Harper Jackson
Chartered Accountants
EMPOWERING YOUR SUCCESS THROUGH OUR DEDICATION
Our Services
Accounts
Preparing your accounts annually does not have to be a painful process. All businesses should produce accounts annually to see how the industry has performed and for reporting requirements. Different organisations, such as tax offices, mortgage companies, and banks, use the accounts. Prepared annual accounts will also show how your business has shaped up over the last year so you can plan for better results next year which is why the business exists in the first place! Whether you are a sole trader, partnership or limited company, before we start any work, we will review the records to make sure everything needed is there and give you a quote. We will also let you know what you could do if you want to keep the year-end fee down. We will then produce your accounts ASAP to enable a crucial year-end meeting to run through the accounts, discuss any issues picked up, discuss tax due and, more importantly, help you plan for the year ahead.
Business Startups
Starting a business can seem daunting because there are many areas to consider. Firstly, as with all new clients, we offer a free initial consultation. At this meeting, we will discuss the proposed business and your hopes and aspirations and provide advice to make your new venture successful. Through our networking leads, we are well connected to point you toward trusted service providers you could speak to for help and advice. At our business start-up meeting, we will discuss the following:
The type of structure and pros and cons
Setting up a limited company
Tax reductions
Suggestions to keep overheads low and maximising profits
The different methods of bookkeeping
VAT registration and record keeping
Forecasts and budgeting records
Personal Tax/Self Assessment
This is an area that affects so many of us. Being self-employed, a company director, or made a capital gain are just a few reasons to complete a self-assessment tax return. Again, as with year-end accounts, we can lessen the worry with an initial complimentary meeting to discuss what’s needed; quite a quick chat over a cup of tea can lead to a pleasant early tax refund rather than months of worrying ‘I must get my tax return in!’. Nobody wants to pay too much tax, so with our years of tax experience, we can complete your tax return in the most tax-efficient way so it is filed quickly with no penalties, and you can get on with the more exciting things in life.
Medical profession Accounting
Through our experience of acting for clients in the medical profession, we have developed specialist knowledge of the accounting and financial issues that affect this sector and are ideally placed to help healthcare professionals.
We serve the specialist accounting needs of:
GPs (both GMS & PMS practices)
PCGs and PCTs
Dispensing practices
Locum and hospital doctors
GP co-operatives
Dentists
Pharmacists
Examples of the services we can provide are:
Detailed accounting for GMS and PMS practices
Regular management accounts that monitor practice performance
Medical billings
Calculation of drawings
Advice on effective use of working capital
Finance for premises
Partnership agreements
Partnership tax planning
Preparation of expense claims
Personal tax planning – including exit strategies
Most importantly, we can help you identify where your practice is underperforming and offer advice on reducing costs and improving financial performance.
Contact Us today to discuss how we can help you put your practice on a sound financial footing.
Cash Flow
Cash flow is a crucial area for any business. If insufficient money is coming in to pay for funds going out, this will be a problem for the company and its owners. Every new business should be aware of the expected outflows and inflows of money, and we can help companies produce a summary of this, which is particularly useful if approaching banks for help with finance. As with all our services, we sit down with our client, carefully listen to the expected cash flows being described, and use our knowledge and experience to help other businesses and cost-effectively produce the required forecast.
Corporation Tax
All UK companies must complete and submit a Corporation tax return based on the figures in the annual accounts. The return has to be filed electronically online, and with years of tax experience, we can and do offer this service as part of our annual accounting service. If you want to discuss the above, please call for an initial consultation; price – one cup of tea, no sugar!
Software Training
There are many accounting software packages on the market, mainly Sage and Quickbooks, but many bespoke accounting systems are specialised for specific industries. We have expertise in the firm to help businesses understand or implement various accounting software or train staff. Many of our clients use online bookkeeping systems such as Free Agent and Xero, so if you wish to discuss this service, please get in touch with us for a free consultation.
Business Development
If you wish to take your business forward and grow to the next level, we offer this service to all our clients as part of their annual year-end review. We also provide the same service to business owners who want to sit down and discuss this area with a proactive accountant who loves to see businesses grow. Our contacts at the practice who have helped many clients include:
Marketing experts
Website professionals
Banking and funding experts
Business growth specialists
Print and design specialists
Overseas growth specialists
Business investors
If you are interested in attending local networking events, we are part of a successful and growing breakfast networking group – BOB (Business Over Breakfast), Maidstone.
CIS
This area is often overlooked by businesses and individuals in the construction industry. We have encountered companies unaware that tax was being deducted from their income and could be refunded; these amounts were several thousand pounds. If you are in construction, this area must be looked at carefully. We help many of our clients with the following:
Monthly CIS returns to the revenue.
Submitting and chasing up the revenue for CIS refunds for companies and individuals
Obtaining correct CIS registrations for businesses
Advising clients on the implications of CIS
Please call to arrange a consultation if you wish to discuss or chat through any of the above.
Management Accounts
These accounts are produced monthly, quarterly or six-monthly for a business, either by you, your accounts staff or by us. The need for these accounts is to show how the company is doing so that decisions can be made. The management accounts can often be produced on your accounting software. We often meet with our clients quarterly to review the management accounts and decide on ongoing action plans. If you wish to discuss management accounts, how to produce them or how valuable your current process is to grow your business, please get in touch.
Tax Investigation
Now and again, the tax office will contact a business or individual and inquire about something on their submitted tax return that they are not happy with. The letter from them can be pretty daunting, the wording can be very worrying, and the implications, if not dealt with correctly, can be costly in terms of penalties, interest and overall time and stress. Quite often, if dealt with quickly and openly, the investigation can be resolved relatively pain-free; if left and not acted upon, as with so many stressful areas of life, it can grow into a far worse situation. Having dealt with many investigations over the years, the typical cause is a lack of understanding by the taxman. We offer a free consultation to discuss the matter, plan the reply after investigating the findings and liaise with the tax office to resolve the matter quickly and efficiently. We also, as always, give an indication of our fee in dealing with the resolution. Many of our clients pay an annual insurance fee so that the accountancy fees charged in dealing with such matters are covered; this is available on request.
Business Growth
If you want your business to grow, we believe that working with us, your proactive, innovative, straight-talking accountants, will help you achieve this. Key to our approach is understanding your business; I mean understanding what makes it work day in and day out, and this is achieved by sitting down with you and listening to you tell us in depth about yourself, your business and your future. Only by truly knowing your business numbers will you be able to unlock the growth potential. That is where we make the difference; we will tell you how your business performs in plain English. We will then provide the support, insight, knowledge and service to help you succeed. We offer a full range of accounting and business growth services that will help you measure success, deal with any issues that arise, and support you as you plan for future growth and development.
Company Formation
We can help with forming your company for a reasonable fee. This package includes the following:
Advice on the pros and cons of incorporation in your specific situation
Appointment of directors and company secretary
Discussion regarding the issue of shares
Registered office service
Completion of minutes and resolutions
Help with opening a bank account
Tax discussions in respect of your newly formed company
Discussions concerning the company on VAT, corporation tax, bookkeeping, and raising finance.
Company Secretary
We can help with the following:
Forming companies
Share structure
Prepare and file company documents minutes and share the transfer
Maintaining statutory books
Dealing with annual returns
Provide a registered office facility
Payroll
Payroll and PAYE returns can be a minefield, so let us take some of the strain and let you get on with running your business. Payroll can be complicated, and with the revenue system of Real Time Information (RTI), filing has to be done on time, and penalties are quickly raised if returns are late. We run payrolls on time and provide a tailored service which includes the following:
Employee payslips
Dealing with new employees and those who are leaving
PAYE returns for RTI
CIS returns
P60s year-end return
P11Ds and P9D benefit forms
We also advise on related employment tax matters, including:
Director’s remuneration
Retirement planning and termination payments
Company car tax planning
VAT
We can help with all aspects of VAT. We undertake a general VAT health check as part of the initial consultation discussion with all new clients. We can arrange a more formal and detailed health check if areas need further investigation. We advise on VAT registration, de-registration, and all other VAT compliance and query areas. As part of our bookkeeping service, we can help prepare and submit VAT returns. VAT can be a complicated area, so chatting through VAT-related matters with a friendly, approachable accountant is crucial.
Book Keeping
Helping clients with bookkeeping is part of what we do, be it advising on the best solution for your business, helping put a system in place, or reviewing an existing set-up. We can also help with your day-to-day bookkeeping through our staff and contacts. Whether the system is manual or computerised, our team will be able to help keep the accounting records up to date. Please get in touch with us if you would like to discuss your requirements.