Tackling company accounts rarely holds a coveted spot on a business owner’s list of preferred tasks.
If you are unsure of what it involves, it’s a time-consuming and often vexing responsibility that can draw attention away from the vital work of growing your business. What’s more, the intricacies of managing finances to ensure you have the most efficient finances, and the best possible profit margin can be a challenge to say the least.
In fact 91% of small businesses in the UK turn to external accountants for support (1), but do you need an accountant for your limited company?
There’s no legal mandate for limited companies to engage an accountant. However, we think that the benefits of an accountant massively outweigh the costs.
Beyond handling the essential tasks of filing annual accounts and corporation tax returns, our team of accountants at Ascentis bring invaluable expertise to the table, offering strategic business growth advice along with developing financial strategies to maximise your company’s savings.
What can an accountant do for your limited company?
Owning and running a limited company comes with a unique set of financial responsibilities and opportunities.
Accountants should be there to navigate the intricacies and empower you with a suite of services that not only help to support your financial goals, but support you in growing your business too.
Here are some of the main ways we help businesses get more money, less stress and more financial freedom.
1. Tax Minimisation Strategies
We specialise in crafting personalised tax minimisation strategies, ensuring that you and your company optimises its financial position while remaining fully compliant with HMRC regulations.
Our team have helped clients time and again to make the most of the tax relief options available to them, in order to minimise the amount of tax they need to pay, and maximise business profit too.
We feel so passionately about the importance of tax minimisation in a limited company, that we count it as one of our four pillars of success.
Take a look at this recent case study to discover more about how we can support you with tax minimisation.
2. Introduce Xero Accounting Software
Harness the power of technology with Xero, a leading accounting software. And, here at Ascentis, we’re Xero Champion Platinum Partners, so you know we have the expertise and experience to support you with all your financial queries.
We use Xero accounting software to help give you full control over your finances. With cloud-based software, you can access your finances with ease, automate a huge range of services and allow us to significantly improve your financial efficiencies.
In fact, we can actually help to save you money and time through the use of Xero – it’s something we’ve done with many of our clients.
3. Payroll Management
Managing payroll is a critical aspect of running a limited company. An accountant can take the hassle out of this process by ensuring accurate and timely payroll services, that run through automated software.
This includes payroll calculations, tax deductions, and compliance with the latest payroll legislation, guaranteeing peace of mind for both you and your employees.
What’s more, by using an accountant, you can save time and boost efficiency.
4. Bookkeeping Partnerships
Efficient bookkeeping is the foundation of sound financial management and success in business.
An accountant should support your limited company with bookkeeping services to maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records – whether they work on your bookkeeping themselves or use a trusted partner.
5. Setting up a New Company
Should you want to start a new business or limited company, an accountant can help you to register with Companies House and look into your obligations when it comes to HMRC too. So, it takes a huge amount of hassle out of the equation for you.
The benefits of hiring an accountant
Hiring an accountant for your limited company might not be a legal requirement, but it provides a range of benefits that totally outweigh the relatively small cost.
The peace of mind that comes with knowing you have experts in your corner, ready to support you with your financial processes, efficiencies and knowledge is extremely valuable.
Saving yourself time without having to spend additional hours staying on top of your finances, lets you focus on the work that will push your business forward.
With savvy financial decisions you can improve efficiencies and minimise tax payments too, so you could actually end up saving money within your limited company.
With Ascentis, we offer more than just accountancy services, we’re the only accountants in the UK that are Wiley Accredited, meaning we can help your company with DiSC behavioural profiling, as well as our range of Next Level Services to accelerate your business skyward.
Can I do my own accounts for a limited company or do I need an accountant?
There’s nothing to stop you from doing your own accounts. But, as we’ve highlighted above, there’s a huge amount to be gained from hiring expert accountants.
With the legal and regulatory obligations in mind, along with simply making your financial processes smoother, and more efficient, hiring an accountant for your limited company can take a huge amount of stress out of managing your accounts.
When do I need an accountant?
An accountant can take a huge amount of stress out of the situation when it comes to setting up a business in the first place, so the best time to get an accountant is as soon as possible.
They can help you to lay the foundations of your business in a way that ensures a solid financial position in the future too. Plus, they can ensure you meet all legal obligations and requirements from the get-go.
As your business grows, you take on more staff and your requirements change, you’ll find that accounting becomes more demanding, complex and, if you’re a director, it can often feel onerous.
So, by bringing an accountant in from the start, you can ensure financial accuracy as your business develops.