Comprehensive Services Whatever Your Business. Chartered Accountants in Surrey Quays, South East London
Are you a sole trader, partnership, limited company or charity looking for tailored accounting services to suit your business needs? Contact us at Cocke Vellacott & Hill in Surrey Quays, London for detailed information about how we can help.
Services for all types of businesses
Whether you are an individual or in business or you are in the charitable not-for-profit sector we offer accounting, auditing, tax and other specialist services to ensure you have everything you need to keep your finances in order and your focus on the future.
Start ups
Are you looking to start your own business but not sure how to go about it or whether you should trade as a sole trader, a partnership or a limited company?
We will be able to advise you on the best structure for setting up your business and in the most tax efficient way depending on your circumstances. We can help you with registering for self-assessment or setting up a limited company, guiding you on the company’s articles of association, directors, share capital, registered office and the choice of the company’s name, making sure you avoid any pitfalls that could bring problems further down the line.
Setting up a company can be quite straight forward, but it is important to do so properly thereby avoiding costly mistakes.
We can help you register your business for VAT or for payroll through PAYE and advise on record keeping, invoicing and bookkeeping software and much more.
Small Businesses
Small businesses, including owner-managed and family run businesses, are a huge part of the UK economy. If you are looking for a small business accountant, you’ve come to the right place! At CVH Accountants, we have decades of experience with small business accountancy for all kinds of businesses be they sole traders, partnerships, LLPs, limited companies or other SMEs in many different sectors. We appreciate how difficult, challenging and risky it is to start a business from scratch and how important it is to have the right level of advice and support.
We have a highly qualified team of professionals meaning we’re an excellent choice to help your business manage its finances and accounting, tax, VAT, payroll and more. We take the time to understand your business and offer support and advice from the very early stages start-up which most of our clients find invaluable.
Limited Companies
Limited companies are separate legal entities which are responsible for their affairs and liabilities and equally own all the cash and assets which is important to understand when extracting money. They can offer your business more prestige but have more regulatory duties, so it is advisable to get advice from people experienced in the field.
Your business is your passion, and your area of expertise. Accountancy is essential, it keeps you compliant and offers valuable insights into the performance of your business. But accountancy isn’t where your skills lie. It is where we come in, taking the pressure off you, allowing you to focus on and grow your business.
Our passion is providing unlimited professional advice, and accurate and professional accountancy, for limited companies like yours. From the best way to extract money from your company, VAT registration, preparation and advice, corporation tax preparation and advice on allowable expenses, capital allowances, R&D claims, payroll preparation and advice on pensions, salary sacrifice schemes, benefits in kind, etc., to accounts preparation and filing we have you covered.
Sole Traders
At
CVH Accountants, we assist many sole traders with general advice as well as bookkeeping and tax advice. Many freelancers, contractors and consultants, work as sole traders. Although being a sole trader is one of the simplest ways to get started in business, there are many processes that need to be followed. Should you register for VAT and when, should you run a payroll, should you keep your own records or use bookkeeping software, should you have a separate business bank account, should you pay into a pension scheme, what expenses can you claim for, are some of the issues you need to think about when you are busy running your business.
Are you already trading or considering starting a business as a sole trader? CVH Accountants can help as we are a ‘one-stop-shop’ for accountancy services and tax advice for independent businesses and self-employed professionals.
Freelancers
For most freelancers, contractors and consultants, the main priority is to maintain a steady flow of profitable business whilst combining it with the freedom to work flexibly. Nevertheless, you are solely responsible for handling your own finances and tax affairs and this can be both stressful and time consuming leaving you with less time to spend on your business or on you. If you choose to operate as a limited company, you’ll also have to consider annual statutory accounts, corporation tax, IR35 and the annual confirmation statement. You can also of course operate as a sole trader.
This is why it’s important to hire specialist accountants for freelancers as it can save you a lot of time and money, whilst at the same time providing you with useful advice gained over many years and with many clients in many different industries.
Contractors
Contractor accounting is a specialised form of accounting dedicated to providing tailored advice and service to a contractor business. Many of the responsibilities that a contractor accountant typically deals with involve handling tax affairs and ensuring that a contractor complies with relevant legislation. Contractor accountants are also likely to handle payroll, loan applications, and financial business plans.
Many of the responsibilities that a contractor accountant typically deals with involve handling bookkeeping and tax affairs and ensuring that a contractor complies with relevant legislation. We can help you handle your bookkeeping, payroll, loan applications, financial business plans, VAT and navigate around IR35. We deal with clients in many different industries and can help with efficient tax planning and support.
CIS
The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) sets out the special tax rules for subcontractors who work in the construction industry and how payments must be handled by contractors.
Your status doesn’t matter – you might be a sole trader, in a partnership, or have a limited company. Depending on the nature of your business, you may subcontract your services as well as employ the services of others. If that’s the case, you should register as both a contractor and subcontractor and follow the relevant rules and processes when each scenario arises.
As a contractor, you are required to meet specific obligations under the scheme, including registering with HMRC, checking whether your subcontractors are registered with HMRC, paying subcontractors, deducting tax (at 20% or 30% if not CIS registered) and submitting monthly statements confirming these payments.
If you work for a contractor in construction, you have to register as a subcontractor with HMRC and keep them informed of any changes to your business. If you are a sole trader then you’ll still have to prepare your self-assessment tax return at the end of the tax year. As most of your tax has already been paid under CIS you may be entitled to a tax refund depending on your expenses.
Whether you are a contractor or subcontractor we can help you with registration, avoiding penalties, keeping your accounts and tax affairs in order and general advice as necessary.
Landlords
Property owners become landlords for many reasons but one thing that they all have in common is the desire to maximise rental income profits and/or capital growth.
Perhaps you own one or more properties that you rent out, whether that’s houses or flats. You might have a buy-to-let mortgage or own the property outright individually or jointly, or through a limited company or trust. There are specific tax requirements placed on you as a landlord, from property tax to income tax. Whatever your circumstances, keeping on top of your finances is essential. Seeking expert advice for managing property finances in the UK can make a huge difference as there is much that can be done to save or at least reduce the amount of tax payable.
Charities
CVH have many years of experience advising charitable organisations. Charities can be incorporated companies limited by shares or guarantee under the Companies Act 2006 or earlier, charitable incorporated organisations (CIOs) under the Charities Act 2011 or unincorporated charities created by a declaration of trust. Charities often also have trading subsidiaries to help with fundraising.
Whatever your organisation’s structure we are confident of being able to help you meet secretarial duties and filing requirements to the Charity Commission and Companies House.
Our team of experts has many years’ experience advising a wide range of charities on their requirements in a complex regulatory landscape. Whether you require accounts preparation under the Charities SORP, or you require an audit due to your size, or due to your constitution or funders’ requirements, or whether you just need an Independent Examiner’s Report, we are on hand to work with you. We can advise on gift aid claims, corporation tax (where it may be due), VAT and much more.
Grant funding reports – If you have received grant funding, either from a UK body or from a European fund, the chances are that you will require a report on your claims. Depending upon the size and terms of the grant funding, this may need to be made at the end of Year One, with the final claim, or even at more regular intervals. Cocke Vellacott & Hill is experienced in auditing claims on behalf of a number of bodies and will help you to get your claim report in swiftly and in the required format.
Members of our team have sat on the boards of various not-for-profit entities over the years and therefore have invaluable experience of the realities of life on your side of the fence.
Not For Profit Organisations
Not for profit organisations have to comply with the same accounting requirements as most other businesses in terms of filing accounts, requiring audits and paying VAT. Not for Profit organisations can be charities, Community Interest Companies (CICs) or other not-for-profit organisations and here at CVH we deal with all the different structures.
We deal with a wide range of Not for Profit organisations including local charities, schools, churches, ethical companies limited by guarantee and resident organisations. We ensure the service we provide is efficient, effective and tailored to your needs, whether that is accounting, auditing, tax or advisory.
Partnerships
A partnership is when two or more people go into business together sharing control, responsibility and finances and are also jointly and severally liable for any debts incurred by the business.
Whether you are thinking of starting a new partnership with someone or are already established, a traditional partnership or LLP (limited liability partnership), CVH Accountants have qualified people who can assist your business with all your tax and accountancy needs. Partnership accounting can be a particularly complex area of tax law and it pays to enlist the services of qualified experts to handle the intricacies of partnership tax letting you concentrate on your business.
Employed Individuals
If you are employed by someone, you normally tend to meet all of your responsibilities to the UK tax regime through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system administered by your employer. Even so there are cases where you are still obliged to file a self-assessment tax return under HMRC rules. In some instances, in fact, it might be beneficial for you to do so anyway as it could lower your tax liability.
Some of the instances where you will need to prepare a self-assessment tax return even if you are employed are where you earned £100,000 or more or have other income that has not been taxed at source, such as rental income, self-employed income, dividends, savings income over the savings allowance or chargeable capital gains. You also have to prepare a tax return if HMRC send you a notice asking you to prepare one.
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Residential Management Companies
Often disregarded, this has been an area of intense technical debate in the last few years, and affects millions of households in the UK who live on managed residential sites. We will work with your management company to ensure appropriate reporting in line with current legislation and also to all of your residents.
Some of the services we provide are preparation and certification of service charge accounts, independent audits of service charge accounts, preparation of statutory accounts for ‘Right to Manage’ companies, company secretarial services and corporation tax returns where required, etc.
Pension Schemes
Our team has many years’ experience auditing pension schemes in what is another highly technical area, and one where their experience helps to ease your audit process.
Solicitors
Accounting for Solicitors and legal professionals is a specialist area that requires expertise and an understanding of the sector.
Solicitors must follow the SRA Handbook and Accounts Rules 2011 in preparing its accounting records, with particular attention placed on the handling and protection of client money. We have years of experience in carrying out SRA Audits.
Our individuals have many years’ experience of working with solicitors and are vastly experienced in dealing with the reporting requirements of the SRA and producing accountants’ reports.
Ad-Hoc Reporting
Do you have an unusual or bespoke reporting requirement? We have worked with clients in many diverse situations, contact us today to discuss your requirements.
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