Startup Accountants · Central London
Startup accountants in Cheap
Founders in Cheap have better things to do than learn Corporation Tax. We take the compliance off the table from the start: company formed properly, registrations done, books set up in software that will scale, and the first-year deadlines tracked so nothing is missed while you build. Monthly fixed fee, cancel with a month's notice.
from £59/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- Confirmation statement due within 14 days of your review date, at least once every 12 months
Who this is for
Startup Accountants for Cheap
New and early-stage companies in Cheap: founders incorporating for the first time, technology and product startups preparing to raise seed investment, service businesses moving from side project to full time, two or three co-founders who need the equity and payroll structured properly, and companies in their first two years who set up alone and want it done properly now.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Company formation and HMRC registrations in the Launch package, or a review of what has already been set up
- Cloud bookkeeping configured for a growing business, with bank feeds and expense capture from day one
- Annual accounts and Corporation Tax return, with first-period and long-period rules handled
- VAT registration timing advised and quarterly returns run in the Grow and Scale packages
- Payroll for founders and first hires, with auto-enrolment, in the Scale package
- SEIS and EIS advance assurance applications prepared for founders raising investment
How it works
Startup Accountants from Cheap, step by step
Scope the job
We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
Hand over the records
Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.
Approve, then we submit
You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.
Why IGI
The IGI way of working, in Cheap
One fixed fee for startup accountants in Cheap, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.
We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Cheap get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to startup accountants.
We serve Cheap remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for startup accountants.
Continuity matters in startup accountants: the person who prepared last year's work for your Cheap business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
The output for Cheap clients is never just a form. It is the form, a one-page summary of what it says, and a note of the decisions it points to for startup accountants.
Nothing is filed for Cheap until you have reviewed and approved it. You see the draft, you ask questions, you sign off, then we submit and send you the receipt.
Local facts
About Cheap
Cheap is in Central London, within City of London, in the EC2V postcode district, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| City of London | 0.1 mi | E |
| Cheapside, City of London | 0.1 mi | SE |
| Guildhall, City of London | 0.1 mi | NE |
| Bassishaw | 0.1 mi | NE |
| Bread Street, City of London | 0.2 mi | SW |
| Cordwainer | 0.2 mi | SE |
| St Paul's, City of London | 0.2 mi | SW |
| Mansion House | 0.2 mi | S |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Record keeping
Good records are the difference between a quick enquiry and a long one. For the self-employed, five years after the filing deadline; for companies, six years from the year end; for VAT, six years. Photographs of receipts, PDF statements and software exports all count. The requirement is to keep records, not paper, and a well-organised cloud folder satisfies it.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Every employer must assess its workers for automatic enrolment from the first employee's start date. Those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year must be enrolled into a qualifying pension with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer, and a declaration of compliance made to the Pensions Regulator within five months.
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.
The trading and property allowances
The first £1,000 of trading income and, separately, the first £1,000 of property income each year is tax free under the trading and property allowances. Below those figures no return is needed for that income. Above them you can deduct the £1,000 allowance instead of actual expenses if that is better, which suits side businesses and single-room lets with few costs.
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.
CIS deductions
The Construction Industry Scheme affects both sides of a construction payment. Contractors must verify subcontractors, deduct the right amount, issue statements and file monthly, with penalties from £100 for each late return. Subcontractors suffer deductions on turnover and recover the excess at the year end. Limited company subcontractors offset deductions against PAYE monthly instead.
Confirmation statements and identity verification
Companies House has tightened its requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: every company needs a registered email address and an appropriate registered office, every statement includes a lawful-purpose declaration, and every director and PSC must verify their identity. The confirmation statement, due annually with a £50 fee, is where most of this is confirmed.
Questions
Startup Accountants questions from Cheap
What do investors expect to see in the accounts?
Clean, current bookkeeping; a cap table that matches Companies House; founder payments properly documented; VAT and PAYE up to date; and management accounts showing runway. Due diligence on a seed round routinely finds undocumented director's loans and unfiled confirmation statements, both of which cost time at exactly the wrong moment.
Do I need a separate business bank account?
Legally the company must have its own account because it is a separate person from you; using a personal account mixes funds and creates director's loan problems. Digital business banks open accounts quickly for new companies, and we connect the feed to your software as part of setup.
Can I claim startup costs incurred before incorporation?
Yes. Pre-trading expenses incurred up to seven years before the company started trading, which would have been deductible if incurred while trading, are treated as incurred on the first day of trading. Keep the receipts. Equipment you bring in can be transferred to the company at market value.
When are a new company's first filings due?
The first confirmation statement is due within 14 days of the first anniversary of incorporation. The first accounts are due 21 months after incorporation. Corporation Tax is due nine months and one day after the first accounting period ends, and the first period is often longer than a year, which creates two CT600s. We handle the split.
What are the SEIS limits?
A company can raise up to £250,000 under SEIS within the first three years of trading, with gross assets under £350,000 and fewer than 25 employees. EIS allows up to £5 million a year and £12 million in total, for companies under seven years old with fewer than 250 employees. Trading activities must qualify; some are excluded.
What is SEIS/EIS advance assurance and do I need it?
Investors in qualifying early-stage companies get income tax relief of 50% (SEIS) or 30% (EIS) and capital gains exemptions, which makes raising much easier. Advance assurance is HMRC's confirmation in principle that your company qualifies, and most angel investors insist on it. Our £299 service prepares and submits the application.
How do I get started from Cheap?
Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for startup accountants. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Cheap clients are set up within a day.
Which deadlines matter most for startup accountants?
The next four dates that apply to startup accountants are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Cheap clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.
Fixed fees, filed on time, for Cheap
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.