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Accountancy & Tax in South Shields

Key start-up information and list of local accountants

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South Shields Accountants & Tax Advice

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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 South Shields, 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

Graham R Turner

Graham R Turner

We prepare Accounts/Self Assessment Return & specialise in Sole Traders, Partnerships, Income from Property, Tax Enquiries – We are here to help!

Established in 1997 and with over 36 years combined experience, Graham R Turner accountancy and taxation services specialise in Sole Traders and Partnerships. We bring a depth of experience and knowledge when it comes to managing your self assessment, tax returns and accounts preparation as well as getting prepared for implementation of ‘Maxing tax digital’ (MTD) which starts in April 2021, we are ready, are you?

If you are considering being self-employed or are currently self employed as a sole trader or partnership looking for a bespoke service in and around the Carlisle area or in the Tyne Valley, Northumberland or North Tyneside. We can arrange to come to you at work, home or a convenient location to discuss your individual requirements in more detail.

Mobile icon 01228 562201 / 01670 943123

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.

South Shields Accountants

Graham R Turner
We prepare Accounts/Self Assessment Return & specialise in Sole Traders, Partnerships, Income from Property, Tax Enquiries – We are here to help! Established in 1997 and with over 36 years combined experience, Graham R Turner accountancy and taxation services specialise in Sole Traders and Partnerships. We bring a depth of experience and knowledge when it comes to managing your self assessment, tax returns and accounts preparation as well as getting prepared for implementation of ‘Maxing tax digital’ (MTD) which starts in April 2021, we are ready, are you? If you are considering being self-employed or are currently self employed as a sole trader or partnership looking for a bespoke service in and around the Carlisle area or in the Tyne Valley, Northumberland or North Tyneside. We can arrange to come to you at work, home or a convenient location to discuss your individual requirements in more detail.
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C S Accounting
A small friendly firm of accountants helping small and start up businesses to get the numbers right. With over 20 years experience with a diverse range of businesses we can give you as much or as little help as you need with your accounts, tax, bookkeeping and payroll and business planning. Get in touch for a chat about how we can help.
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DJP Accountancy Limted
Locally based Accountant who understands the needs of Start Up Businesses. We will make sure you get everything correct from the beginning and help turn your start up to grow with sound business advice from professional with 25 years experience of finance and business. Fixed Fees and Monthly Payments to help with certainty of cost and cash flow.
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LC Bookkeeping Services
I offer bookkeeping services locally in the Tyne and Wear area and throughout the UK, giving small companies the flexibility to choose as little or as much of my time as they require to get the job done. With over a decade experience in Accounts, I consider myself to be a good all-rounder with an adaptable and flexible attitude. My business delivers bookkeeping services to small and medium sized businesses in the Tyne and Wear area and throughout the UK, giving companies the flexibility to choose as little or as much of my time as they require to get the job done, which are intended to be cost effective for everyone. I provide a range of services that are tailored to each and every client depending on their requirements Bookkeeping is a time consuming process and takes a considerable amount of time, regardless of how adept you are with technology, manual data input is still required even in this day and age. Allow LC Bookkeeping Services to help you so that you can focus ON your business instead of IN your business.
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MoveOn Money Ltd
We are a friendly local accountancy practice who specialise in small businesses, contractors and landlords. Please contact us for a chat if you are starting a business and we will help you every step of the way.
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Payroll Services Outsourced
Payroll Services Outsourced is an established business offering an efficient, inexpensive payroll processing service to smallmedium sized businesses in the UK with piece of mind that their statutory obligations as an employer are being taken care of including RTI compliance. Our Payroll Service has no minimum payroll run fee and includes electronic filing of all mandatory RTI (Real Time Information) HMRC documents.
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Thomson Financial Consulting
We are a Financial Accounting and Business Management Consultancy based in Ryton, Tyne & Wear. With over 35 years of experience in the provision of Accountancy and Business Management Services to local businesses, we are ideally placed to assist with the problems faced by growing businesses, large or small. Why not have a look at the services we provide then get in touch for an initial free consultation. If we can help, we will outline exactly how we propose to do that, together with costs and the timeframe involved.
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Tyneside Economic Development Company
TEDCO helps new and established businesses by providing information and advice on every aspect of running a business, including business start-up, survival, success and growth. TEDCO also manages three business centres in South Tyneside and one in Northumberland offering a range of workshop, manufacturing and office space with flexible terms.
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