Accounting

Sole Trader Accounts · South East

Sole trader accounts in Gerrards Cross

Self-employed people in Gerrards Cross need two things at year end: a reliable profit figure and a tax return that matches it. We prepare the accounts, review every expense for what is allowable, and either hand the figures over or file the return as part of the £229 bundle. Fixed fees, agreed in writing, no office visit required.

from £149 · fixed, per year

Next deadlines

  • Online Self Assessment filing deadline and balancing payment due
  • Tax year ends: last day for pension, ISA and dividend timing decisions
  • Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: quarterly updates for sole traders and landlords over £50,000 (from April 2026) and over £30,000 (from April 2027)
  • Second payment on account due

Who this is for

Sole Trader Accounts for Gerrards Cross

Self-employed people in Gerrards Cross trading in their own name: tradespeople, drivers and couriers, hairdressers and beauticians, consultants, creatives, market traders, therapists, tutors and anyone else running a business without a limited company, from a first-year side business to an established trade with a van, equipment and a few thousand transactions a year.

What is included

Everything inside the fixed fee

  • Income and expenditure account for the tax year or your accounting period, with a balance sheet where you want one
  • Every expense category reviewed for what is allowable, including home working, vehicles and the trading allowance
  • Capital allowances on equipment and vehicles, with the cash basis or accruals basis chosen to suit you
  • A plain-English summary: profit, tax and National Insurance due, payments on account and what to put aside
  • Figures prepared in the format the Self Assessment self-employment pages need
  • Records organised and stored so that an HMRC check can be answered quickly

How it works

Sole Trader Accounts from Gerrards Cross, step by step

  1. 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.

  2. Agree the price

    The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.

  3. 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.

  4. 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

Why Gerrards Cross businesses file with IGI

No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Gerrards Cross clients know the fee for sole trader accounts before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.

Deadline-first: the dates that matter for sole trader accounts are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Gerrards Cross client and chased before they arrive.

Online only, UK based. There is no office in Gerrards Cross to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in England; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.

You get one contact for sole trader accounts, not a queue. Gerrards Cross clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.

We explain sole trader accounts in the words Gerrards Cross business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.

You stay in control of sole trader accounts: drafts go to Gerrards Cross clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.

Local facts

About Gerrards Cross

Gerrards Cross is in South East, in the SL9 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.

Nearby places we also serve for sole trader accounts
PlaceDistanceDirection
Bulstrode Park0.9 miW
Austenwood1 miNW
Bulstrode1 miW
Gold Hill, South East1 miN
Chalfont St Peter1 miN
Layter's Green1 miNW
Tatling End1 miSE
Chalfont Saint Peter1 miN

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

The 60-day property CGT return

Since April 2020 a gain on UK residential property must be reported and the tax paid within 60 days of completion through HMRC's dedicated service, separately from the annual return. Non-residents must report all UK land disposals in the same window whether or not tax is due. Getting the computation right first time matters because the figure is then carried into the Self Assessment.

Crypto records and reporting

Most crypto holders have taxable events they do not recognise, because every swap is a disposal even when no pounds change hands. The computation requires the complete transaction history from every exchange and wallet, pooled by asset with HMRC's matching rules applied. Exchange-generated tax reports are frequently wrong because they cannot see transfers between a user's own wallets.

Allowable expenses

An expense is allowable against trading profit if it is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. Materials, business travel other than ordinary commuting, a proportion of home running costs, software, insurance, professional fees, bank charges and protective clothing qualify. Client entertainment, ordinary clothing, fines and the private share of mixed-use costs do not.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Questions

Sole Trader Accounts questions from Gerrards Cross

Cash basis or accruals: which should I use?

Since April 2024 the cash basis is the default for sole traders and has no turnover limit; you record income when received and expenses when paid. Accruals matches income and costs to the period they relate to and suits businesses with stock, large debtors or losses to carry. We recommend one based on your figures and explain why.

Do I need accounts as well as a tax return?

HMRC requires a profit figure on the self-employment pages, and the accounts are how that figure is produced and supported. Very small businesses can complete the three-line account on the return, but once turnover is meaningful, proper accounts protect you in an enquiry and show you how the business is actually doing. The £229 bundle includes both.

What is the difference between the £149 and £249 fees?

The £149 fee applies when your records are already organised: bookkeeping software, a spreadsheet that reconciles to the bank, or our own monthly bookkeeping. The £249 fee covers rebuilding the year from bank statements and loose receipts. We look at what you have before quoting so the fee is fixed from the start.

Should I become a limited company?

It depends on profit level, how much you need to draw, liability exposure and whether you want to retain profits. At modest profits the saving is small after the extra compliance cost; at higher profits incorporation can help. Our free comparison tool gives a first view and the tax planning review gives a definitive one.

I started trading part-way through the year. What is my first accounting period?

Since the basis period reform, sole traders are taxed on profits of the tax year, 6 April to 5 April, regardless of accounting date. A first period runs from your start date to 5 April. If you prefer a different accounting date we apportion the profits, but for most new traders a 5 April year end is simplest.

Can you deal with my previous accountant?

Yes. Once you authorise us we write for professional clearance and your records, including the previous year's accounts and capital allowance pools, which we need for continuity. Most firms respond within two weeks and nothing about switching changes our fee.

How do I get started from Gerrards Cross?

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 sole trader accounts. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Gerrards Cross clients are set up within a day.

Which deadlines matter most for sole trader accounts?

The next four dates that apply to sole trader accounts are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Gerrards Cross 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.

Get a fixed quote for Gerrards Cross today

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