Bookkeeping, VAT and payroll

What's included

• Bookkeeping in cloud accounting software
• Bank reconciliation and expense categorising
• Sales and purchase ledger management
• Management reports on request
• VAT registration with HMRCWe register your company for VAT with HMRC. It's compulsory once taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in 12 months, and optional below that.
• Advice on VAT schemes, such as Flat Rate or Cash Accounting
• VAT returns filed under Making Tax Digital
• PAYE employer registrationWe register your company as an employer with HMRC, so you can pay salaries (including directors') through payroll.
• Payroll processing and payslips
• RTI submissions to HMRC on or before each payday
• Workplace pension auto-enrolment set-up and ongoing duties
• Year-end payroll and P60s

Who this service is for

Once your company starts trading, the regular paperwork grows: every sale and expense must be recorded, VAT may need to be charged and reported, and employees — including directors who take a salary — must be paid through payroll. This service suits small and growing UK limited companies that want that handled by one team, whether the owners are in the UK or abroad.

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping means recording every transaction so your company always knows where it stands. We keep your records in cloud accounting software, match them against your bank account, and categorise income and expenses correctly. Up-to-date books make your annual accounts and directors' Self Assessment returns faster and cheaper, and are required for VAT under Making Tax Digital.

Companies must keep accounting records, usually for at least 6 years.

VAT registration and returns

You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, or if you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. If you have already passed the threshold, you must register within 30 days of the end of the month in which you passed it.

You can also register voluntarily below the threshold, which can make sense if your customers are VAT-registered businesses. Whether to register is a business decision — we explain the pros and cons for your situation.

All VAT-registered businesses must follow Making Tax Digital for VAT: keep digital records and file VAT returns through compatible software. We:

1. register your company for VAT and get your VAT number
2. help you choose a VAT scheme, such as standard, Flat Rate or Cash Accounting
3. prepare each VAT return from your records
4. send it to you to approve, then file it with HMRC and tell you what to pay

Payroll and RTI

If your company pays anyone — including a director's salary — it usually needs to register as an employer with HMRC and run payroll. Under Real Time Information (RTI), payroll details must be reported to HMRC on or before each payday. We:

• register the company for PAYE
• calculate pay, tax, National Insurance and deductions
• produce payslips
• send RTI submissions to HMRC
• tell you what to pay HMRC each month
• produce year-end P60s and handle leavers' P45s

Workplace pension auto-enrolment

Employers must enrol eligible staff into a workplace pension and pay contributions. This generally applies to workers aged 22 to State Pension age earning more than £10,000 a year. Even a company with no eligible staff has duties, such as completing a declaration of compliance with The Pensions Regulator. We set up the scheme, assess staff each pay period and handle the ongoing duties.

A company whose only employee is a sole director without an employment contract may not have auto-enrolment duties — we check this for you.

How pricing works

We price each client on what they actually need:

• number of bank transactions each month
• monthly or quarterly VAT returns, and the VAT scheme used
• number of employees and how often they are paid

Contact us at info@formmycompany.co.uk or 0131 322 1309 for a quote. VAT registration and PAYE registration are already included in our Fully Inclusive Package for new companies.

Common mistakes

• Missing the VAT registration deadline after passing the threshold
• Paying a director's salary without running payroll
• Forgetting the auto-enrolment declaration of compliance
• Letting bookkeeping fall months behind before the VAT return is due

Frequently asked questions

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