Bookkeeping services in Brookend, Forest of Dean

Sole traders, partnerships and limited companies in Brookend, Forest of Dean with anything from a dozen to a few hundred bank transactions a month: trades, consultants, online sellers, cafes and shops, landlords with several properties, and anyone approaching the VAT threshold or Making Tax Digital for Income Tax who needs digital records kept properly.

• Cloud accounting software set up with bank feeds for every business account and card
• Every transaction categorised and reconciled each month, with queries sent to you in one batch
• Receipt and invoice capture by photo or email forwarding, matched to the bank
• Sales invoices, supplier bills and VAT coding kept current and Making Tax Digital-ready
• A monthly position summary: income, costs, cash, what you owe HMRC so far
• Year-end handover to our accounts team or your own accountant with no re-work

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.

Brookend, Forest of Dean is in South West, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.

Switching accountants

The main reasons people switch accountant are surprise invoices, missed deadlines and not understanding what they are being told. Switching involves a clearance letter between the firms, a transfer of records and agent authorisations, and a short handover of the current position. It takes about two weeks and should cost nothing extra.

Closing a company

Striking off a company is cheap but must be done in order: stop trading, file the final accounts and CT600, pay the tax, close VAT and PAYE, distribute the remaining assets, close the bank account, then apply. Anything left in the company at dissolution passes to the Crown. Distributions up to £25,000 are taxed as capital gains; above that a formal liquidation is usually needed to keep capital treatment.

Employer National Insurance

Since April 2025 employer National Insurance has been 15% on earnings above a £5,000 secondary threshold, a substantial increase for small employers. The Employment Allowance rose to £10,500 at the same time to soften it for the smallest businesses. Directors deciding their own salary weigh this cost against the Corporation Tax deduction a salary provides.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Auto-enrolment duties begin the day you take on your first employee, not when the Pensions Regulator writes to you. Eligible staff must be enrolled, contributions paid every pay period and re-enrolment carried out every three years. Director-only companies without employment contracts are usually exempt. Fines for non-compliance are fixed and escalating.

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

Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.

Crypto records and reporting

Crypto tax splits into capital gains on disposals and income on rewards, with different rates and different reporting. The £3,000 annual exempt amount and the 18% and 24% rates apply to gains; staking, mining and airdrop income is taxed at marginal income tax rates. HMRC's nudge letters to holders have increased sharply, and a voluntary disclosure before one arrives is treated far more leniently.