Contractor accountants in Banbridge

Contractors and interim professionals in Banbridge working through their own limited company: IT and software contractors, engineers, project managers, interim finance staff, consultants, medical and allied health locums who have incorporated, and permanent employees about to go contracting who need the company set up and the first engagement reviewed.

• Statutory accounts and Corporation Tax return prepared and filed each year
• Director payroll run monthly with RTI submissions and the salary set at the efficient level
• Dividend vouchers and board minutes for every distribution, with the available reserves checked first
• Quarterly VAT returns and bookkeeping in the Plus and Complete packages
• Director's Self Assessment and an annual planning call in the Complete package
• IR35 status reviews of your contracts and working practices, with a written opinion

1. Tell us your situation

   A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.

2. Fixed fee in writing

   You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.

3. Send records, review the draft

   Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.

4. We file, you get the receipts

   Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.

Banbridge is in Northern Ireland, in the BT32 postcode district, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland uses the same income tax, National Insurance and Corporation Tax rates as Great Britain, and companies file with Companies House on the Belfast register. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property. For goods, the Windsor Framework means some EU VAT rules apply to trade with the EU, which affects businesses moving goods across the border.

Switching accountants

You can switch accountant at any point in the year. The new firm requests clearance and your records from the old one, which cannot withhold your own documents though it may hold its own working papers until its fees are settled. Agent authorisations with HMRC and Companies House are transferred, and the next deadline is picked up without a gap.

Closing a company

A solvent company that has finished its purpose can be dissolved by voluntary strike-off: form DS01 with a £13 Companies House fee, after three months without trading and with all debts paid, final accounts and tax return filed, and assets distributed. HMRC objects to any application where returns or tax are outstanding, so the sequence matters more than the form.

Dormant companies

A dormant company is one with no significant accounting transactions in the year, where the only permitted entries are the payment for shares on incorporation, Companies House fees and penalties. It still files a confirmation statement and simplified dormant accounts every year. A bank charge or an accountant's fee paid from the company ends dormancy and requires full accounts.

The trading and property allowances

Not every small income needs a tax return. The trading allowance exempts the first £1,000 of self-employment or casual income and the property allowance does the same for rental income, each measured on gross receipts. They cannot be combined with rent-a-room relief on the same income, and claiming the allowance means giving up the expense deduction for that source.

Employer National Insurance

Employers pay National Insurance at 15% on each employee's earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, following the April 2025 changes. The Employment Allowance offsets up to £10,500 of this for eligible employers, which for a small team often removes the liability entirely, but companies where the director is the only employee do not qualify.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Workplace pension compliance is part of payroll, not separate from it. Each pay period the payroll assesses who is eligible, calculates employer and employee contributions on qualifying earnings between the lower and upper thresholds, and sends the contribution file to the scheme. The minimum total is 8%, and many employers choose to contribute more as a recruitment advantage.

Record keeping

Record keeping is a legal obligation with a penalty of up to £3,000 for failure, but its real value is in making every other filing cheaper and more defensible. Keep invoices, receipts, bank statements, mileage logs and any HMRC correspondence, digitally if you like, for five years after the relevant filing deadline for individuals and six years for companies and VAT.