Chartered management accountants and year-round tax planning
We prepare accounts and tax returns for UK company directors, sole traders, landlords and trades. You can also ask us to handle bookkeeping, management accounts and tax planning during the year. We agree the work and a fixed fee in writing before we start.
Management accounting
How management accounting can work for your business
CIMA accountants are trained to understand how a business works, not just how the accounts are prepared. That means handling the essential compliance work properly, including accounts, tax, VAT, payroll, bookkeeping and filing deadlines, while also looking at profit, cash flow, pricing, costs, margins and plans in a way that gives you clearer information.
We can provide compliance, management accounts, or both, depending on what your business needs. For some businesses, that means reliable accounts and tax work delivered on time. For others, it means regular management information, forecasting and cash-flow support to help with decisions around pricing, investment, hiring and profitability. The benefit of CIMA is that the practical work is covered, while the advice stays focused on how the business is performing.
The regular figures show:
01
How profitable you are right now.
With the figure in front of you before the year closes.
02
What you owe HMRC, well before the deadline.
We forecast the liability early enough that there is still time to plan around it.
03
The numbers before you commit.
Taking on staff, borrowing money, opening a second entity. We check the figures with you before you commit.
Guides
Common tax questions
The decisions every UK business owner runs into, explained in plain English.
Director pay
Salary vs dividends 2026
How directors should structure income from a limited company.
Corporation Tax
How much Corporation Tax will you pay?
Understanding marginal relief and current UK tax bands.
Management accounts
Do small companies need management accounts?
When they start to pay for themselves.
MTD
Making Tax Digital 2026 explained
What landlords and sole traders must prepare for.
Getting started
Getting your accounts ready.
We start by checking your records, software and next deadlines. We agree the setup and handover work, what we need from you and a timetable that allows for replies from your previous accountant and HMRC.
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Agree the work and dates.
We discuss how your business trades, the records you keep and the work your current accountant has completed. We check your accounts, tax, VAT and payroll deadlines, then confirm the services, responsibilities and dates in writing.
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We send the Professional Clearance letter to your outgoing accountant.
Once you've signed the engagement letter, we send the Professional Clearance letter to your previous accountant and start HMRC agent authorisation for each relevant tax. Both happen in parallel. You don't need to write to anyone, or chase anyone. Two parts of the timing sit outside our control: how quickly your previous firm responds, and how long HMRC takes to complete agent authorisation. We do the chasing on both, weekly, instead of promising you a date we can't keep.
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We set up your cloud bookkeeping (or fix the one you already have).
If you're starting fresh, we configure Xero, FreeAgent or whichever platform fits the business. If you already have one, we take it over and tidy the chart of accounts so it reflects how you trade. Bank feeds get connected, opening balances reconciled, and we review the historic ledger back to a point we're happy to sign off. Anything from the previous engagement that doesn't reconcile, you'll hear about in writing.
Once the handover and setup are complete, we follow the agreed filing and reporting dates. Your proposal confirms any tax forecasts, management accounts and reviews during the year. Read more about the ongoing work on how we work.
Tax and records
What to check before your next decision.
How you pay yourself, account for construction work, record online sales or hold property can change the tax due. These are some of the checks we can agree with you.
How you pay yourself and dividend rules
Taking dividends ad hoc, without modelling the salary alongside them, usually leaves you paying more Corporation Tax than you need to. Worse, it can quietly push your personal income into the higher-rate band without anyone flagging it. We work out the right mix of salary, dividends and (where it fits) employer pension contributions, so you keep more of what the company makes. We revisit the split after each Budget so the figures move with the rules.
Construction (CIS) and Reverse Charge VAT
We check subcontractor verification, the costs excluded before Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) deductions, and when the construction VAT domestic reverse charge applies. We agree any changes to invoice templates and VAT coding before preparing the returns.
Property portfolios and Section 24
Section 24 stops landlords deducting mortgage interest from rental income before tax. For higher-rate taxpayers, the restriction alone can wipe out the profit on paper. Holding the portfolio through a separate property company (sometimes called a Special Purpose Vehicle, or SPV) usually restores the full interest deduction. The catch is the transfer itself. Moving properties across triggers both Stamp Duty Land Tax and Capital Gains Tax, and the maths can run either way depending on gearing, holding period and your personal tax band. We check both routes against your actual rents and finance costs before you commit either way.
MTD for ITSA 2026, now live
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is now live. If you're a sole trader or landlord whose 2024/25 gross qualifying income exceeded £50,000, you have to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates through compatible software. The first deadline was 7 August 2026. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. Run our date check to see where you stand.
By sector
Accounting that fits your industry
Every business is different and each industry has its own challenges and rules to follow. The sector pages below are written separately because the tax detail in each one is different enough to matter.
01
Property and landlords
Section 24, Capital Gains Tax on disposals, and working out whether a property company makes sense.
02
Trade and construction
Keeping your Gross Payment Status, handling CIS returns, and getting Reverse Charge VAT right.
03
Consultants and IT
IR35 status, working out the best salary and dividend split, and planning for when the contract or company winds down.
04
E-commerce
Making sense of marketplace fees, tracking what you keep after platform costs, and sorting cross-border VAT before the thresholds hit.
05
Sole traders
Self Assessment, allowable expenses, MTD for ITSA, and working out whether it is worth incorporating.
Already with another accountant
We handle the whole handover.
Switching is straightforward. Once you're on board, the regular work starts:
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Someone to ask during the year.
We pick up the phone while the question is still live, before the decision has to be taken.
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A tax forecast so you can plan how to pay yourself before year-end.
We work out the best mix of salary, dividends and pension before the year closes.
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A regular report that shows you how the business is doing.
Where profit landed, what you owe HMRC, and where things are heading. Written so you can read it in five minutes.
We handle the admin: the email to your outgoing accountant, the HMRC agent authorisation, advisor access on your cloud bookkeeping, the ledger walk-back, and the AML and identity checks. Two parts of the timing sit outside our control. How quickly your previous firm replies, and how long HMRC takes to complete agent authorisation. We chase both, weekly, and keep you in the loop instead of promising you a date we can't keep.
Initial consultation
Want to know where you stand?
Book a call. We go through your situation, look at what would change with accounting support through the year, and follow up with a written proposal. You decide after you have read it.
Request a consultation
CIMA chartered
MTD for ITSA ready
Fixed fees