drill down to do a profit analysis by customer, product or service.
- Cash management is essential if you wish to continue trading. It is very important to raise sales invoices as soon as you sell your product or complete your service. You have not really generated a sale though until you have collected your cash. This is where we can step in to really help. We can offer credit control services to ensure you receive your money when it is due. We can also provide you with a cash flow forecast so that you know exactly when you are going to run into any cash shortages. Be assured that knowing issues in advance can really make a big difference.
- We can help you create and manage your budgeting processes so you can track your actual expenditure against your targets.
- Accountants can provide you with a reference & verify your accounts if you are applying for loans or a mortgage.
- There is a service to offer you tax investigation insurance in case your taxes are audited by HMRC. This covers you for the advice & communication on your behalf with HMRC during these difficult times.
- We can attend onsite meetings to discuss your accounts or attend board meetings & help with planning & strategy.
- Stock Control is important. We can set up a stock system and provide help and advise with your stock takes.
