Services

At Paterson & Co., we aim to assist small and medium sized business and individuals across a wide range of topics which we have tried to list below. This list is not exhaustive.

Accounts Preparation 

• Preparation of annual or periodic management accounts for Sole Traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies. 
• Completion with online submission to Companies House of Limited Company accounts and annual Confirmation Statements.
• Buy-to-let property accounting.

Taxation 

• Self-Assessment tax return completion and online submission for individuals and partnerships. 
• Completion of Capital Gains Tax returns in relation to property disposals. Since 2020, HMRC have introduced Capital Gains Tax returns in relation to residential property disposals, imposing a 60 day deadline on the return submission and payment of any Capital Gains Tax due. We have encountered several clients who were not informed of this by their lawyers and have incurred HMRC penalties for missing the 60 day reporting deadline.  We can help you avoid this.
• Corporation tax return completion and online submission for Limited Companies. 
• Preparation of VAT returns and online submission. 
• Preparation of payroll, RTI and Auto enrollment pension reports and online submission.

Business Start Ups 

• Advice given on your options. 
• Limited Company Formation if required.
  
• Business registrations for tax, VAT and PAYE as required.
  
• Preparation of a business plan. 
• Compliance checking and advice on tax and other legislation as appropriate e.g. payroll, pension schemes, online reporting of VAT and payroll etc., 
• This is becoming an ever more complex task for Small Business to deal with. From day 1, our systems are designed to take this hassle from you letting you concentrate on running your new business without worrying you will miss a submission deadline and incur a penalty

 Bookkeeping 

• Bookkeeping services provided, processing of invoices and receipts, bank account transactions etc. as required. 
• Completion of VAT returns and submissions to HMRC.
• Bookkeeping is performed using Quickbooks in our office. We have found Quickbooks to be the best system in terms or customer support and general ease of use.

Payroll 

• Payroll services provided on a periodic basis as required (weekly, 4-weekly or monthly).
• Setup  of new payrolls for business startups including PAYE and Auto-enrollment pension scheme registration and administration.
  
• Completion and submission of all payroll RTI and Auto-Enrollment pension data. 
• Calculation of monthly PAYE liabilities. 
• Processing of new start employees and provision of P45 forms for leavers. 
• Year-end payroll reporting and P60’s etc and provision of P45s etc for leavers mid-year.

 Tax investigations and checks 

• We are happy to assist with any HMRC investigations or tax return checks. 
• We offer our clients, Fee Protection Insurance on an annual basis to protect you from the unwelcome accountancy cost of such HMRC checks. 
• Individual cover from as little as £30 per annum. Business cover is assessed on a client to client basis based on their requirements and structure of their business.

Making Tax Digital 

• Over the recent past, HMRC have made and continue to make massive changes to the way businesses and individuals report their taxable income to them.
• This will continue toforce clients to move away from the old-fashioned paper and pen methods of bookkeeping (if they havent already done so) and embrace the digital age with books and records becoming computerized and reported directly online to HMRC on a much more regular basis than before.
• At Paterson & Co, we recognize that this change will be welcomed by some and loathed by others. No-one likes change.
• To help our clients we have taken steps to assist them in the period of change. Technology has advanced so much in the last few years that within the next short period, many clients will literally be processing their business paperwork on their smartphones and iPad’s as they go about their daily business. Smart Technology already exists to do this and some clients are using it already. Other clients who may not be as tech-savvy are operating with both paper and online records. Everyone has their limitations when it comes to using technology, so let us help you transition into the newer technology and see what works for you.
• HMRC is forcing through a software revolution currently, and many bookkeeping and business functions can now be performed using smartphone and tablet apps which in turn link seamlessly into cloud based bookkeeping packages such as QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, FreeAgent and Kashflow.
• At Paterson & Co. we are using the QuickBooks cloud based bookkeeping system for our bookkeeping clients. Clients are to be encouraged to consider and utilise "bolt-on" apps such as DataEntry and Receipt Bank directly from their phones and tablets in order to upload their income and expenses directly into ours or their own cloud based system. This will provide instant updates to their records often by merely taking a photograph of their invoices or receipt within the apps.
• Clients who choose to perform their own bookkeeping functions via handwritten books and spreadsheets, will eventually need to select a software package that works best for them.  VAT registered businesses are now at this juncture as HMRC forces changes in 2023.
• Unfortunately none of us  can avoid the HMRC changes. To help clients decide,  we will be able to offer advice on their options and there may be discounts made available through our firm on the standard monthly subscription charges which should be of some financial benefit to them. They will be of course be listed on our system but performing their own bookkeeping function online direct by logging in from their home computer or laptop.
• All of these changes are happening as we speak. We ourselves are always assessing and making adjustments to our systems in light of the new technological innovations, but we are certain that eventually the new systems will be seen to be of major benefit to us all and not an unnecessary change.