Accounting

Startup Accountants · North West London

Startup accountants in Harlesden

Startup accounting for new companies in Harlesden: the Launch package at £59 a month forms the company, registers it with HMRC and files the first accounts; Grow at £99 adds bookkeeping and VAT; Scale at £149 adds payroll and management accounts. Fixed and published, the same in Harlesden as in any part of England.

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 Harlesden

New and early-stage companies in Harlesden: 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 Harlesden, 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

The IGI way of working, in Harlesden

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

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

We serve Harlesden 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.

A named person handles your startup accountants from Harlesden and knows the file, so you are not re-explaining your business to a different helpdesk each time.

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

Nothing is filed for Harlesden 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 Harlesden

Harlesden is in North West London, within Brent, in the NW10 postcode district, 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 startup accountants
PlaceDistanceDirection
Harlesden Fringe0.3 miSE
Lower Place0.4 miSW
Middlesex0.6 miSW
Old Oak Common0.8 miSE
Park Hill, Brent0.8 miNE
North Acton0.9 miS
Stonebridge, Brent1.0 miNW
Stonebridge Park1.0 miNW

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

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

Companies formed to protect a name or hold a future business are dormant but not exempt: Companies House still expects dormant accounts within nine months of the year end and a confirmation statement annually with its £50 fee, and HMRC must be told the company is dormant or it will demand Corporation Tax returns. The filings are short, but the penalties for missing them are the same as for a trading company.

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.

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.

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.

Questions

Startup Accountants questions from Harlesden

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.

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.

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.

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.

What does the £59 Launch package include?

Company formation with the Companies House £100 fee passed on separately, Corporation Tax and PAYE registration, a registered office if you want one, cloud software set up, the first confirmation statement and the first set of accounts and CT600 filed. It is for founders who will keep their own books in the early months.

When do I need Grow or Scale?

Grow at £99 adds monthly bookkeeping and quarterly VAT returns, and suits most startups once transactions and VAT registration arrive. Scale at £149 adds payroll for founders and first hires with auto-enrolment, plus quarterly management accounts for the board or investors. You can move between packages at any month end.

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 Harlesden 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.

How do I get started from Harlesden?

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 Harlesden clients are set up within a day.

Ready to fix your fee in Harlesden?

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