Startup Accountants · West Midlands
Startup accountants in Smethwick
Startup accountants in Smethwick who understand that early-stage companies are loss-making, equity-funded and short of time. Our packages are built for that: no hourly billing, founder payroll when it is needed, SEIS/EIS advance assurance at £299 when you raise, and books investors can read. Everything online, every filing approved by you first.
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 Smethwick
New and early-stage companies in Smethwick: 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 Smethwick, 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 Smethwick
The price for startup accountants is published on this page and is what a client in Smethwick pays. We confirm it in writing first, and the invoice matches the quote.
Nothing for Smethwick 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.
Online only, UK based. There is no office in Smethwick 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 startup accountants, not a queue. Smethwick clients message the same person throughout and get an answer in working hours, usually within a few hours.
The output for Smethwick 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 Smethwick 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 Smethwick
Smethwick is in West Midlands, in the B67 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Sandwell, West Midlands | 0.4 mi | NE |
| St. Silas | 0.6 mi | NE |
| Londonderry, Sandwell | 0.8 mi | SW |
| Soho, Sandwell | 0.9 mi | E |
| Smethwick, West | 0.9 mi | W |
| West Smethwick | 0.9 mi | W |
| Rood End | 0.9 mi | W |
| Cape Hill | 1.0 mi | SE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
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
Every company must file a confirmation statement at least once a year, within fourteen days of its review date, with a £50 Companies House fee. Since November 2025 directors and people with significant control must also verify their identity with Companies House, and the confirmation statement is where existing officers confirm they have done so during the transition year.
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.
Late filing penalties
HMRC's penalties for a late Self Assessment return are automatic: £100 the day after 31 January, £10 a day from three months late up to £900, then the greater of £300 or 5% of the tax at six and twelve months. Interest and separate late-payment penalties apply to the tax itself. Companies House charges £150 to £1,500 for late accounts, doubling for a second consecutive year.
Payments on account
A common surprise in Self Assessment is the January payment that is far larger than expected. That is the balancing payment for the year just ended plus the first payment on account for the year ahead, which HMRC sets at half of the bill just calculated. We put the figure in your hands months ahead and tell you how to adjust it legitimately when circumstances change.
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.
Director's loan accounts
A director's loan account records money moving between a director and the company that is not salary or dividend. If the director owes the company money nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, refundable only when the loan is repaid. Loans over £10,000 are also a benefit in kind unless interest is charged at HMRC's official rate.
Questions
Startup Accountants questions from Smethwick
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.
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.
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.
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.
Is startup accountants in Smethwick really the same price as elsewhere?
Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Smethwick 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.
Do you have an office in Smethwick?
No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Smethwick 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 Smethwick as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.
Start the conversation from Smethwick
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.