Accountancy & Tax | Accountants Chester

Chester Accountants

Having a good firm of accountants on your side will ensure that you have all the information and support that you need to help your business grow and flourish.

They can offer advice and help you comply with accounting and tax requirements.

If you are self employed or run a small enterprise in Chester, it makes sense to use an Accountant or Bookkeeper who is keen to help small business and new business start ups rather than struggle with the task yourself.

Recommended Local Partner

Purple Accounts

Purple Accounts is your expert Small Business centre, accountants and business support in Warrington.

Save time, save money, make money and grow!

No more worries over tax, paper piles and deadlines. We’re an ear to bend - helping you achieve your goals and support your business growth - so you’re in the very best hands.

24/7 access to your financial information with our power partner XERO, means you’re in control of your finances at all times.

We’re a small, friendly and approachable team based across 3 branches in Stockton Heath, Grappenhall and Padgate, Warrington. With great value for money fixed fee packages, no ‘ticking billometer’ and flexible, fast service, you can focus on making money and growing your business.

We love small businesses and as a small business ourselves, we understand the high and lows that this brings. Not only can we help with all the essential compliance work, but also payroll, cash-flow, business growth, business funding, FD services, personal financial planning, wealth and estate, mortgages, trusts and pensions.

For more information about Purple Accounts, request a brochure or find out how we can help your small business, email enquiries@purpleaccounts.com, call 01925 268753 or visit our website www.purpleaccounts.co.uk

01925 268753

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Chester

Local partners

We are happy to promote anyone who is prepared to offer friendly support to local start-ups.

Our local partners have been kind enough to help us and are keen to help you too.

Main Accounting Considerations

Sole Trader or Limited Company

One of the first decisions you will need to make is which legal structure is likely to suit your new business and this will affect your accountancy obligations.

You can read a detailed article about your various options at: Sole Trader or Limited Company?

The information below primarily relates to self-employment but if you decide to trade as a limited company, you can read more here: Running a Limited Company.

Becoming Self-Employed

You should tell HMRC as soon as you start self-employment, otherwise you may face a penalty. You are considered to have started self-employment when you have something to sell and either have a customer for your goods or services, or you are actively marketing your business.

You can let HMRC know about your self-employment by registering online for business taxes. A Self-Assessment Online account will automatically be set up at the same time. This allows you to send your Self-Assessment tax returns online. You will receive an Activation Code. You need to activate the service within 28 days. If you don’t, you will have to ask for a new Activation Code.

You can register online at https://www.gov.uk/log-in-register-hmrc-online-services/register

National Insurance

As a self-employed person, you pay a fixed amount of Class 2 National Insurance contributions (NIC). If your profits are above a certain limit, you may also have to pay Class 4 National Insurance contributions.

See Self-employed National Insurance rates for full details.

Statutory Records

It is very important that you set up a record keeping system and keep all records and supporting documents. Records for the current tax year must be retained until 31 January 2022.

You must keep records of all money coming into and going out of your business. This includes all cash, cheques and credit card transactions.

Your records should be adequate to allow you to complete an accurate Self Assessment return. You will be expected to keep a full record of:

All sales made and other business income, as it is earned.
The cost of all business expenses and purchases as you pay them, no matter how little they cost.
All purchases of business stock, goods and raw materials.
Mileage records.
Capital expenditure; keep a separate record of all purchases and sales of business equipment, machinery and vehicles, together with the receipts.
Keep a record of the market value of equipment or vehicles introduced into the business that you owned before starting your business.

See Business records if you're self-employed for full details.

Key Dates

There are key dates that you need to be aware of during the financial year. These relate to reporting and payment of any monies due. A list of dates and full explanation can be found here.

Value Added Tax (VAT)

You must register for VAT if:

Your taxable turnover exceeds the VAT threshold in any 12 month period
you expect your taxable turnover to exceed the VAT threshold within the next 30 days
you take over an existing VAT registered business as a going concern

You have 30 days from the date you meet any of these criteria to register.

Usually, VAT registration can be completed online and if you apply online, you will be enrolled automatically so that you can submit your VAT return online (there is no longer a paper version).

The current VAT threshold is £85,000; if your turnover is below the registration limit, you can choose whether to apply for voluntary registration. The standard rate of VAT currently is 20%.

See the official VAT website for full up to date details.

Further Advice and Help

Chester Accountants

Purple Accounts

Purple Accounts is your expert Small Business centre, accountants and business support in Warrington. Save time, save money, make money and grow! No more worries over tax, paper piles and deadlines. We’re an ear to bend - helping you achieve your goals and support your business growth - so you’re in the very best hands. 24/7 access to your financial information with our power partner XERO, means you’re in control of your finances at all times. We’re a small, friendly and approachable team based across 3 branches in Stockton Heath, Grappenhall and Padgate, Warrington. With great value for money fixed fee packages, no ‘ticking billometer’ and flexible, fast service, you can focus on making money and growing your business. We love small businesses and as a small business ourselves, we understand the high and lows that this brings. Not only can we help with all the essential compliance work, but also payroll, cash-flow, business growth, business funding, FD services, personal financial planning, wealth and estate, mortgages, trusts and pensions. For more information about Purple Accounts, request a brochure or find out how we can help your small business, email enquiries@purpleaccounts.com, call 01925 268753 or visit our website www.purpleaccounts.co.uk

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Kirkwood Wilson Ltd

At Kirkwood Wilson, we take a completely different approach to most accountancy firms and can do so much more for your business than just produce your year-end accounts. We fully appreciate the importance of improving your company profits and minimising your tax bills and we can add real value to your business - where it really matters! Our processes and services are unique within our industry and are guaranteed to improve your business efficiency and profitability.

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Taylor Roberts

We are a firm of accountants based in Ellesmere Port on the Wirral; we act on behalf of small businesses throughout the North West, including sole traders, partnerships and limited companies, with all their dealings with HMRC. This not only gives our clients peace of mind, but the ability to concentrate on running their business, while we take care of their accounts.

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AccountancyPlace

Would you like- An accountant who speaks plain English? An accountant who is available in the evening and weekends? An accountant who understands your business? An accountant who provides a personal service ? Fixed fees? Unlimited phone support? Unlimited free meetings? To make more profit? To pay less tax? Someone to sort all your paperwork? You would? Then lets talk. Accountancy Place specialise in helping owner managed business, start-ups, working professionals, free-lancers and contractors get their business running quickly, profitably and effectively. At Accountancy Place we take the time to really understand your business. We are proud to offer our clients a complete range of low-cost, fixed fee, hassle-free accounting services. Our services include:- Year-end Accounts Tax Returns Advice on business structure (Sole Trader, partnership, Limited company) Payroll services Management Accounts Budgets and forecasts Business Plans Business Coaching Our aim is to provide our clients with a better service, for better value. We want you to see us as an extended part of your team, helping you to success. We believe it is important to have a pro-active and trustworthy accountant who works with you to reduce your costs and save you money. We offer a free-of-charge and no obligation meeting. We are available at times to suit you, including evenings and weekends. Please contact us today for meeting (face to face, telephone, skype, email etc).

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Admiral Tax

We provide support to both individuals and businesses who are the subject of an HMRC tax investigation. We deal with tax investigations at all levels, but specialise in Serious Fraud Tax Investigations, Civil Investigation of Fraud, HMRC Compliance Checks, Voluntary Disclosures, VAT and PAYE investigations audits and Tax Credit Investigations Free tax health check available to new clients

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Bertram Burrows

Bertram Burrows is member firm of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW) with 50 years experience of providing accountancy and taxation advice to small and growing businesses and private individuals throughout the Wirral, Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales.

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Champion Accountants

Based in Chester, UK, Champion Accountants have more than 40 years experience in their field and have offices in 5 major cities. Champion Accountants aims to help with tax-related issues, payroll, audits, and general accounts problems, so that SMEs can grow and avoid accountancy mishaps.

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Confident Credit Control with Chantal Cleland

I have 25+ years in the legal/litigation fields, including credit control, debt recovery, insolvency and in the preparation of Small Claims Cases, including Case preparation, Hearings, Judgment and Enforcement Proceedings and a personal love of bringing disputed cases to an amicable resolution. Over the years I have set up Debt Recovery Teams for firms of Solicitors, worked as a Litigation Manager, manged Insolvency Teams and I now work as a freelance credit controller/debt recovery specialist.

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KinsellaTax Investigations

Are you under investigation by HMRC for tax evasion or tax avoidance? Our tax enquiry experts can help you resolve your tax enquiry. Speak to us today for a stress-free solution.

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Page Accountants Limited

Based in Cheshire, Carol is a Chartered Accountant and a qualified teacher. Carol enjoys helping her clients to run their business more effectively and takes a real interest in her clients businesses and their success. Carol set up Page Accountants Limited, with the aim of providing a professional, personal, effective solution to her clients day-to-day as well as annual accounting and taxation needs.

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PM Bookkeeping & Accounts Service

We know how many different problems you have to cope with when you are running your own business. Keeping accurate records is an essential part of your business, however maintaining those records can be very time consuming for the small business or sole trader. We will provide a complete bookkeeping and accounting service to give you the peace of mind that your accounts and returns are in order, while giving you the information on a regular basis, that you need to run your business.

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