We offer a flexible range of bookkeeping services that suit your needs. We are happy to manage your financial records for you, however if you prefer to be more involved then we can recommend online software that offer a superb cloud accounting package which is easy to use.

We will complete your self-assessment tax return for you leaving you with the peace of mind that your return has been submitted to HMRC on time and with the knowledge that you have saved as much tax as possible.

A wealth of tax knowledge is available to you locally. We only service businesses with a turnover of less than £10m so our tax advice is tailored to you and your business.

The ends of year accounts provide invaluable information about your business and are particularly useful if you wish to make a mortgage application or raise finance.

We can advise you on how to strengthen your record keeping procedures which in turn will help you run your business more effectively. Having accurate, timely management information can assist you in managing your stock levels, your customer balances owed, your supplier balances due and your cash flow.

Your accounts will be prepared in accordance with accounting standards and we will check that you are claiming everything you are entitled to.

Whether you are a sole trader, partnership or limited company, letting us prepare your end of year accounts will relieve you of what can be an extremely stressful and time-consuming exercise. Our accountants offer competitive pricing with flexible appointment times and are dedicated to offering a professional, friendly service.

All businesses are required to keep accurate records for both taxation and VAT purposes. Good bookkeeping practices also benefit the business by helping you manage and control your finances, plan for future growth and ensure that your accounts are completed more efficiently, which should in turn avoid late filing penalties.

We can offer a range of options:

We will explain what records are required and consider what your accounting information needs are, all in relation to the resources you have available; to ensure you have a bookkeeping service that suits you and your requirements.

We can also prepare regular management accounts to help you manage your finances, your customer account balances, your supplier account balances, stock levels and if you are trading as a company, they will allow you to plan your dividends. Management accounts can also identify slow-moving or unprofitable goods or services, bad debt and surpluses or deficiencies in resources, so they can be a powerful aid in decision making.

With our experience, we can easily take away the hassle of bookkeeping. We offer fixed competitive fees that are payable monthly so that you can spread the costs.

The most common reasons that a tax return may be required are as follows:

HM Revenue & Customs are not tasked to advise you on how to organise your affairs and minimise your tax. Therefore, if you want to make sure you are paying the right amount of tax, you should consult a professional.

At Connect Options we use HM Revenue & Customs-approved software to:

As part of the above service, we can analyse your self assessment tax return to see if any tax savings can be made and we can also review the form to see if there are any anomalies that need to be addressed before the return is submitted. This process helps to minimise your risk of a HM Revenue & Customs enquiry into your tax affairs.

If you are experiencing cashflow problems, we can explore the possibilities of deferring your tax payments or negotiating a payment plan with HM Revenue & Customs on your behalf. By giving you a fixed, competitive price, we can take the worry away when it comes to self assessment tax returns; allowing you to concentrate on running your business.

If you’re just starting out, we can help you decide whether you need to be VAT registered from the outset or not. And we will continue to monitor your situation, so that should it become obligatory for you to register for VAT, we can deal with all of the paperwork for you. In contrast, we will also monitor your position for when we think you are able to and would benefit from deregistering.

Whether a new or existing business, we will also look at the VAT schemes you are eligible for and establish whether you would be better off adopting one or a mixture of them. Some VAT schemes can lead to tax savings and a reduction in bookkeeping responsibilities.

Connect Options can prepare your VAT return; either from your own bookkeeping records or we can take care of your record keeping and the VAT return. And we will try to ensure that you claim as much VAT as possible; particularly on contentious items such as mixed-use expenditure and motor running costs.

As with other areas of tax, we can act as your Agent for VAT purposes and therefore correspond with HMRC or your behalf. Paper VAT returns are pretty scarce now but our software also allows us to file your VAT returns online with HMRC.

Needless to say, late VAT registration, errors, late VAT returns and late VAT payments can all lead to penalties and possibly interest being charged. So allowing Connect Options to take care of your VAT affairs, not only gives you peace of mind, but it should also avoid you wasting your hard-earned cash on penalties and interest.

Meeting your obligations as an employer can be incredibly daunting especially with the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI). RTI means employers will now share information with HMRC on-or-before payments are made to employees but your local TaxAssist Accountant is fully aware of the changes and uses HMRC-approved, RTI-compliant payroll software.

We can also set up an Employers’ Scheme with HMRC for you and we can advise you of whether employees should be added to the payroll or not and deal with the relevant forms/ submissions for you. Throughout the year, we will calculate your employees’ net pay, report the figures and information to HMRC and provide you with payslips to pass on to your staff.

We can calculate the tax and National Insurance deductions applicable; even if your employees are on sick, paternity or maternity leave. We can also help you to keep track of their holiday entitlement and can file all the starters and leavers forms on your behalf. Late payments or underpayments of employers’ deductions can now lead to hefty penalties, so we can help you avoid incurring these.

We can also prepare your benefits and expenses forms and advice you of any filing requirements or National Insurance that falls due. Benefits and expenses can be a very complicated area and knowing what and where to report can be tricky, but we can relieve you of the burden.

We can file all your monthly, quarterly and year end returns for you with HMRC and provide you with P60s to distribute to your employees at the year end.

The responsibilities faced by employers can be intimidating, but we can guide you through the processes, costs, calculations and deadlines and take care of everything for you.

Although HM Revenue & Customs have helplines available to assist taxpayers, staff members are not tasked with providing advice on how to organise your affairs in order to minimise the amount of tax you pay. If you are looking to make tax savings but do not want to attempt to interpret detailed tax legislation, you should seek professional advice. We offer all clients tax planning reviews and try to ensure that our clients only pay as much tax as they are legally obliged to and no more!

Whatever your tax planning needs we will endeavour to find a tax saving scheme to suit your circumstances so make sure you contact us, especially as there may be more specific tax planning tips and tax advice available for your business sector.

We have included a series of tax tips below which provide general guidance on various tax saving strategies and should answer some of your tax questions.

EMPLOYING YOUR SPOUSE IN THE BUSINESS

If you are self-employed and your spouse helps out with general administration, or any other role, it is quite legitimate to pay your spouse a salary. However, there are a few rules that need to be followed, such as how much to pay your spouse and have evidence that the payments were made during the year. Sole traders with higher rate tax liabilities will benefit significantly from this arrangement and further tax savings could be made by setting up an employer pension scheme.

Are you selling that second or third home and want to reduce any capital gains tax that you may need to pay? The garden shed and other fixtures and fittings are treated as wasting chattels for Capital Gains Tax, i.e. when you sell them there is no tax to pay. Why not ask your solicitor to allocate part of the selling price in the contract to these items? Make sure you seek advice regarding Stamp Duty Land Tax when considering these issues.

LOW INTEREST LOANS PROVIDED BY EMPLOYERS

It may be possible for a company to lend an employee up to £10,000 with no tax implications for them, provided they are not a director. This can be useful if say the employee needs to buy his company car to avoid benefit in kind tax charges.

CAPITAL GAINS -HOME AS OFFICE

If you claim tax relief for the use of a room as an office there can be a tax charge when you later sell your home, however we can advise you of measures that can be taken to help to minimise or mitigate a capital gains tax liability.

STOCK VALUATION

Stock should be valued at cost, but can be valued at ‘net realisable value’ if this is a lower figure. Essentially this means valued at what you could sell the stock in an open market sale. Lowering the value of closing stock will £ for £ reduce taxable profits.

RECOVER VAT

Recover VAT on invoices that you have paid or received before you registered for VAT by including the input VAT on your first return. Make sure you have the VAT invoices and keep a schedule of the adjustments you have made. Be careful though, there are time limits and rules for this recovery measure so be sure to speak with your accountant!

The first thing you must do is register your company with HM Revenue & Customs (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs), using their official forms, letting them know that you are liable for corporation tax.

If your company is liable for corporation tax, you must calculate how much profit your company makes for each accounting period and how much corporation tax is payable on those profits. This information must be reported to HM Revenue & Customs on a corporation tax return form and accounts and tax computations must be submitted to HM Revenue & Customs in support of the return.

There are strict penalties for filing late returns and interest is charged on tax paid late, so it is important that the deadlines, which are determined by your company’s annual accounting date, are adhered to.

Our accountants can assist with the preparation of company accounts, company tax returns and tax computations and will also be able to provide advice on any tax planning areas that may benefit you and your company.

A cashflow projection is probably one of the most important management reports as it shows how cash is expected to flow in and out of the business and how much capital investment your business needs. These reports are typically required by lenders when you want to borrow money and can assist in the successful running of your business.

Connect Options can provide an accurate and comprehensive service specifically tailored to suit your business’ and/ or lenders’ requirements.

A cashflow projection is probably one of the most important management reports as it shows how cash is expected to flow in and out of the business and how much capital investment your business needs. These reports are typically required by lenders when you want to borrow money and can assist in the successful running of your business.

Whether it is unfair dismissal, discrimination, breach of contract, employment tribunals, red tape and regulations, lawyers with huge charge-out rates and employees demonstrating an ever-increasing awareness of their rights, we can help as the UK develops a more litigious attitude.

For all businesses, employment law can hit where it hurts the most – the bottom line. Increasingly, too many employers are obtaining general and often misleading information from the internet and placing reliance on it; only to find out they should have sought specific and professional advice. When employing staff for the first time, many businesses owners lack the knowledge or experience to enable them to successfully negotiate through the employment law minefield.

Connect Options can provide an employment law support service to your business. It is a uniquely practical and extremely cost effective management service, which enables any employer to put in place and maintain up-to-date systems for recruiting and managing their employees, whilst complying fully with their legal requirements.

Our employment law service combines online access to an array of templates, precedents and model letters on each stage of the employment procedure online, together with unlimited access to a telephone and email helpline staffed by qualified employment lawyers who benefit from their day-to-day experiences as active employment solicitors.

The legislation for capital gains tax is a very complex area. There are many reliefs and exemptions which may lead to significant tax savings. It is therefore recommended that you seek the advice of your local TaxAssist Accountant who will be able to prepare your capital gains tax computations, claim any reliefs that you may be entitled to and calculate any liability that may be due.

If you are considering selling a personal asset or all or part of your business, we can advise you of the tax planning opportunities available to you before you make your disposal, in order to mitigate or reduce potential tax liabilities.

To Find Out if One of Our Accounts & Tax services Could Help You Accelerate Your Business Growth & Profit – Call us on 02035070245 or Email info@connectoptions.co.uk