Accounting

Bookkeeping · South East

Bookkeeping services in Cockayne Hatley

If you run a business in Cockayne Hatley and bookkeeping is the job that never gets done, hand it to us. We connect your bank, you forward receipts by WhatsApp or email, and each month the books are reconciled and ready for VAT, Making Tax Digital or year end. One monthly fee, published on this page, identical across South East.

from £49/mo · fixed, per month

Next deadlines

  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • MTD quarterly update deadline (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May)
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month

Who this is for

Bookkeeping for Cockayne Hatley

Sole traders, partnerships and limited companies in Cockayne Hatley 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.

What is included

Everything inside the fixed fee

  • 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

How it works

Bookkeeping from Cockayne Hatley, step by step

  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.

Why IGI

What you get in Cockayne Hatley

One fixed fee for bookkeeping in Cockayne Hatley, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.

Nothing for Cockayne Hatley is left to the last week. Each deadline relevant to bookkeeping is tracked from the day you join, with the next four shown on every page we send you.

No appointments, no travel across South East, no parking. Everything for bookkeeping in Cockayne Hatley happens online, with a real person on the other end during UK working hours.

You get one contact for bookkeeping, not a queue. Cockayne Hatley clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.

We explain bookkeeping in the words Cockayne Hatley business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.

Nothing is filed for Cockayne Hatley 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 Cockayne Hatley

Cockayne Hatley is in South East, 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.

Nearby places we also serve for bookkeeping
PlaceDistanceDirection
Hatley End1.0 miS
Wrestlingworth1 miS
Mill Hill, South Cambridgeshire2 miNW
Hatley St George2 miNE
Tadlow2 miSE
East Hatley2 miE
Hatley, East2 miE
Mill End, Central Bedfordshire2 miS

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

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

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.

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.

Late filing penalties

Penalties are the clearest reason to work to deadlines. A Self Assessment return one day late costs £100 regardless of whether any tax is due; three months late adds £10 a day. Late company accounts start at £150 and reach £1,500, and double if the previous year was also late. None of this is negotiable afterwards except through a narrow reasonable-excuse appeal.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began in April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, extends to those over £30,000 in April 2027 and is planned for £20,000 in April 2028. It requires digital records in compatible software and four quarterly updates to HMRC each year, with a final declaration replacing the traditional return. Payment dates are unchanged.

The Self Assessment calendar

Four dates govern Self Assessment: 5 October to register, 31 October for paper returns, 31 January to file online and pay, and 31 July for the second payment on account. Missing the January date triggers an automatic £100 penalty before any tax is even considered, so we treat it as the fixed point around which the rest of the year is planned.

Questions

Bookkeeping questions from Cockayne Hatley

Do you do bookkeeping for landlords?

Yes. Rental income, agent statements, mortgage interest, repairs and the split between revenue and capital costs are all coded correctly for the property pages of your return. Portfolio landlords usually sit in the £49 or £89 band, and MTD for Income Tax applies to rental income as it does to trading income.

What if my volume changes?

We review the transaction count each quarter. If you move into a higher or lower band we tell you before the next invoice and adjust from the following month. There is no penalty for moving down and no back-charging for a busy month.

Can my existing accountant still do the year end?

Yes. Many clients use us for bookkeeping and another firm for accounts. At year end we hand over a reconciled file with the trial balance, bank reconciliations and supporting documents, in whatever format your accountant prefers.

How quickly are the books up to date?

Bank feeds update daily. We reconcile within five working days of the month end once your receipts are in, so the monthly summary arrives in the first week of the following month. Queries are sent in one message rather than piecemeal.

Will I need this for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

If you are a sole trader or landlord with qualifying income over £50,000 you joined MTD for Income Tax in April 2026, and the £30,000 threshold follows in April 2027. It requires digital records and quarterly updates to HMRC. Our bookkeeping service keeps the records in the required form and submits the updates.

How do you handle cash sales and personal spending from the business account?

Cash takings are recorded from your till or daily summary, and personal spending is coded to drawings or the director's loan account so it does not end up as a business expense. We flag patterns that could cause problems, such as a growing director's loan balance.

Do you have an office in Cockayne Hatley?

No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Cockayne Hatley and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for bookkeeping is the same in Cockayne Hatley as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.

Is bookkeeping in Cockayne Hatley really the same price as elsewhere?

Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Cockayne Hatley pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.

One message from Cockayne Hatley, one fixed price

Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.

WhatsApp for a fixed quote