LIMITED COMPANY ACCOUNTS & COMPLIANCE
More Than Just Your Year-End Accounts
Accounting Support for Different Types of Company
Every company has its own activities, records and responsibilities. We agree an appropriate scope of accounting and compliance work, whether your company is actively trading, holds investments or is dormant.
Owner-Managed Limited Companies
Practical annual accounts and Corporation Tax support for directors managing their own businesses, with additional work identified and agreed separately.
Professional & Consultancy Companies
Company accounting support for professional practices and consultancies, tailored to their records, activities and reporting needs.
Contractors & Personal Service Companies
Accounts and Corporation Tax work for contracting companies, with specialist questions and advisory work considered separately where relevant.
Property & Investment Companies
Company accounting support where activities include property or investments, with additional transaction or tax advice scoped separately.
Trading & Family Companies
Support for trading and family-owned companies, taking account of the business records and matters affecting directors and shareholders.
Dormant & Non-Trading Companies
Help with the accounting and statutory work appropriate to dormant or non-trading companies. The scope and fee depend on the actual work required.
Your Company Needs More Than a Year-End Filing Service
A limited company is an ongoing legal and financial structure, not simply a set of accounts prepared once a year. Good company accounting means maintaining appropriate records, understanding the financial position, planning ahead and keeping statutory responsibilities under control.
KEEP RECORDS ORGANISED
Maintain appropriate company records and provide complete accounting information. We identify gaps and agree any additional bookkeeping or accounting-system work separately.
UNDERSTAND THE POSITION
Review the records supplied, consider the company’s financial position and identify balances or transactions that need clarification or further attention.
PLAN AHEAD
Consider Corporation Tax and relevant director and shareholder matters early. Any wider tax planning or specialist advice is agreed as a separate engagement.
KEEP COMPLIANCE UNDER CONTROL
Prepare and explain the agreed accounts and tax work, obtain approval and deal with the Companies House and HMRC filings within the agreed scope.
Directors, Shareholders & Tax Planning
Directors and shareholders may need advice on remuneration, dividends, director’s loan accounts, pensions, shareholdings and wider tax planning. We can discuss the relevant issues and agree an advisory scope based on the company’s and individuals’ circumstances.
These are advisory matters and are not automatically included in the basic annual accounts fee. Advice must be based on the circumstances and the rules applicable at the time.
Annual Company Accounts & Corporation Tax
Our core annual work covers statutory accounts and Corporation Tax, based on the records supplied and the scope agreed with you. We review the accounting information, raise relevant queries and explain the completed work before approval and filing.
Preparing the Accounts & Tax Work
- Statutory annual accounts
- Corporation Tax computations
- Corporation Tax returns
- Review of accounting records supplied
- Director and shareholder account considerations where relevant
- Identification of matters requiring further attention or advice
The level of preparation required depends on the quality and completeness of the records. Bookkeeping, corrections and material accounting adjustments are identified and quoted separately where needed.
Review, Approval & Filing
- Clarification of queries arising from the records
- Explanation of the completed accounts and tax position
- Your review and approval before filing
- Companies House accounts filing within the agreed scope
- HMRC Corporation Tax filing within the agreed scope
- Copies of the completed accounts and tax work
We identify matters requiring clarification, further attention or separate advice. Director and shareholder balances are considered where relevant to preparing the agreed accounts and tax work.
A Clear Scope for Your Company
We agree what is included before work begins. Bookkeeping, VAT, payroll, company secretarial changes and tax planning are not automatically included in the basic annual accounts fee.
Additional services are scoped and quoted separately according to the work involved.
Better Records Make the Work Clearer
The quality and completeness of your accounting records materially affect the work required and therefore the fee. A complete, accurate final trial balance is a different starting point from records that need bookkeeping, reconciliations, corrections or year-end adjustments.
A Complete Final Trial Balance
A complete and accurate final trial balance, supported by appropriate schedules and explanations, can allow relatively straightforward year-end work where no further accounting work is needed.
Bookkeeping & Reconciliations
If transactions need recording or balances need reconciling, this creates additional work before the annual accounts and tax work can be completed.
Corrections & Year-End Adjustments
Missing information, errors and necessary accounting adjustments can increase the work required. We explain what needs attention and agree additional work separately.
What Determines the Work Required?
RECORD QUALITY
Complete records, reconciled balances and suitable supporting information help establish a clear starting point.
TRANSACTION VOLUME
The number and nature of transactions influence the time needed to review and prepare the company’s accounts.
COMPLEXITY
The company’s activities, balances and accounting issues determine whether further work or specialist advice is needed.
The starting price does not include bookkeeping, accounting-system work or material accounting adjustments. We assess the information supplied and explain any work needed outside the agreed annual accounts engagement.
Need Help with Your Accounting Records?
First4Accounting can provide or assist with bookkeeping and accounting systems where required. This is a separate service from the basic annual accounts engagement and is quoted according to the support needed.
STRAIGHTFORWARD PRICING
Clear Fees Based on the Work Involved
Our fees reflect the company’s records, transaction volume, complexity and the work required. We agree the scope with you and identify additional work separately so that the starting price is not mistaken for a standard fee for every company.
LIMITED COMPANY ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
From £450
£450 is a starting price for very simple circumstances only: minimal transactions and a complete, accurate final trial balance supplied by the client, requiring no bookkeeping, accounting-system work or material accounting adjustments.
- Statutory annual accounts within the agreed scope
- Corporation Tax computations and return
- Review of the final trial balance supplied
- Explanation of the accounts and tax position
- Agreed Companies House and HMRC filings after approval
- Copies of the completed accounts and tax work
The actual fee depends on the company’s records, transaction volume, complexity and additional work required. £450 is not a standard fee for all limited companies. We confirm the scope and fee for your company before proceeding.
Additional Services When You Need Them
Some companies need support beyond the basic annual accounts and Corporation Tax engagement. The services below are not automatically included and are agreed and quoted separately.
Bookkeeping & Accounting Systems
Recording transactions, reconciling balances, correcting records and assistance with accounting systems are separate services where required.
VAT & Payroll Services
VAT and payroll support can be discussed where required. Neither is automatically included in the annual accounts fee.
Company Secretarial & Corporate Work
Confirmation Statements, statutory information and changes to the company’s directors, shareholders or constitution are quoted according to the work involved.
Directors, Shareholders & Tax Planning
Advice on remuneration, dividends, director’s loan accounts, pensions, shareholdings and wider planning is a separate advisory service.
Other Professional & Advisory Work
Specialist accounting, tax or business matters, and assistance with HMRC queries, are scoped separately where relevant.
No Unexpected Additional Work
Company Responsibilities Beyond the Annual Accounts
Running a company can involve substantial statutory and corporate work beyond preparing annual accounts. We can discuss support with Confirmation Statements; director and company changes; shareholder and share-capital changes; Persons with Significant Control requirements; Companies House identity and compliance requirements; registered office and statutory information; resolutions; changes to articles of association; and other company secretarial and corporate matters.
Dormant Doesn't Mean Compliance-Free
Even a dormant company remains a legal entity with continuing Companies House and statutory obligations. Dormant-company work should not automatically be assumed to be trivial or inexpensive: the records, statutory position and any changes still need appropriate attention.
- Continuing statutory and Companies House responsibilities
- Appropriate review of company records and statutory information
- Work and fees assessed on the company’s actual circumstances
Company secretarial and corporate services are normally quoted separately according to the work involved. We assess the specific request and any current requirements before confirming the scope; work involving share rights, resolutions or changes to articles may also require legal advice.
MTD Changes the Calculation — Is Your Present Business Structure Still Right?
For some sole traders and partnerships, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes the traditional comparison between remaining unincorporated and operating through a limited company.
Digital record keeping and more regular reporting to HMRC can reduce some of the administrative simplicity traditionally associated with self-employment. Once the accounting cost, reporting requirements and time involved are considered, incorporation may deserve another look.
Our limited company accounts service starts from £450 for very straightforward companies with complete and accurate records. This starting price applies only where there are minimal transactions and a complete, accurate final trial balance requiring no bookkeeping, accounting-system work or material accounting adjustments. A limited company has its own statutory and Companies House responsibilities, so incorporation is not automatically the right answer. However, the difference in administration and professional costs may be considerably less than expected.
There Is More to the Decision Than the Accounts Fee
An appropriate business-structure review considers the business and the people behind it, including:
- Overall accounting and compliance costs
- Making Tax Digital obligations where applicable
- Corporation Tax and personal taxation
- Salary and dividend planning for company owners
- The ability to retain profits within a company where appropriate
- Employer pension contributions and longer-term retirement planning
- Director’s loan accounts
- Ownership between family members or business partners
- Different classes of shares, including alphabet shares, where commercially and legally appropriate
- Dividend rights and remuneration flexibility
- Bringing in new shareholders or investors
- Succession and eventual business sale
- Commercial risk and limited liability
- Administrative and Companies House responsibilities
Alphabet shares do not automatically produce a tax advantage. Share structures and dividend arrangements require proper consideration of company law, employment-related securities, settlements legislation and the individual circumstances involved. Incorporation does not necessarily save tax, and dividends are not always preferable to salary.
Sole Trader, Partnership, LLP or Limited Company?
The appropriate structure depends upon the business and the people behind it. Each option has practical, commercial and tax considerations.
Sole Trader
Advantages to consider: Simple ownership, direct access to profits and historically relatively straightforward administration.
Matters to consider: Personal liability, MTD requirements where applicable, taxation of business profits on the individual, and fewer opportunities to separate ownership, remuneration and retained business profits.
Partnership
Advantages to consider: A flexible way for two or more people to operate together, with potentially straightforward profit-sharing arrangements.
Matters to consider: Partners can have significant personal exposure. Partnership agreements, profit allocations and applicable MTD and accounting obligations need proper attention.
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
Advantages to consider: A separate legal structure and limited liability combined with considerable organisational flexibility.
Matters to consider: Companies House and statutory requirements, partnership taxation, accounts and additional administration. Whether an LLP provides a meaningful advantage depends upon the circumstances.
Limited Company
Advantages to consider: Separate legal personality, limited liability and potential flexibility over salary, dividends, pensions, retained profits and ownership/share structure, with potentially useful succession or investment options.
Matters to consider: Corporation Tax, statutory accounts, Companies House obligations, director responsibilities, payroll and dividend administration where applicable, and potentially more complex corporate and tax rules.
The cheapest structure is not necessarily the structure with the lowest headline accounts fee.
The proper comparison is the overall cost of administration, tax, professional fees, commercial protection and flexibility, both now and as the business develops.
First4Accounting can review the alternatives and help clients understand the practical and tax implications before changing their business structure. Any advice depends on the individual circumstances and current requirements.
SOLE TRADER, PARTNERSHIP, LLP OR LIMITED COMPANY?
Ask us to compare the accounting, MTD, tax and practical implications.
LIMITED COMPANY FAQs
Questions We Are Often Asked
Answers to common questions about limited company accounts, Corporation Tax, records and wider company responsibilities. The precise scope and any current technical requirements are confirmed for your circumstances.