Startup Accountants · North London
Startup accountants in North London
If you are starting a company in North London, the accounting decisions you make in the first three months, share structure, VAT registration timing, how founders are paid, whether to seek SEIS assurance, shape the next three years. We get them right for startups across North London, online, for a monthly fee agreed before you join.
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 North London
New and early-stage companies in North London: 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 North London, step by step
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.
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.
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.
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
Why North London businesses file with IGI
The price for startup accountants is published on this page and is what a client in North London pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.
Deadline-first: the dates that matter for startup accountants are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every North London client and chased before they arrive.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in North London 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.
Continuity matters in startup accountants: the person who prepared last year's work for your North London business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for North London comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.
You stay in control of startup accountants: drafts go to North London clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About North London
North London is in North London, within Islington, in the N7 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.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| St. George's, Islington | 0.3 mi | NW |
| Holloway, Islington | 0.3 mi | NE |
| Lower Holloway | 0.3 mi | E |
| Caledonian Road | 0.4 mi | SE |
| Tufnell Park | 0.7 mi | W |
| Cantelowes | 0.7 mi | SW |
| Highbury West | 0.8 mi | E |
| Upper Holloway, Islington | 0.8 mi | NW |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Salary versus dividends
Directors of their own companies usually take a salary at or just above the National Insurance thresholds, which keeps the year qualifying for State Pension and is deductible for Corporation Tax, with further income as dividends. Dividends above the £500 allowance are taxed at 10.75%, 35.75% and 39.35% by band and can only be paid from distributable profits after tax, with a minute and voucher each time.
Director's loan accounts
The most common tax problem in owner-managed companies is an overdrawn director's loan account: drawings taken during the year that were never declared as dividends or salary. The company faces a 35.75% charge on the balance outstanding nine months after the year end, and the director may have a benefit in kind. We review the account before every year end to clear it properly.
The VAT registration threshold
Watching the rolling twelve-month turnover figure is one of the quiet jobs of monthly bookkeeping, because the £90,000 VAT threshold arrives silently. Crossing it brings quarterly returns, Making Tax Digital software and a decision about schemes. Crossing it late brings a bill for VAT you could not recover from customers and a penalty for failing to notify.
Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief
Corporation Tax is not a flat rate. Profits to £50,000 pay 19%, profits above £250,000 pay 25%, and the band between is taxed at an effective marginal rate of 26.5% through the marginal relief mechanism. Associated companies share the thresholds, which catches directors who own more than one company and is the most common cause of underpaid tax in owner-managed groups.
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
MTD for Income Tax replaces one annual return with quarterly digital updates and a year-end declaration, submitted from software. The threshold is gross trading and property income, measured two years earlier, and started at £50,000 in April 2026 before falling to £30,000 in April 2027. Anyone affected needs digital record keeping in place before their start date, not after.
The Self Assessment calendar
Self Assessment runs on a fixed annual cycle. Registration by 5 October following the tax year, online filing and payment by 31 January, and a second instalment on 31 July for those making payments on account. The penalties for lateness are automatic and escalate monthly, which is why we file early and chase approvals well before the window closes.
Questions
Startup Accountants questions from North London
Should I register for VAT before I have to?
If your customers are VAT-registered businesses, early voluntary registration lets you reclaim VAT on setup costs with no real cost to customers. If you sell to consumers, registration adds 20% to your price or cuts your margin, so waiting until the £90,000 threshold is usually better. We model it for your business.
How should co-founders be paid?
Early on, often not at all, with equity as the reward. Once the company can afford it, a modest salary through payroll keeps National Insurance records intact and is deductible. Dividends require distributable profits, which loss-making startups do not have. Director's loans are a trap. We set the structure to suit the cash position.
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.
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.
Do you have an office in North London?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve North London 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 startup accountants is the same in North London as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Is startup accountants in North London really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in North London 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 North London, one fixed price
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.